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Filinvest to transform 201-hectare Clark estate into new business hub

THE FILINVEST GROUP said it is breaking ground next year on a 201-hectare estate in Clark, Pampanga it bought in 2016, transforming the sprawling property into what it said would be a “premier leisure and business destination in the North.”

The property’s originally called Mimosa Leisure Estate, which Filinvest bought from Clark Development Corp. (CDC).

CDC took over management and operations of the estate in 1999, after winning a P325-million tax battle versus businessman Jose Antonio Gonzales, the former owner of the Mimosa estate.

The facility already has a 150-hectare Mimosa Golf Course and a hotel — both operated back then by global brand Holiday Inn — when the Gotianuns bought the estate, Filinvest said in a statement sent to BusinessWorld through its communications staff on Monday.

The Filinvest group began in 2016 renovations for the former Holiday Inn hotel — now Quest Hotel — and has recently opened two luxury grand villas with three bedrooms each with a pool. The hotel also has a conference center that can accommodate up to 1,000 guests.

The old estate was renamed Filinvest Mimosa+ Leisure City, Filinvest announced in a press release sent last week, with the plan unveiled on Nov. 29.

The new additions would be the business and residential components as well as an al fresco retail strip.

“With its prime location in the Clark Freeport Zone, Filinvest Mimosa+ will provide investors and entrepreneurs a setting where they can grow and expand their business. Come 2018, two new office buildings will be home to various companies,” the Filinvest statement read.

“To further make Filinvest Mimosa+ a premium lifestyle destination, the development of a hub for shopping, dining and events is underway. A lifestyle mall will be home to some of the best retail stores and restaurants in a nature-inspired and al fresco setting,” it added.

The builder is developing the estate through its units Filinvest Cyberzone Mimosa, Inc. and Mimosa Cityscapes, Inc.

The Gotianun family is also the group behind Filinvest City in Alabang, a 244-hectare prime property master planned to become more than a bedroom community next to the Ayalas’ exclusive village in the outskirts of Manila.

“Filinvest pioneers in developing successful mixed-use urban communities, and we look forward to unveiling the enhanced Filinvest Mimosa+,” Catherine A. Ilagan, Filinvest Alabang executive vice-president, was quoted as saying in the statement.

“With this groundbreaking project, we are hoping to change the tourism landscape in Central Luzon.” — MEIC

Eminem reveals collaborations on new album due Dec. 15

NEW YORK — Rap superstar Eminem’s long-awaited album has a release date — Dec. 15 — and it will feature an array of star collaborators.

The top-selling rapper of all time took to social media to reveal details of Revival, his ninth studio album and his first in four years.

Eminem last month put out the album’s first single, “Walk on Water,” a sharp shift in his sound with gospel-tinged vocals by Beyonce over a lonesome piano.

The tracklist showed that the album also brings in other major stars from the pop world — Skylar Grey, Kehlani, Alicia Keys, Pink and Ed Sheeran — as well as upstate New York rockers X Ambassadors.

Grey, who performs on a song entitled “Tragic Endings,” will be making her latest appearance with Eminem.

As a little-known songwriter, she wrote one of Eminem’s number-one hits — 2010’s “Love the Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna — and later appeared alongside Eminem on Dr. Dre’s track “I Need a Doctor.”

Eminem’s new album only appears to include one other rapper and he picked one who is relatively obscure — Phresher, who has been making a buzz on the New York club scene.

Phresher rejoiced at the massive new exposure he will likely enjoy through the album.

“GOD IS AMAZING!!!! …. Thanks eminem aka DA GOAT For Believing in ME!” he wrote on Instagram, using the acronym, of which Eminem is fond, for “greatest of all time.”

On “Walk on Water,” Eminem rapped at length about his fears of not living up to his own standards or fan expectations as he comes up with new material.

