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Drinks, music, sunset at the Cove

SEEING MANILA’s famous sunset inside a climate-controlled dome nestled in the 44-hectare Okada Manila property is the perfect way to end a hectic work day — that’s the proposition of the Cove Manila’s newly introduced Sunset Lounge.

“For tourists in Manila, you should at least see the sunset once,” Heathcliff Motorga, senior manager for operations at the Cove Manila, told BusinessWorld during the launch on March 5.

“Seeing the sunset inside a dome and seeing [it] reflected on the glass makes it much more beautiful. Another good thing is we’re saved if it’s too hot or too cold outside since we’re viewing the sunset inside,” he added.

Mr. Motorga noted that he introduced a similar sunset session at Dubai’s 360 nightspot in Jumeirah Beach Hotel and it was deemed a success, and this success led him to introduce a similar concept in Manila.

The whole point, Mr. Motorga said, is to make the Cove a destination so tourists actually stay in the capital for a couple of days and take in the sights instead of just treating Manila as a way station while waiting for transfers to other islands.

“In the past two years I’ve been in Manila, there are quite a few sunset sessions but they are not a point of attraction yet, and that’s my aim — to see the Cove Manila Sunset Lounge as a point of attraction in Manila,” he explained.

Opened last year, the Cove Manila — a 9,000-square-meter entertainment space featuring a nightclub and a beach club ensconced inside a dome facing the Manila Bay and its famous sunset — was envisioned to change the nightclub scene in the country and the region. The sunset lounge is positioned as one of its main attractions.

“We don’t only sell the music, we also sell the experience, and all for the same money you can spend in any other place. The Cove is not more expensive nor cheaper than any other place, it’s just more value for money,” Mr. Motorga explained.

He added that the lounge is perfect for people aged 25 to 40 who want to wind down after work, listen to what he described as “ethnic-melodic deep house” music, have a couple of drinks, go home, and go to work the next day.

“The music that we listen to here is music they will not hear from radios or other clubs. The music is completely different, something everyone can listen to and like.”

The cocktails available at the Sunset Lounge include the Cove G’ n T (P400), a Gin Mare blended with grapefruit bitters, olive brine, and finished with tonic water. Others are the Spicy Whisky Sour (P500), made up of Jim Beam, spiced honey water, and celery bitters, and El Saraboso (P400), which features blackberry liqueur blended with Cazadores Reposado Tequila, apple juice, agave syrup, and ginger ale.

For bar chow, Cove Manila offers Choripan (P480), an Argentinian sausage on sourdough baguette, aioli, salsa criolla, chimichurri, and house-made pickles with fries on the side; and Cornflake Chicken Fingers (P470) — cornflake-breaded chicken tenders with parmesan and honey mustard dressing.

“We want to create a legendary club in the Philippines and for the world to say that there is a place in Manila where you have to go… [because] Manila people deserve it,” Mr. Motorga said.

The Sunset Lounge is open from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Sundays to Wednesdays, and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays. Happy hour is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. where all drinks are buy-one, get-one. Group packages are also available.

For more information, visit www.covemanila.com and follow its corresponding social media pages. — ZBC

Start honing your business plans

AFTER A successful first season which saw close to $1 million worth of investments given to Philippine start-ups, the reality business TV show, The Final Pitch — fashioned after ABC’s Shark Tank and NBC’s The Apprentice — is back for a second season featuring new mentors and investor-judges.

“I feel that what we are able to accomplish [previously] with the start-ups on the show is no joke — we funded about six entrepreneurs and closed almost a million dollars in total funding. Given the time we had, it was quite an achievement for the show because not only were we able to bridge [businesses to investors] in terms of funding, but we were also able to educate the market that there are funders and who the mentors [are] you can tap,” John Aguilar, president and executive producer of Streetpark Productions, Inc., told BusinessWorld during the show’s launch on March 8 at Manila House Private Club in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

During its first season, which aired August to October 2017 on History Channel, The Final Pitch had as its investor-judges Jose “Jomag” Magsaysay, founder of Potato Corner and now a venture capitalist; Dr. Henry Lim Bon Liong, chairman and CEO of the Sterling Group of Companies and SL Agritech; Joseph Calata, chairman and CEO of Calata Corp.; and Mica Tan, the 25-year-old CEO of angel investing group, MFT Group of Companies.

