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David Byrne brings cheer with vision of US ‘utopia’

NEW YORK — Artists and scholars have been churning out dystopian visions since the rise of Donald Trump, but David Byrne is defiantly chipper.

The pop legend and former Talking Heads frontman wants to preserve some of the optimism from his youth, which infuses his first album in six years, American Utopia.

“I realized that I was getting increasingly angry and depressed about the state of the world, or at least where I live,” Byrne told AFP in his office in New York’s Soho, his bicycle stationed in front of neatly classified shelves of books and records.

“But occasionally I noticed some things that made me kind of hopeful,” he said.

The silver-haired 65-year-old began jotting down “reasons to be cheerful,” which he has turned into a series of blog essays and public lectures in Europe.

Among his sources of inspiration — the Republican mayor of Georgetown, Texas, who, citing economic reasons, has moved to shift the city entirely to renewable energy despite his state’s deep-rooted relationship with fossil fuels.

American Utopia began in tandem, with Byrne determined to look up despite the Scottish-born singer’s dismay over his adopted country’s direction under Trump.

“I’m not writing songs about wind power or bicycles or educational initiatives. That would be hard to do,” said Byrne, who is prone to laughing at unexpected moments.

“I write more from the point of view of asking who we are and what kind of people are we. What am I — how do I relate to other people?”

UTOPIA OVER IRONY
The title alone of American Utopia marks an about-face of sorts for the New Wave pioneer, whose bellowing voice deadpanned absurdities in Talking Heads songs such as “Psycho Killer,” “Once in a Lifetime,” and “Burning Down the House.”

In Bicycle Diaries, his memoir of his love affair with cycling, Byrne wrote that when he formed Talking Heads he was “more interested in irony than utopia.”

That evidently has changed.

“I think it’s not ironic,” he said of the American Utopia title.

“I think it’s about the kind of deep yearning that people have for something better than whatever their current situation is, and a kind of hope that such a thing is possible,” he said.

Byrne’s reflections on the album about the American experience nonetheless remain full of abstraction.

“Dog’s Mind,” a dreamy mid-tempo synth ballad, starts off discussing the White House’s relationship with the press corps before Byrne sings, “We are dogs in our own paradise / In a theme park all our own / Doggie dancers doing duty / Doggy dreaming all day long.”

The album’s first single, “Everybody’s Coming to My House,” evokes a dance party with sax, piano and echoes of LCD Soundsystem, while “Doing the Right Thing” erupts in joy in a whirling synth solo.

He built the songs off rough tracks that had been composed by Brian Eno, the ambient music innovator and longtime collaborator of Byrne as well as David Bowie and U2.

Eno notably worked with Byrne on his first solo album, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, a groundbreaking work for its use of samples.

The 1981 album brought in West African rhythms and Arabic pop, presaging Byrne’s deep interest in world music that included founding the Luaka Bop label.

“I think we have stayed friends because we often talk about things other than music,” Byrne said of Eno. “So it’s not like a business relationship and it changes all the time.”

REFASHIONING STAGE
For American Utopia, Byrne is putting on what he calls his most ambitious performances since the classic 1984 Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense.

The latest tour, which includes a set at top US festival Coachella, takes place on a sleekly minimalist stage, with all instruments portable and no cords, road cases or stagehands lurking in the corner.

“It’s all about us, and I don’t mean that in an egotistical way. It’s all about the performers — the human beings, the people making the music,” he said.

Byrne, who became a US citizen before Barack Obama’s second election in 2012, said he brought along on a previous tour a copy of Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic Democracy in America about the US experiment in the early 19th century.

Byrne said he had long believed that the United States, for all its imperfections, “stood for ideas that were inspiring to other people around the world.” But with age, he said he felt greater disillusion.

“So now I wonder — what’s left? Some of that hope, that yearning, is still there. And you wonder, where does it lead?” — AFP

A lot better than its ancestry

By Alexander O. Cuaycong and Anthony L. Cuaycong

IT ISN’T HARD to think badly of Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet (SAO) just from saying the title out loud. SAO games haven’t lived up to the popularity of their anime counterparts, due in large measure to numerous mistranslations, glitchy programming, and generally less-than-stellar game design spread across multiple platforms. While the SAO series has had some interesting releases here and there, fans know better than to hold high expectations for the most part.