The 45-year-old rapper has been quiet over the past few years but has twice returned with angry denunciations of President Donald Trump, most recently with a freestyle rap aired at the Black Entertainment Television Hip-Hop Awards. — AFP

Torre vs Ribli 1983

Torre vs Ribli Candidates Match
Alicante, Spain
April 4-26, 1983

1 GM Zoltan Ribli HUN 2595 +3 -1 = 6

2 GM Eugene Torre PHI 2580 +1 -3 = 6

Shortly after it was confirmed that Wesley So would be playing in the 2018 Berlin Candidates tournament there was a loud cheer among Pinoy chess netizens. Surprisingly though I saw some Facebook/Twitter posts congratulating Wesley So for being the first ever Filipino chessplayer to play in the Candidates.

Of course that is not true. Eugene Torre was the first — this was back in 1983 in Alicante, a historical Mediterranean port in Valencia, Spain.

Similar to the system we have now eight players were qualified for the Candidates quarterfinal matches in 1983. Viktor Korchnoi was seeded into the Candidates by virtue of being the losing finalist to Karpov in the world title match the previous year, and Robert Huebner qualified as the loser of the Korchnoi-Hübner Candidates Final (1980). The other six players qualified from three interzonal tournaments: Las Palmas Interzonal 1982 (Zoltan Ribli and Vassily Smyslov), Toluca Interzonal 1982 (Lajos Portisch and Eugene Torre) and Moscow Interzonal 1982 (Garry Kasparov and Alexander Beliavsky).

The luck of the draw came out with the Candidates’ pairings:

Zoltan Ribli vs Eugene Torre

Viktor Korchnoi vs Lajos Portisch

Garry Kasparov vs Alexander Beliavsky

Vassily Smyslov vs Robert Huebner

After tying for first with Portisch in Toluca and qualifying for the Candidates’ matches there was a great outpouring of vows of all-out support from several local governments and chess clubs for Eugene Torre’s world title bid, but unfortunately it turned out that this support was mostly confined to press releases. There was one particularly touching moment though when GM Eugene received P2 in the mail from 6-year-old Francis Eugene Fernando of UP Bliss, who wanted to donate his pocket money to Torre’s quest for glory. To this day el Eugenio has not forgotten this P2.

Anyway, there were very unhappy circumstances before his departure for Alicante when he faced the prospect of being unable to leave for Spain due to lack of support. Financial difficulties hounded him every day and played havoc on his physical and mental preparation for the match. Finally, on literally the last minute the President of the Philippine Chess Federation Federico Moreno managed to come up with the tickets for Spain.

Shortly after the Toluca Interzonal one of the participants, the English GM John Nunn, noted that Eugene Torre was a gifted tactician but had deficiencies in opening play and clock handling, claiming that these factors would weigh against him in any Candidates match. That was exactly what happened, for example in game 6 Ribli won straight from the opening.

Ribli, Zoltan (2595) — Torre, Eugenio (2580) [D49]
Candidates qf4 Alicante (6), 1983

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 a6 9.e4 c5 10.e5 cxd4 11.Nxb5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 axb5 13.Qf3 Bd7?

Three years later the German Peter Meyer decided to repeat this line against Torre, but this time he knew what to do: 13…Bb4+ and after 14.Ke2 Rb8 15.Qg3 Qd6 16.Nc6 Qxc6 17.Qxb8 0–0 Black had more than sufficient compensation for the exchange. Meyer,P-Torre,E/Lugano 1986 0–1 (35).

14.0–0 Bd6 15.Bf4

White has threats of Nxf7 or Nxd7.

15…Ra6?

The final mistake. Black’s only move is 15…0–0 16.Nxf7 Rxf7 17.Bxd6 Ne8 18.Qg3 Nxd6 19.Qxd6 Qg5! Black is on the way to recovery. I hope you noticed that it is bad advice For White to take the pawn, because after 20.Qxd4 Bc6 21.g3 (21.Be4 Ra4) 21…Rd8 complicates matters]

16.Nxd7 Nxd7 17.Bxb5 Rb6 18.Bxd6 Rxb5 19.Rac1 f6 20.Qe2 1–0

The double attack on b5 and e6 forces capitulation.

For the rest of the games we were to see a recurring pattern — Torre would get a good position and then Ribli would speed up his moves, causing his opponent to fall behind on time. When the inevitable panic time takes place almost without fail the Hungarian would gain the upper hand in the scramble to make the time control.

The only one which had a happy ending (for us Filipinos anyway) is game 7.

