What slowdown? Factories chug along as global demand holds

September 4, 2017 | 12:30 am

LONDON/HONG KONG — Factories across Asia and Europe cranked up production last month as global demand remained strong, confounding expectations growth may have peaked. The strength will add fuel to an expected rollback of monetary stimulus in the West.

china-factory — This photo taken on August 29, 2017 shows a worker cleaning a diesel engine part at a factory in Qingdao in China’s eastern Shandong province.
— AFP

Since the global financial crisis, central banks have funnelled trillions of dollars into the world economy. While policy makers in China and Japan still have their feet firmly on the gas, stronger growth is prompting those in the West to start tapping the brakes on years of super-easy money.

Chinese manufacturing activity accelerated to a six-month high, and euro zone factories stepped up production with the fastest rise in export orders since February 2011. Even British factory output grew a lot more strongly than expected given the country’s recent Brexit travails.

“Global momentum has turned out to be solid in the first half of 2017 and looks favourable going forward. Generally, we see more reasons for growth optimism than we did three months ago,” said Paul Mortimer-Lee, chief market economist at BNP Paribas.

IHS Markit’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the euro zone rose to 57.4 in August, matching where it was in June, which was the highest since April 2011 and well above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction.

Along with evidence of slowly-rising pricing power for businesses, the data may bolster confidence in the European Central Bank to make — and go ahead with — plans to reel back its massive asset purchases program later this year.

Suggesting Britain’s economy might be picking up speed after a slow first half of 2017, the UK PMI jumped to 56.9, higher than any forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.

That could add fuel to hawkish policy makers’ calls at the Bank of England (BoE) for higher interest rates.

The BoE’s rate-setters voted 6-2 against a rate hike in August with most policy makers expressing concern about the impact of last year’s vote to leave the European Union on the wider economy.

In the United States, the ISM manufacturing PMI is expected to rise to 56.5, though it is likely to be overshadowed by jobs data due later on Friday, expected to show ongoing solid hiring in August but tame wage inflation.

China’s private Caixin/Markit survey showed new business grew at the strongest pace in more than three years in August. The manufacturing PMI rose to 51.6, from 51.1 in July.

That echoed similarly robust official data on Thursday suggesting China’s industrial sector is continuing to prosper from a year-long, government-led building boom. In both cases, economists had expected growth rates to ease.

Prices of industrial commodities and building materials, in particular, have surged in China this year largely due to the government’s hefty infrastructure spending and its efforts to reduce excess capacity by shutting inefficient mines and mills.

The third quarter is now looking strong enough that China could sustain much of the momentum from its forecast-beating 6.9% growth in the first half, despite a regulatory crackdown on riskier types of financing and debt and a slew of measures to cool its overheating property market.

Resilient growth is not only a boon for the global economy but also for the Communist Party as it prepares for a once-in-five-years leadership reshuffle in October, with stability its key priority.

Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service this week raised its growth forecasts for China, South Korea and Japan.

“The surveys point to resilient industrial activity last month,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics.

But he added: “Investment growth has cooled recently and we anticipate a further slowdown as the impact of tighter monetary conditions continues to feed through. If we are right, the current strength of industrial activity can’t be sustained for long.”

Manufacturing also expanded solidly in the world’s No.3 economy, Japan, as domestic and export orders picked up. The pick-up in new business was generally more modest than in China, however, suggesting its economic growth may moderate from an eye-popping four percent annualized rate in the second quarter.

Other Asian electronics producers were also riding high.

Taiwan’s manufacturing survey saw the fastest growth in four months, while South Korea’s exports beat expectations and posted their longest run of growth in almost six years. South Korea is the first among major exporting countries to publish its monthly trade figures.

India’s activity also unexpectedly rebounded in August, in a sign there was light at the end of the tunnel, with the shock of last year’s demonetization cash crunch and confusion over a new goods and services tax likely to ease in coming months.

