Alexander Zverev stuns Federer to win Montreal Masters

August 15, 2017 | 12:04 am

MONTREAL — Alexander Zverev shocked second seed Roger Federer in straight sets in the Montreal Masters final to win his fifth title of the season on Sunday and announce himself as a dangerman for the US Open.

The 20-year-old German used his booming serve to overpower Federer 6-3, 6-4 as the Swiss superstar never got a chance to get into the match.

Zverev avenged a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Federer in the Halle final in June — his only loss in a final this season.

He is now tied with Federer for the most titles this season at five.

Zverev blasted six aces and won 80% of first serve points as he needed just 68 minutes to dominate the 19-time Grand Slam winner and reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champion.

Zverev hammered away at the 36-year-old Federer with excellent court coverage keeping him off balance throughout the 30 minute opening set. He closed out the set with serve to the backhand that an out of sorts Federer dumped into the ground.

Federer, who was broken three times, looked just as frustrated to open the second set, hitting backhands long and freezing in his tracks as aces whizzed by.

Zverev capped his victory on the first match point when Federer hit a forehand long.

Federer suffered just his third loss of a season and had his longest win match streak in five years snapped at 16.

Federer, who dropped to 5-1 in finals in 2017, is undergoing a resurgence this season after it appeared to many he might be slowing down as he transitions through his mid-30s. — AFP

Davao businessman accuses NBI officials of extortion

August 15, 2017 | 12:04 am

OFFICIALS OF the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) Davao regional office have been accused by a Davao City businessman of mulcting after a raid was conducted on a night club he owns. The controversy has prompted NBI Director Dante A. Gierran, who was allegedly name-dropped by the NBI operatives during the raid, to order an investigation on the issue. Club owner Miguel Efren Aquino, whose family runs several other establishments, said NBI officials demanded P500,000 in exchange for dropping the charges against him. NBI-Davao head Arnold A. Rosales, whose name also came out as the one who ordered the raid, denied the accusation and said the raiding team already submitted the documents against Mr. Aquino and another employee of the establishment before the City Prosecution Office. Mr. Rosales claimed it was Mr. Aquino’s group who tried to bribe the raiding team. Mr. Rosales also said that a ranking NBI official is protecting the Aquinos. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

Chinese docu Mrs. Fang wins top prize at Locarno

August 15, 2017 | 12:03 am

GENEVA – Mrs. Fang, Chinese director Wang Bing’s documentary about a family waiting to say goodbye to their elderly Alzheimer’s-stricken mother, scooped the top prize at the Locarno film festival in Switzerland Saturday.

The film tells the moving end-of-life story of Fang Xiuying, a farmer who has been struggling with the dementia-type disease for eight years.

After a stay at a nursing home, her family brings her home, and the film focuses on their final days together before her death in 2016.

Wang Bing counts among China’s foremost documentary film makers, and has previously served on the Locarno jury.

Now in its 70^th year, the Locarno festival takes place every summer in the picturesque Swiss town on the shores of Lake Maggiore.

The runner-up Special Jury Prize went to Brazilian horror film As Boas Maeiras (Good Manners) by directors Marco Dutra and Juliana Rojas, which starts off with a woman hiring a maid to help with the housework before taking an unexpected, blood-drenched turn.

France’s F. J. Ossang meanwhile won Best Director for film noir 9 Fingers, the organizers said.

French star Isabelle Huppert was named Best Actress for her role as Mrs. Hyde in French director Serge Bozon’s film of the same name.

And Danish actor Elliott Crosset Hove took home the Best Actor award for his role in Icelandic director Hlynur Palmason’s debut film Winter Brothers. – AFP

World Bank disaster insurance scheme to cover 25 provinces

August 15, 2017 | 12:03 am

THE Department of Finance (DoF) said it launched a World Bank-financed insurance fund for disaster-prone provinces to help fast track disbursements for affected areas.

The fund, known as the Parametric Insurance Pilot project, involves P1 billion in insurance coverage for 25 typhoon and earthquake-prone provinces.