At first glance, SAO: Fatal Bullet certainly doesn’t impress. It follows the events of SAO: Hollow Realization and loosely parallels the Phantom Arc portion of the original story, where the SAO main characters create new avatars in a totally different game called Gun Gale Online (GGO). Taking the role of a new player in GGO, you’ve just been shown the ropes by your childhood friend Kureha before you’re suddenly thrust into a story concerning Kirito and his gang, an intelligent AI by the name of ArFA-sys and a narrative that explores the world of GGO and the mysteries it holds.

Essentially, SAO: Fatal Bullet is every SAO story ever told as seen through the eyes of a newcomer. While predictable and, at times, rather boring, however, it thankfully tries to string together the narrative with multiple cutscenes and varying perspectives. While nothing groundbreaking, what it does is at least serviceable, if a little long-winded.

Most importantly, SAO: Fatal Bullet distinguishes itself from its other siblings through its gameplay. Moving away from their slower and cumbersome fighting mechanics, it takes elements from the third-person-shooter genre and incorporates them with role-playing-game elements, creating a welcome blend of story and action. Players can choose from a multitude of ranged and melee weapons. From swords to pistols to shotguns to rifles; name them, and chances are they can be had. The variety is astounding, and, combined with unlockable skills, they add to its already-fast pace. The act and art of weaving and dipping and rolling in the face of enemy gunfire is exhilarating and is definitely its strongest point.

Granted, SAO: Fatal Bullet may well wear out its welcome a few hours in, with bland environments recycled much too often for players not to notice. Enemy and allied AI are also strangely lackluster, and while the quality of the opposition doesn’t really impact the level of enjoyment, it sometimes turns the game into a veritable duck-hunting session, especially when combined with the game’s helpful — and ultimately overpowering — auto-aim system.

Still, SAO: Fatal Bullet has enough going for it to overcome its frailties and emerge as a satisfying third-person shooter. It’s a lot better than its ancestry in style, design, and smoothness. Moreover, it manages to blend its chaotic gunplay with a solid RPG system, offering plenty of choices in equipment and upgrades. For all its seeming lack of difficulty, it’s a good buy for fans of the SAO series, as well as for those looking for depth in their adrenaline rushes.

Video Game Review

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet
PlayStation 4

THE GOOD

• Diverse combat customization options with heady RPG elements

• Good amount of content apart from the main story

• Runs smoothly with no hiccups

• Interesting character design

THE BAD

• Repetitive environments and enemies

• Relative lack of difficulty, with the auto-aim system too much of a good thing

• Uninteresting main story with generic plot twists

RATING: 7.5/10

Lionel Richie honored at Hollywood ceremony

Lionel Richie honored at Hollywood ceremony

LOS ANGELES — Four-time Grammy winner Lionel Richie cemented his legacy in Hollywood Wednesday, plunging his feet and hands into a wet paving slab at the forecourt of the iconic TCL Chinese Theater.

The 68-year-old R&B singer, a former front man for Motown legends The Commodores, has sold more than 100 million records over a career spanning six decades.

“This is almost beyond the childhood dream,” Richie told AFP at the ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard, a time-honored tradition launched in the 1920s.

“When I first came to this town, the Holiday Inn was back there, right behind me, and the first thing I did was run out the room, came downstairs and put my feet in all the hands and feet on the ground. Now, my hands and feet are going into this thing, it’s almost beyond belief.”

Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, fresh off his Oscars hosting duties, presented the ceremony while veteran actor Samuel L. Jackson was on hand to support Richie, who told the crowd the honor was an “out-of-body experience.”

Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. was born on June 20, 1949 and raised on the private, historically black Tuskegee Institute university campus in Alabama, where his family had worked for generations.

A high school tennis star, he accepted a scholarship to study at the institute but dropped out and seriously considered becoming a priest for a while.

