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House to continue probe

THE House committees on good governance and public accountability and on health are set to invite former health secretary Janette L. Garin when it resumes its joint inquiry into the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine, according to Surigao del Sur Representative Johnny Ty Pimentel. “We will finalize (the list of resource persons) once we resume session but definitely ex-Secretary Garin will be included (because) she did not attend the last hearing,” Mr. Pimentel, who chairs the committee on good governance and public accountability, said in a text message to BusinessWorld. Ms. Garin had attended an earlier inquiry by the Senate blue ribbon committee but has yet to take part in the inquiry of the House, where she had previously served as a representative. Asked what will be the points of discussion in the next hearing, Mr. Pimentel said: “Actually, we have already asked the pertinent questions but some (congressmen) would like to grill Garin.” Present in the House inquiry before Congress went on a recess were Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, Sanofi Pasteur executive Thomas Triomphe, Anthony C. Leachon of the Philippine College of Physicians Foundation, Inc., and officials of the Formulary Executive Council (FEC). The probe centered on the alleged irregularities in the procurement of the dengue vaccine. Dr. Leachon said that the protocol in the acquisition of the drug was not properly followed by government agencies involved. — M.N. dela Cruz

Spending the 2018 billion-peso budget for overseas Filipinos

During his second State of the Nation Address last July, President Duterte declared that he had “ordered the increase of our assistance to the OFWs from P400 million to more than P1 billion” because the OFWs are “our heroes” and “have sacrificed much for the country.” On Dec. 18, the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs (OUMWA-DFA) held a “ceremonial signing of the revised guidelines” of the promised budget.

As a member of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), an NGO that has been active for 15 years, and, as co-convenor of the Working Group on Migration (WGM) of the Department of Political Science of Ateneo de Manila University, I had the opportunity to attend this event. In this piece, I share the information I gathered and my thoughts on what the 2018 budget could mean for Filipino citizens, in general and overseas Filipinos (OFs), in particular.

GENEROUS PACKAGE
According to the DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, the aim of the budget increase of 150% for the assistance to nationals or ATN fund (from P400 million to P1 billion) and 100% for the legal assistance fund or LAF (from P100 million to P200 million) is to “serve our kababayans abroad — whether documented or undocumented — much quicker and better.” Details of the “revised guidelines” for the new ATN fund were presented by OUMWA Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola while guidelines for the LAF were presented by OUMWA Executive Director Raul Dado.

ASSISTANCE TO NATIONALS (ATN) FUND
The guidelines signal a very generous package for OFs especially OFWs. The ATN fund will now be available for services such as(i) door-to-door repatriation for distressed OFs (i.e from host country to the residence of the OF and not just the airport in Manila), (ii) cremation/embalming services and burial assistance in case of death, (iii) care packages and family visits for OFs on death row or life imprisonment or with life-threatening diseases, (iv) medical and hospitalization expenses for distressed OFs (including expenses of next-of-kin).

The fund may also be used for infrastructure support and capacity-building purposes of the DFA such as (i) opening and maintenance of shelters for OFs, (ii) hiring of additional staff and/or translators here or abroad, (iii) security needs in high-threat areas, (iv) ATN missions, mapping of operations and registration of OFs, (v) paralegal training for ATN personnel, and (vi) online case management system.

An expanded ATN fund is beneficial because existing funds such as OWWA funds are often available only for OWWA members and for registered/documented OFs. With the revised guidelines, even undocumented OFs are now assured of assistance. The increase is also warranted given that OFs in distress have been on the rise. As per data from OUMWA, the reach of ATN funds increased from 11,544 OFW-beneficiaries in 2016 to 14,995 OFWs in 2017, as of Dec. 12.

In 2016, ATN funds were also extended to 348 victims of human trafficking, and, from January to November 2017, to 9,140 “walk-in clients” with various needs.

LEGAL ASSISTANCE FUND (LAF)
In many countries, legal costs are very prohibitive.

The expanded LAF is thus beneficial especially for those who are detained in foreign host countries who cannot afford to pay for legal support.

According to OUMWA, as of December 2016, “18,641 Filipinos were detained in various parts of the world” and as of August 2017, there were 71 Filipinos on death row. Moreover, cases of OFs are wide-ranging: murder, “illegal recruitment, assault with a dangerous weapon, attempted rape, sexual abuse, drug trafficking, human trafficking, assault and battery, estafa, immorality.” The number of LAF beneficiaries have also been increasing, from 312 in 2016 to 685 in 2017, as of Dec. 12.

Like the ATN, the LAF is available for both documented and undocumented OFs who are “unable to engage the services of private counsel, and who is in a country where there is no system of legal aid or public defenders, or where there is no counsel de officio, or any lawyer provided by the foreign host government.” “Utmost priority” is given to “victims of trafficking in persons.”

The revised guidelines for the expanded LAF budget mean a more extensive coverage of services: (i) interpreters/translators, database and case management systems, (ii) public information campaigns and legal advice, and (iii) assistance for cases on appeal. Furthermore, the new guidelines “removed the caps for professional fees, filing and other court fees, incidental litigation expenses, bail bonds, preservation of evidence, witness protection, etc.”

IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING ISSUES
While the fund is clearly generous, there are at least three attendant, potential problems that government, overseas Filipinos and migration-related civil society groups must look out for: (i) corruption, (ii) politicization, and (iii) coordination issues.