At its conclusion, the show saw office space solutions platform FlySpace, health insurance platform Maria Health, and grocery delivery service Pushkart.com winning investments from the investors while other contestants were said to have secured investors after the show ended.

“One of the most important lessons we learned from the first season is that we have a lot of start-ups here in the Philippines that actually need a lot of help in terms of how to scale their business,” said Mr. Aguilar, who is also the show’s host.

“Start-ups and the tech industry in the country are still in their nascent stages. A lot of them are having a hard time finding sources of funding and money. This is a realization we’ve had even before. We knew there was a gap we needed to bridge and that was why we created the show,” he added.

The show also shed light on the fact that there are investors who want to invest, but who don’t know where to find good start-ups, he explained.

The new season will start on June 24, 8 p.m. and air on CNN Philippines.

This season, The Final Pitch will have a new set of investor-judges: William Tiu Lim, president and CEO of Mega Global Corp.; Fernando “Dino” Araneta, former president and chief strategy and innovation officer of LBC Express and now CEO of digital logistics company, Quad X; Mikee Romero, cofounding owner of AirAsia Zest Philippines and Globalport 900, Inc.; and Jet Yu, founder and managing director of Prime Philippines.

“We have a completely different set of investors — in terms of industries, perspectives, appetite for risk and investments,” Mr. Aguilar said, further noting that the new set of judges offer a “glimpse of the industries, of the nuances, and we get to see what really made them successful.”

The season also introduces BPI Foundation’s entry in the show as the company is set to offer a P500,000 equity-free grant to a “deserving local entrepreneur of its choice,” according to a company press release.

“Usually, when you have investors who are looking to fund, it’s usually in exchange for equities. In this case, social entrepreneurs that maybe do not have a strong a chance to secure and give up equity, it’s a good opportunity for them to get into the show… with the presence of BPI Foundation,” Mr. Aguilar explained.

Applications for the show’s second season are currently being accepted. The season will start to be filmed by late April. Applicants are required to fill up and submit an online entry form on the show’s official Web site www.TheFinalPitch.ph.

Applicants are urged to submit their businesses for consideration early, as there will only be a limited number of entrepreneurs invited to pitch. Investors interested in becoming part of the show or investing in the entrepreneurs behind the scenes may also get in touch via the show’s Web site. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Facebook moves ahead on music with last major label deal

NEW YORK — Facebook on Friday announced a licensing deal with Warner Music, the last of the major label groups to sign with the social media behemoth which is promising more personalized music.

Facebook’s two billion users will soon be able to post in more creative ways with the catalog of Warner, whose artist roster includes Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and the late Prince.

“Our partnership with Facebook will help expand the universe of music streaming and create supplementary revenue for artists,” said Ole Obermann, chief digital officer of the Warner Music Group.

“Fan-created video is one of the most personal, social and often viral ways that music is enjoyed, but its commercial potential is largely untapped,” he said in a statement.

Warner said it had been holding out for “the best possible deal” after its two rivals, Universal Music and Sony Music, signed deals with Facebook in recent months.

Facebook has said that it is looking at more personalized ways in which users can post music, including through Messenger and Instagram, the picture-driven social media platform owned by Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg’s company has largely taken a back seat on music streaming as other mega-companies such as Apple and Google invest heavily in the growing sector.

While music postings are omnipresent on Facebook, the company has sought to take down embedded content that is copyrighted without licensing.

Fans, when not uploading their own homemade videos, link to other sites such as YouTube and Spotify. — AFP

Healing through scents, sounds

WORKING with a theme of forgiveness, of both the participants and others, a 90-minutes Scent and Sound Healing healing session will be held on March 18, 10 a.m., at Yoga+Express.