He formed a series of bands and, while still at college in 1968, joined aspiring Motown group The Commodores, playing saxophone and singing.

He went on to write some of his most enduring songs for the group, including “Still,” “Sail On,” “Easy,” and “Three Times a Lady,” which earned a 1979 American Music Award and a People’s Choice Award.

MOTOWN HITS
He later wrote “Lady” for Kenny Rogers and had a huge hit alongside Diana Ross with “Endless Love,” which became the most successful single in Motown history, topping the US charts for nine weeks.

Alongside Michael Jackson and Prince, he was one of the most successful male solo artists of the 1980s, with a run of 13 consecutive top 10 hits in the US Billboard charts, five of them number ones.

He scored a major hit with “All Night Long,” and won an Oscar for “Say You, Say Me,” written for the film White Nights. His Grammys include the 1985 Song of the Year prize for “We Are the World,” co-written with Jackson.

Richie managed a nine-year streak of writing at least one number one single a year — a feat matched only by Irving Berlin — enjoying much of his success internationally, with a particularly strong following in the Arab world.

But his run came to an end in 1987 and Richie took some time out, coming back in the 1990s, with mixed results.

Despite the runaway success of “Hello,” Richie has said he came to resent being classified as a balladeer and chose simply to follow his artistic senses.

“I developed into something that even I did not know who I was,” he said at a Songwriters Hall of Fame gala in New York in 2016.

“All the songs that I created were the songs that they told me would ruin my career.”

An avid gardener, Richie has said that if he weren’t a musician, he would be a landscape architect or interior designer. — AFP

Easing the burden of rare diseases

WHEN TAKEN COLLECTIVELY, rare diseases are not that rare at all. At the moment, there are about 7,000 diseases that are considered “rare” because they each affect less than 200,000 people in one particular group or country.

For example, cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder caused by a gene mutation. It causes the body to produce thick sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and blocks the pancreas, causing severe damage to the lungs, digestive system, and other organs in the body.

Cystic fibrosis is just one of the thousands of rare diseases. About 80% of rare diseases have identified genetic origins while others are the result of bacterial or viral infections, allergies, and environmental causes, or are degenerative and proliferative. About 50% of rare diseases affect children. While rare diseases encompass a diverse range of disorders and symptoms, all are invariably debilitating, progressively degenerative, and may be life threatening. The lack of scientific knowledge and quality information on rare diseases often delays diagnosis. And the fact that there are often no existing cures for many of the rare diseases adds to the pain and suffering endured by patients and their families.

In the Philippines, the Department of Health (DoH) considers a disease rare when it affects one patient in every 20,000 people in the country. Most often, people with rare diseases may have significantly reduced quality of life and are often dependent on other people to attend to their basic needs. They also need lifelong medical care, medications, and multidisciplinary therapies to alleviate the symptoms and effects of the disease.

Signed into law in March 2016, Republic Act 10747 mandates the government to develop a comprehensive policy to address the needs of Filipinos with rare diseases. Also known as the Rare Diseases Act, the law aims to improve rare disease patients’ access to comprehensive medical care; set up a Rare Disease Registry to inform policy making, identify interventions, and design research studies on rare diseases; and promote public awareness on rare diseases, among others. Notably, the law designates persons with rare diseases as persons with disabilities.

In 2017, the DoH in partnership with the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health held the 1st Philippine Rare Disease Symposium where they committed to create a system for the identification, management, and registration of persons with rare diseases, including an effective referral system for enhanced access to support, treatment, and information. They will also form a technical group to identify the necessary treatments and services, and to ultimately incorporate these in the medical assistance programs and PhilHealth benefits package provided by the government. The DoH also committed to develop the expertise of local health care professionals in diagnosing, treating, and managing patients with rare diseases.

Despite numerous challenges due to the complexities of rare diseases, biopharmaceutical companies have committed to enhance scientific understanding and find potential therapies to ease the burden of patients and their families.