The fund for 2018 is “more than 1 billion” and while the DFA Secretary and the OUMWA officials have vowed to “make sure there is no abuse and the funds are used progressively,” the fact of the matter is, corruption is endemic in this society, especially in government.

At first glance, having several budget items is commendable because it means that all needs of OFs are covered, but, it could also mean more opportunities for wastage and leakage. There must be mechanisms to make transactions transparent and government personnel accountable. One way to ensure transparency and accountability is to enhance the role of “independent” bodies (i.e non government and non-beneficiaries) in monitoring fund use — for example, through a participatory performance audit as what CMA did vis-à-vis POEA and OWWA services in the recent past. Said kind of audit is useful because the methodology for coming out with findings and conclusions about government performance is agreed upon by all involved and implementation is participatory. The end result is not simply to ascribe blame or find fault but to create spaces for public conversations — and ultimately, public decision-making — regarding improvements in service delivery.

Politicization of the fund is a problem because taxpayers’ monies are supposed to go to intended beneficiaries, regardless of political affiliation or loyalties. That foreign-based “Duterte diehard supporters or DDS” groups seemed to be the only OF groups represented at the Dec. 18 ceremonial signing (although I could be wrong) was not a very good sign of things to come. While these DDS groups certainly have a stake in the mobilization of the fund, they should not be allowed to monopolize it to the exclusion of non-DDS Overseas Filipinos. DFA will have to devise ways to make sure that said monopoly does not happen. Non-DDS groups like CMA must also continually engage DFA to make sure this does not happen.

Non-DDS overseas Filipinos must not feel that they are not entitled to said fund just because they have divergent political views (or no strong views about politics).

The final issue is also a longstanding one.

Mobilizing funds for OFs involves an array of government agencies here (DoLE-attached agencies such as POEA and OWWA and DFA-attached agencies such as OUMWA) and abroad (Embassies and attached agencies such as the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices or POLOs). Filipinos abroad are not supposed to bother with the delineations between these offices as Philippine embassies are said to be under the “one-country team approach” of Philippine government. This doesn’t mean, however, that coordination problems between offices have already been resolved. In this case, the OUMWA-DFA, as the lead administering agency, must make sure that said problems are avoided and that fund mobilization is done smoothly and effectively.

Aside from abovementioned potential problems, Philippine government will also have to consider the “bigger picture” in terms of rationalizing and improving domestic policy alongside foreign policy.

For example, if free (state subsidized) legal assistance is expanded for overseas Filipinos, should it not be expanded as well for Filipinos who have stayed behind? If legal assistance is made available for OFs accused of drug-related crimes, shouldn’t those accused of the same crimes here also be given their day in court instead of being subjected to tokhang operations, or worse, extrajudicial killings? If government is bent on assisting and freeing OFs who are on death row abroad, why is it pushing for the reimposition of the death penalty law here at home?

Our experience in protecting OFs in-distress must also inform how we treat vulnerable Filipino citizens here at home — and vice-versa. Government must seek not just to protect OFs and manage migration but also to achieve coherence in the local-national-international nexus.

The billion peso fund is a welcome development as it is a big deal for OFs particularly those needing assistance in situations of abuse or life-threatening harm.

Raised through taxpayers’ contributions, the fund should be directed at showing solidarity and seeking justice for distressed overseas Filipinos, instead of being framed as primarily an act of generosity by Philippine government. It must also be viewed in terms of the broader task of protecting Filipinos no matter where they may be — here or abroad.

 

Carmel V. Abao is a faculty member of the Political Science Dept of the Ateneo de Manila University. She teaches political theory and international political economy.

Laguna chocolate maker sources Davao City cacao

By Carmencita A. Carillo,
Correspondent

DAVAO CITY — In 2014, Jackie and Wilson Go, owners of Fabtech Industrial, Inc., a leading supplier of commercial kitchen solutions, were looking to develop a social enterprise and settled on a chocolate venture.

They set up a factory at Filinvest Industrial Park in Calamba City, Laguna for what is now sold under the brand Auro Chocolates — made with cacao beans from Calinan in Davao City.

“We originally planned to build our factory here in Davao but at that time, the city had power (supply) problems and there was no PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority)-accredited zone here,” Auro Chocolates Davao Manager Louie D. Cena, told BusinessWorld in an interview at the sidelines of the Kakao Konek 2017 conference held in Davao City on Dec. 5-6.

Mr. Cena said despite the distance between the raw material source and the production site, the company is sticking to cacao beans from Davao City because of the quality and the ability of farmers to produce their required volume.

Among the sources of Auro Chocolates are the Subasta Integrated Cooperative in Calinan, Fardecosa Cadalian in Baguio District, and the Paquibato Tree Development Cooperative.

Mr. Cena said the company buys cacao beans only from farmer cooperatives who enter into an exclusive contract.

“If they don’t follow our protocols, especially in post-harvest, then we don’t get their cacao as we only want the best ones,” he said.

Auro Chocolate, which was presented at the Salon du Chocolate in Paris in November as part of the Philippine delegation, boasts of being the “finest” from the country, produced with some of the best machinery from Germany.

“We produce the finest chocolates in the country because we have invested in a steel roller machine… so our chocolates have a smooth texture,” Mr. Cena said.

Auro, with more than 20 employees at its Laguna factory, produces two to three tons of chocolates per day. It considers itself a medium-scale artisanal chocolate company.