The session will use the powerful sound vibrations of a 38-inch gong and essential oils to charge the participant’s energy fields. The vibrations produced by the gong are said to be able to lower heart rate, reduce stress, anxiety and pain as well as improve sleep.

Participants should wear light, comfortable clothes, bring a yoga mat, an eye covering, and a light shawl.

The session is not recommended for women in their first and final trimester of pregnancy, children under seven, and those who are suffering from serious mental health problems.

Entrance fee is P1,000.

Yoga+Express Legazpi is at the Jose Cojuangco Bldg., 119 Dela Rosa St. corner Castro St., Legazpi Village, Makati City. For inquiries, text 0918-888-9198.

Black Panther tops A Wrinkle in Time as Disney dominates at the US box office

LOS ANGELES — Black Panther kept up its record-setting ways in North American theaters over the weekend, easily defeating a challenge from another Disney product, newly released A Wrinkle in Time, to again dominate box offices, industry analysts said.

The Disney/Marvel superhero collaboration took in an estimated $41.1 million for the three-day weekend, Web site Exhibitor Relations reported. That bumped it up to a domestic total of $562 million in its four weeks out, making it the seventh biggest domestic release ever.

The film’s opening in China meantime boosted its international takings to $516.6 million, pushing its overall total past the $1-billion mark.

Panther stars Chadwick Boseman as the superhero king of a utopian if fictional African country. It is now the first movie since Star Wars: The Force Awakens to top North American box offices for four consecutive weekends.

A Wrinkle in Time, a science fantasy adventure that celebrates diversity and powerful women, took in $33.3 million for its opening weekend. Analysts said that was something of a letdown for a big-budget Disney film. Wrinkle has garnered mixed reviews.

The movie, about a search through time and space for a missing father, stars Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Chris Pine.

Its director, Ava DuVernay, became the first black woman to helm a movie with a $100-million budget, Hollywood Reporter said. Black Panther, which was also directed by an African American, Ryan Coogler, had nearly twice that budget.

In third place this weekend was new horror film The Strangers: Prey at Night, from Aviron studios. This sort-of sequel to 2008’s The Strangers took in $10.5 million. The poorly reviewed movie — Variety says it serves up “the same old meat-puppet gore and cattle-prod scares” — stars Christina Hendricks and Martin Henderson as a couple whose house is invaded by three masked men.

Next was Fox spy thriller Red Sparrow, with Jennifer Lawrence as a Russian ballerina-turned-elite spy. The movie, which took in $8.2 million in its second week out, also stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeremy Irons, and Charlotte Rampling.

And in fifth spot was comedy thriller Game Night from Warner Bros., which netted $7.9 million. The movie, starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, tells the story of six friends who get together for beer and games and stumble into a dangerous reality game.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Peter Rabbit ($6.8 million); Death Wish ($6.6 million); The Hurricane Heist ($3.2 million); Annihilation ($3.2 million); and, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ($2.8 million). — AFP

Citizen Jake: Of fathers and sons

By Menchu Aquino Sarmiento

Movie Review
Citizen Jake
Directed by Mike de Leon

FILIPINO FILM auteur Mike de Leon’s varied oeuvre spans musical screwball comedy (Kakabakaba Ka Ba, 1980), dark twisted psychodrama (Kisapmata, 1981), the inspiring politicization of once complacent religious during Marcos martial law (Sister Stella L., 1984), and the harrowing indictment of the so-called hope of our nation, our students’ complicity in mindless institutional conformity as manifested in brutal fraternity hazing rituals (Batch ’81, 1982). Each of these very different films is characterized by a singular intelligence and consummate cinematic craftsmanship.

It has been 18 years since De Leon’s last full-length feature, the slickly clever, dead pan Bayaning Third World (2000). He became to Philippine cinema, what J.D. Salinger was to American arts and letters. Thus local cineastes eagerly awaited Citizen Jake, said to have been three years in the making, and still fresh from the editing room, when it premiered on March 10 at the University of the Philippines’ Cine Adarna.

