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Venus, Stephens crash out of Aussie Open

MELBOURNE — World number five Venus Williams and US Open champion Sloane Stephens were high-profile casualties on day one of the Australian Open Monday, but Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko survived.

Williams, who lost in the final to sister Serena last year, was stunned by Swiss star Belinda Bencic, fresh from winning the Hopman Cup with Roger Federer.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner, in her 77th major, struggled against a player who had never before beaten her to go down 6-3, 7-5 and deprive the tournament of one of its biggest names.

It is the first time since 1997 that there will be neither of the Williams sisters in the second round, with Serena not playing after giving birth to her first child.

“I would like to have played someone easier,” said Bencic.

“When I was a little girl watching on TV I would never imagine I would play them (the Williams).”

Also out of the opening Grand Slam of the year is American big-hitter CoCo Vandeweghe, a semi-finalist last year at Melbourne Park and Flushing Meadow.

She slumped out to Hungary’s Timea Babos 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.

Stephens’ poor run since winning at Flushing Meadows in September continued, with the 13th seed crashing out to Chinese number two Zhang Shuai, who made the last eight two years ago.

The frustrated American put in an error-strewn performance on an overcast and windy Melbourne day and has now not won in seven matches.

“I’m not going to get too down,” said Stephens after her 2-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 defeat.

“I’m just going to stay positive and keep working to get back in the best shape and best place possible to do well for my next tournaments.”

REALLY AGGRESSIVE
There was better luck for Ostapenko, who saw off Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-4.

Sloane Stephens
Sloane Stephens of the US reacts after her defeat against China’s Zhang Shuai during their women’s singles first round match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Jan. 15. — AFP

The seventh seed raced through the first set on Rod Laver Arena against the veteran Italian who was bizarrely wearing a back brace on the outside of her shirt.

She was 4-1 down in the second before knuckling down to race home and a second round clash with China’s Duan Yingying.

“I knew before the match that it’s not going to be easy. She’s very experienced player and she’s very long time on tour,” said the Latvian.

“I knew I had to play really aggressive and stay very consistent.”

Also into the next round with a straight sets win was German 12th seed Julia Goerges, who won the lead-up Auckland Classic and is now on a 15-match unbeaten streak having ended 2017 with victories at Moscow and Zhuhai.

World number two Caroline Wozniacki, who lost to Goerges in that New Zealand decider, plays later Monday, along with men’s top seed Rafael Nadal.

Sixteen-time Grand Slam champion Nadal insists he is feeling fine despite struggling with a knee injury and ready to go deep at an event that he has only won once — in 2009 — among his string of major triumphs.

This is despite a checkered lead-up that prevented him playing a warm-up tournament for the first time ever ahead of the opening Grand Slam of the year.

“It’s a new situation for me. But I feel good,” said the 31-year-old, who first played at Melbourne Park in 2004.

Nadal, who faces the Dominican Republic’s Victor Estrella Burgos in a night match on Rod Laver Arena, lost an epic Australian Open final last year to Roger Federer, who gets his campaign under way on Tuesday.

Fellow multiple Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, seeded 14, also starts on Tuesday, along with former world number one Maria Sharapova and top seed Simona Halep.

Among men safely through to the next round are 31st seed Pablo Cuevas and Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov. — AFP

SM to issue up to P20B in fixed-rate bonds

SM PRIME Holdings, Inc. said on Monday it filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a permit to sell up to P20 billion in fixed-rate retail bonds.

In a statement, SM Prime said the company is planning to issue P15 billion in fixed-rate bonds, with an oversubscription option of up to P5 billion with maturities of five and seven years.

Philippine Ratings Services Corp. (PhilRatings), in a separate statement, said it gave SM Prime’s proposed bond issue its highest credit rating of PRS Aaa.

A PRS Aaa rating indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment is “extremely strong.” The bonds were also given a stable outlook, which means that the rating is likely to remain unchanged in the next 12 months. 

The issuance forms part of the third tranche of SM Prime’s proposed three-year Debt Securities Program of up to P60 billion.

SM Prime’s financial profile, brand equity, operational track record, and expansion program were some of the factors that PhilRatings took into account in coming up with the credit rating. 