At present, there are more than 560 medicines in development for patients with rare diseases, according to a report by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

Medicines currently in development include the following:

• 151 for rare cancers and 82 for rare blood cancers;

• 148 for genetic disorders, including cystic fibrosis and spinal muscular atrophy;

• 38 for neurological disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and seizures;

• 31 for infectious diseases, including rare bacterial infections and hepatitis; and,

• 25 for autoimmune diseases, including systemic sclerosis and juvenile arthritis.

The PhRMA report said that there remain scientific and medical gaps in knowledge regarding the natural history of rare diseases. “The underlying biology of the disease may be very complex and poorly understood, and research to fill in the gaps can be difficult and time-consuming given the small numbers of people with the rare disease. Continued research and improved understanding of rare diseases will accelerate the development of medicines for rare diseases,” the report added.

TEODORO B. PADILLA is the executive director of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP). Medicine Cabinet is a weekly PHAP column that aims to promote awareness on public health and health care-related issues. PHAP and its member companies represent the research-based pharmaceutical and health care industry.

medicinecabinet@phap.org.ph

France to fine companies if gender pay gaps not erased

PARIS — French companies will have three years to erase their gender pay gaps or face possible fines under plans presented by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Wednesday to unions and employers.

Men are on average paid 9%more than women in France, even though the law has required equal pay for the same work for the past 45 years, the government said.

Under the plans, companies with more than 50 employees will be required to install special software hooked up directly to their payroll systems to monitor unjustified pay gaps.

The aim was to roll out the software in companies with more than 250 employees next year and in 2020 for firms with 50 to 249 workers.

If a company fails to erase a pay gap detected by the software over three years, labor inspectors could impose a fine of up to 1% of the firm’s wage bill.

“The software is not a magic wand, but it will reveal certain differences in the pay between men and women,” Philippe told journalists after meeting with unions and employers.

The government aims to iron out the details in the coming month with employers, unions and experts and include the plans in a broader labor reform package to be presented to parliament next month.

Companies will also have to be more transparent about their gender pay gaps: they will be required to publish them on their Web sites and internally unions will have access to data by job role and seniority.

The government’s plan met with concern among employers who attended Philippe’s presentation.

“The additional burden must not be counter-productive, deactivating entrepreneurs,” said Jean-Michel Pottier, vice-president of the CGPME federation of small company employers.

Union leaders who attended Philippe’s presentation were open to the government’s plan, but some also had reservations about what criteria would be used for determining whether a pay gap existed. — Reuters

With Manila condo, TLDC targets college students

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

TORRE LORENZO Development Corp. (TLDC) turned over its P2.37-billion residential condominium across the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila on Thursday, with more than 80% of the units sold.

“We are building upgraded residences for students, we want to make sure that is very similar to their homes, that’s why we have university condos near schools,” TLDC President and Chief Executive Officer Tomas P. Lorenzo told reporters on the sidelines of the turnover ceremony in España Boulevard, Manila.

Located seven minutes away from UST, Torre Central’s units range from 16.55 to 37 square meters, with the most affordable ones priced at between P2.7 million to P3 million.

TLDC said it has sold 86% of the 475 units in the building, with the remaining 14% kept as part of the company’s policy to lease out the units by itself to boost recurring income.

Amenities at Torre Central include study rooms, meeting rooms, a fitness gym, and swimming pool.

Entrance to the building features RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology, which immediately sends notifications to parents of student residents when they leave and come back to the premises.

The company is targeting the high-end market for the project, not just university students, but also young professionals and overseas Filipino buyers.

“We’re hitting a certain market, the budget is P15,000 to P20,000 per month. We’ve been doing this since 2001, so we know there’s a market. You’re getting hotel quality. The management is hotel level,” Mr. Lorenzo said.

Torre Central is the TLDC’s fourth completed residential condominium, following its buildings near the De La Salle University along Taft Avenue and near the University of Perpetual Help in Las Piñas.

The company has three more similar projects in the pipeline, as it is now building the third Torre Lorenzo along Taft Avenue, near the University of the Philippines Manila, and near the Ateneo de Manila University in Katipunan, Quezon City.