De Leon has described Citizen Jake as a family drama. It is a reflective, occasionally bombastic narrative of the inner and outer journeys of an erstwhile newsman turned blogger: Jacobo “Jake” Herrera, Jr. (Atom Araullo), whose story is played out against the backdrop of Philippine political wheeling and dealing, killing and whoring, with a teensy dash of romance for the kilig factor, what with two gorgeous leads like Max Collins (an earnest and tender-hearted college instructor) and Araullo.

This may be Mike de Leon’s most personal work to date. Much of the film is set in his grandparents’ family vacation home in Baguio City where the eponymous protagonist chooses to live. A portrait of the matriarch Narcisa de Leon, the founder of LVN Studios, is prominently displayed in the living room. Ominously, Jake hangs on his bedroom wall a large colored photograph of a wrecked red Volkswagen, its innards exposed. It might be the car in which Christopher de Leon romanced Hilda Koronel all over Baguio, in the seminal but bittersweet Kung Mangarap Ka’t Magising (1977), which De Leon had dedicated to his grandmother Doña Sisang, on the occasion of her birth centenary.

Early on, the film reminds us that this is not the dew-kissed, pine-scented, misty mountaintops Baguio of old, but it is still less congested and filthy than Metro Manila. Besides, the Baguio house holds precious final memories of Jake’s mother Victoria (Dina Bonnevie) who inexplicably abandoned her family when her sons were young children. Jake continues to have restless dreams of his lost mother, vaguely babbling with a martini glass permanently fused to her hand. Still he loves this missing parent far more than he does his father, Senator Jacobo Herrera, Sr. (Teroy Guzman), a reptilianly cunning and pragmatic Marcos loyalist who thrives under whichever regime is in place. The senator eagerly awaits the second coming in the incarnation of BBM. The house of Jake’s policeman compadre/informant is plastered with campaign banners for Duterte-Cayetano and BBM, proclaiming “Itutuloy (They will go on).”

It is said that the very old, like the very young, can get away with saying things that might give lesser mortals pause. De Leon was turning 70 when he started filming Citizen Jake. He is of the age and stature where he can let the chips fall where they may. Throughout the film, he proclaims his contempt for the late Ferdinand E. Marcos and his immediate family, with their various cronies, raising howls of shocked hilarity and raucous approval from the mostly baccalaureated movie premiere crowd. One wonders though, how a less educated and more historically clueless audience might react during the film’s commercial run.

The male power of fathers is pervasive, looming larger than life as the Apo, whose mountainside monument Jake sees from his bedroom window even though the film is set in 2016. In reality, this statue was heavily damaged first in 1989 and further damaged in 2002. Towards the film’s end, it morphs into the leonine visage of Jake’s father, Senator Jacobo Herrera, Sr. Even the beloved Baguio house where Jake lives rent-free is in his father’s name.

Try as Jake does to dissociate himself from his father and his cohorts — choosing the ideals of journalism over the material rewards of politics, living away from his father’s domain — the reality is that doors open to Citizen Jake as a journalist because he is the son of Senator Herrera, Sr. He identifies as such when it’s convenient. There’s no getting away from his legal identity, as the most powerful woman in the film, Patty Medina (Cherie Gil), makes clear to him, even as she mocks him and toys with him. The success of her enterprise also depends on the protection of her well-connected male clientele. Her power as a woman is derivative and invisible.

Jake Herrera actually believed he was sincere in wanting to be just a “citizen.” He and Jhonie (Luis Alandy) the son of the Baguio house caretakers, would talk about the time when the social order would be turned upside down. As young boys, they were summer vacation best friends. Yet, when he reached manhood, the trust fund baby Jake never helped his impoverished BFF go beyond a high school education or rewarded his family’s loyal service by helping them to get some security through owning their own home. Believing that Jhonie betrayed him, Jake is sincerely hurt and harshly declares it’s impossible to be friends with someone from a different social class. Friendship Lesson No. 1: you don’t make your best friend get the gate for you or fetch and carry.