“(SM Prime) is one of the biggest integrated property developers in the Philippines, and also one of the largest in Southeast Asia based on market capitalization. Over the years, the company has grown into one of the most diversified real estate companies in the country with business interests in malls, residential, commercial, as well as hotels and convention centers,” PhilRatings said. 

The holding firm of country’s richest man Henry Sy, Sr.’s property investments ended 2017 with a total of 67 malls in the Philippines and seven in China, covering a gross floor area of 9.3 million square meters.

The company has lined up the opening of more shopping malls in the countryside, specifically SM Center Imus, SM City Legazpi, SM City Urdaneta, SM City Telabastagan, SM City Ormoc, SM City Dagupan, SM Moonwalk Parañaque, and SM Center Cabuyao in the coming years. 

“Over the projected period, profitability will remain strong. Revenues will continue to be buoyed by rental fees coming from shopping mall operations, as SM Prime continues to expand, construct, and open more SM malls,” according to PhilRatings.

SM Prime is currently on the last year of a five-year road map that aims to double earnings and revenues back in 2013, recorded at P16.3 billion and P59.8 billion, respectively. 

For the first nine months of 2017, the company recorded a net income attributable to the parent of P20 billion, following revenues of P64.7 billion during the same period. 

Shares in SM Prime were up 45 centavos or 1.16% to close at P39.35 each at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

P680 billion in BoI-registered investments targeted in 2018

THE Board of Investments (BoI) has set a target of P680 billion worth of registered investments in 2018, led by the manufacturing sector.

BoI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo disclosed the target at a briefing on Monday. The total for 2017 registered investments is P617 billion, which beat the P500 billion target.

“In manufacturing, we’re expecting upstream industries. We’re expecting more from cement, and hopefully steel will also enter and shipbuilding and petrochemicals. We also have investments from there,” Mr. Rodolfo told BusinessWorld.

Last year, Chinese firms approached the BoI to explore ventures in oil, steel, petrochemicals and other industries, after President Rodrigo R. Duterte based his foreign policy on improved relations with China.

Mr. Rodolfo said the Department of Trade and Industry’s investment promotions arm is also expecting more investment from the power and infrastructure sectors, buoyed by strong domestic consumption and the government’s aggressive building program.

In terms of employment to be generated by the proposed investments, Undersecretary for Management Services Group Rowel S. Barba said that the target is one million new jobs a year until the end of Mr. Duterte’s term. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato

Taguig City: a rising office kingdom

By Bjorn Biel M. Beltran
Special Features Writer

TAGUIG CITY is no stranger to change. From a farming and fishing settlement between the ancient kingdoms of Tondo and Namayan more than 400 years ago, it has now risen to become one of the largest and most important districts in the country.

According to a report by international property consultancy firm Pronove Tai, Taguig recently overtook the Ortigas central business district as the second largest office district in the country next to Makati City. It is poised to become the fastest growing office district this year.

Monique Cornelio-Pronove, CEO of Pronove Tai, told reporters last week that as of 2017, Taguig has 1.9 million square meters of office space, growing over a quarter from the year before and surpassing Ortigas Center’s recorded 1.6 million square meters. This accounts for a fifth of the total office stock in the Metro Manila area.

Recorded to have the highest supply of offices open for leasing, Taguig takes up 35% of the total supply of available office space in the metro, according to Pronove Tai. Consequently, it is also the district with the highest rental growth year on year, at a recorded 26% with a monthly average P1,200 per square meter for Grade A buildings. Makati City, comparatively, as the city with the most expensive rental rates, charges a monthly average of P1,460 per square meter (+17% year on year).

That a relatively young city could achieve such a significant role in the economic viability of the country is surprising given its past. Originally a settlement along the shores of Laguna de Bay known for its rice threshers or “taga-giik” — which the city’s name is a Spanish mispronunciation of — Taguig has never received much attention in Philippine history up until the United States government acquired a 25.78-square-kilometer property in the city to serve as a base for its military during the American Occupation.

That base had come to be known as Fort McKinley, or later Fort Bonifacio, and would be the center of much controversy for many years to come, even up to this day, because of its explosive growth following the sale of military land by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority. What is now known as Bonifacio Global City now stands as one of the Philippines’ foremost financial districts.

“At least in the office market, [my outlook for Taguig] is positive because the projections for economic growth is so high,” Ms. Cornelio-Pronove said, noting that the high supply of newly constructed office space in the city will attract tenants who are looking for alternatives to Makati’s older buildings.