Torre, Eugenio (2580) —
Ribli, Zoltan (2595) [B42]
Candidates qf4 Alicante (7), 1983

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.0–0 d6 7.c4 Be7

For some reason Ribli spent 50 minutes on his 7th and 8th moves.

8.Nc3 0–0 9.Be3 Nbd7 10.f4 Nc5 11.Bc2 e5 12.Nf5 Bxf5 13.exf5 exf4 14.Rxf4 Rc8 15.Rd4 Ncd7 16.Be4

White invested 30 minutes of his time here, making sure that Black couldn’t open up the position with …d6–d5.

16…Nxe4 17.Nxe4 Nf6 18.Nc3

[18.Nxd6?! Bxd6 19.Rxd6 Qe7 and Ribli’s position is alive. Take note that the c4–pawn cannot be protected: 20.Qd3 Rxc4]

18…b5!?

Ribli made this double-edged pawn sacrifice and offered a draw. This is part of his psychological tactics, tempting White to waste time considering whether to accept it or not, especially since the position is going to be more complex now.

19.cxb5 axb5 20.Nxb5

GM Eugene was nervous and kept calculating and re-calculating the tactics, so much so that he spent an hour and 14 minutes over the last 3 moves, leaving myself with 15 minutes to reach move 40. Ribli’s situation was not much better — he had 10 minutes left. Once again Ribli started blitzing out his moves.

20…d5 21.Rd3 Re8 22.Kh1 Qd7 23.Nd4 Ne4 24.Qf3 Bf6 25.Rad1 Qa4 26.a3 h6 27.Bg1 Qa6 28.b4 Qa4 29.Ne2 Ng5 30.Qf1

By this time both players had a minute left for the last 10 moves.

30…Ne4 31.Nf4 Nc3 32.Ra1 Qd7! 33.Nh5 Be5 34.Re1 Qb5 35.Rf3 Qxf1 36.Rfxf1 d4 37.Ra1?

In a flash Eugene saw 37.Rxe5! Rxe5 38.Bxd4 but didn’t have time to calculate its consequences. All he wanted to do is to reach the 40th move and then win with his two connected passed pawns on the queenside. Please do not be too critical of the remaining moves leading to move 40 — both players had only seconds left and were banging out their moves.

37…Ra8? 38.Nf4? Bf6? 39.Nd3 Re2 40.Rf2 Re3 41.Rd2 Ne4 42.Rdd1 Re2 43.Nf4 Nf2+ 44.Bxf2

At this point one of Eugene’s seconds, IM Rico Mascariñas, visibly pale, re-entered the playing hall and asked his assistant National Master Ed Bernal if Torre’s flag had fallen. “No, the game is adjourned,” replied Ed. “You are kidding.” “No, I am not. Look, Eugene is about to make his sealed move.”

As Ed Bernal recounted later, the change in expression of Rico’s face from depression to pure joy was a sight to behold.

44…Rxf2

The adjourned position. The two passed pawns on the queenside are very threatening and the local press declared White winning. If only it were that easy! Eugene overheard Orso Miklos, one of Ribli’s seconds, answering a frantic phone call from Hungary asking for the adjourned position for an in-depth analysis. Obviously they were not going to give up without a fight. If only us Filipinos were as supportive as that!

45.Nd3! Rxf5 46.a4 Kf8 47.h3 Ke7 48.Rdc1 Kd8 49.a5 h5 50.Rc6 h4 51.Rac1 Be7 52.Kg1 Bg5

[52…Rb5 53.R6c4 and if now 53…Bf6 54.Rc5 more or less forces the exchange of a pair of rooks, simplifying the win]

53.R1c5?

He should have used the other rook, 53.R6c5. Why? I will show you.

53…Be3+ 54.Kh2 Rxc5?

This is why. With 54…Rf1! threatening mate with …Bg1+, …Bf4 and …Bg3 Black could have forced a draw, because after 55.Rd5+ Ke7 56.g4 Rd1 57.Ne5 Rf1 White’s king is stuck in the corner.

55.Rxc5 Kd7 56.g3! hxg3+ 57.Kxg3 Bd2 58.Rd5+ Ke6 59.Rb5

White could have taken the pawn on d4, but he had something in mind.