Mr. Cena said almost 90% of the output is sold domestically, mainly in shopping malls, but the company is targeting global consumers eventually.

He said domestic processors’ output remains small.

“Since we are a PEZA-located company, our goal is really to export so we find innovative ways for chocolate lovers all over the world,” Auro Marketing Manager Kelly S. Go said during the same interview.

Ms. Go said the company is practicing ‘crowdfarming,’ where consumers can adopt a tree.

The crowdfarming concept gained popularity following a Kickstarter campaign that involved 15 countries in Europe and the United States. Auro is the only non-European producer that participated in the agricultural adaptation of crowdfunding.

“Consumers who adopt a cacao tree… get two kilos of chocolate every year,” she said.

The concept, which was recently launched here, had an initial offering of 1,000 trees at P5,000 per tree. Auro sees this as a sustainable farming model.

Ms. Go said this is the “ultimate Farmville” as investors can have their own virtual farm. Auro has equipped its participating farm with a GPS through which investors can easily check their trees online.

Ms. Go said the company has also formed a partnership with Rolando ‘Serge’ Bueno, a retired Philippine Marine from Calinan, for a movement called “arms to farms,” in which retired marines learn the process of cultivating the Criollo cocoa variety.

Mr. Bueno, now a senior citizen, said he has found a new life as a cacao farmer.

Former soldiers, he said, make for good farmers as military discipline easily applies to growing high-quality cacao.

British designer Philo quits fashion label Celine

PARIS —British-born designer Phoebe Philo said Friday that she is quitting Celine, the French fashion house that she has led for the last decade.

Rumors had been swirling since October about the 44-year-old designer, who created a cult following at the label for her hip minimalist style.

Many have talked of her as a possible successor for Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, despite there being little sign that the 84-year-old is ready to surrender his scissors.

Off the catwalk, Philo was also a trendsetter, with her love of white adidas Stan Smith tennis trainers helping to popularize the vintage look.

“It’s been amazing. Working with Celine has been an exceptional experience for me these last 10 years,” Philo said in a statement announcing her departure.

Her exit is the latest in a merry-go-around of departures at the top of the fashion world, with some fearing that the hectic pace of the industry is burning designers out.

Philo made her name as number two to the young Stella McCartney at Chloe, and was known for her no-nonsense, back-to-basics approach.

‘SOBER AND SOPHISTICATED’
She later took over from McCartney at Chloe when she left to set up her own label, before taking two years out to be with her family and have a second child.

Like McCartney, she is a vegetarian who banned fur from her collections, though she continued to use leather at Celine.

Fashion critic Sophie Fontanel of the French L’Obs magazine mourned her departure, saying she was the “opposite of marketing… it’s her clothes themselves that are the thunder.”

“Everything is practical and original, sober and sophisticated, of the moment and yet ageless…. It is hard to see Celine without Phoebe Philo,” she added.

Having boosted sales at both Chloe and Celine despite refusing to have an Instagram account until last year, she is a hot fashion property, particularly admired for her bags.

Philo reportedly flirted with taking the helm at Louis Vuitton in 2011 after the departure of Marc Jacobs, but decided to stay on at Celine.

Bernard Arnault, the owner of the LVMH luxury goods empire which owns Celine, said he was still committed to the brand despite her exit.

“What Phoebe has accomplished over the past 10 years represents a key chapter in the history of Celine.

“A new era of development will now start and I am extremely confident in the future success of this iconic house,” he added.

Several designers have been mooted as possible successors including fellow Brit Christopher Bailey of Burberry, Natasa Cagalj, who also worked with McCartney, and Celine’s ready-to-wear director Michael Rider. — AFP

Local celebrities eyeing sixth ColorManila Paradise Run

CELEBRITIES and athletes can’t wait for the biggest and most colorful run to take place in the country — ColorManila’s CM Paradise Run, scheduled on Jan. 7, 2018, at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Event Grounds, in Pasay City.

Bb. Pilipinas 2017 4th Princess Zara Carbonell says, “The best part of the ColorManila experience is its ability to keep you in the moment, reminding you that it is worth celebrating. Above all, it is the warmth of everyone who joins. It definitely feels like coming home.”

While rugby player Chris Everingham of the Philippine Volcanoes says, “I love it! It gets better and better every year! The best way to start the year!”

TV Host Sam YG, who also regularly hosts the post-New Year run says, “It’s always mas fun, pag may ka-ColorManila run.”

In a live interview for ANC, ColorManila VP Justine Cordero says, “When you start joining a ColorManila race, you go through the race route, we don’t want you to hurry up and just aim for the finish line. It’s not about that. You enjoy the journey, you enjoy each color station, you roll in the streets, we see runners do ‘color angels’ and take photos. Because these memories are going to last forever.”

CM Paradise Run includes four race distances, 3K, 5K, 10K and 21K. The experience will take runners through various color stations with palm trees, garlands and hammocks. This will be capped off with the CM Color Festival where runners will get to groove and dance to the music of the DJ, as they simultaneously throw colored powder in the air.

Runners may also take advantage of the ongoing promotions that CM Paradise Run has, such as — kids under seven years old get to run for free, the Buy 4 Take 1 Rockstar Kit Promo and the 50% discount for OFWs.