Despite the lower costs of renting older properties, that upside is offset by the poorer efficiency of utilities such as air-conditioning and telephone operations, she said.

Pronove Tai’s report predicts that Taguig will be the fastest growing office district in 2018, at a 17% growth rate and 10 buildings forecast for completion. According to the report, of the 817,000 square meters of available office space in Metro Manila this year, almost half (47%) will be in Taguig.

Strong pre-leasing by IT-BPM firms and other traditional businesses in 2017 also stack the odds of Taguig coming out on top in its favor. The consultancy firm predicts that 173,000 square meters or 45% of the city’s 2018 supply of offices will be pre-leased.

Pronove Tai also noted that Taguig City’s vacancy rate opens up more room for office expansion. It projected that the 7% vacancy level recorded in 2017 would fall to 5% by yearend.

How to book a return flight from crisis and live to tell the tale

The Philippines is no stranger to crises. The local tourism industry in particular has borne the brunt of these crises, ranging from acts of terrorism, political turmoil, pandemics, to environmental disasters.

Having lived through numerous crises, we know by now that we need to have effective crisis management to ensure that negative perceptions do not persist and do not result in long-term damage to the Philippines’ reputation.

Having long been in the field of crisis communications, I would like to share insights on how the Philippines can best manage in the aftermath of a crisis beginning with this most important point: that crisis communications begins even before an actual crisis happens.

While responding to a crisis is critical in preventing its escalation, being prepared and having a recovery plan is vital to ensuring quick and effective response. This also allows a country to rebuild its reputation or brand after a crisis.

This is why mitigation and prevention are an essential component of crisis communications. Mitigation and prevention measures mean being crisis-ready, and involve various measures such as continuous communication about innovations, new systems, cooperation, and crisis response partnerships, among others.

For the tourism sector, being crisis-ready calls for multi-stakeholder planning. One important preparatory step is identifying and understanding the needs of stakeholders in each part of the process — prior to, during, and after a crisis. This is why it is imperative that tourism industry stakeholders from both public and private sectors participate in the planning and management of crisis situations.

This also means that crisis communication protocols need to be in place. How are crisis situations escalated? What are the first steps that we need to do once we receive reports of a crisis situation? Do we know who are the first offices — may it be from the public and private sector, to contact when a crisis strikes? Is there a process in place and on paper, so that it can easily be cascaded, to communicate to tourists once crisis strikes? Needless to say, connections should be in place between tourism industry stakeholders and government officials at various levels.

During the crisis period, the immediate priority is to demonstrate exceptional crisis management capabilities to minimize losses, ensure tourists’ safety, and limit excessively negative media perceptions. This means search and rescue should be organized, efficient, if not fast. There should be safe shelter for victims and tightened security around touristic areas, as the return of tourists to their home countries is facilitated. We have to bear in mind that the success of initial panic containment and crisis management efforts can have a great impact on the perception of the crisis, especially for the tourism sector.

The third measure is perception management. Negative, exaggerated media reports should be addressed and wrong information corrected. To do so, government must be accessible to media and provide regular update during a crisis situation.

There must be strong impactful communications to address concerns of tourists and would-be visitors and this should be sustained even after the situation has stabilized. The private sector must play a large part to help communicate and amplify the message of safety and security from the authorities.

Once the situation has been stabilized, measures must be implemented to restore the number of visitors. One way is to incentivize tourism demand by reducing prices of products and services. This was one of the steps taken by Bali after the 2002 bombing, with almost 75% of Bali hotels reducing prices by 37%. Thailand, after the 2014 protests, organized the “Amazing Thailand Grand Sale.”

The second measure is for government to provide support through fiscal policy, low interest rate loans, and promotional trips for tour operators and travel agents, or even foreign media. For example, subsidies can be offered to foreign air carriers willing to introduce new destinations for their passengers. Levies on unfilled seats can also be reduced to discourage airlines from cutting flights, which was done by Egypt. Thailand, following the 2010 riots, announced tax incentives for companies hosting domestic international trade shows and training seminars.

The country can also look to other possible sources of tourists. For example, Bali diverted its focus from its traditional Western holiday makers to tourists from Japan and Taiwan. Egypt granted Indian tourists, historically not major visitors of the country, visas on arrival and launched a direct flight between Cairo and New Delhi.