“Unlike the traditional indemnity insurance that takes a long time to assess and process, this Parametric Insurance Pilot will have quick-disbursing payouts whose amounts will depend on the estimated loss triggers determined through the Philippines’ Catastrophic Risk Model developed by the DoF in 2014,” Finance Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Paola Sherina A. Alvarez was quoted as saying in a statement.

“Since the Bureau of Treasury is the policyholder, the funds will be mobilized faster to the first responders, namely, the national government and the LGUs (local government units),” added Ms. Alvarez.

The fund will be split equally into disaster-specific and province-specific funds.

Some 79.2% of the P500 million disaster-specific premiums will be allocated to typhoon cover while the remaining 20.8% will go to earthquake cover.

The other P500 million for province-specific premiums on the other hand will be divided equally, with P20 million going to each of the 25 provinces.

These 25 provinces are Albay, Aurora, Batanes, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Cebu, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Dinagat Islands, Eastern Samar, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Laguna, Leyte, Northern Samar, Pampanga, Quezon, Rizal, Sorsogon, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Zambales.

The insurance program is effective for one year, running from July 28. The project is one of the expected outcomes of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan 2011-2028.

“Our disaster risk financing strategy provides a comprehensive framework for the implementation of financial protection solutions against natural disasters at the national, local government and individual levels,” said Ms. Alvarez.

“This is one of the many efforts of the Duterte administration in making the country disaster-resilient and sustainable,” she added.

On top of the existing insurance program, the DoF is also currently preparing a P1 billion fund for the rehabilitation of the 6.5-magnitude earthquake that hit Ormoc Ciy last month. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Lack of political ads weighs on GMA bottom line

August 15, 2017 | 12:03 am

GMA Network, Inc.’s (GMA) net income fell 35% in the first six months, due to the absence of revenues from political ads this year.

In a statement, GMA Network said net income after tax stood at P1.552 billion as of end June, while EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) dropped 29% to P2.961 billion.

Recurring revenues went up 6% to P7.69 billion in the January to June period. It did not disclose consolidated revenues, except to say it dropped by 12% during the period.

Excluding the impact of political ads, the broadcast company said GMA-7, GMA News TV, Radio and Regional units all recorded positive revenue growth during the period.

Meanwhile, its international operations and other businesses saw a 22% year on year growth.

“We will still try to accomplish our year-end financial target as we have entered the second half of the year. We are very excited about our new programs, particularly on our prime time block, as well as other business opportunities that are expected to unfold within the year,” GMA Network Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon was quoted as saying in a statement.

Shares in GMA Network added 3 centavos or 0.49% to close at P6.17 apiece on Monday.

PBCom posts higher income in Q2

August 15, 2017 | 12:03 am

PHILIPPINE Bank of Communications (PBCom) saw its net income grow sixfold during the second quarter on the back of strong loan growth and one-off gains, as operating costs steadied from a year ago.

In a disclosure on Monday, the listed bank reported a consolidated net income of P179.841 million, surging from the P29.807 million profit booked in April-June 2016.

Total operating income rose to P1.008 billion, up 13% from the P891.649 million tallied during the second quarter of last year on the back of higher fees and charges, alongside a one-time gain worth P11.025 million from the sale of assets that reversed a P6.054-million loss posted a year ago.

“Operating income improved by 13.07% which can be attributed to the increase in rental income, service charges, fees and commissions and profit from assets sold/exchange by the total amount of P63.2 million,” the bank said in its quarterly report submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

PBCom also kept operating expenses at bay at P804.898 million, even posting a slight decrease from the P805.236 million incurred a year ago which helped preserve a bigger bottom line.

The bank’s second-quarter performance drove the first semester tally to a 326.478-million net income, spelling a 464.1% leap from the P57.871 million profit as of end-June 2016.

Operating income grew by 14.6% to P2.012 billion, while expenses stood flat at P1.586 billion as the bank took steps to “increase operational efficiencies.” As a result, the bank’s cost-to-income ratio dropped to 78.8% from 90.2% previously.

Loans grew to P47.457 billion while bank deposits hit P63.944 billion, which supported a 6.1% growth in total assets to reach P91.755 billion.

With the strong growth in its balance sheet, PBCom also set aside enough capital buffers equal to 14.83% of weighted assets, well above the 10% requirement set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Return on assets likewise improved to 0.73% from 0.14% a year ago.