59…Kd6 60.Ne5!

OK, finally White has seen the winning maneuver.

60…Be1+ 61.Kf3 f6 62.Nc4+ Kc6?

[62…Kc7 63.Rc5+ Kd8 is better. Now Black is forced into the corner where the harmonious cooperation of rook, knight and pawn places the Black king in an untenable position]

63.Rc5+ Kb7 64.Nd6+ Ka6 65.Rc6+ Ka7 66.a6 Rd8 67.Nb5+ Ka8 68.Rc7! 1–0 <D>

FINAL POSITION

Eugene is threatening mate with 69.Ra7+ Kb8 70.Rb7+ Kc8 71.Na7#. The Black rook on d8 is blocking his own king’s escape square, but what to do? If he moves it up with 68…Rd7 he is mated 69.Rc8#. If he moves it to the side with 68..Rh8 then White wins just the same with 69.Ra7+ Kb8 70.Rb7+ Kc8 71.Nd6+ and wins. No choice but to resign.

Eugene Torre lost twice in Alicante: the match to Ribli and the battle for support from home. I hope the time will come when all of us chessplayers start supporting our country’s representatives in international chess competitions because when one reaches this far, it is no longer their fight alone, it becomes the fight of the Filipino people for honor, prestige, and history.

 

Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

Australia’s NSW seeking trade, investment opportunities

THE Australian state of New South Wales is looking to explore trade and investment opportunities in the Philippines especially in the manufacturing sector, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

In a statement released on Monday, the DTI said Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez met with New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Dec. 7.

Ms. Berejiklian said there is strong interest within her state to invest in the Philippines.

Australia was 18th on the list of the Philippines’ trading partners as of September, with total trade of $110.75 million with the Philippines incurring a $36.16 million deficit during the period.

Mr. Lopez in the same statement said that he expects the developing partnership to benefit research and development in manufacturing, specifically in further advancement in the automation of the sector.

“We welcome Australian investors and businesses that will help us uplift the lives of those at bottom of the pyramid and enable the Philippines to contribute in the global value chain,” Mr. Lopez said.

“New South Wales has expressed strong confidence in our economy and the business environment stability under the Duterte administration and wish to partner with us,” he added.

According to DTI, New South Wales exports telecommunication equipment and parts, motor vehicles, medicaments, refined petroleum and computers.

Manufacturing is one of the priority sectors of the DTI, which launched the Manufacturing Resurgence Program and the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program to boost domestic manufacturing and bring in more investment.

Exports of manufactured goods were worth $4.71 billion in September, the Philippine Statistics Authority said. This accounted for 84.2% of the total exports.

Electronic products, on the other hand, were the most imported products in September at $1.81 billion, or 25.4% of the total. —Anna Gabriela A. Mogato

Coco, a charmer from the Land of the Dead, lives on

LOS ANGELES — The Disney-Pixar animated comedy Coco showed serious staying power this weekend in North American theaters, holding to the top spot for its third week running while taking in an estimated $18.3 million, industry Web site Exhibitor Relations reported.

The colorful film tells the story of Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez), a young Mexican who longs to become a musician despite his family’s unrelenting ban on music. He stumbles into the Land of the Dead, where trickster Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal) helps him unravel a surprising family secret.

Coco has taken in $135.5 million since its release over the long Thanksgiving weekend, and is already the top-grossing film ever in Mexico. It is one of just four films to lead the North American box office for three weekends in a row this year, according to Variety.com.

But that is expected to change with the much-anticipated release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, predicted to net up to a mammoth $200 million in its opening weekend.

Second on North American screens this weekend was Warner Bros.’s Justice League, taking in $9.6 million, for a four-week total of $212 million. Its all-star cast features Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, and Jason Momoa as Aquaman, plus Ciaran Hinds as a supervillain.

Third was Lionsgate’s feel-good film Wonder, which netted $8.5 million. The movie, starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and Jacob Tremblay, tells the story of a determined fifth-grade boy with a facial deformity who must deal with rudeness and bullying by schoolmates.