As for the kits, runners can choose from the Deluxe Kit, Rockstar Kit, 21K Kit and the VIP Kit. Deluxe Kit, which is priced at P950, comes with a dri-fit shirt, sunglasses, race bib, color packet and finisher’s medal.

While the Rockstar Kit, priced at P1,500, comes with a dri-fit shirt, sunglasses, race bib, color packet, finisher’s medal, drawstring bag and headwear.

The 21K Kit is priced at P1,900 and comes with a singlet, sunglasses, race bib with timing tag, color packet, finisher’s medal and a finisher’s shirt.

Finally, the VIP Kit, which is priced at P2,500, comes with a dri-fit shirt, VIP sunglasses, race bib, color packet, finisher’s medal, drawstring bag, headwear, and VIP Access.

VIP Access includes the following: Access to the Premium Lounge with a changing tent, portalets, special redemption area for baggage, hydration, color packet, and medals. Also, exclusive 10% discount in all CM Merchandise. It also allows access to designated VIP parking at the SM Mall of Asia grounds.

Registration is still ongoing, for more information, visit at colormanila.com.

Putin critic clears first hurdle for presidency

MOSCOW — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Sunday cleared the first hurdle towards taking part in next year’s presidential election, even though the central election commission has ruled him ineligible to run.

Mr. Navalny, 41, is a fierce opponent of President Vladimir Putin, who is widely expected to win reelection in March, extending 17 years in power.

A veteran campaigner against corruption among Russia’s elite, he won the initial support of 742 people at a gathering in a district of Moscow — above the minimum 500 required to initiate a presidential bid.

“There is no large-scale support for Mr. Putin and his rule in this country,” Mr. Navalny told the meeting, describing himself as a “real candidate” for election and threatening a boycott of the vote by his supporters if he is barred from running.

On Sunday evening, Mr. Navalny submitted the documents to the central election commission needed to be registered as a candidate.

The commission, which extended its working hours on Sunday to take the documents, has five days in which to decide whether Mr. Navalny will be registered.

The commission has previously said he is ineligible due to a suspended prison sentence that he says was politically motivated.

“We are capable of opposing the current authorities. Our key demand is to be allowed to take part in the elections,” Mr. Navalny told reporters as he was leaving the election commission building in the central Moscow.

Mr. Navalny has been jailed three times this year on charges of repeatedly organizing public meetings and rallies in violation of existing laws.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in October that Mr. Navalny’s conviction for fraud in 2014 was “arbitrary” and ordered Moscow to pay him compensation.

The ruling party United Russia meeting on Saturday pledged “all possible support” to the 65-year-old Mr. Putin in his bid to win a further six years in power in the March election.

The Communist Party, which came second after United Russia in a parliamentary election last year, named Pavel Grudinin, 57, as its candidate, dropping veteran party leader Gennady Zyuganov.

Another politician who has run before, Sergei Mironov from A Just Russia party, said his party had decided to support Mr. Putin instead and not propose its own candidate.

Property developer Sergei Polonsky, who has been convicted of defrauding investors, also secured enough initial backing to seek clearance from the election commission to take part in the presidential race.

Others planning to run include television personality Ksenia Sobchak, whose late father was Mr. Putin’s boss in the early 1990s, journalist Ekaterina Gordon. — Reuters

Woman lost at sea rescued on Christmas Day

A WOMAN was rescued Monday off Antique by a passing international cargo ship, surviving her four-day ordeal in the wake of Tropical Storm Vinta as she kept afloat on a piece of debris detached from her house in Antique. The cargo vessel spotted Diana Salim, 25, at sea at 3 a.m. on Christmas Day 900 kilometers north of her hometown. The rescuers immediately coordinated with the Philippine Coast Guard, and she was taken to a hospital in Antique for treatment for dehydration and sunburn. — philstar.com

See full story on https://goo.gl/EBL1hb

East Coast’s biggest mall looks beyond retail space

NEW YORK — The scene at the East Coast’s largest mall one recent Friday morning would seem to fly in the face of the doomsday narrative surrounding US retail centers.

A steady stream of holiday shoppers walked the lacquered halls, browsing stores from Gap to Gucci. By noon, a line was snaking out of an outpost of the Shake Shack burger chain.

In the background, changes are afoot to ensure the crowds keep coming. King of Prussia Mall, a 2.8 million-square-foot (260,000-square-meter) shopping wonderland northwest of Philadelphia, is the type of destination center that mall defenders say can defy the rise of online shopping. It’s a sprawling complex that houses stores from all corners of the retail universe, more than 50 food venues and a concierge lounge.

Yet, it still has to grapple with today’s reality, such as a J.C. Penney that shut down in July and left a hole in a key anchor spot.

Owner Simon Property Group, Inc., the largest US mall landlord, sees the closure as an opportunity — to bet on non-retail uses.

For the first time since Woolworth’s and E.J. Korvette opened their doors more than 50 years ago, a sizable chunk of land at King of Prussia will be dedicated to something other than stores and restaurants.

Simon is planning a mixed-used development for the 17-acre (6.9-hectare) site of the J.C. Penney and its parking lot, part of an eventual transformation that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Simon has likened to a suburban version of Hudson Yards, the massive complex of offices, shops and residences on Manhattan’s western edge.

“I don’t think people appreciate how dynamic these properties are and how they evolve over a long period of time,” said Rick Sokolov, Simon’s president and chief operating officer.