Later the senator mentions that one of the reasons for his wife’s disappearing was that she wanted to turn him in, and all his ill-gotten wealth over, to the revolutionary government. Now we know where Jake got his conflicted priggishness. He wants nothing to do with the family business of extortionate, rent-seeking politics. He hates being related to his older brother Roxie, (delightfully played by Gabby Eigenmann), whose peg is Coppola’s Godfather film series. Roxie gets a chance to re-enact a bloody sequence in the Godfather vein, but no big people die. As in real life, it’s the little people who pay with their lives. Remember that saying about how when the elephants dance, the grass gets trampled upon. That happens here too.

Bono sorry after bullying claims at ONE charity

LONDON — U2 frontman Bono has apologized after claims emerged Sunday that workers at his ONE charity were subjected to a culture of abuse and bullying. The Irish singer, 57, said he was “deeply sorry” and “furious” about the allegations, which appeared in The Mail on Sunday newspaper, and pledged to meet victims to apologize in person. The British tabloid detailed a string of incidents, including claims from a married woman who said she was demoted after refusing to have sex with a Tanzanian member of parliament. “We are all deeply sorry. I hate bullying, can’t stand it,” Bono said in a statement. “The poorest people in the poorest places being bullied by their circumstance is the reason we set up ONE. So to discover last November that there were serious and multiple allegations of bullying in our office in Johannesburg left me and the ONE board reeling and furious.” The board of directors includes former British prime minister David Cameron, Facebook chief Sheryl Sandberg, and African telecoms magnate Mo Ibrahim. Bono said things had gone “badly wrong” and he needed to “take some responsibility for that.” He added he would like to meet the complainants and “apologize in person.” ONE describes itself as a campaigning and advocacy organization taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Bono cofounded the nongovernmental organization in 2004. Its headquarters are in Washington. — AFP

Davao-based Skynora opens shared office, BPO space at Robinsons Cybergate

By Carmencita A. Carillo
Correspondent

DAVAO CITY — Skynora Corp., a newly-established Davao City-based firm, has opened a shared office facility and business process outsourcing (BPO) center at the Robinsons Cybergate Delta, catering to the demand of freelancers and online workers and boosting corporate office space here.

“Skynora is our initial venture. We believe it is a good time to tap the opportunity provided by a strong government leadership amid the increasing demand for office space in Davao City,” Skynora Corp. Vice-President Julie J. Go said in an interview with BusinessWorld during the launch of the Skynora Hub last week.

Skynora Hub occupies two floors of the Robinsons Cybergate building, with a total floor area of around 5,000 square meters.

The co-working space is on the fourth floor, with a 491-seating capacity per shift. It also has meeting rooms, lounges, and will soon be offering printing services, lockers for rent, mailbox, and equipment.

The fifth floor is reserved for BPO companies.

Ms. Go said they currently have two foreign locators, but both have yet to give the green light to be identified. One is a US-based company with 246 seats, and the other also an international firm occupying 119 seats.

“The main reason for Skynora is to provide office spaces, but we won’t stop there as we have already forged a partnership with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) for a monthly workshop,” she said.

DOWNTOWN
“We believe this is a good time to take advantage of new investors coming to Davao who demand office space for BPO and outsourcing companies,” she added.

A study by real estate service and consultancy firm Property Interactive Marketing Enterprise (PRIME Philippines) shows a growing demand for office space in the city as of the third quarter of last year.

In the downtown area, there is currently a 95% take-up of office space, while other areas’ take-up ranges between 77% and 93%.

Skynora 2
Skynora Corp. Vice-President Julie J. Go delivers a speech during the launch of Skynora Hub last week. — CARMENCITA A. CARILLO

Raphil D. Saguan, PRIME Philippines associate for capital markets and investments, said in a forum in Davao City last March 7 that the city continues to be a viable investment destination given the available “highly-skilled labor market, extensive infrastructure network, and its competitive ranking.”