Shooting up to fourth place was The Disaster Artist, distributed by A24, a comedy-drama directed by James Franco about the making of 2003 cult movie The Room, reputedly one of the worst films ever (it made a grand total of $2,000 when first released). Starring Franco, Seth Rogen and Alison Brie, Disaster took in $6.4 million for the weekend.

And in fifth was Thor: Ragnarok, featuring the self-effacing humor of Chris Hemsworth as the powerful Norse god and Cate Blanchett as death goddess Hela. The Disney film netted $6.3 million, bumping up its six-week total to $301 million.

Rounding out the list were: Daddy’s Home 2 ($6 million); Murder on the Orient Express ($5.1 million); The Star ($3.7 million); Lady Bird ($3.5 million); and, Just Getting Started ($3.2 million). — AFP

PNOC may bid out $2-B LNG facility in Batangas

THE Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) is now considering bidding out the $2-billion integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility that the state-led company plans to build in Batangas to serve as a hub for trading and transshipping the fossil fuel in the region.

“We are ready for bidding,” Reuben S. Lista, PNOC president and chief executive officer, told reporters in a media gathering at the Department of Energy (DoE) headquarters on Monday.

He made the comment after the unsolicited proposals submitted by foreign entities failed to meet specific requirements, prompting the company to consider bidding out the project with the terms of reference set by the DoE’s commercial arm.

Mr. Lista said the first proposal that was evaluated by the company’s technical working group came from Korea Electric Power Corp. The submission was assessed but returned to the proponent because of unmet requirements, he said.

The technical panel then evaluated the next submission it received coming from Lloyds Energy Group LLC and its partner Itochu Corp., which was also returned.

A proposal from China National Offshore Oil Corp. was also returned because it was directed to the DoE instead of the technical working group, Mr. Lista said.

“Lloyds submitted a new proposal,” Mr. Lista said, adding that the submission would be evaluated first before subsequent proposals.

Still, Mr. Lista said PNOC was making preparations should it decide to bid out the project.

“At least kung saka-sakali ready na kami for bidding (At least we’re ready in case we opt for bidding,” he said. “We will come up with the TOR (terms of reference) already for the bidding.”

Mr. Lista also said that PNOC had received a proposal from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as a consultant for the project.

“We are not technically qualified even if we have been studying it for one year,” he said.

He said PNOC has yet to decide whether to hire ADB as the two continue to negotiate on the consultancy fee. But he said the cost would be shouldered by the winning proponent.

Mr. Lista said PNOC had advised DoE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi “on the way forward” for the LNG project because the company had been trying to sell its banked gas, referring to its Malampaya natural gas it owns.

He previously said there is a need to monetize the banked gas to avoid borrowing the funds to be used for its plan to build the LNG hub. He said the National Economic and Development Authority may not approve any move to secure a $2-billion loan, the estimate cost of the hub.

Bidding out the project will need PNOC to put in equity as it wants to keep a stake in the project. It has previously rejected offers to buy the banked gas because the quoted price was lower than the prevailing market price.

“The board will now have the justification to sell at a lower price,” he said.

PNOC, a company created by a presidential decree in 1973, is mandated to provide and maintain an adequate and stable supply of oil. Its amended charter includes energy exploration and development. Operations also cover energy development, including indigenous energy sources such as oil, gas, coal and geothermal.

Building an LNG has become imperative for the government in view of the expected depletion of the production life of the offshore Palawan gas project by around 2022 to 2024. Malampaya delivers up to 20% of the country’s requirements to produce electricity. — Victor V. Saulon

Getting into the picture

With the invention of the reversible lens on the camera and the phone, the selfie has made the photographer the subject as well, and star of the photo moment. The photo bomber no longer has to squeeze into the background within camera range to join the big shots. He is now in the foreground with the VIPs behind him.

So, events nowadays have both the official videographer and the roaming guests taking their own photos, moving and still.

Photo moments that aim to celebrate the importance of a milestone like a wedding anniversary, product launch, or an embassy party for the glossies and the news make sure to register the presence of moguls, politicians, diplomats, and celebrities. Of course, there is often a less glittery set that also manages to join (usually running — picture, picture) the shot. These photo-bombers manage to get their faces in the lifestyle sections as well, unless the edges are cropped out due to space limitations.