It’s a sign of the times that even King of Prussia — which ranks in the top three percent of malls in the country, according to Green Street Advisors — is turning what was once retail space into other uses. With the rise of e-commerce imposing a rapid reckoning on retailers and their landlords, mall owners are turning to everything from restaurants and bowling alleys to apartment buildings and hotels to Internet-proof their properties.

Retail landlords have spent $8 billion in the past three years on updates that focus on experiences that can’t be found online, according to brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc.

King of Prussia already is a destination unto itself. The complex sits at the crossroads of four major highways about 20 miles (32 kilometers) outside Philadelphia. It serves local well-heeled shoppers from the Main Line yet also attracts visitors from northern Maryland to southern New Jersey, Mr. Sokolov said. It’s the second-largest mall in the US behind the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, according to the Directory of Major Malls, though Mr. Sokolov said King of Prussia has more pure retail space.

“King of Prussia fits in a unique bucket,” said DJ Busch, an analyst at Green Street. “Every retailer under the sun is at King of Prussia.

It’s a catchall, and that has a lot of value.”

Mr. Sokolov declined to divulge details of the proposed plan for the mall. On a conference call with analysts in October, CEO Simon said the project could include a hotel, apartments and office space, and had the potential to increase the property’s value from $2 billion to more than $3 billion.

“We’re very excited about the opportunities to implement and add mixed-use components to King of Prussia,” Mr. Sokolov said. “We are working with Upper Merion township to come up with an acceptable scope of redevelopment.”

ATLANTA OVERHAUL
Developers are increasingly turning to mixed-use developments to fortify their retail holdings, sometimes building on the underlying stores to create a downtown atmosphere.

In Atlanta, Simon is embarking on an overhaul of Phipps Plaza in the upscale Buckhead district. It will have the city’s first Nobu hotel, including a restaurant featuring its signature high-end Japanese dining.

It’s not easy to pull off a large-scale mixed-use project, according to Green Street’s Busch. It can be hard to meld different property types, and it’s not likely to work if a landlord is trying to save retail that is already failing, he said.

And it costs money. Lower-tier malls and cash-strapped owners won’t be able to keep up.

Simon, with a market value of almost $53 billion, is better positioned than many of its peers to weather the turbulence.

The Indianapolis-based company is spending $1 billion annually to upgrade its properties, and plans on doing so for the next several years, according to Mr. Sokolov.

He rejects the idea that the redevelopments are a defensive response to the unrelenting growth of the online marketplace.

“A defensive position to me is if you have no choice, and if you don’t spend the money, your property will no longer be relevant,” Mr. Sokolov said.

“We’re spending money to make our properties incrementally more relevant and more attractive to retailers, and generating returns while we do it. I think that’s very different.”

NOT IMMUNE
Even the most successful properties aren’t immune to the forces reshaping the retail landscape, according to Haendel St. Juste, an analyst at Mizuho Securities USA LLC.

Landlords can’t afford to sit on their hands and wait.

“It’s probably fair to assume that they wouldn’t be doing this unless they had to,” St. Juste said.

“You have to reach beyond your group of historical tenants to figure out the highest and best use of your portfolio in a world where there is too much retail.”

It seems unlikely that King of Prussia, where finding a parking spot on a busy holiday weekend is a common complaint, is in danger of spiraling into obsolescence anytime soon. The center has been a work in progress since it opened in 1963, and almost half of the stores have turned over just in the past decade, Mr. Sokolov said. The way he describes tenant turnover is akin to the process of natural selection, leaving the strongest retailers standing.

“Every day every one of our properties is either getting better or getting worse,” Mr. Sokolov said.

“We are totally focused on making sure they get better.” — Bloomberg

Parts of Cavitex upgrade to be completed in third quarter 2018

THE CONSTRUCTION of new lanes on the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) as well as a southbound flyover along the carriageway are set for completion in the second half of next year, a company official said.

“Lane expansion and Pacific Drive flyover will be finished within the third quarter of 2018,” said Luigi L. Bautista, president of MPCALA Holdings, Inc., in a text message.

The lane expansion and the improvement of the surface of Pacific Drive, the small stretch from R1 to Macapagal Ave., are among the upgrades planned for Cavitex.

Mr. Bautista previously said during morning and evening peak hours, motorists encounter a long queue on the expressway, particularly near the Parañaque toll plaza.

Rodrigo E. Franco, president of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), previously said the company was spending P3.7 billion this year for the improvement of services along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) and Cavitex. Close to P1 billion had been allocated for Cavitex.

Mr. Bautista said about 140,000 transactions pass through Cavitex each day, up from the 90,000 recorded when the company took over the operations and maintenance through a government concession.

Once the Cavitex upgrades are completed, an increase in toll fees will be implemented as part of the investment plan. The increase is subject to approval by the Toll Regulatory Board.

MPCALA Holdings and MPTC are units of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo

Family Mart to set up shop near BPO firms

PHOENIX PETROLEUM Philippines, Inc., the buyer of the local Family Mart convenience stores, is targeting employees of business process outsourcing (BPO) firms as its main market more than the customers in its gasoline stations all over the country.

“The priority is to put them in central business districts (CBDs),” said Henry Albert R. Fadullon, Phoenix chief operating officer.

He said that although there are opportunities to put the stores in existing gasoline stations, Phoenix is looking more at taking advantage in the shift in consumers’ lifestyle from commuting to dorming.