Skynora Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Asaad Qureshi, meanwhile, said Skynora Hub offers flexible rates to cover a bigger market, including students and freelancers.

“We are in line with Regus… and our rates are very competitive. We chose Davao because it has many potentials and there are many freelancers,” Mr. Qureshi said.

Regus, an international flexible workspace provider, has a facility in Davao City, which is the biggest among its Philippine branches.

Davao City Investment Promotion Center Chief Lemuel G. Ortonio, for his part, said during the Skynora Hub launch that the opening of office spaces bodes well for the city.

“Your (Skynora) presence in Davao City is indeed timely as the city has been receiving strong interest from potential investors from varying sectors and industries who are looking for convenient, functional and flexible workspaces,” he said.

Mr. Ortonio said the city had about 40,000 registered businesses as of end-2017, a 6% increase from 2016. Last year’s total investment value was P270 billion, 18% higher than the previous year.

“We expect this growth to continue in 2018 with a projected increase of 6% in the number of business establishments,” he said.

Robinsons Cybergate, one of the three Information Technology (IT) Parks of Robinsons Land Corp., is accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

There are several PEZA-accredited IT centers in the Davao Region, namely: Robinson’s Cybergate, Damosa IT Park, Filandia IT Park, Luisa Avenue Square IT Center, Matina IT Park, Ayala Business Center, SM Lanang Premier IT Center, and The Annex-SM City Davao IT Center.

Gov’t partially awards T-bills as rates rise

By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
Reporter

THE GOVERNMENT made a partial award of the Treasury bills (T-bill) it planned to raise on Monday as yields increased across tenors due to the hawkish tone of the US Federal Reserve.

The Bureau of the Treasury’s offer yesterday was met with tenders of P26.6 billion, slightly above the P20 billion it placed on the auction block, but only accepted P13.2 billion amid higher rates.

Broken down, the government just borrowed P7.773 billion in 91-day notes, below the programmed P9 billion despite bids reaching P16.123 billion. The paper fetched a 3.024% average yield, up from the 2.67% quoted in the previous auction.

For the 182-day tenor, only P3.515 billion of the P6.715 billion banks and financial firms wanted to lend was accepted, about half the P6 billion the Treasury wanted to raise. The average yield rose to 3.165% from 2.854% previously.

Meanwhile, the government borrowed only P1.885 billion via the 364-day T-bills even as tenders reached about twice as much at P3.785 billion, below the P5-billion offer. Yields fetched likewise rose for the one-year paper at 3.311% from the 3.04% in the previous auction.

At the secondary market before the auction, the three-month papers were quoted at 3.4523%, while the six-month tenor fetched 3.7143%. The yield on the one-year T-bill was at 3.0441%.

Yields on the papers increased as trading closed, with the 91-day T-bills fetching 3.469%. The 182-day securities saw its rate rise to 3.7321% and 364-day papers also climbed to fetch 3.6851%.

“Again we have to align our awards regarding the rates in terms of our secondaries,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters yesterday when asked why the auction committee decided to do a partial award.

She noted that there is uncertainty in the market over possible interest rate hikes from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as well as the US central bank.

“The bids were higher than our own estimates, given that market has uncertainty over the rate hike. Of course, the trajectory (of the yields) is really going up, but in terms of how many hikes there [will] be for both the Fed and the BSP, so that remains an uncertainty,” said Ms. De Leon.

Traders meanwhile said that the auction results were expected, noting the future rate hikes here and in the US as well as the latest local inflation figure.

“This is expected because of the recent spike in yields across the board, including the US Treasuries…and also the strong numbers like the non-farm payrolls data in the US especially,” a bond trader said in a phone interview.

“Likewise, a hawkish stance from the US central bank,” the trader added.

Another trader said the market was pricing in the latest inflation figure the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released last week.