PBCom ranks as the 19th biggest out of 42 universal and commercial banks operating in the Philippines as of end-March in terms of assets, according to central bank data.

Shares in PBCom closed at unchanged at P13.20 apiece on Monday. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

Support our troops

August 15, 2017 | 12:03 am

My weekend was spent in Baguio. It took me just 4 hours nonstop from end to end, going there and coming back through NLEx-SCTEx-TPLEx. Vacations in my younger days — summer, Christmas-New Year’s, and Holy Week — were spent there without fail. But as traffic built up and Baguio got congested, I visited less often. My return a few days ago, after a hiatus of seven years, was one for memory lane.

Support our troops

I was invited by the Breakfast Riders community of big bikers’ clubs nationwide, in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, to join their fellowship at the Athletic Bowl last Saturday. The following day, around 1,000 bikers and their backriders moved to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), a favorite tourist destination, to watch a silent drill team and join a boodle fight with the cadets. I spoke on both occasions on how we all could support our troops.

Here’s what I shared:

Our troops — military and police — are dying and bleeding for Inang Bayan to ensure public safety and secure the Republic from terrorists, revolutionaries and insurgents, not to mention all kinds of criminal syndicates in cahoots with them. Those who died left behind loved ones in grief and at a loss how to fend for themselves without their breadwinner. Same thing applies to those who are totally disabled.

The trauma of their loss is beyond words and beyond cure especially when medical or psychosocial interventions are hard to access. It also applies to civilians as well who suffer death, injury, loss of livelihood, homes and property. The number of displaced persons from Marawi and environs is estimated at around 400,000. While the impact varies from person to person, the common denominator is that professional help is scarce or nil when needed the most.

Various speakers commended the Breakfast Bikers for their social conscience and initiative to unite the biking community. I encouraged them to unite with like-minded organizations for this noble purpose of supporting our embattled troops across the country. Unity of purpose will contribute towards national unity to overcome generational problems and threats to our safety and security. Without it, victory will belong to the enemy.

I pointed out that they could link up with Rotary Club to which I belong. The more they network, the better to cast a wider net. They could, for example:

• Organize teams of volunteer doctors and nurses for sustained medical civic action;

• build additional toilet-shower facilities in schools often used for evacuees (“bakwits”);

• build potable water artesian wells and purification systems;

• provide solar panels for basic needs (radio-tv, lighting, charging mobile phones)

• organize and deploy psycho-social teams to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);

• provide adult members of impacted families with employment or livelihood opportunities and monthly allowances for those still in school.

Support our troops

Individual heads of families could mobilize their circles to think of ways to lift our troops’ morale. For instance:

• attend wakes and funerals to ease the pain of their families;

• visit the wounded in hospitals and bring them things to read, eat, drink; perhaps a little cash for their families;

• write them and their commanders thank you letters for their selfless sacrifices;

• send them inspiring music and videos to soothe them.

Joint Executive-Legislative action is strategic to ensure that our troops are provided all the means necessary for them to accomplish their missions. They must not allow our troops to be sent to battle without the adequate means to victory. A national interest mind-set and a keen sense of urgency are needed to also assure the people of their safety and security. Without it, forget peace and development.

Crucial to this is the adequacy of military and police manpower both in quantity and quality. We need more troops and support equipment for all kinds of warfare and law enforcement to defeat our enemies within and at the gates. The revival of mandatory ROTC, starting in state-owned universities and colleges, is vital step in building a cadre of patriots, young officers and responsible citizens to move the country forward. The caveat is for the AFP to field no-nonsense reliable trainers who can give a real military education.

I learned that the PMA is revising its curriculum to enable its cadets to major in humanities, engineering, and information technology. ROTC could be a four-year course that mirrors the PMA’s academic and basic military regimen built around its core values of leadership, courage (especially moral courage), integrity and loyalty. PMA only provides around 20% of the officers needed annually. The rest are procured from ROTC and Officer’s Candidate School graduates. The government should amend existing laws, rules and regulations to ensure alignment. Good training is transformative.