“There’s no place for you to cook, to eat, but positioning the Family Mart stores in CBDs you have the opportunity to serve that change in lifestyle,” he said.

He said Phoenix is reformatting Family Mart from convenience stores to provide more option for people to take out something ready to eat. Family Mart is a chain of convenience store that is franchised from Japan.

“In Japan, Family Mart is a major destination for food,” he said.

In October, Phoenix signed a memorandum of to acquire Philippine FamilyMart (PFM), the third-largest convenience store brand in the country. The deal is awaiting approval from the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).

“We have a different partner in Family Mart, a different partner in the gasoline stations. You cannot force a [gasoline station] partner to also franchise Family Mart,” said Ignacia S. Braga IV, vice-president for finance of Phoenix’s parent Udenna Corp. 

Ms. Braga said the plan for Family Mart, should Phoenix secure clearance from the antitrust regulator, is to locate in areas where BPOs are thriving, particularly in business districts of the country’s big cities.

She said about 70% of the gasoline stations are partnerships between Phoenix and dealer operators, thus the decision to put in the convenience stores is not within the company’s control.

Some partnerships also have gasoline station properties belonging to Phoenix but operated by dealers.

“You find somebody who will run it for you,” she said. “[There are] company-owned, company-operated or company-owned, dealer-operated, [or] dealer-operated, dealer-owned.”

She added that Phoenix had not taken over the operation of Family Mart yet because the acquisition is still subject to PCC approval.

“Hindi pa kami nakaupo [We haven’t sat in yet],” she said. “Then first-quarter [2018] would be a big move as soon as we are there.”

Phoenix previously said the acquisition of Family Mart complements its retail fuel business. The deal marks its entry into the fast-growing domestic convenience retail market. PFM has 67 stores in Luzon.

As of the third quarter, Phoenix has a total 523 service stations, or 18 more than the end-2016’s 505, company officials said. — Victor V. Saulon

2017 Russian SuperFinals

70th Russian Chess SuperFinal 2017
St. Petersburg, Russia
Dec. 3-15, 2017

Final Standings

1-2 Peter Svidler 2765, Nikita Vitiugov 2722, 7.0/11

3-4 Daniil Dubov 2683, Vladimir Fedoseev 2718, 6.5/11

5-7 Vladimir Malakhov 2686, Evgeny Tomashevsky 2713, Alexander Riazantsev 2650, 6.0/11

8-9 Sanan Sjugirov 2650, Ernesto Inarkiev 2689, 5.0/11

10 Maxim Matlakov 2735, 4.5/11

11 Evgeny Romanov 2626, 3.5/11

12 Sergey Volkov 2645, 3.0/11

Ave ELO 2690 Category 18

Time Control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game with 30 seconds added after every move starting move 1.

Two St. Petersburg natives Peter Svidler and Nikita Vitiugov tied for first in the tournament proper and then Svidler defeated Vitiugov, 2-0, in the tie-break match to capture his 8th Russian Championship. With this victory GM Peter put some more distance between his record and “the rest of the world,” — Mikhail Tal and Mikhail Botvinnik had won it six times while the attacking fanatic Rashid Nezhmetdinov had done it five times.

Why do they call it SuperFinals? Well, two reasons. Aside from the fact that this is the strongest national champion in the world, the term came into use in 2004 when Garry Kasparov took part for the first time (some of our readers may point out that as a teenager Kasparov tied for first twice in the USSR Championships of 1981 and 1982, but that was for the USSR championship, not Russia) and with his participation it paved the way for moneyed sponsors to come in and give good prizes. For his victory in this tournament Svidler won the first prize of one million roubles (around P850,000) and also a motor vehicle — a Renault Captur.

The venue is the State Museum of Political History of Russia. The Web site of St. Petersburg avers that the “building which houses the museum itself played a significant role in history. This attractive art nouveau mansion was originally built for Mathilda Kshesinskaya, the prima ballerina at the Mariinskiy before the Revolution, and Nicholas II’s mistress before he became Emperor. “In 1917 the building was seized by the Bolsheviks and turned into their headquarters in the city. It became the center of their revolutionary activities, and Lenin made an historic speech from one of the balconies after his arrival in the city. It was later passed through a number of organizations, before eventually becoming the Museum of the Revolution in 1957.”

Playing chess among such history must have inspired the players to fight hard. Unlike the London Classic where only two games in the first five rounds were decisive (Caruana beat Karjakin in the fourth and Anand in the fifth, all other games were drawn), here in the SuperFinals two of the youngsters, Fedoseev and Daniil Dubov sprinted out of the starting line with 4/4 and 3.5/4 (including a win against Svidler), respectively.

Svidler, Peter (2765) — Dubov, Daniil (2683) [A37]
70th RUS-ch SuperFinal Men 2017 St. Petersburg (2), 04.12.2017

1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.0–0 Bf5 7.h3 Qc8 8.Kh2 Nf6 9.d3 0–0 10.e4 Bd7

A bit of a strange setup. White has the Botvinnik English formation but with his knight on f3 instead of e2. It is generally considered that e2 is a better square for the knight, as he does not block White’s f-pawn and can himself go to f4 on occasion.

11.Be3 a6 12.Rc1 Rb8 13.Nd5 Qd8 14.b3 e6 15.Nc3 e5 16.Ng1 Nd4 17.Nge2

See what I told you?