Apart from student residences, TLDC is also ramping up its portfolio in the hospitality sector with the construction of four hotels set to be completed in the next five years.

The company targets to generate P2.4 billion in reservation sales this year, 38% higher than what the P1.8 billion it generated in 2017. TLDC currently has a P6.2-billion inventory for student residences.

Mandated lending concerns

Nestor V. Tan, BDO Unibank, Inc. president, gave a very incisive talk to the FINEX general membership recently on the state of the banking industry in the Philippines. He discussed the need for balance in the approach to the regulation of the industry which has seen a major shift in priorities. Prior to the global financial crisis, regulations encouraged economic growth over stability. The present state has shifted towards the other extreme, with the need to ensure stability taking precedence over growth. He also discussed the differences between the developed world and the Philippines, asking in the process whether the regulatory framework should consider said differences. Among these distinctions between the developed countries and ours are: (a) overbanked vs unbanked; (b) dispersed ownership vs. family controlled setup; (c) service fees vs. intermediation fees; (d) transactional vs. relationship banking; and (e) emphasis on internal profits vs growth. He likewise identified key metrics of the Philippine banking industry vis-à-vis its peers like Indonesia, Thailand and India.

As Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) president, I am sure Mr. Tan’s speech will receive a lot of attention from our regulators. We expect and hope that his exposition will trigger a review of regulation so that it can be fine-tuned to be responsive to the needs of the country at this stage of economic development.

In this column, my focus would be on one aspect of the critique on regulation — mandatory lending. Three points were made related to this policy intervention. One, in terms of efficiency pain points, the compliance cost as a percentage of revenue in the Philippines is quite high, around 8-9%, which exceeds the 6-7% of Indonesia and the 3-4% of India. Contributing to regulatory cost is mandated lending although it adds less than 1%. Two, the mandated lending for agri-agra in the first quarter of 2016 was shown to be P744.3 billion. Yet the cost of production for all areas planted/harvested for the same period was only P329.5 billion, of which technically the credit requirement for the planted/harvested area would only sum up to P197.7 billion. This is as per data from the Agriculture Credit Policy Council. In other words, the presentation illustrates that the mandated loans is over 300% the needs of the sector. Finally, the mandatory allocation rule is a one size fits all policy not cognizant of bank differentiation whether in size or market focus.

The presentation makes a way clear case for reviewing and even scrapping the mandatory lending requirement. It is poorly designed and it forces lending to a sector whose needs do not reflect such volume of support. It is not market friendly and it forces financial institutions to lend to a sector that it is not designed to serve, thus exposing them to heightened risk level. Their lending decisions can be distorted and there is a potential damage to the banking sector out of bad loans that can lead to the deterioration of health of financial providers.

This writer totally agrees that the agri-agra mandated lending rule is out of sync with market realities. However is the same argument valid when mandating lending to MSMEs?

In the same presentation, the metric of credit to SMEs as a percentage of gross domestic product for 2015 was shown. The Philippine record is 3.7% which pales in comparison to Indonesia’s 10.7% and Thailand’s 42.1%. As a response, the BAP is providing policy inputs to support financial inclusion for unbanked and underbanked individuals and SMEs. Also it is recognized that 69% of Filipinos don’t have an account at formal institutions, while 47% borrow money, but mostly from informal sources (72%) and only few from banks (4%).

For this reason, I would argue that there is still space for a reasonably designed mandatory lending policy in the MSME field considering that 99% of all enterprises in the Philippines are still in this category. With MSMEs contributing up to 30% of the country’s gross value added, would it be too much to ask that these MSME’s get at least 10% share of intermediation flows from our banking sector. However, the definition of who should benefit from the priority lending regulation needs to be re-examined and the mechanics enhanced by way of incentives as against pure penalty. Clearly, the unreasonable issues concerning the agri-agra mandate with its supply-demand mismatch is polluting the good intent of the MSME mandate.