“Inflation is now higher, so that has an effect that brought about higher yields across. So this is expected,” the second trader said in a separate interview over the phone.

Headline inflation picked up to 3.9% last month using the new 2012 base year, up from 3.4% in January and the 3.1% reading in February 2017. Using the previous 2006 base year, inflation stood at 4.5%, above the BSP’s 2-4% target range.

The Treasury plans to auction off P120 billion worth of Treasury bills and another P120 billion worth of Treasury bonds in the January to March period. This is higher than the P200 billion it offered in the last quarter of 2017.

The government borrows from local and foreign sources to fund its budget deficit, which for this year is capped at 3% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Powering buildings with energy-efficient technologies

By Mark Louis F. Ferrolino
Special Features Writer

AS EXCESSIVE electricity consumption increasingly takes its toll on the environment, building administrators will have to adopt energy-efficient technologies to save power. They can start with elevators and air-conditioning systems.

Rajan Komarasu, group director of Alstra, the commercial division of Concepcion Industrial Corporation (CIC), said that the adoption of environmental-friendly solutions in the country is primarily low, but companies today — especially those that are managed by millennials — are showing interest to try energy-efficient technologies.

“In the last two years, there’s a shift. The management of most of the buildings, of most of the companies, is run by millennials. They tend to be technology savvy, so they want to try out new things,” Mr. Komarasu told BusinessWorld in a Feb. 28 interview.

“We are very confident [that] in the next five years we’re going to see a shift. More and more developers are going to start asking for solutions that can bring up the image of their building,” he added.

Many countries, including the Philippines, depend on non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil fuels, petroleum, and natural gas to meet the demand in electricity.

Almost half or 48% of the total power generation in the country comes from coal, 22% from natural gas, 6% from oil-based generation, and the remaining 24% from renewable energy-based generating facilities, according to a 2016 report by the Department of Energy.

“Imagine the amount of energy being consumed. You’re burning more fuel to generate energy. Obviously, it has an environmental impact,” Mr. Komarasu said. “When you burn a lot of fuel, of course, there’s an accumulation of carbon dioxide that has an implication to climate change and emits greenhouse gases and so on.”

In terms of energy consumption, buildings are the largest energy consumers, accounting for 40% of the total. Air-conditioning systems alone take about 40% of the energy buildings consume, Mr. Komarasu said.

Alstra continuously seeks ways in developing technologies that help buildings save power, he said.

Last year, the company, under its Carrier brand, introduced the AquaEdge 19DV, the next-generation chiller that utilizes lift optimization technology which allows “excellent” cooling efficiency. It also upgraded its existing VRF system under the Toshiba brand with Super Modular Multi System (SMMS) 7. It has an improved energy efficiency of around 15% compared to its older version.

For elevator — which is also an important machinery in buildings — Alstra, under the Otis brand, sets the standard in energy efficiency with the GeN2-Regen. It has an energy saving feature that uses up to 70% less energy than the traditional elevators.

When the lift moves down with heavy load or moves up with light load, the difference in the amount of energy unused is recycled somewhat and fed back to an internal grid to power the rest of the building.

“The amount of money you’re investing in running these solutions can be offset. In some cases that we have seen — by introducing this technology — you can actually get your investment in six months,” Mr. Komarasu said.

He added, “If you start to focus on introducing energy-efficient technologies, you [can] save money from it and you [can] direct that savings to other places… You can also get better image if you have green and sustainable buildings. You can command higher renters and tenants.”

To make buildings more energy efficient, Mr. Komarasu said that building operators and developers must also give attention to the design of the structure up to the installation and maintenance of the air conditioning system.