A sustained communications campaign is also essential. While it may initially focus on concerns of tourists, the campaign may eventually evolve to highlight positives such as other possible tourist areas, new innovations or systems being established, increased security, partnerships with foreign governments and the private sector, promos and other softer types of destination communication, among others.

Political stability and safety are prerequisites for tourism. We now have more savvy travelers who do research on destinations. Travel bloggers and other online influencers now make videos about countries. Our messages of safety and security must be captured by these individuals as well.

In all this, we have to remember that crisis communications is a continuous effort that stakeholders need to consciously and proactively manage, long before a crisis emerges.

 

Junie del Mundo is the Chair of the M.A.P. CEO Conference Committee and the CEO of the EON Group, a fully-integrated communications agency. EON Group also spearheads thought leadership initiatives including the Philippine Trust Index (PTI), a multi-awarded proprietary research that looks into Filipinos’ trust in society’s institutions.

map@map.org.ph

junie.delmundo@eon.com.ph

http://map.org.ph

China races to prevent environmental disaster after Iranian tanker sinks

BEIJING — Chinese ships scrambled Monday to clean up a massive oil spill after an Iranian tanker sank off China, raising fears of devastating damage to marine life.

The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tons of light crude oil from Iran, went under on Sunday after a new and massive fire erupted, sending a cloud of black smoke as high as one kilometer (3,280 feet) above the East China Sea.

The bodies of only three of the 32 crew members have been found since the vessel collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, on January 6, sparking a fire that Chinese rescue ships struggled to extinguish.

Iranian officials said there was no hope of finding survivors among the crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, prompting grief and anger among families of the sailors in Tehran.

The search and rescue effort was canceled and a clean-up began after a fire on the sea surface was finally extinguished on Monday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Two ships sprayed chemical agents aimed at dissolving the oil, CCTV said. The spill was 11.5 miles long and up to 4.6 miles wide and located east of the submerged ship, it added. This would amount to an area of some 50 square miles (129 square kilometers).

“This (clean-up) work is one of our focuses. It is also a priority area of our efforts. No one wants to see a large-scale secondary disaster,” said foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, adding that the cause of the accident was under investigation.

Alaska-based oil spill consultant Richard Steiner called the accident “the single largest environmental release of petroleum condensate in history.”

“Given the poor condition of the hull of the ship after a week of explosions and fire, it is my assumption that none of the cargo holds or fuel compartments remain intact, and thus all of the condensate and fuel has been released,” Steiner told AFP.

Even if only 20% of the vessel’s cargo was released into the sea, it would still be an amount about equivalent to Alaska’s disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez crude oil spill, he said.

“I don’t know of any condensate spill into a marine environment larger than 1,000 tons, and most that we know of have been less than one ton,” he said.

The Sanchi’s own fuel tank was able to accommodate some 1,000 tons of heavy diesel, according to Chinese media.

‘WORST SITUATION’
On Sunday state broadcaster CCTV cited Zhang Yong, a senior engineer with China’s State Oceanic Administration, as playing down environmental concerns.

The Sanchi’s light crude would have “less impact on the ocean” than other kinds of oil, and minimal impact on humans given how far offshore the incident occurred, he said.

The accident happened 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai.

But the sinking of the ship before more oil had a chance to burn off was “the worst situation” possible, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times newspaper.

“The condensate oil, a kind of ultra-light oil on Sanchi, is different than other types of crude oil and is poisonous to marine life,” he warned.

Unlike crude, condensate does not form a traditional surface slick when spilt. Instead, it generates a toxic underwater plume of hydrocarbons invisible from the sea surface.

Whales, porpoises, seabirds, fish, and plankton in contact with these hydrocarbons in the East China Sea will either die quickly or develop “sub-lethal injuries” such as physiological impairment, reproductive failure and chronic diseases, said Steiner.

The region is also a crucial spawning site for many large fish species, whose eggs and larvae have “undoubtedly been exposed” to the toxic compounds, he said.

“Just because there is no traditional surface slick does not mean there is minimal impact. While the toxic phase of the spill may only last a few months, the injury to populations could persist much longer,” he said.