But data on Thursday showed Indian economic growth unexpectedly cooled further to a three-year low of 5.7% in the June quarter from a year ago. — Reuters

Venice inspires Furla’s men’s bag collection

September 4, 2017 | 12:26 am

BAGS PROVE to be the locus for the Spring/Summer 2018 mens collection of Italian luxury brand Furla, better known for its cheerful feminine handbags.

The theme of the collection for next year is centered around Venice, the city of dreams rising out of the waters. The city still proves to be the center of art and culture that it became back in the Renaissance.

Taking cues from chic Italian men and the lifestyles they lead while surrounded by the arts, the bags contain references to Greek and Roman mythology, present in the classical sculptures that dot the city.

For example, a handbag called the Zeus takes inspiration from inlays of Venetian furniture, while a handbag named after Mars takes inspiration from mosaics in the city’s buildings.

Tapestries take the lead for the Atlante, while Ulysses, the Greek hero who surmounted the obstacles that prevented his long-awaited homecoming, takes shape for the modern man in a bag inspired by the city’s gondoliers, the boatmen who navigate the city’s canals.

Meanwhile, a simple striped bag called the Icaro take inspiration from yachts and motorboats that zip amidst the city’s landscape, with navy (of course) as its defining hue. — JLG

A Nasty Boy tests Nigeria’s masculinity

September 4, 2017 | 12:25 am

LAGOS, NIGERIA — Make no mistake — Nigeria’s A Nasty Boy is not a gay online magazine.

In a country where homosexual acts can be punished with 14 years in prison, this provocative Web site featuring photos of men in mini-skirts is simply “pushing the boundaries and exploring masculinity.”

Richie Akuson, the 23-year-old founder, makes up for what he lacks in years with confidence and audacity. Even in “bum shorts” — the local name for hot pants.

“Last year, I challenged myself — walking through Abuja with silk shorts,” he told AFP. “People insulted me loudly, they were making insulting comments, it was quite a painful experience.”

He decided to recount his experience in Bella Naija, the country’s leading digital lifestyle magazine where he worked at the time as fashion editor.

His article, titled “Why I Wore Bum Shorts Around Abuja For a Day!” provoked a fierce online debate.

The comments flooded in — many to accuse the young provocateur of exhibitionism, others to congratulate him for his principled stand against convention.

‘HUGE, HUGE EGO’
“I was surprised by the reactions, and I thought that we really need to debate these issues, to debate around what is masculinity in Nigeria,” he said.

His site’s first online posts, published last February, were at best baffling to many in a country where everything associated with homosexuality is seen as an affront to religion.

Androgynous male models wearing makeup were pictured posing on a beach in Lagos, oozing sex appeal.

Another article was illustrated by men sporting oversized Afro-style wigs and towering on high heels, lifting their denim mini-skirts.

The images are undoubtedly provocative, but never sordid, and their quality is on a par with the major fashion magazines on sale in Europe and North America.

Richie claims that Nigerian men typically have a “huge, huge ego,” and that his work is intended to hold up a mirror.

“Nigerian men are always on edge to protect what they define to be masculinity: you have to be strong,” he said.

“No compassion for others, and a lot of money. The paradox is that it makes them very fragile at the end, behaving like bullies.”

Having scandalized many with his initial Web offering, Richie now plans to launch a print magazine to extend his brand.

In a shoot for an upcoming online feature, he handed out outfits to his four androgynous models — two men, two women — in an understated Lagos hotel room decorated with floral pattern wallpaper.

He said he wanted to “transcend existing genres.” But not by the hotel pool, which would be far too public.

“Can you put this dress on?” he asked a young man with close-cut hair and a slim face.

Abstrakt, a 21-year-old Nigerian singer who describes himself on Instagram as a “model and madman,” resents being pigeon-holed and wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “to be honest, I’m not normal.”

And even if he was not overly enthused by the prospect of wearing a skirt, he did it anyway — “for fashion.”

“And you… can you put on this men’s blazer?” Richie asked a pretty young woman with long braided hair that reached down to her back.