S. Korean actor accused of sexual assault found dead

SEOUL — A South Korean actor accused of sexual assault was found dead Friday, reports said, as a wave of #MeToo accusations sweeps the country’s still male-dominated society. Jo Min-ki, 52, who had been accused of sexually molesting at least eight victims, was found hanged in a storage area in the building where he lived in Seoul, Yonhap news agency cited police as saying, adding suicide was suspected. Most of his victims were drama students at a provincial university where he taught, it said, adding he had been forced out of his professorship over the scandal, leaving his career in tatters. Jo’s roles were mainly in television series, but he also appeared in a number of films. Allegations of abuse have been made against prominent men in fields ranging from politics to the arts. In the arts, the most high-profile figures to be accused are award-winning film director Kim Ki-duk and poet Ko Un. An actress who refused to be named accused Kim and a top actor of rape, saying she had quit acting afterwards and was in therapy for years. The allegations came after Kim’s presence at this year’s Berlin Film Festival caused controversy following a fine for physically assaulting a different actress. Kim told MBC television in text messages that he was only involved in “consensual sexual relationships.” Seoul poet Choi Young-Mi accused Ko Un, a top poet regularly tipped for the Nobel Prize for literature, of sexually abusing many women in literary circles, after publishing a thinly veiled poem “Monster” in which she detailed her experiences at his hands. His works and almost all references to him and two other alleged perpetrators will be erased from school textbooks, Seoul’s education ministry said this week. Ko denied the allegations against him in a statement to the Guardian. — AFP

BSP warns vs cryptocurrency use

By Karl Angelo N. Vidal

THE CENTRAL BANK is not endorsing cryptocurrencies as mediums of exchange or investment vehicles despite their growing popularity amid continued concerns over the technology.

“To be clear, we do not endorse privately issued cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange. Moreover, given their highly speculative and volatile nature, we do not endorse them as investment vehicles either,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. said in his keynote speech at the Cryptocurrency: The Truth & The Myth forum in Makati City yesterday.

Mr. Espenilla also reiterated the central bank’s stance that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender.

“It is important to note that privately-issued cryptocurrency is not legal tender. Unlike fiat money, such cryptocurrencies are not backed or guaranteed by any central monetary authority,” Mr. Espenilla said, adding that the BSP has the sole power to issue money within the country.

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Etherium and Ripple are virtual currencies that are not regulated by any state or central bank. They rely on cryptography to secure and verify transactions and control the creation of more units.

Cryptocurrencies can also be used to pay for goods through Internet, and can be treated as an investment given their fluctuating valuations.

“Until such time that such cryptocurrencies are able to fully demonstrate stability, the prospect that they will replace fiat currencies appears to be far off,” Mr. Espenilla said. “They’re simply too volatile.”

After Bitcoin’s ascent to almost $20,000 per unit in December, it plunged below the $10,000 mark a month later following concerns of increased regulation in South Korea and China. Currently, Bitcoin sits at the $9,000-per-unit level.

On the other hand, cryptocurrencies’ attractiveness to be used in illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing is another “serious concern,” the central bank chief said.

“This attractiveness stems from the anonymous and encrypted identities of transactors in private cryptocurrencies. It enables them to transact in the so-called ‘dark web’,” Mr. Espenilla explained.

With this, he then warned potential investors to fully understand the concept and risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.

“We earnestly caution the public that before speculating and investing their hard-earned money in cryptocurrency, as with any other type of currencies, prospective investment should know and fully understand the risks involved,” Mr. Espenilla said.

However, the BSP maintained its stance to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies rather than prohibiting it.

In line with this, Mr. Espenilla said it is eyeing to embark on a nationwide public information campaign on cryptocurrencies, together with other government agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“The purpose is to educate the public on what cryptocurrencies are, the uses and risks, related policies and regulations in the Philippines, and possible benefits,” he said, adding that fostering such technology is in line with the BSP’s advocacy of financial inclusion.

In February 2017, the BSP required cryptocurrency exchanges to be registered as remittance companies which are subject to anti-money laundering rules, among others.

Since then, the monetary authority has authorized two virtual currency exchanges namely Betur, Inc. (also known as Coins.ph) and Rebittance, Inc., last year. Twelve other entities are also seeking to operate as a Bitcoin exchange.

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