17…b5 18.f4 exf4 19.gxf4 b4 20.Bxd4 cxd4 21.Nb1 Nh5 22.Nd2 f5 23.c5 dxc5 24.e5 g5 25.Rxc5 Qe7!

Black can win a pawn with 25…Nxf4 26.Nxf4 gxf4 because now White can’t take the pawn because of 27.Rxf4 Qe7 with …Bxe5 follow. This was probably what Svidler was trying to egg on Dubov to go for, because now 27.Qf3! (instead of 27.Rxf4) and it is White with the advantage.

26.Qc2

If the rook retreats then 26.Rc2 Nxf4 followed by 27…Bxe5.

26…Rbc8 27.Qc4+?

Svidler didn’t like 27.Rxc8 Rxc8 28.Nc4 Nxf4 29.Nxf4 Bxe5 but in jumping out of the frying pan he fell into the fire!

27…Be6 28.Qxe6+ Qxe6 29.Bd5 Rxc5 30.Bxe6+ Kh8 31.Bc4 Nxf4 0–1

And still Black carries out the combination with …Nxf4 and …Bxe5. Completely disgusted with himself Svidler resigns.

In the second half of the tournament Fedoseev lost three games and Dubov went down in two games and it was Svidler (who finished with four wins) and Vitiugov (who played a calm tournament with no defeats and three wins) who finished tied for first at the end of 11 rounds.

Svidler’s exploits in the Internet Chess Club and also Chess.Com speedplay made him a heavy favorite to win the active tie breaks (15 minutes for the whole game with 10 seconds added to your time after every move), which he duly won.

I think this is Svidler’s best game.

Svidler, Peter (2765) — Malakhov, Vladimir (2686) [C49]
70th RUS-ch SuperFinal Men 2017 St. Petersburg (11), 14.12.2017

Malakhov is known for his deep positional style. Beating him is never easy.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Nc3

Aha! Everybody has grown so used to the Berlin Wall with 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 that it is always a surprise for White to trot out the 4 Knights Defense.

4…Bb4

Black also has the Rubinstein line with 4…Nd4 and 4…a6. Another possibility is 4…Bc5. I remember back in 1999 when we were preparing for GM Joey’s stint in the Las Vegas World KO Championship. His opponent sometimes uses the 4 Knights and just to be on the safe side we prepared something for it. It turns out that the Four Knights is a very rich opening with lots of opportunities for attack or positional play. You should study it!

5.0–0 0–0

From one of my old chess books I remember this game, played at 10 seconds per move during the great international tournament in Carlsbad 1911. 5…Nd4 6.Nxd4 exd4 7.e5 dxc3 8.dxc3 Be7 9.exf6 Bxf6 10.Re1+ Kf8 11.Bc4 d6 (11…c6) 12.Qh5 g6 13.Bh6+ Bg7 14.Qf3 Qd7 15.Qf6 Rg8 16.Bxg7+ Rxg7 17.Bxf7! 1–0 (17) Nimzovitch-Tartakover Calsbad 1911.

6.d3 Bxc3 7.bxc3 d6 8.Bg5 Bd7

GM Victor Mikhalevsky suggests that Black play 8…Qe7 9.Re1 Nd8 10.d4 Ne6 11.Bc1 (11.Bd2!? is rare, but may be even stronger, see Cheparinov,I. — Jakovenko,D./Jermuk ARM 2009.; 11.Bh4 Nf4 followed by …h6 and …g5.) 11…c5 12.Bf1 Rd8 13.d5 Nf8 and Black is completely ok. Gallagher, J. (2521)-Lane, G. (2409) Scarborough 1999 1/2 24.

9.Rb1 a6 10.Ba4 Rb8 11.Bb3 h6 12.Bh4 b5 13.h3 Re8 14.Qc1 Na5 15.Re1 Nxb3 16.cxb3 Bc6 17.c4 bxc4 18.Qxc4 Bb5 19.Bxf6 Qxf6 20.Qxc7 Rec8 21.Qa7 Bxd3 22.Rbd1 Bb5 23.a4 Ra8 24.Qb6! Bc6 25.Rc1 Bd7 26.Rxc8+ Bxc8 27.Qc6 Rb8 28.Qc7 Ra8 <D>

POSITION AFTER 28…RA8

Now that Svidler has immobilized Black’s pieces of the queenside he goes for the kill.

29.Qc6 Rb8 30.Qc7 Ra8 31.Re3!

Transferring the rook to the kingside.

31…Qg6 32.Nd2 Qe6 33.Qd8+ Kh7 34.Rd3 Bb7 35.Qc7 Qc8 36.Qxf7 Qc6 37.Nc4 Qxe4 38.Rg3 Rg8 39.Nxd6 Qb1+ 40.Kh2 Be4 41.Ne8 1–0

Vitiugov is not very well known but he has been 2700+ since 2010. As a sign of his very high class he was fourth in the 2007 SuperFinals and third in the 2009 edition. Nikita Kirillovich has written two books on the French Defense and is a much sought-after second.

His opponent in the next game was Russian Champion in 2000 and bronze medalist in the European Championships twice (2002 and 2008). Also an expert in the French Defense, Volkov is a creative and aggressive player whose games are always enjoyable to follow.