‘I LOVE CONTROVERSY’
She wore the dark green velvet garment, created by a celebrated Nigerian designer, with neither bra nor trousers — but with tights to preserve her modesty.

“I love controversy, I’ve always been a rebel at heart,” said the woman, Ajoke Animashaun, a law student and model.

“In Nigeria we are so conservative. Girls have to be well-dressed, be pretty, have their nails done… but I don’t!”

For many women, painted nails are simply a matter of preference. Not in Lagos, where going unpainted is seen as an almost revolutionary feminist statement.

Wole Lawal, a 22-year-old professional model, traded in his leather boots bought in London for baggy multicolored trousers at Richie’s request.

Like Nigeria’s king of Afrobeat Fela Kuti, Lawal went shirtless for the shoot, joking that the hotel room’s fierce air conditioning was freezing on his bare skin.

“Nasty Boy allows men to show the other side of who they are,” he said, in a deep voice, his face shimmering with glitter paint.

“(It’s) an opportunity to know how it feels to be a woman… and I would say it’s quite tough.” — AFP

Are we in a new Golden Age of tennis fashion?

September 4, 2017 | 12:24 am

THE US OPEN has rolled into New York to bring the tennis season to its climax. Consequently, we in the style department find ourselves wondering, not for the first time, about the dress sense of men renowned for their court sense.

Away from the stadium, the rankings are clear: No one dresses up better than Roger Federer, who wore a glittering cobra design on the back of his Gucci tuxedo jacket this year at the Costume Institute Gala. And no one dresses down better than Gaël Monfils, whose casual rock-star attitude toward personal style makes him this sport’s analog of Russell Westbrook.

But when these guys are dressed for athletic success, the situation gets murkier, and many questions arise.

Do the resurgence of Fila and the hipsterfication of adidas promise a return to the superb fashions of Bjorn Borg’s head-banded heyday? And speaking of sweat absorption: Are those supersized wristbands that Rafael Nadal has taken to wearing? Or are they what they appear to be — the cut-off sleeves of a toddler’s sweatshirt?

For tentative answers to these and other questions, please find below a list of notable names in men’s tennis style.

THE INEVITABLE THROWBACK
In the fashion world, everyone’s feeling a ’70s vibe. In the tennis world, no one translates into action more dashingly than Alexander Zverev, seen wearing an adidas Originals ensemble designed by Pharrell Williams. Check out that shirt, with its fine vertical stripes and thoughtful detailing around the collar. Get a load of that harmonious headband. And the chain around his neck? Even if it’s too outré for your personal taste, you can appreciate Zverev’s way of pulling the rakish outfit together.

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK
Fila — a company founded in Italy in 1911, loved by Cool James in the 1980s, purchased by its Korean licensee in 2007, and very on point right now — has endorsement deals with a number of exciting players who look sharp in a number of exciting patterns. We like how the checks of John Isner’s polo echo the crisscross of the net.

THE SHOE THAT ACES
Having survived an era in which extra-long shorts — veritable capri pants! — once characterized his look, Rafael Nadal has cleaned up, head to toe. Especially the toe. His Nike Lunar Ballistecs, with an off-center swoosh inspired by the design of the brand’s soccer cleat, is all aces.

THE CASE OF THE EXPANDING WRISTBANDS
As we were saying: Nadal is generally looking well, head-to-toe. It’s his arms that might be a problem. How much can one man perspire to need these double-wide wristbands? Would the WTA please consider fining him for committing this small crime against his forearms?

CROCODILE ROCK
Novak Djokovic has been very well served by his endorsement deal with Lacoste. (See also the perfect fit of his go-to Wimbledon whites, with the crocodile enlivening a tidy ensemble.) One can only hope that the graphic snazziness of this polo helped to ease the sting of losing in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.

THE NATIONAL PRIDE
At the Davis Cup, as at the Olympics, a nation’s uniform offers a window onto its soul. This time around, nobody beats Serbia at achieving a balance of sober dignity, sporty style, and chic patriotism. The double-headed eagle on the country’s coat of arms is rather swank.