Without some kind of intervention, studies clearly show that banks will engage in credit rationing due to uncertainty issues such as agency problems, asymmetric information, adverse selection, and monitoring problems. The credit-rationing problem is more pronounced in the SME sector because of size, volatility of earnings, opaqueness or lack of transparency, governance, lack of distinction between the business and the enterprise person, etc. The situation is aggravated by structural rigidity in the legal, institutional, and regulatory framework. The tendency to exclude SMEs from lending becomes more pronounced.

The primary rationale for advocating priority lending is market failure when money fails to flow to areas and sectors due to perceived risk as well as urban bias. It constitutes affirmative action so that resources are channeled to vulnerable sectors of the economy, which nonetheless has the potential to increase productivity and spur economic development. It is also part of an inclusive policy so that the small and disadvantaged are able to equitably participate in national growth.

 

Benel D. Lagua is Executive Vice-President at the Development Bank of the Philippines. He is an active FINEX member and a long time advocate of risk-based lending for SMEs.

Your Weekend Guide (March 9, 2018)

Rex Smith returns for concert

AMERICAN singer-actor Rex Smith returns for an exclusive one-night only concert entitled Broadway and Beyond on March 14, 8 p.m., at the Newport Performing Arts Theater at Resorts World Manila. Having performed on Broadway stages for over 30 years, the pop singer will be singing Broadway hits from The Phantom of the Opera, Grease, Jesus Christ Superstar, to The Sound of Music, along with his hits “Simply Jesse,” “Let’s Make a Memory,” “You Take My Breath Away,” “Everlasting Love,” and “Speechless” among others. He will be joined onstage by young Filipino singers Lilibeth Garcia, JV Decena, and Joaquin. Tickets are now available at the RWM Box Office and all TicketWorld outlets.

Dalagita by Dulaang UP

DULAANG UP’s Ang Dalagita Ay ’Sang Bagay Na Di-Buo, an adaptation of Eimear McBride’s novel A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing, directed by Jose Estrella from Rody Vera’s Filipino translation of the adaptation by Annie Ryan features Skyzx Labastilla as Dalagita, playing her from fetus to young womanhood, and everyone she meets throughout her life. Alternating in the role are Missy Maramara, Opaline Santos and Hariette Damole. There are performances on March 7, 8, 9 at 7 p.m., and March 10 and 11 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theatre, Palma Hall, UP Diliman. For inquiries, call the Dulaang UP office, 926-1348 or 981-8500 local 2449.

Jef Cablog’s Confluence

ALLIANCE Française de Manille, with the support of Galerie Francesca and the Embassy of France, presents Confluence, the 5th solo exhibition of Jef Cablog until April 20 at the Alliance Française de Manille Gallery. The exhibit features mixed media works and paintings in relation to environment degradation and overconsumption.

Nenita and Ninay dolls

FESTIVAL MALL in Alabang, Muntinlupa City is celebrating International Women’s Month with a showcase of a dozen of Patis Tesoro’s Nenita and Ninay dolls, dressed in their best Filipiniana finery. The dolls are on exhibit at Festival Mall’s Expansion Hall, Upper Ground Floor, Expansion Wing from March 8 to 18.

Fassbinder films shown

THE GOETHE-INSTITUT Philippinen presents a retrospective of the works of German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Eleven of his films including a documentary about him will be screened for free every weekend in two venues: the Ili Likha Artists Village in Baguio from March 10 to April 1, and the Cinematheque Centre Manila from April 7 to April 22.

Himala: Isang Musikal

AICELLE SANTOS stars as Elsa, a young woman who is looked upon as her desperate town’s savior, in Himala: Isang Musikal. The last show will be on March 10, 8 p.m., at the PowerMac Center Spotlight, Circuit Lane, Circuit Makati, Makati City. The musical is based on the 1982 Ishmael Bernal film starring Nora Aunor. For tickets, visit TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

’Night, Mother

PETA closes its 50th theater season with Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer-prize winning drama, ’Night, Mother, featuring Eugene Domingo and Sherry Lara. The show runs until March 18 at the PETA Theater Center, No. 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City. For tickets and schedules, visit TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Kinky Boots returns