He slammed governments for failing to gather environmental data more quickly.

“As no one has been conducting a scientific assessment of (the environmental impact), the governments and ship owners are likely to claim, erroneously, there was limited damage.” — AFP

Lack of effort on rebounding, faster teams NLEX’s concern

FOR the second straight game, the NLEX Road Warriors were clobbered in the battle of the boards and beaten in their own kind of running game.

The result had the Road Warriors crashing to their second straight loss after winning the first two games in the PBA Philippine Cup and head coach Yeng Guiao and the team’s new star player, Kiefer Ravena, agreed they need to address the problems as fast as possible.

“We’re a little concerned since we lost the last two games in similar fashion. We were not rebounding the way we should. We lost rebounding by -19 in this game. Then, the last game, we lost rebounding by -9 only on the offensive boards. So, I think that’s something we should fix before our game on Friday,” Mr. Guiao said.

“One thing we’ve also noticed is that we’re beaten in our own game. We’re supposed to be the running team, but the teams that beat us are outrunning us. That’s another thing we have to break down and see what the problem is.”

Against the Magnolia Hotshots, the Road Warriors lost the rebounding battle, 61-42. In their previous loss to the Phoenix Fuel Masters, NLEX also gave up nine more rebounds to its opponent.

Mr. Ravena shared the same observation, but mentioned that rebounding is not just about timing in getting the ball but also about effort.

“Coach Yeng doesn’t want this kind of losses where we lacked effort. We were outrebounded, 19 rebounds. But it’s all about effort. That’s one thing Coach Yeng doesn’t want to see. You can play games by shooting bad, but Coach Yeng doesn’t want us to play with lack of effort,” added Mr. Ravena, who played a career-game, finishing with 31 points four rebounds and five assists.

But not even Mr. Ravena’s breakout offensive performance can carry the Road Warriors to victory and Mr. Guiao thinks his prized rookie will need the support of his teammates for them to win more games.

“Kiefer played a great game, offensively. But that’s not our style of play. We don’t really want one player to take over the game offensively and tried to bring us or carry us on his shoulders for us to win. But of course, sometimes, you don’t have a choice. If all your other offensive options are not working, we just have to go to what is working. In this situation, it was Kiefer,” said Mr. Guiao.

“I told the team, if we have to do it that way, we don’t have to win too many games. With our system, we always won more games when more people got involved and more people scored in double figures. Kiefer played a great game offensively but he didn’t get enough support from the rest of the team. We’ll just take these as our lessons and hope that by Friday,” added Mr. Guiao. — Rey Joble

Phivolcs: Mayon eruption possible ‘within weeks or days’

THE PHILIPPINES’ chief volcanologist warned on Monday of a possible hazardous eruption at Mount Mayon “within weeks or even within days,” as magma continued to pile up at the summit of the country’s most active volcano. The 2,462-meter (8,077-foot) high volcano, a tourist attraction in central Albay province because of its near-perfect cone shape, spewed ash and burning mud and rocks over the past two days, forcing more than 3,000 residents to evacuate from nearby villages. It showed a bright crater glow on Sunday, signifying lava had started to flow from the crater. Renato Solidum, chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), described Mayon’s current activity as a non-explosive magmatic eruption, but he would not rule out a more dangerous volcanic explosion in coming days. Phivolcs raised the volcano alert to level 3 late on Sunday after detecting the lava flow. Mr. Solidum said raising the alert to level 4, under which the danger zone would be expanded and a hazardous eruption could happen within a few days, depended on how Mayon behaved next. Level 5 indicates an eruption is in progress. — Reuters

Actor Spanky Manikan, 75

VETERAN actor Spanky Manikan passed away on Sunday, Jan. 14, after losing the battle against lung cancer. He was 75.

His wife, actress Susan Africa, confirmed the news of his demise via a text message to Mr. Manikan’s manager, saying her husband “peacefully joined his Creator at 11:41 [a.m.] today,” according to a report by ABS-CBN News.

In a separate Facebook post posted the day of Mr. Manikan’s passing, Ms. Africa said: “Rest in peace my beloved Pangga. The greatest love of my life.”