¡SOMBRERO GIGANTE!
We’re not sure whether Sam Querrey, hoisting his trophy after beating Nadal in the finals of the Mexican Open, is participating in an esteemed tradition or if he is the victim of a practical joke. We’ll take the liberty of assuming that everyone involved is being respectful of the host country’s culture. But obviously, that brim is way too wide for Querrey’s shoulders. — Bloomberg

Actor Richard Anderson, boss of Six Million Dollar Man, 91

September 4, 2017 | 12:24 am

HOLLYWOOD — Richard Anderson, who played the boss of both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman in an on-screen career stretching some 50 years, died on Thursday, a family spokesman said. He was 91.

Anderson died from natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills, California, surrounded by his family, publicist Jonathan Taylor said. Memorial services will be private, Taylor added.

The imposing 6-foot-3-inch (190-cm) actor often appeared on screen as an authority figure — politicians, government officials, and policemen — but also played his share of cowboys and criminals. His roster of guest appearances included many popular shows still airing in syndication such as The Big Valley, Ironside, Murder She Wrote, and Dynasty.

Anderson played the police chief in the Burt Reynolds’ detective series Dan August (1970-1971), and a police lieutenant in the last season of the long-running legal drama Perry Mason. Two decades later, he had a prominent guest role in the 1985 TV movie Perry Mason Returns, which reunited original series cast members Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale.

In the 1967 two-part finale of The Fugitive, Anderson played the husband of Dr. Richard Kimble’s sister. The climactic episode in which Kimble, played by David Janssen, finally cleared his name in the killing of his wife after four seasons on the run, was at the time the most-watched series program in TV history.

But it was as US intelligence official Oscar Goldman that Anderson left his most lasting mark on television. Goldman was the chief of Steve Austin, a secret agent with enhanced bionic powers after reconstructive surgery in the 1974-1978 hit series The Six Million Dollar Man, starring Lee Majors.

Anderson became one of the first actors to play the same character simultaneously on two shows on different networks when he reprised his Goldman role in the 1976-1978 spin-off The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner.

“It was a time when everything was down. The Vietnam War had just ended and everybody was down and we came in with a hero,” Anderson told Hollywood Exclusive in 2009 when asked about the shows’ popularity.

In the late 1980s, Anderson persuaded studio executives to reunite the two bionic heroes, which led to three television movies in which he reprised his Goldman role and helped produce.

“I‘m very grateful to Oscar Goldman. He’s been very good to me,” Anderson told a Montreal radio show in 1994.

Born in Long Branch, New Jersey, on Aug. 8, 1926, Anderson began his acting career as an MGM contract player in the last days of the studio system. Among his many film credits were Forbidden Planet (1956), Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957), and The Long Hot Summer (1958).

He made the leap into television in the early 1950s, becoming one of the medium’s most familiar faces through a stream of character roles over five decades.

“When I went into television, that’s where the audience was. And in my opinion, still is,” Anderson said in the Canadian radio interview. — Reuters

Myanmar urges Rohingya to help hunt insurgents

September 4, 2017 | 12:22 am

COX’S BAZAR, BANGLADESH/YANGON — Myanmar urged Muslims in the troubled northwest to cooperate in the search for insurgents, whose coordinated attacks on security posts and an army crackdown have led to one of the deadliest bouts of violence to engulf the Rohingya community in decades.

Aid agencies estimate about 73,000 Rohingya have fled into neighboring Bangladesh from Myanmar since violence erupted last week, Vivian Tan, regional spokeswoman for UN refugee agency UNHCR, told Reuters on Sunday.

Hundreds more refugees on Sunday walked through rice paddies from the Naf river separating the two countries into Bangladesh, straining scarce resources of aid groups and local communities already helping tens of thousands.

The clashes and military counteroffensive have killed nearly 400 people during the past week.