Volkov, Sergey (2645) — Vitiugov, Nikita (2722) [E20]
70th RUS-ch SuperFinal Men 2017 St. Petersburg (11), 14.12.2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 dxe4 7.fxe4 c5

More usual is to open up the Black squares for him to operate against. 7…e5 8.d5 (8.dxe5 Qxd1+ 9.Kxd1 Ng4 regains the pawn with at least an equal game) 8…Bc5 9.Nf3 and now both 9…Bg4 or 9…Ng4 are playable.

8.d5 exd5 9.exd5

White has close to a 100% score with 9.cxd5 here and as a matter of principle I always frown on people taking with the e-pawn instead of the c-pawn in such formations. My take is that by taking with the c-pawn White opens up b5 and c4 for his bishop and maintains a strong center. Taking with the e-pawn forfeits these advantages.

9…0–0 10.Bf4?!

And now White should hurry up and castle.

10…Re8 11.Be2 Bg4 12.Qd2 Nh5 13.Be3 Bd6 14.0–0–0? Rxe3!

The obvious point here is that 15.Qxe3 is met by 15…Bf4. Volkov had foreseen this and prepared an ambush …

15.Bxg4 Rxc3+!

That’s right — Vitiugov had seen all of this as well and prepared an ambush to the ambush!

16.Qxc3

We are back to Black’s original idea if 16.bxc3? Bf4.

16…Qg5+ 17.Kb1 Qxg4 18.Nf3 Nd7 19.g3 a6 20.Rhe1 Nhf6 21.Nd2 b5 22.a4 bxa4 23.Qa5 Rb8 24.Ka2 Be5 25.Rb1 Qd4 26.Qc3 Nxd5! 27.cxd5 Qxd5+ 28.Qc4 Qxd2 29.Red1 Rxb2+ 30.Ka3 Qb4+ 31.Qxb4 cxb4+ 32.Kxa4 Nc5+ 0–1

We will try to squeeze in some more annotated games from this SuperFinals in the coming weeks.

 

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

Tax lobby backs TRAIN vetoes, urges further reforms, amendments

THE TAX preparation lobby said it supports the President’s line-item veto of five tax perks in first package of the tax reform law, but pressed the government to pursue more reforms.

Lawyer Maria Lourdes P. Lim, president of the Tax Management Association of the Philippines (TMAP) said that the line-item vetoes issued for Republic Act No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN), are expected to make the tax system more fair and equitable.

However, she said that the veto on reduced income tax of employees in regional operating headquarters (ROHQ) may need a repealing clause to effectively implement the measure.

“The effect of vetoing the proposed amendment in the enrolled bill means there is no amendment of the existing provision of the law, in effect, (leaving matters at) status quo,” she said via e-mail.

“While we laud the intention premised on fairness and equity, a process of amendment still needs to be followed. The President cannot just automatically remove the affected employees’ entitlement to the preferential rate as he is not the legislature. To effect the intention, Section 25 (C), (D) and (E) of the Tax Code needs to be specifically amended removing such incentive,” Ms. Lim added.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte in his veto message disallowed ROHQ employees from enjoying a 15% special tax rate, and instead put them in the regular tax schedule, putting them at par with non-alien resident taxpayers to promote fairness in the tax system for individuals performing similar work.

Ms. Lim also noted that despite the veto on value-added tax (VAT) zero-rating of sales of goods/services to entities in separate customs territories and outside tourism enterprise zones, it does not simplify the refund system.

“Under the enrolled bill, it is only when an effective VAT refund system is in place will the sale to the affected entities be subject to 12% VAT. But why do they need to go through the roundabout process of refund, i.e. suppliers will pass on the 12% VAT which the registered enterprises can eventually refund since they are exporters whose sales are zero-rated?,” she said.

“Might as well give to them the entitlement at the onset and save on resources for both government and the exporter,” she added.

Jo-Ann Diosana, Action for Economic Reforms (AER) senior economist, meanwhile backed the veto on the earmarking of revenues from the tobacco tax hike, as it would boost health care funding.

“We welcome this line veto on the tobacco tax earmarking in TRAIN, as it is a strong indication that the President and this administration, despite the strong tobacco industry lobby, will ensure the continued allocation of 85% of the incremental revenue of tobacco taxes to universal health care,” she said in a statement.

The original proposal supposedly subjected incremental revenue from the tobacco tax hike to Republic Act No. 7171, which provides financial support to tobacco farmers.

The tax reform law increases tobacco taxes to up to P40 per cigarette pack by 2023, from P30 currently.

However, the group is still supporting further increases in tobacco taxes for the succeeding packages of the tax reform program.

“As such, we encourage the President and Congress to push for even higher tobacco taxes so that there could be more funds for health, a reduced number of smokers, and even fewer deaths associated to tobacco use,” Ms. Diosana said.

She added that the proposals of Senators Emmanuel D. Pacquiao and Joseph Victor G. Ejercito to raise tobacco taxes to P60 and P90 per pack, respectively, would generate about P40 to P70 billion more funds for the health sector, and prevent one million new smokers by 2022.

The Department of Finance has said that it would discuss the Senator’s proposed bills as it drafts its fifth tax reform package — covering health-related measures.

“This will be an even bigger gift for the Filipino people,” AER said.

Other items that the President vetoed include the exemption from the 3% percentage tax for professionals and self-employed with gross receipts not exceeding P500,000, and the exemption of petroleum products from excise tax if the products are used as inputs, feedstock or raw material. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

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