The recorder makes a scrupulous list of those he photographs to make sure his captions, especially corporate titles, are accurate and timely — she left that network last week. But sometimes, the names are not jotted down for all. A stand-by caption is designated for the third face from the left: “a special friend,” “guest,” or “an unidentified social climber.” The paper does not run an erratum to correct inadequate captions — the unnamed guest in the photo yesterday was actually a gate-crasher that was later apprehended when certain bags went missing.

It is the fate of the non-VIPs to sometimes also be in the picture, even if grudgingly acknowledged. Extras, while mostly anonymous, do make a party look desirably crowded.

In movies, supporting roles make the leads more interesting by providing them glamor, if only by contrast. They are recognized by awards-giving bodies. Still, a movie can enter a maximum of only two supporting stars for nomination. Such peripheral characters though get to be named in the captions.

In basketball, the supporting cast is called a bench which includes any player in the proper gear that is sitting down with the coach at the opening jump. Those on the floor from the start are called starters. In the “graduation picture” after winning a championship, the bench warmers of course get to share in the glory. Still, there is some other extra sitting in with the team. (Is he hoisting the trophy?) He may even be identifiable in this particular role with his photo in the news. For this one, names are not provided in the caption. There are too many.

In posed photo moments that is the favorite of lifestyle pages and magazines, those surrounding the glamorous personalities tend to be overweight, balding (though not in an extreme sports buff type of way), paunchy, and a little less glamorously dressed than the stars of the event. The contrast is intended to raise the star index of the celebrities. Sometimes though the scruffy lookers happen to be the sponsors of the event. Sponsors often invite celebrities who look better than them. It’s also a good way to meet stars — so, how do you like our multi-grain crackers?

The selfie culture has allowed the former autograph hunter to instead have a picture taken with a star. All the celebrity has to do is to stop walking to the exit and stand still beside her fan and give a brief smile. And the latter does the rest.

Such is the lot of celebrities when they attend events which is not before cameras and part of what they do. Walking into a party, shopping in the mall, watching a concert, or just getting out of a car opens them up to being accosted for a photo. And most of the time they oblige, lest they be pummeled in social media for being arrogant.

Of course, CEOs who may also be celebrities, are probably not subjected to this social assault when they mix in with the crowd. They just blithely go about their business, not needing to be accommodating at all. They don’t need fans or votes, after all. And anyway, they are probably not asked for pictures… but for money or jobs.

 

A. R. Samson is chair and CEO of Touch DDB.

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Military denies hand in Saturday’s killing of a progressive group member

THE MILITARY unit accused of being behind the killing of a member of a progressive cultural group and the disappearance of his brother in a remote part of Davao City last Saturday has denied the allegations. Lt. Col. Darren E. Comia, 16th Infantry Battalion (IB) commander, said the family of the victims and progressive groups are simply using the incident as “propaganda.” Members of the 16th IB, a unit attached to the Rizal-based 2nd Infantry Division, were deployed to Davao in May this year to assist in security measures in the region. Militant group Karapatan-Southern Mindanao said the murder of Bernardo Clarion and the disappearance of his younger brother Benjie are part of the government’s attacks against protesting organizations. Jay Apiag said in a statement that the Clarion family “believes that the incident was politically motivated as Bernardo and Benjie were active members of progressive cultural group actively participating in several people’s mobilizations and protest rallies.” — Carmelito Q. Francisco

Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital ‘makes peace possible,’ says PM Netanyahu

BRUSSELS — Israel’s leader said Monday the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s capital “makes peace possible” as he faced renewed pressure from Europe to reboot the Middle East’s moribund peace process.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move by US President Donald J. Trump — which prompted diplomatic alarm and street protests across the Islamic world — had “put facts squarely on the table.”

He spoke as he arrived for talks at the EU, where the bloc’s diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini urged Israel to find a “sustainable and comprehensive solution” to the decades-long conflict with the Palestinians.

The EU expressed alarm last week at the US decision, but Mr. Netanyahu said Mr. Trump had “put facts squarely on the table” by acknowledging Jerusalem had been the capital of the Israeli state for 70 years and of the Jewish people for 3,000 years.