The treatment of Buddhist-majority Myanmar’s roughly 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya is the biggest challenge facing leader Aung San Suu Kyi, accused by Western critics of not speaking out for the minority that has long complained of persecution.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that violence against Muslims amounted to genocide.

It marks a dramatic escalation of a conflict that has simmered since October, when a smaller Rohingya attack on security posts prompted a military response dogged by allegations of rights abuses.

“Islamic villagers in northern Maungtaw have been urged over loudspeakers to cooperate when security forces search for Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) extremist terrorists, and not to pose a threat or brandish weapons when security forces enter their villages,” the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said on Sunday.

ARSA has been declared a terrorist organization by the government. The group claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks on security posts last week.

In Maungni village in northern Rakhine, villagers earlier this week caught two ARSA members and handed them over to the authorities, the newspaper added.

The army wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday that Rohingya insurgents had set fires to monasteries, images of Buddha as well as schools and houses in northern Rakhine.

More than 200 buildings, including houses and shops, were destroyed across several villages, the army said.

While Myanmar officials blamed the ARSA for the burning of the homes, Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh and human rights watchers say a campaign of arson and killings by the army is aimed at trying to force the minority group out.

More than 11,700 “ethnic residents” had been evacuated from northern Rakhine, the government has said, referring to non-Muslims.

In Bangladesh, authorities said at least 53 bodies of Rohingya had either been found floating in the Naf river or washed up on the beach in the past week, as tens of thousands continue to try to flee the violence.

A senior leader of al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch has called for attacks on Myanmar authorities in support of the Rohingya.

Former colonial ruler Britain said on Saturday it hoped Suu Kyi would use her “remarkable qualities” to end the violence. — Reuters

China ‘strongly condemns’ Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test — foreign ministry

September 4, 2017 | 12:21 am

BEIJING — China strongly condemned North Korea’s Sunday nuclear test, slamming Pyongyang for ignoring international condemnation of its atomic weapons program.

This undated picture released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 3, 2017 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) looking at a metal casing with two bulges at an undisclosed location.
— AFP PHOTO / KCNA VIA KNS

North Korea “has ignored the international community’s widespread opposition, again carrying out a nuclear test. China’s government expresses resolute opposition and strong condemnation toward this,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.

“We strongly urge the DPRK (North Korea) to face the strong will of denuclearization from the international community, earnestly abide by the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, stop taking mistaken actions which worsen the situation and are also not in line with its own interests, and effectively return to the track of solving the problem through dialogue,” it added.

The test was North Korea’s sixth and far more powerful than any weapon it has previously detonated.

Pyongyang declared the test of what it called a hydrogen bomb to be a “perfect success.”

Beijing is North Korea’s main diplomatic ally and economic supporter and is seen as playing a crucial role in efforts to get Pyongyang to curb its weapons program.

The test came just hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping was scheduled to open a summit of BRICs nations in southern China.

North Korea’s actions create a potentially embarrassing situation for Mr. Xi, who is preparing for a politically sensitive gathering of the ruling Communist Party in October, at which he aims to further consolidate his power.

Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told his Japanese counterpart on Sunday that Washington is firmly committed to defending Japan, including with its nuclear deterrent, following North Korea’s latest nuclear test.

Mr. McMaster made the assurance during a telephone call to Shotarou Taniuchi, the director-general of the Japanese National Security Council, according to a government statement.

Under Japan’s alliance treaty with the United States, Washington has pledged to defend Japan. It has put Japan under its nuclear umbrella, meaning it could respond to any attack on Japan with atomic weapons. — AFP and Reuters

‘Endo’ sticks out to business as LEDAC tackles priority bills

September 4, 2017 | 12:11 am

AS THE Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) holds its third meeting this month to agree on legislative priorities of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration, a number of business leaders have cited their concern over the controversial end-of-contractualization or “endo” labor practice that had been identified early on as a priority of the council.