ATLANTIS’ production of the musical that earned every Best Musical award including the Tony, the Grammy, and London’s Olivier Award, returns with performances until March 18 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Makati City. With music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, and directed by Bobby Garcia, Kinky Boots is about Charlie, a struggling shoe factory owner, who teams up with Lola, a crossdressing entertainer, to save the business. For tickets and schedules, visit TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Silent Sky

REPERTORY PHILIPPINES presents Lauren Guderson’s Silent Sky from March 2 to 25 at the Onstage Theater in Greenbelt 1, Makati City. Directed by Joy Virata, the show tells the true story of astronomer Henrietta Levitt and her discoveries in the 1920s. For tickets and schedules, visit TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Spanish films

TO CELEBRATE International Women’s Day, Instituto Cervantes treats moviegoers to “Espacio femenino: Spanish Female Directors,” a series of movies directed by Spanish female filmmakers. The film cycle, held every Saturday, 6 p.m., at the FDCP Cinematheque Manila, aims to highlight the relevance of female filmmakers in the film industry. On March 10, Leticia Dolera’s 2015 comedy Requisitos para ser una persona normal (Requirements to Be a Normal Person) will be screened. This will be followed by Vicky Calavia’s 2017 documentary María Moliner on March 17, and a series of short films called Riot Girls: Españolas en corto on March 24. Entrance is free on a first-come, first-served basis. For details, visit http://manila.cervantes.es.

Music at Shangri-La

IT’S a musical March at Shangri-La Plaza, with all girl acoustic group The Three of Us on March 10, 6:30 p.m., at the East Atrium, followed by South Border performing its famous R&B classics at 7 p.m. Throwback Thursdays continues on March 15 with a playlist of memorable songs from ABBA, and March 22 will feature the Carpenters, performed by the Bernie Pasamba Quartet. Former Side A front man Joey Generoso will perform his newest rock ballads on March 24, 7 p.m., at the Grand Atrium.

Amorsolo at Yuchengco

THE Yuchengco Museum and Young Artists Studio will hold Back to Basics, a drawing and art appreciation workshop inspired National Artist Fernando Amorsolo. The three-day course, facilitated by Avie Felix and Oliver Ramos, will be held on March 10, 17 and 24, 2 p.m.-5 p.m., at the Yuchengco Museum, The price of P6,800 is inclusive of materials. There will also be a talk called “Conversations: Remembering Amorsolo,” with art critic and historian Cid Reyes and Sylvia Amorsolo-Lazo, the daughter of Fernando Amorsolo, on March 10, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Entrance is P300. For reservations, e-mail info@yuchengcomuseum.org or call 889-1234. The Yuchengco Museum is at RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Senator Gil J. Puyat Aves., Makati City.

Comedy nights

COMEDY MANILA presents Funny Fridays: Can’t Stop Laughing at 8:30 p.m. every Friday at the Teatrino in Promenade Greenhills, San Juan. For tickets (P500) and schedules, visit TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

When the CEO wants to cheat on taxes

I’m the accounting manager at a medium-sized corporation engaged in food manufacturing. It’s about my new boss and the CEO of our company who wants me to shave something out of our gross income so that we’ll pay the lowest possible tax to the government and put up a bigger net profit. I’m afraid of losing my job of 25 years. I’m too old to seek employment elsewhere. What can I do? — In a Dilemma.

We owe it to ourselves to succeed. After that, everything we owe to the national internal revenue agency. Really, it’s an ethical issue that will depend on your personal values as there are ethical issues that can be described at times as exceedingly complex, when you must consider a bigger context, like the possible closure of your organization and dismissal of people as a result of tax cases that may be filed later on.

This is not to mention the possibility of the company officials being dragged into a legal controversy.

Managerial ethics are difficult to define in an exact manner. However, it can be best understood when compared with the requirements of the law and the individual’s free choice as reflected in our own personal values.

In your situation, tax evasion is illegal per se. However, if you don’t follow the instructions of the CEO, you may be in for bigger trouble. Your boss may put you in hot water or put you in the freezer for some time where you can do nothing.