“It doesn’t obviate peace, it makes peace possible, because recognizing reality is the substance of peace, it’s the foundation of peace,” he said in a statement alongside Ms. Mogherini ahead of a breakfast meeting with EU foreign ministers.

The Jerusalem decision upended decades of US diplomacy and broke with international consensus. Ms. Mogherini last week warned it could take the situation “backwards to even darker times.”

Ms. Mogherini said the EU — the Palestinians’ largest donor — would step up efforts with the two sides and regional partners including Jordan and Egypt to relaunch the peace process.

“We believe it is in Israel’s interest, especially in the security interest of Israel, to find a sustainable and comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Ms. Mogherini said.

Mr. Netanyahu has praised Mr. Trump’s decision as “historic” and he explained Sunday that Jerusalem “has always been our capital and it has never been the capital of any other people.”

Both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital and previous peace plans have stumbled over debates on whether and how to divide sovereignty or oversee holy sites.

Ms. Mogherini also condemned attacks on Israel — after Mr. Netanyahu took aim over the weekend at what he called Europe’s “hypocrisy” for condemning Mr. Trump’s statement, but not “the rockets fired at Israel or the terrible incitement against it.”

“Let me condemn in the strongest possible way all attacks on Jews everywhere in the world, including in Europe, and on Israel and on Israeli citizens,” Ms. Mogherini said.

Mr. Netanyahu pointed to a new US peace initiative as a possible way forward.

“There is now an effort under way to bring forward a new peace proposal by the American administration. I think we should give peace a chance. I think we should see what is presented and see if we can advance this peace,” he said.

Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has been working with a small team to develop a new US proposal to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, but it is not clear what progress he is making.

EU NOT UNIFIED
Most EU members, including the bloc’s biggest countries, have expressed alarm over the Trump administration’s policy shift.

Alongside Mr. Netanyahu on Monday, Ms. Mogherini repeated Europe’s stance that “the only realistic solution” for peace is two states — Israel and Palestine — with Jerusalem as the capital of both and the borders returned to their status before the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

But the 28-member block is not unified on the issue — Hungary, Greece, Lithuania and the Czech Republic in particular favor warmer ties with Israel.

And last week Hungary broke ranks to block a joint statement from the EU that was critical of Washington’s Jerusalem shift.

Mr. Trump’s announcement on Wednesday has been followed by days of protests and clashes in the Palestinian territories.

Four Palestinians were killed either in clashes or from Israeli air strikes in retaliation for rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.

Tens of thousands have also protested in Muslim and Arab countries, including Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia. — AFP

Fitch upgrade cheer provides market lift

OPTIMISM over Fitch Ratings’ increase of the Philippines’ investment-grade credit score cured the bourse of initial weakness on Monday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 53.87 points or 0.65% to close 8,358.57 — its best finish in nine trading days — after opening the day 0.10% lower at 8,296.23 and dropping 0.33% to 8,277.26 before closing at its peak for the day. The all-shares index similarly rose 26.59 points or 0.55% to end 4,885.45.

In a reversal of fortunes from earlier in the day that saw most the six sectoral indices losing, five of them ended with gains.

Offshore investors remained predominantly sellers for the seventh straight trading day.

“Locally, the markets cheered as Fitch ratings raised the country’s sovereign rating by one level. This hence provided support to the president’s economic plans, which include a tax reform aimed at strengthening the fiscal outlook,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

Fitch raised the Philippines’ sovereign rating a notch further into investment grade at BBB with a stable outlook, from its previous BBB- minimum investment score, citing strong investor sentiment unaffected by President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s bloody war on drugs that has otherwise earned international censure.

“Strong and consistent macroeconomic performance has continued, underpinned by sound policies that are supporting high and sustainable growth rates,” Fitch had said.

Five sectoral indices gained: mining and oil by 226.45 points or 1.97% to close 11,708.82; financials by 33.57 points or 1.59% to 2,143.90; holding firms by 74.32 points or 0.88% to 8,500.20; property by 29.32 points or 0.76% to 3,897.12 and industrials by 16.76 points or 0.15% to end 11,032.08.