The 20-member advisory body had earlier approved for the present 17^th Congress a Common Legislative Agenda (CLA), consisting of 28 measures of which 14 were identified as urgent by the LEDAC Executive Committee (LEDAC-EXECOM) last July.

Among the priority measures, 10 are “already in the advanced stages of legislation,” the National Economic and Development Authority said in a statement last week.

These measures include the Ease of Doing Business Act, which the Senate approved on final reading late last month, and the Comprehensive Tax Reform, now pending in this chamber and subject to further discussion. The Senate is scheduled to hold a caucus today in part to tackle the pending priority measures.

Outside the 10 priority measures but still part of the CLA is the Security of Tenure Bill, as originally identified among LEDAC’s priority measures last July.

Sought for comment regarding the CLA, Jesus Lim Arranza, chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries, said in a phone interview he agreed with the CLA but expressed doubts regarding “endo.”

“The only issue here that I have second thoughts is the endo or contractualization. Because my point is, if it is not the core business of the company, they can do contractualization and endo, not a permanent hire. Because there are companies although the same line but they differ in the profitability,” Mr. Arranza said.

Also sought for comment, George T. Barcelon, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “This has been discussed lengthily before. Again, I think the private sector and DoLE and the labor sector have been in agreement already. There’s been some flexibility because in any business meron naman (there is) seasonality, meron namang time-bound, meron naman ‘yung project-based,’ so I think that part would be incorporated.”

‘Yung mga talagang labor only tinatanggap naman ng business sector na dapat wala na ‘yung endo,” Mr. Barcelon also said. (With regards to labor only, the business sector has acknowledged that this should be out of “endo.”)

With regards to ease of doing business, “(H)opefully when they put it into law,…the bureaucracy should be reduced,” Mr. Barcelon said.

“Halimbawa, may nag-submit ng application dapat sa forms, meron ‘yung petsa when this was submitted. Meron din ‘yung petsa na kailan magawa. That is some detail that I would like to see implemented so that the businessman or the individual who applies will not be the one complaining na…mabagal nagawa yung application niya,” he added. (“For example, somebody submits an application. There is a date when this was submitted. There is a date when the application is completed. That is some detail that I would like to see implemented so that the businessman or the individual who applies will not be the one complaining that government action on his application had been slow.)

Among others sought for comment, Peter Angelo V. Perfecto, executive director of Makati Business Club, said in a text message last Thursday: “Just convening LEDAC, in itself is already a welcome development. That has been an effective tool of government for setting priorities and acting on them. Now, on the CLA, it is also important to note that 10 of the measures are actively moving in Congress. It is also encouraging that the Council Execom stressed a target (of)…14 of the measures within the year.”

“However, we are satisfied with the LEDAC decision to include tax reform program, National Land Use Act, and National Transport Act. That said, we look forward to engaging with LEDAC and government particularly to provide our insights for the package 2 of the tax reform plan,” Mr. Perfecto also said.

John D. Forbes, senior adviser of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, said in a text message when sought for comment: “Business groups have supported the LEDAC process and welcome the prioritization by LEDAC of reforms that improve the business climate, which bills such as tax reform, ease of doing business, national land use, public services, BOT amendments, among others, do.”

The next LEDAC meeting will be on Sept. 20. — Rosemarie A. Zamora

Labor group slams delay in wage hike petitions

September 4, 2017 | 12:10 am

By Mario M. Banzon

A LABOR alliance is taking government to task as well as the employers represented in the wage board for delaying a decision on wage increases.

In a statement by the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) on Sunday, Sept. 3, ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan A. Tanjusay said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) is showing bias and preference in favor of “abusive employers and capitalists by delaying and changing the pattern of wage increases.”

“As inflation continue(s) to overtake real wages, the wage board is becoming more obsolete and irrelevant to the needs of the workers in delaying for several weeks now the announcement of a new wage order,” Mr. Tanjusay said.

ALU is seeking a P184 across-the-board wage hike; TUCP, a P259 hike; and another group, an increase of P175 in four tranches. The board is expected this month to decide on the petitions.