SPANKY MANIKAN and Techie Agbayani in a publicity still for the ABS-CBN drama Sa Dulo Ng Walang Hanggan. — BW FILE PHOTO

Mr. Manikan’s career spanned more than four decades after getting his start in a 1972 in a Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) production of Halimaw, written by Isagani Cruz and directed by Nonon Padilla. He acted with different theater companies including Dulaang UP, the Manila Metropolitan Theater, Bulwagang Gantimpala, and Tanghalang Pilipino (TP).

One of his last theater credits was in TP’s 2012 season ender, Eyeball: New Visions in Philippine Theater, which featured the four best plays of the Virgin Lab Fest that year. He played Daddy in Maliw, about a father dealing with the disappearance of his child. The role was notable as it was the first time in over a decade that Mr. Manikan returned to the stage.

In 2014, he received an Aliw Award for Best Actor (for a non-musical play) for playing Zacarias Monzon in TP’s Mga Ama, Mga Anak.

Last year, PETA honored him with a Citation of Recognition as part of the theater company’s 50th anniversary celebration.

In 1975, Mr. Manikan crossed over to the silver screen with Lino Brocka’s Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag, followed by 1981’s Bona. A year later, Mr. Manikan played Orly, the apathetic documentary filmmaker in Ishmael Bernal’s Himala, earning the Best Supporting Actor award in that year’s Metro Manila Film Festival.

On TV, his credits include GMA Network’s Kung Mawawala Ka (2002) where he played Gen. Gonzalo, ABS-CBN’s, May Bukas Pa (2010) as Milo, and Walang Hanggan (2012) as Herman Cadenas, among many others.

His last television role was in GMA’s My Love from the Star (2017) where he played Juan “Jang” Avanado, a role he left after he was diagnosed with cancer. He was replaced by Crispin Pineda.

Among those who mourned Mr. Manikan’s passing was director/writer Jose Javier Reyes who wrote on Twitter: “May you have a safe journey back to the arms of the Father. Thank you for a life inspired by your talent and love for your work for film, television and stage. You will never be forgotten,”

“Why is Spanky significant for me? He sang many of my songs in the earlier period of PETA… He was my most favorite vocalist… interpreting my song with exquisite musicality, beautiful tone quality, emotive power, and most of all soul. He knew the inner voice of my music,” Lutgardo Luz Labad, noted composer and film scorer, said in a tribute posted on his Facebook page.

“Despite all my weaknesses in those years, he truly trusted my humanity. He loved me so much as a friend and brother and musical colleague — in the same level as I did love him too… We will surely miss you. Now Rest in peace and hug for us all our common friends who have passed on earlier,” he added in his post.

Meanwhile, playwright/director Frank G. Rivera composed a sonnet, “Para sa Familia Manikan (For the Manikan Family: A Sonnet for Mourning),” which reads in part: “Kapara nga’y ilog patungo sa dagat/ Bayaang maglayag ang yumaong liyag/ Huwag mamaalam sa inyong pag-ibig /Pabayaang luha, maghatid sa langit (Like a river heading for the sea/ leave our fallen beloved be/ Do not say goodbye to your love/ Let your tears accompany him to heaven).”

Mr. Manikan is survived by his wife and their three children. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Jumanji dominates US holiday weekend

LOS ANGELES — Sony’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is dominating the North American box office to easily win the four-day Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend with about $33.4 million at 3,849 sites, estimates showed Sunday.

Fox’s The Post is leading the rest of the pack handily and topped forecasts with $22.2 million at 2,819 locations for Friday-Monday after expanding from 36 sites. The opening of Lionsgate’s Liam Neeson thriller The Commuter also topped expectations in third place with $16 million at 2,892 venues.

The fifth weekend of Disney-Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi with $14.7 million at 3,090 sites is fourth and Fox’s fourth weekend of The Greatest Showman with $14.5 million at 2,938 screens takes fifth place at the holiday box office.

Warner Bros.’ launch of family comedy Paddington 2 was battling for sixth place with Universal’s second weekend of Insidious: The Last Chapter with about $14.1 million each.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which will finish the holiday with nearly $290 million in 29 days, now ranks as the eighth highest grosser released in 2017.

“Jumanji has in essence hit the reset button and is now behaving more like a film in its second weekend rather than its fourth,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore. “In the wake of a startling late run ascension to the number one spot, Jumanji continues to energize the early 2018 box-office marketplace while this weekend taking on a host of wide release newcomers.”