Of course, you can retaliate by filing a labor case. Now, if that happens you may prepare for a bigger battle more than you can imagine. On the other hand, the CEO and the organization are aware of the possibility that you may use the illegal request as a defense and may withhold their fire.

Instead, it may offer you a handsome separation package, should you wish to resign sand save yourself the trouble.

Many ethical cases involve a conflict between one’s personal values and the organization, if not the organization versus society and the government as a whole. Which one should prevail — your individual concerns or the organization’s objective of profitability, in general?

One recent ethical test case is the infamous vaccine that has been in the news in our jurisdiction. In this case, should this kind of vaccine which has not yet been approved by medical authorities and drug administrators in its home country be allowed for export to other countries like the Philippines where the standards are sometimes much lower, and not as stringent as those found in First World countries?

Ethical decisions entail real conflict between your individual self and that of the organization and other employees. And so, it’s really up to you to decide on your situation. But before you make your final and firm decision, try to explore answering the following questions:

1. Would you consider sending a whistle-blower’s letter to the Board of Directors as a dangerous idea? Yes or no. Explore.

2. Are you the only one who knows about the CEO’s illegal request? If no, what are the other peoples’ positions? Are they supporting the CEO?

3. Would you like to be transferred to another work function or department to avoid performing the task? What are the chances?

4. Would your deputy agree on the same kind of arrangement, if ever you decide to move on to other opportunities elsewhere?

5. Have you exhausted all possible means and make recommendations to the CEO certain allowable tax avoidance options that may be legally acceptable?

6. What’s the chance that your management would put you in a difficult situation by charging you with every imaginable offenses against the company?

7. Last, how about early retirement? You may be able to get sizeable separation benefits.

Managers and their CEOs engage in unethical behavior for many, varied reasons. These include greed, ego, and pressure from the Board of Directors purposely to increase profits or appear successful to people and other organizations. However, it is only managers like you who carry the tremendous responsibility for setting the ethical climate in your organization. You must be the first one to act as a role model for ethical behavior, even if others can’t do it.

Once again, it is only you who can make the decision.

elbonomics@gmail.com

What to see this week

4 films to see on the week of March 9-16, 2018


Selfie from Hell

Vlogger Julia from Germany falls ill upon visiting her cousin Hannah in the US. Hannah is prompted to discover the cause and comes across Julia’s blog entries. Horrific events occur when Hannah gets deeply immersed in the Web. Directed by Erdal Ceylan, it stars Alyson Walker, Tony Giroux, and Meelah Adams.

MTRCB Rating: R-13


Ajin: The Immortals

Based on the manga of the same title by Gamon Sakurai, the story focuses on hospital intern Kei Nagai who, after an accident, realizes that he belongs to Ajin, an immortal race. With the government subjecting him to various experiments, fellow Ajin Sato comes to the rescue. However, Kei recoils from Sato’s violence. Directed by Katsoyuki Motohiro, it stars Tekaru Satoh, Mamoru Miyano, and Go Ayano. The Strait Times’ Boon Chan remarks, “There are enough twists and turns to keep one engaged and the good news is that they feel organic to the fantasy world conjured up here.”

MTRCB Rating: PG


Ang Pambansang Third Wheel

Trina has always been the third wheel in relationships. When she meets the man who passes her standards, she finds out that he is a single father with an eight-year-old son (and his mother is still around). Trina is challenged finally to go beyond being the third wheel. Directed by Ivan Payawal, it stars Sam Milby, Yassi Pressman, and Alonzo Muhlach.

MTRCB Rating: PG


Tomb Raider

YOUNG Lara Croft solves the puzzle of her father’s mysterious death by traveling to his last destination — a tomb on a mythical island off the coast of Japan. The perilous adventure earns her the name “Tomb Raider.” Directed by Roar Uthaug, it stars Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Hannah John-Kamen, and Dominic West.

MTRCB Rating: PG

Sectoral distribution of public expenditures

How PSEi member stocks performed — March 8, 2018

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Thursday, March 8, 2018.

1...12,92712,92812,929...14,238Page 12,928 of 14,238
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