The LGUs, whose local chief executives head the Peace and Order Councils (POCs), have much to contribute to good government, counterinsurgency, and anti-terrorism. National agencies and civil society comprise the membership in POCs. They’re our frontliners, the first line of defense against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Honest and efficient delivery of basic services, firm law enforcement, alert emergency management, and timely intelligence will make it extremely difficult for the enemy to operate, infiltrate and entrench themselves in key sectors of government and civil society.

Those to me are the best ways to support our troops who are dying and bleeding unnecessarily because of poor governance and civics.

I took the opportunity to interview Lieutenant-General Donato San Juan, PMA Superintendent and four graduating cadets for my DZRH show on television-radio-online entitled Thinking Out Loud with Raffy Alunan. They had much to share about the PMA’s transformation journey, the focus on meritocracy and character formation, and their life in the barracks — how they fend for each other to ensure unity, solidarity and teamwork, now and in their professional life.

Watch out for it this Saturday at 4 p.m.: DZRH News Television Ch. 18 on Cignal, Ch. 129 on Sky; DZRH AM Radio 666khz; and online on DZRH News Facebook and YouTube. SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!

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

Shadow over HK property leaves Singapore ahead

August 15, 2017 | 12:03 am

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s property stocks are cheaper than Singapore’s, although not cheap enough to account for the risk that the world’s least affordable city could have a housing crash.

Singapore home sales fall 21% in June as fewer projects launched — A river taxi boat ply along the river next to the financial district in Singapore on June 29. — *AFP*

That’s according to analysts and money managers from Nomura Holdings, Inc. to Janus Henderson Group Plc. In Singapore, some are seeing signs of a market bottom after years of home price declines. Hong Kong, where any letup in government cooling measures looks unlikely in the short term, may be teetering on the edge of a slump, with Morgan Stanley among those seeing a risk of multiyear declines.

The upshot: while Hong Kong developers’ shares are cheaper across a range of measures, their Singapore peers look more attractive.

“The consensus is that Hong Kong’s housing prices may have more downside risk than upside,” said Joyce Kwock, an analyst at Nomura Holdings.

One valuation gauge shows that Hong Kong developers are trading at larger discounts to net asset value than peers in Singapore, with shares of Henderson Land Development Co. at about a 54% discount compared with City Developments Ltd.’s 20%, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from Nomura.

A price-to-book comparison also shows Hong Kong property companies at lower valuations than their Singapore peers.

But the Singaporean market — especially the residential part — “looks like it’s at the start of a multi-year upside cycle,” said Xin Yan Low, a property securities analyst at Janus Henderson Investors. “We don’t think it looks expensive as of now.”

Singaporean real estate owners and developers have outperformed this year, gaining 33% in their first rally after four years of declines, compared to a 24% increase for Hong Kong peers, based on Bloomberg Intelligence indexes.

Developer CapitaLand Ltd. said that property investors see Singapore as more attractive than Hong Kong, London or cities in Australia. CapitaLand and City Developments both say that Singapore’s residential market may be “bottoming out.” Hong Kong home prices have shot ever higher, bouncing back from the global financial crisis and periodic bouts of government cooling, while Singapore residential prices have declined 12% from a peak, dropping for 15 straight quarters.

A 70% divergence in home prices in Singapore and Hong Kong over the past six years is due for a reversal, according to Morgan Stanley. Singapore developers score better in terms of affordability for buyers, a tight home supply, and a potential easing of policy measures, the bank said in a note.

The bank’s analysts forecast Singapore residential property prices to rise 5% in 2018. In contrast, Hong Kong’s multiyear price decline could start with a drop of 5% this year. — Bloomberg

Korea tensions ease as US plays down war risks

August 15, 2017 | 12:03 am

SEOUL/BEIJING — Tensions on the Korean peninsula eased slightly on Monday as South Korea’s president said resolving Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions must be done peacefully and key US officials played down the risk of an imminent war with North Korea.

Concern that North Korea is close to achieving its goal of putting the mainland United States within range of a nuclear weapon has underpinned a spike in tensions in recent months.

US President Donald J. Trump warned at the weekend that the US military was “locked and loaded” if North Korea acted unwisely after threatening last week to land missiles near the US Pacific territory of Guam.