Disney noted Sunday that Star Wars: The Last Jedi had reached a worldwide total of $1.264 billion, topping Disney’s Beauty and the Beast ($1.263 billion) and Universal’s The Fate of the Furious ($1.236 billion) to become the top global release of 2017 and the tenth-highest global release of all time.

Jumanji, starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, provided the most substantive challenge to The Last Jedi after opening Dec. 20. It’s the most successful title for Sony since Spider-Man: Homecoming, which pulled in $337 million domestically during the summer.

The Post, starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in a story about the 1971 publication of the Pentagon Papers, attracted an older audience. The Post took in $4.3 million in two weeks of limited release, so its domestic total has hit $26.7 million. The National Board of Review named The Post the best film of 2017 with Hanks and Streep winning the acting awards and the Producers Guild nominated it as one of its top 11 films but it was denied nominations last week from the Directors Guild and Writers Guild. The Post has an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Commuter, starring Neeson as a businessman drawn into a criminal conspiracy on his train ride home. The film finished Friday with around $4.6 million, and has received a B CinemaScore and a 55% Rotten Tomatoes rating. The film kicks off a long-term partnership between Lionsgate and StudioCanal that will continue with Early Man and Shaun the Sheep Movie 2.

Paddington 2 was coming in slightly under expectations. Warner Bros. acquired the North American rights for the sequel film, starring the popular British children’s literary character, from the Weinstein Company in November after the sexual harassment allegations against former head Harvey Weinstein left the production company and distributor a toxic name.

Paddington 2, in which Ben Whishaw voices the accident-prone bear, has already earned $125 million internationally and has garnered a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Insidious: The Last Key ($14.2 million); Proud Mary (12 million); Pitch Perfect 3 ($6.8 million); and, Darkest Hour ($5.2 million). — Reuters/AFP

The exceptional Mayo Lopez

“Epiphany” has taken on a new meaning for me. Previously, it was about the 3 Kings or 3 wise men who went to see the newly born infant Jesus in a lowly stable. But when Mayo passed on last Jan. 7 at the Residencia of the Christian Brothers, a thought that struck me was here’s a role reversal — Jesus came to visit and bring home a wise man.

How does one describe the essential Mayo G. Lopez? He was many things to many people. Let’s borrow a cliché and call him “a man for all reasons and seasons.” He was first and foremost an educator. Also a patriot, a morally upright person, a soldier at heart, model husband and father, a fearless interlocutor, and a friend who tells it like it is.

The first recollection I had of him was in Maninidigan! in the early 1980s. M! was a collection of businessmen, professionals and outraged citizens led by the late Jimmy Ongpin, later by Ramon del Rosario, Jr. We found ourselves together during those fateful days in February of 1986, with Kuku, Mayo’s wife, by his side. Mayo didn’t just talk the talk; he walked his talk.

During the early years of the Cory presidency, Mayo, Oscar Lagman and I took turns writing for this column, “To Take a Stand.” We kept that up for the next 30 years until last month when he could no longer write passionately. Our column was our bully pulpit for good government, transformation, and national development.

Mayo and I formed a company in 1986 following the EDSA People Power revolution that represented British security products and services offered by, or referred to, by the company of Special Air Service founder Sir David Stirling. We worked with then NSA Noel Soriano, the PSG and the Philippine Constabulary’s Special Action Force or PC-SAF.

PC-SAF was founded by then Major General Fidel V. Ramos when he was chief of the Philippine Constabulary. Mayo was the original unit’s adviser. During the Cory years, SAF was the government’s principal anti-coup force — a multi-role, day-night, all-weather, all terrain combat force of the PNP that performs best in deadly silence below the radar.

Mayo served as a consultant of the Local Government Academy. Along with Prof. Alex Brillantes, we upgraded its curriculum intended to transform the quality of politics and local governance revolving around the principles of “Human and Ecological Security for Peace and Development.” He was a deep thinker and processor of ideas such that even private firms, here and abroad, took him on as a valued consultant.

He often invited me to conferences in AIM. My favorite chat room was the faculty lounge where I’d bump into AIM’s illustrious administrators and faculty members, and relish their banter, with Mayo dominating it naturally. When I served on its Board, we had more time to touch base and exchange notes on the country’s cyclical problems driven by self-serving politics and underdeveloped citizenship.