Sought for comment, RTWPB-NCR Board Secretary Kim S. Lagcao said the board is again reviewing socioeconomic indicators based on the latest data.

This was supported by lawyer Vicente R. Leogardo, Jr., director-general of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP) and one of the two representatives of ECoP in the wage board.

“During the last meeting, the members of the Board were examining the pertinent data to determine any wage increase based upon the prescribed standards and criteria,” he said in a text message to BusinessWorld on Sunday.

“The board is having a difficult time coming to a conclusion, given current economic situation and inflation,” Donald G. Dee, ECoP president, said via text when sought for comment.

Mr. Lagcao said no date has yet been set for the board’s next meeting.

The wage board is composed of representatives each from the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) as chair, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), ECoP and two representatives from the labor sector.

Congress to be sought for budget on Marawi

September 4, 2017 | 12:09 am

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez
Senior Reporter

THE EXECUTIVE will be asking Congress to pass a supplemental budget once it finalizes rehabilitation plans for Marawi City, the country’s Finance chief said, noting that the billions of pesos of additional spending would not severely affect the country’s fiscal position.

“We will be able to handle it…but we need the budget allocation for that because obviously, that is an extraordinary expense. So we have to go to Congress and ask them for a supplemental budget,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters last Thursday, Aug. 31.

However, he pointed out that the fiscal programs will “remain steady” despite the unplanned additional spending to rebuild Marawi.

Mr. Dominguez said the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council has already discussed the plan to ask Congress for the additional budget during their meeting last week, but that the Cabinet would have to come up with an exact amount of how much would be needed for the rebuilding efforts.

So far, the military has been able to replenish supplies by itself even as the fighting with Maute terrorists has stretched past 100 days since May 23 when it began. However, the Armed Forces would need about 20,000 new soldiers to bolster its ranks, Mr. Dominguez said.

The fighting in Marawi has left 133 soldiers, 65 civilians, and 614 rebels killed as of Aug. 28, according to Malacañang. Thousands of residents have also fled to other cities and are living amid poor conditions in evacuation centers.

The Cabinet official added that they expect $3 million worth of construction equipment to enter nearby Iligan City by October, representing donations from China.

“The plan really is to bulldoze the area that was affected because the buildings there most likely are already compromised. We don’t want people building over that and not knowing if the reinforcing bars are still strong. We might as well just rebuild everything,” Mr. Dominguez added, although noting that residents and evacuees would be consulted first.

“The task force needs to come up with a rehabilitation plan.”

Earlier, Mr. Dominguez said the government plans to use the tax settlement from cigarette firm Mighty Corp. on Marawi’s rehabilitation.

Last week, the Philippine Competition Commission approved Japan Tobacco International’s planned acquisition of Mighty worth P46.8 billion, of which P25 billion will be paid to the Philippine government as Mighty opted to settle its tax liabilities after the Bureau of Customs discovered tax evasion and fake documentary stamps on its products.

An additional P5 billion in taxes will be collected from the buyout deal, Mr. Dominguez said.

In July, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the government is looking to release at least P15 billion over the next two years to restore the warn-torn city in Mindanao, which will come from disaster reduction funds already earmarked under the 2017 budget.

Nadal, Federer move on at US Open; Fognini kicked out

September 4, 2017 | 12:09 am

NEW YORK — Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer edged closer to a US Open semi-final blockbuster on Saturday as controversial Italian Fabio Fognini was kicked out for a vile, misogynistic tirade at a female umpire.

Nadal, 31, saw off Argentine lucky loser Leonardo Mayer 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, taking his record over the world number 59 from Buenos Aires to 4-0.

He will face Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov, against whom he is 6-2, for a place in the quarter finals.

Five-time champion Federer brushed aside 31st seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 to take his career record against the Spaniard, playing a 63rd successive Grand Slam, to 13-0.

Next up for Federer is Philipp Kohlschreiber, who he leads 11-0.