Only services lost, giving up 21.99 points or 1.37% to 1,583.49.

RCBC Securities, Inc. equity analyst Jeffrey Lucero said in a separate text that losses incurred by PLDT, Inc. and Globe Telecom, Inc. capped general market gains “following news of a possible third telco player in China Telecom (Corporation Ltd.)”

PLDT, Globe, Manila Electric Co. and Universal Robina Corp. were the only losers among Monday’s 20 most actively traded stocks, giving up 4.95% to P1,440, 3.98% to P1,690, 1.55% to P318.40 and by 0.35% to P143.50, respectively.

A total of 923.34 million stocks worth P5.85 billion changed hands, compared to Friday’s 1.02 billion shares worth P6.70 billion.

Stocks that gained continued to outnumber those that lost 91 to 63, while 84 others were unchanged.

Net foreign selling persisted for a seventh straight trading day, but at P7.57 million that was just a fifth of Friday’s P37.284 million and the smallest amount in that period. — Arra B. Francia

East vs West

Don’t look now, but the so-called Leastern Conference is holding its own. For some time derided as worse — make that much worse — than the West, it has sent to the playoffs teams that wouldn’t have come close were they on the other side. Not that excellence on top precludes poor performances at the bottom; on the other hand, the fact that the Cavaliers’ run of three straight Finals appearances is attributed less to ascendancy and more to lack of competition en route to the title series speaks volumes.

If conventional wisdom believes in the talent disparity, it’s in large measure fueled by the significant migration of stars to the West in the offseason. An overwhelming majority of the Top 30 in the league can be found in the conference that hosts the champion Warriors, the perennial contenders Rockets and Spurs, the upstart Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Blazers. And even with the underwhelming effort of the Thunder it’s clear that the race against an early exit figures to be hotly contested until the end of the regular season.

Meanwhile, the East has LeBron James, Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo, and a smattering of others to grace its marquees. And it’s telling that the King has his own streak of seven consecutive Finals berths going; the running tally is as much a reflection of his otherworldly nature as of the relative dearth of challengers to the throne. Sure, the Celtics have improved starring Most Valuable Player candidate Kyrie Irving, and the Raptors continue to pose a challenge. All the same, all and sundry believe the wine and gold will be left standing when the battlesmoke clears.

This season, though, the East seems to be bucking the trend. So far, it has battled the West to a draw. Moreover, it boasts of positive point differentials for all prospective playoff participants; meanwhile, the opposing conference has two with net negatives. Then again, only 30% of the schedule has been negotiated, so the momentum could shift back to recent-past tendencies. In any case, final judgment will depend on who will get to wrap their arms around the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Then, and only then, can any quarter truly say the East is a beast, or the West is best.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.

Civil servants with unexplained wealth may be subject to forfeiture proceedings

THE Finance department said it is considering seeking asset forfeitures for officials found to have unexplained wealth.

“There is a presumption in the law that when one accumulates wealth beyond his lawful income, then it is ill-gotten and we can file a forfeiture case under Republic Act 1379,” Finance Undersecretary Bayani H. Agabin said in a statement yesterday.

“If they do not pay taxes, that is tax evasion and they will be liable criminally. Their properties are also subject to levy and distraint. If you recall the case of Al Capone, the authorities filed tax evasion cases against him. That is what we are studying,” he said.

Mr. Agabin said the department’s Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) has sought to obtain the income tax returns of some of the officials and employees under investigation by the office.

Earlier this year, RIPS ordered the dismissal from public service of five employees of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs, while suspending 15 more after they fail to provide accurate information on their Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).

Investigations conducted by RIPS against officials and employees under the DoF’s jurisdiction involve only administrative proceedings that it files either before the Office of the Ombudsman or the Civil Service Commission (CSC) — which prescribe corresponding penalties.

Mr. Agabin has said that RIPS is aiming to subject 70 more employees to routine lifestyle checks before the year ends.

RIPS Executive Director Ray Gilberto J. Espinosa has said that the office is not getting as many dismissals as expected.

He said the investigations cover employees who have acquired real estate and personal property not commensurate to their annual salaries. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

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