As the years wore on, we found ourselves in the Management Association of the Philippines where he got deeply involved in the annual CEO international conference and, also, as vice-chair of the national security committee I chaired at some point. But where Mayo made his mark in MAP was when he served as the Project manager of the MAP-AIM Management Education Workshop or MEW.

MEW brings together management practitioners and teaches to enlighten the latter on what employers want out of future managers. MEW helps schools of management improve their syllabi and teaching practices, as well as train students on how to respond to the fast changing demands of stakeholders.

Mayo enlivened board meetings of the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association with his outspokenness. He was an eye and mind opener with a wry sense of humor that was irreverent to a fault (he called it candor). Sometimes, in a fit of humility, he would publicly flog himself in Facebook for his arrogance and seek forgiveness. Some called it “panache”; others from our region called it “tikalon.” I prefer “sublime irreverence.”

We organized joint undertakings of MAP, AIM, HKSAAPI and Asia Society to raise the awareness of the uniformed services, government institutions, media, and the private sector regarding China’s aims and behavior in the South China Sea. Mayo usually moderated with chutzpah. In one such forum, former president Fidel V. Ramos asked to speak and Mayo told him to keep it short and gave him five minutes. Good thing FVR was in good spirits.

Mayo was a born fighter. He stared Death in the eye until he was too weak to do anything. He struggled to live as normally as possible, although “normal” is an understatement. His intellect and humor stayed sharp until his last days. He persevered, kept himself directly informed and wrote about his deteriorating condition with amazing grace. He bantered with his visitors and flirted with his pretty doctor.

There’s a picture where Mayo and I are wearing the SAF beret saluting each other, and he saluting Kuku in final submission as to who was the real boss at home. It was 2 weeks before he slept in heavenly peace. When I entered the room, he said that he had made his peace with our Creator and that he was ready. The smile he gave revealed it.

Mayo was an educator up to the end, demonstrating to those whose lives he touched how to fight the good fight by example. His family is no less a chip off the old block. Kuku was Mayo’s pillar of strength, and so were their sons — Bro. Arwee, Arne, Dein, and Ari — united in love and wacky in life.

Mayo always sought the higher purpose in life to give us direction and meaning; to rise above self, to keep us moving forward until we become better Filipinos for a better Philippines. Mayo G. Lopez was a good son of the Republic.

 

Rafael M. Alunan III served in the Cabinet of President Corazon C. Aquino as Secretary of Tourism, and in the Cabinet of President Fidel V. Ramos as Secretary of Interior and Local Government.

rmalunan@gmail.com

map@map.org.ph

http://map.org.ph

Pure Energy says subsidiary buys majority interest in solar farm owner

PURE ENERGY Holdings Corp. has diversified its renewable energy capacity as its subsidiary acquired a majority stake in a company that owns three solar farms in Central Luzon.

“This acquisition complements our existing renewable energy portfolio of hydropower plants and geothermal assets. We are optimistic because these power plants have huge economic potential in Central Luzon, and plans are under way to expand their respective capacities,” said Dexter Y. Tiu, chief executive officer of Pure Energy, in a statement.

Pure Energy said its unit Just Solar Corp. had acquired “initially” a 60% ownership stake in Solar Powered Agri-Rural Communities Corp. (SPARC), which owns solar farms in Palauig, Zambales; Morong, Bataan; and San Rafael, Bulacan.

The three solar energy projects have been approved last year for commercial operation by the Department of Energy, allowing them to provide electricity in their respective areas.

Pure Energy said the acquisition of the solar farms, which have a total capacity of 13.86 megawatts (MW), provides a platform for the company to diversify into solar energy while expanding its portfolio through the acquired company.

The Palauig solar farm in Barangay Salaza has a capacity of at least 5 MW, which it supplies to Zambales Electric Cooperative. The plant in Barangay Sabang in Morong, which also has over 5 MW capacity, serves the Peninsula Electric Cooperative. The San Rafael plant in Barangay Pasong Intsik has a 3.82 MW capacity and serves Manila Electric Co.

The holding firm’s other renewable energy subsidiaries include, Repower Energy Development Corp., which has a portfolio of operating run-of-river hydropower plants, and Pure Geothermal, Inc., which holds geothermal assets. — Victor V. Saulon

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