Nadal had dropped the first set of his second-round match against Japan’s Taro Daniel before winning in four.

Saturday was almost a carbon copy with the 15-time major winner unable to convert any of six points in the opener.

But the match turned in the 10-minute seventh game of the second set when, on his 14th break point of the encounter, Nadal finally smashed through.

“It was tough. It took 14 break points — that’s not a good figure. But I was there mentally and fought a lot at the right moments,” said Nadal under the Arthur Ashe roof as rain fell outside.

Federer had needed back-to-back five-setters to defeat Frances Tiafoe and Mikhail Youzhny in his first two rounds.

However, on Saturday, he swept past Lopez to reach the fourth round for the 16th time.

“I’m very happy to get through. It’s a great feeling to play out here,” said Federer.

“I struggled in the first two rounds but tonight I played a very clean match.”

Kohlschreiber, the German 33rd seed, eliminated Australia’s John Millman 7-5, 6-2, 6-4.

Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem defeated France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to make the last 16 for the third time in four years.

Thiem next faces 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who put out Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

Russia’s Andrey Rublev became the second teenager in the last 16 when he beat Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Rublev, just 19, faces Belgian ninth seed David Goffin, who progressed when 2016 semi-finalist Gael Monfils retired with a right knee injury.

Meanwhile, Fognini was kicked out of the tournament for making foul-mouthed comments to female umpire Louise Engzell during his first-round loss to Stefano Travaglia.

Fognini and compatriot Simone Bolelli had reached the third round of the men’s doubles but tournament organizers axed him from the event.

Fognini, the world number 26, was also fined $24,000.

PLISKOVA SAVES MATCH POINT
Women’s top seed Karolina Pliskova saved a match point to defeat China’s Zhang Shuai, hanging on to her world number one spot in the process.

Top seed Pliskova, the runner-up in 2016, triumphed 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 but was forced to save a match point in the 10th game of the second set and recover from a break down in the decider.

“I was match point down and I thought I haven’t tried many forehand winners down the line. That’s what I did. I may not have got another chance,” said the 25-year-old, who will next face Jennifer Brady of the United States.

Brady has just seven wins on the tour this year, but all have come at the Slams.

Had she lost on Saturday, Pliskova would also have been guaranteed to lose her world number one ranking to either Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza or Elina Svitolina.

Ukraine fourth seed Svitolina stayed in contention with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Shelby Rogers of the United States.

Russia’s Daria Kasatkina reached the last 16 of a major for the first time by seeing off French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, the 12th seed, 6-3, 6-2. — AFP

Cybersecurity setup in the works — Finance dep’t

September 4, 2017 | 12:08 am

By Janine Marie D. Soliman
Reporter

THE DEPARTMENT of Finance (DoF) is in the works of putting up a cybersecurity defense structure across all its units and agencies to combat threats amid a time of heightened cyberattacks.

In a statement over the weekend, the DoF announced it will be setting up a comprehensive cybersecurity system until next year, with a platform to be drafted through an Advanced Security Operations Center (ASOC). The system is expected to be fully operational by 2021.

“A report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said that starting now and up to next year, the cybersecurity system will be set up through an Advanced Security Operations Center (ASOC) and would involve deploying communication “brokers” to connect all inline security appliances of each attached agency to this ASOC,” the agency said.

The system includes an enhanced digital infrastructure upgrade for both hardware and software of DoF agencies, namely, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs.

“The DoF will also work closely with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to ensure the sustainability of the system,” the agency said.

The DoF’s Technology Modernization team is to be headed by Vladimir Dennis Reyes.

“Among the intervention and mitigation strategies that the team has proposed to put in place to shield the DoF from cyberattacks include performing a comprehensive cleanup of all end-point devices connected to the DoF network, establishing communications and threat analytics sharing protocols with DICT, and limiting the number of potential channels that hackers usually exploit to gain access to online networks,” the DoF said.

Online vulnerabilities and a cyber-heist last year have been among the recent developments in the financial services sector.

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