“There must be no more war on the Korean peninsula. Whatever ups and downs we face, the North Korean nuclear situation must be resolved peacefully,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in told a regular meeting with senior aides and advisers.

“I am certain the United States will respond to the current situation calmly and responsibly in a stance that is equal to ours,” he said.

While backing Mr. Trump’s tough talk, US officials including National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster played down the risk on Sunday of the rhetoric escalating into conflict.

“I think we’re not closer to war than a week ago, but we are closer to war than we were a decade ago,” Mr. McMaster told ABC News’ This Week.

US Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might well conduct another missile test but talk of being on the cusp of a nuclear war was overstating the risk.

“I’ve seen no intelligence that would indicate that we’re in that place today,” Mr. Pompeo told Fox News Sunday.

Asian stocks rallied on Monday as investors took heart from the less bellicose rhetoric.

However, North Korea reiterated its threats, with its official KCNA news agency saying “war cannot be blocked by any power if sparks fly due to a small, random incident that was unintentional.”

“Any second Korean War would have no choice but to spread into a nuclear war,” it said in a commentary on Monday.

MISSILE DOUBTS
South Korean Vice-Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk agreed North Korea was likely to continue provocations, including nuclear tests, but did not see a big risk of the North engaging in actual military conflict.

Mr. Suh again highlighted doubts about North Korea’s claims about its military capability.

“Both the United States and South Korea do not believe North Korea has yet completely gained reentry technology in material engineering terms,” Mr. Suh said in remarks televised on Sunday for a Korea Broadcasting System show.

The United States and South Korea remain technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

Tension in the region has risen since North Korea carried out two nuclear bomb tests last year and two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July, tests that the North often conducts to coincide with important national dates.

Tuesday marks the anniversary of Japan’s expulsion from the Korean peninsula, a rare holiday celebrated by both the North and the South. Messrs. Moon and Kim, who has not been seen publicly for several days, are both expected to make addresses on their respective sides of the heavily militarized border.

Mr. Trump has urged China, the North’s main ally and trading partner, to do more to rein in its neighbor, often linking Beijing’s efforts to comments around US-China trade. China strenuously rejects linking the two issues.

Mr. Trump will issue an order later on Monday to determine whether to investigate Chinese trade practices that force US firms operating in China to turn over intellectual property, senior administration officials said on Saturday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China has said many times the essence of China-US trade and business ties is mutual benefit and that there is no future in any trade war between China and the United States.

“There would be no winners; both would lose,” she told a daily news briefing, adding China has always paid great attention to protecting intellectual property rights and cracked down on those who infringe upon them.

“The (Korean) peninsula issue and trade and business issues are in a different category from each other,” Ms. Hua added. “On these two issues China and the United States should respect each other and increase cooperation. Using one issue as a tool for exerting pressure on another is clearly inappropriate.”

China’s official China Daily said such an investigation would poison the relationship between the two countries.

“By trying to incriminate Beijing as an accomplice in (North Korea’s) nuclear adventure and blame it for a failure that is essentially a failure of all stakeholders, Trump risks making the serious mistake of splitting up the international coalition that is the means to resolve the issue peacefully,” it said.

“Hopefully Trump will find another path. Things will become even more difficult if Beijing and Washington are pitted against each other.” — Reuters

Back-nine birdies lift Thomas to PGA title in shoot-out thriller

August 15, 2017 | 12:03 am

CHARLOTTE — Two spectacular birdies in the last six holes brought Justin Thomas his first major title, the 14^th-ranked American taking the PGA Championship on Sunday in a back-nine shootout thriller.

On a day that saw five players share the lead at one stage, Thomas fired a three-under par 68 to finish 72 holes on eight-under par 276 for a two-stroke victory over South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, Italy’s Francesco Molinari and American Patrick Reed.

Thomas rolled in an amazing 40-foot chip shot at the par-3 13^th for a two-stroke lead and curled a 14-foot putt into the left side of the cup to birdie the par-3 17^th for a three-shot edge, making a closing bogey all-but irrelevant.

“To make a birdie there was beyond a bonus,” Thomas said of 17. “And 13 was really special as well.”

Thomas, 24, claimed the Wanamaker Trophy and grabs the top prize of $1.89 million (€1.59 million) for his fourth victory of the season after last year’s CIMB Classic in Malaysia and two January events in Hawaii, the Tournament of Champions and Sony Open.

World number three Hideki Matsuyama, trying to become Japan’s first men’s major golf champion, led at the turn but had five bogeys and three birdies on the back nine to share fifth with US star Rickie Fowler on 279.

Canada’s Graham DeLaet and 54-hole leader Kevin Kisner were another shot back.

Thomas sandwiched a birdie between two bogeys on the first three holes, but bounced back with birdies at seven, nine and 10 — the last after his putt hung on the edge of the cup for nearly 10 seconds before falling in.

One by one, rivals fell aside, the last being compatriot Kisner, whose 209-yard eagle long shot from the 18^th fairway to force a playoff landed in a creek.

Matsuyama sank a 22-foot birdie putt at the par-5 10^th but made bogeys on the next three holes, responded with two birdies, then missed a four-foot par putt to bogey 16 and closed with another to fall back.

Oosthuizen, the only major winner among the contenders after his 2010 British Open triumph, holed a 34-yard chip shot eagle at the par-5 15^th but followed with a bogey to blunt the impact of his closing birdie.

Tension mounted as Matsuyama, Molinari, Kisner, Thomas and Stroud all shared the lead at seven-under at one stage. — AFP

Ex-mayor of Cebu small town to face charges for unliquidated P0.58-M fund

August 15, 2017 | 12:03 am

THE OFFICE of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of charges against Jay L. Olivar, former mayor of San Remigio, Cebu for P585,000.00 in cash advances made in 2011 that remain unliquidated. The fund was taken for various purposes, including anti-illegal drugs campaign, Christmas celebration, and supplies. In a statement, the Ombudsman said Mr. Olivar attempted to explain his failure to liquidate the public funds by claiming that he assigned a job order employee to prepare the documents, who, in turn, was not able to do so until his term ended in 2013. The ex-mayor also asserted that the local government was busy in its programs and projects, especially after typhoon Yolanda that struck the Visayas in November 2013. Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said the defenses raised by Mr. Olivar are “self-serving and unsubstantiated. As the accountable officer, respondent should have been vigilant in processing his liquidation; or if he devolved the task to other persons, he should have exercised efficient control and supervision to ensure timely liquidation of his cash advances.” Mr. Olivar, who ran again for mayor but lost in the 2016 elections, is facing four counts of Failure to Render Accounts under Article 218 of the Revised Penal Code. San Remigio is a third-class municipality with a little over 51,000 residents based on the 2010 census.

Cebu Pacific aircraft lease deal approved for investment incentives

August 15, 2017 | 12:02 am

THE Board of Investments (BoI) recently approved the P6.1-billion air transport project of Cebu Pacific (Cebu Air, Inc.), recognizing it as a public infrastructure and logistics activity under the 2017 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).

The project involves the acquisition of one Airbus A330 aircraft on a finance lease scheme with Airbus SAS to add to its current fleet of 58 aircraft.

The new aircraft unit will add to the fleet of Cebu Air, which includes A319s, A320s, A330s and ATR 72-500s and ATR 72-600s.

The A330 is a long-range, twin-aisle commercial passenger aircraft with a maximum passenger capacity of 436.

Commercial operations of the new aircraft began in May this year on the Manila-Incheon and Manila-Bangkok routes and adding 186 new jobs to company’s current roster of around 3,400 personnel.

The IPP, a list of priority investment activities that may be granted incentives, was proposed by the BoI in February and approved by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in March.

The IPP’s focus is innovation-driven and job-generating businesses; inclusive business for agribusiness and tourism; broader coverage of manufacturing activities; information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services for the domestic market and telecommunications services for new market players; and environment and climate change-related projects, among others.

“The growth of the air transport industry remains robust. This will allow Cebu Pacific to further expand its operation as a major budget carrier, stimulating passenger traffic growth with more affordable fares from these strategic routes. More tourists in Asian countries especially from Korea are expected to come in with this new project,” Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary and BoI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo was quoted as saying in a statement. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo