Top Japan Oda* recipients line key oil shipment route

June 20, 2017 | 11:39 pm

* Official development assistance (2014 data as cited in the White Paper on Development Cooperation 2015 of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Why SMEs remain chill despite tensions all over the globe

June 20, 2017 | 11:20 pm

With bullets flying in the southern part of the Philippines and in other parts of the globe, are owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)—whose money is bound to suffer if worse comes to worst—supposed to be scared?

No, says representatives of the Association of the Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI) during the Pandesal Forum last June 13 at Kamuning Bakery Cafe in Quezon City.

“I think the economy of the Philippines will still grow because there is a lot of market outside, especially now that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has become a very powerful tool for us. There is a very big market outside the Philippines and there are millions of population outside that we can still serve,” said Teresita Lardizabal Ngan Tian, member of AFFI’s board of advisers and President of Lots’ A Pizza.

Ms. Ngan Tian added that positivity is key for business leaders to continuously flourish in the market.

“As entrepreneurs, we always have to be positive. Everything has to be positive no matter what challenges [we face]. That power in us of being positive about things gives us more strength [as we] encounter more challenges in the future and in whatever we do in our business,” she added.

Lots’ A Pizza, for example, eyes to expand its network of more than 100 franchises nationwide this year, focusing on provinces. “With expansion we create a better economy for the Philippines.”

Josephine Co See, AFFI’s vice‑president and President of World of Nuts Corporation, echoes the same sentiment.

“We’re looking forward to a growing Philippine economy,” she said. “We know that there is tension in Mindanao, but we should remain positive as entrepreneurs. We should not stop just because there are tensions in other regions.”

Micro, small, and medium enterprises account for 99.5% of establishments in the Philippines, according to a Department of Trade and Industry statistic . They will continue to contribute not only in the employment aspect, but also in the country’s financial gains with their government-mandated contributions, Ms. See added.

According to her, World of Nuts Corporation is adding nine to its currently 32 branches nationwide this year.

Ricardo Cuna, one of AFFI’s founders and the President of Milkin Corp‑Fiorgelato, said the growing number of AFFI’s member enterprises is a manifestation of the country’s continuously growing SME sector.

“SME’s are the foundation of the Philippine economy. Without the franchise sector, Philippine economy will not be that progressive,” Mr. Cuna said.

For Jerry Ilao, President of Ink All‑You‑Can, business leaders should always look for opportunities amid threats in the country’s business landscape.

“Whatever happens in 2017 and 2018, we should find opportunities and we should always thrive to grow our businesses,” Mr. Ilaw said. “Sure there will be challenges along the way, but that’s what being an entrepreneur is about. Entrepreneurship is being able to stand against all challenges and being able to conquer them.”

The rainbow‑colored gap in the print industry

June 20, 2017 | 11:16 pm

The internet is there for all your publishing needs, whether you’re a poet, a fictionist, an essayist, or a gorgeous blend of all three, there’s a platform for you. Still, seeing your words in ink on paper gives another sort of high.

“The internet creates a break in mainstream publishing and its worth exploring in terms of widening horizons and diversifying aesthetics in writing,” Janine Go Dimaranan, one of the editors of Gantala Press told SparkUp after the All Women and LGBTQ Better Living Through Xeroxography (BLTX) last May 27, at the Other Room, Quezon City. “The advantage of published material is that they’re usually acknowledged better. If you have printed works like in journals, university presses, etc. then it gives you a sort of privilege that your work has an approval like a thumbs up seal from those who have ‘mastered the craft’.”

But it’s not as easy to get published when you’re a woman and/or a member of the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and others), who have expressed during the event that they still have a hard time finding publishers who will bank on craft that represents their respective fields of experience.

Filipino views on sex and sexuality are, after all, still fairly conservative. Even winning the Palanca Award for Children’s Literature in 2006 did not make it easy for Bernadette Villanueva Neri, who only after six years found a publisher for her story about a little girl with lesbian parents.

There’s a sea change—people are more outspoken than they were years ago—but it’s a gradual changing in the tides.

And literature is important. It affirms the way we think or changes us. It molds ideas. It shapes character. How often has literature—whether it’s through print or film or sound—helped get us through the day?

That’s why women and the LGBTQ+ might find temporary solace in independent publishing. This is the first time the BLTX—a small press expo gathering comic artists and authors—had a theme, in order to provide a platform to the marginalized genders.

“We thought of a theme as a reaction to most workshops and institutional events that are happening around the Metro that basically only gives platforms to men. So we questioned the balance of the representation between men and women in these events that they organized,” said Ms. Dimaranan.

“We thought of creating our own platform to voice out our issues, our struggles and also our gaze on how we understand the world and how we make sense of things. Because if we only have men represented in these writing gatherings, you can only get their subjective view points.”

And there is an audience for women and LGBTQ+ literature. The Other Room was jam packed with artists and readers alike, trading stories and getting a few beers together at the bar next door. It was crowded inside that one‑room co‑working space in the heart of Diliman.

Gantala press, an independent feminist publishing team dedicated to making the voice of cis and trans women heard through their creative works, is just one of the publishers during the BLTX and continues to work outside of that venue. Still, they’re just one publishing team. And indie publishing can only reach so many.

But it doesn’t stop there.

“The struggles of women and LGBTQ+ doesn’t really end in creative work,” Ms. Dimaranan said. “Continued engagements for solidarity is going to be the solution to address the issues of women and LGBTQ+. But engagement doesn’t just end in creative work, there are many ways to get involved.”

“This means that whether or not there will be a BLTX in the future, there are still avenues around that we can enter and participate in to really drum up this kind of advocacy.”

And so, the women and LGBTQ+ will continue their swim, until mainstream changes its course

MPIC open to compromise on toll hike disputes

June 20, 2017 | 2:47 pm

METRO Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is open to a possible compromise to resolve its disputes with the government over rate hikes for its toll roads.

“Both parties favor a shorter resolution. The tribunal can arrange … sa preliminary [conference] naman tinatanong na ’yan kung mayroon bang (it is asked if there is an) opportunity for settlement,” Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) Senior Vice-President, Legal, Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations Romulo S. Quimbo, Jr., told reporters in a recent interview when asked if they are open to a settlement.

NLEX Corp., formerly MNTC — a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) — the tollway arm of MPIC, and Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC) currently have ongoing arbitration cases against the government.

MPTC President and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco said in May that overdue toll rate adjustments for the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (CAVITEx) have reached around P6 billion, adding that the amount is “accumulating everyday.”

The government and the Metro Pacific group will have a preliminary conference in Singapore on June 27 with the international arbitration panel to agree on the timeline.

“Mag-iistart sa 27 ang preliminary conference (The preliminary conference will start on the 27th). It’s like a pre-trial kasi where people seat down and agree on the schedule, sort of a mutually agreed timetable, that’s all… walang resolution na nai-issue doon (no resolution will be issued there),” Mr. Quimbo said.

In April last year, MPIC, through NLEX Corp., filed a notice of arbitration against the government to obtain compensation worth some P3 billion for toll rate adjustments due to take effect for NLEx for both January 2013 and January 2015.

During the same month, the infrastructure conglomerate, through CIC, also issued a notice of arbitration and statement of claim seeking compensation worth P877 million for the government’s inaction its toll hike petition for CAVITEx which was due to take effect on Jan. 1, 2012, Jan. 1, 2014 and Jan. 1, 2015.

Last month, MNTC also filed a petition with the Toll Regulatory Board seeking approval for a toll rate increase at NLEx to recover the P2.9 billion the company spent on road widening.

CLAIM TO BE UPDATED
Mr. Quimbo said they will have to update the claim to “reflect the current” cost.
The preliminary conference, he added, is for both CAVITEx and NLEx, “for administrative efficiency.”

Apart from NLEx and CAVITEx, MPIC also operates the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx). It was also awarded other tollway projects such as the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway and NLEx-South Luzon Expressway Connector Road.

MPIC’s core net income rose 14% to P3.13 billion in the first quarter of 2017 from the P2.7 billion recorded during the same period last year supported by solid growth across its toll road, power, water, and hospital businesses.

NLEX Corp. saw its consolidated net income reached P1.07 billion in the January to March period, 16% up compared to the P921.61 million posted during the first quarter of 2016 driven by higher revenues on the back of sustained traffic growth across NLEx and SCTEx as average daily traffic for the NLEx reached 229,633 daily vehicle entries, higher by 7% while average daily traffic in SCTEx reached 51,128, up 20%.

MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

Shares in MPIC lost four centavos or 0.65% to end Tuesday trading at P6.15 apiece. — Imee Charlee C. Delavin

LT Group sets P10-B capex for firms’ expansion efforts

June 20, 2017 | 2:35 pm

LT GROUP, Inc. is counting on a better business environment alongside the Duterte administration’s intensive infrastructure program to help boost its performance in 2017.

The holding firm of businessman Lucio C. Tan will be rolling out P10 billion to fund the expansion of its businesses this year, primarily for its property and banking segments. This is a 42.85% jump from the firm’s actual spending of P7 billion in 2016.

Bulk of the capital expenditure (capex) has been allotted for Eton Properties Philippines, Inc. at P4 billion to P5 billion. The listed property developer is taking advantage of the growth of the business process outsourcing (BPO) — information technology sector as it continues construction of more commercial and office spaces.

Eton broke ground for Eton WestEnd Square, a mixed-use development in Pasong Tamo in the second quarter of 2016, as well as its fifth BPO office tower in Eton Centris in Quezon City. Together, the two buildings will add 52,000 square meters of leasable office space to the company’s portfolio.

“We’re consciously moving forward in real estate by doing it ourselves and also partnering with other developers, just like the strategy with other business segments,” LT Group President and Chief Operating Officer Michael G. Tan said in a press briefing after the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting in Manila on Tuesday.

Philippine National Bank will receive the second largest share at P2 billion to P3 billion to upgrade to new technology, particularly for Europay, Mastercard, and Visa chips and for its automated teller machines and point of sale terminals.

“There’s a brick and mortar strategy but also a digital strategy, we’re still expanding,” Mr. Tan said.

The remaining capex will be for the company’s other operations. Mr. Tan noted that the allotment for 2017 will be financed through internally generated funds and bank loans.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE
For the food and beverage segment, Asia Brewery, Inc. (ABI) is pushing with the local production of the Tiger beer brand this year, after partnering in a 50-50 joint venture with Netherlands-based Heineken International B.V. in 2016.

“It’s promising… [The goal is] just to be a decent sized player, not at the current 5%… to grow it profitably. There will be other investments, like upgrading the breweries,” Mr. Tan said, citing that their market share for beer products is currently below 5%. ABI currently has two breweries in the country, with one each in Cabuyao and El Salvador, Cagayan de Oro.

Asked on how much will be the company’s investment to upgrade the breweries, Mr. Tan said it would take “a couple hundred millions.”

The company will further look into the local production of the Heineken beer once they start producing Tiger products here.

For Tanduay Distillery, Inc., Mr. Tan said they are looking for continued export of Tanduay products after seeing the recovery of the rum market in the country, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao where Tanduay is strongest.

Meanwhile, the company said the government’s smoking ban will affect their cigarette business through PMFTC, Inc. Last year, the company has already seen a decline in market share due to the increase of prices as taxes increased as well as the placement of graphic health warnings in the cigarette packs. The firm’s market share currently stands at 71%.

“But there are designated smoke areas naman… It’s harder (to compete) because taxes are high, and coupled with issues of illicit trade,” Mr. Tan said.

For international expansion, Mr. Tan said they are eyeing the Southeast Asian market for export of non-alcoholic products through a partnership with Spanish dairy firm Calidad Pascual.

“We’re exploring… That’s the strategy, if we go out we look at the non-alcoholic,” he said.
The company’s attributable net income for the first quarter of 2017 was flat at P2.2 billion, following a 6% growth in gross revenues to P17.27 billion in the same period.
Shares in LT Group were down by 28 centavos or 1.84% to close at P14.94 each at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday. — Arra B. Francia

Corporate bond demand seen healthy despite government shift in infrastructure financing

June 20, 2017 | 11:56 am

By Krista A. M. Montealegre, National Correspondent

APPETITE for corporate bonds will likely be sustained even if the government takes on more debt to fund its massive infrastructure program, market participants said in recent interviews.

Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Cesar B. Crisol said the pipeline of new corporate debt offers still looks robust despite the shift in the government’s infrastructure policy away from one that is anchored on public-private partnerships (PPP), which had been the case under the previous administration.

“There is sufficient liquidity in the market,” Mr. Crisol said.

“For a big portion of the government-initiated initiatives, you have government-to-government funding so that you don’t crowd out the private sector.”

State economic managers have said that infrastructure projects, estimated to cost P8.4 trillion in the next five years, will be financed by government appropriations — supported by trillion of pesos of expected additional revenue from up to five packages of tax reforms — overseas development assistance and PPP.

One concern: reduced revenue projections from the first tax reform package — which was watered down in the House of Representatives from the version the Finance department submitted to Congress in September last year — could mean the government will have to borrow more from the public to cover the shortfall, setting off a race for investors’ money that will jack up the cost of financing and investment for the private sector.

“If the Senate version continues to be watered down, then they (government) might borrow more from the public,” Sun Life of Canada Philippines, Inc. Chief Investment Officer Michael Gerard D. Enriquez said.

“This might mean… higher rates in the medium term. We definitely welcome higher corporate bond rates as an investment vehicle in the medium term.”

ING Bank Senior Economist Jose Mario I. Cuyegkeng said the impact on local interest rates of the government’s infrastructure policy will be “more moderate” since it has a menu of financing options including foreign-denominated borrowings.

“Domestic borrowing is likely to be higher than program, but the increment is unlikely to bring interest rates to prohibitive levels,” Mr. Cuyegkeng said.

Sun Life’s Mr. Enriquez said corporate bonds will always offer a spread over government debt that will continue to draw investors.

“Given there’s still quite a lot of liquidity in the market, the appetite for corporate bonds will probably be only slightly affected, if at all. Of course, a lot also depends on pricing,” said RCBC Capital Corp. President Jose Luis F. Gomez.

BDO Capital & Investment Corp. President Eduardo V. Francisco said companies are lining up to raise funds in anticipation of the government’s infrastructure program that will provide the private sector more opportunities for expansion.

“As government undertakes the projects themselves, however, the capital-raising requirement of the corporates seeking to invest in infrastructure may be lessened. The ‘build, build, build’ strategy, however, will spur further economic activity and expansion for the conglomerates,” First Metro Investment Corp. Executive Vice-President Justino Juan R. Ocampo said, referring to the catch phrase of the government’s P8-trillion infrastructure drive.

Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) which has a balance of P18 billion in shelf registration and one of the most active bond issuers, will continue to tap the debt capital market to bankroll capital expenditures.

“Fixed-income investors continue to look for investment outlets and the appetite for both local corporate and government debt should remain healthy,” ALI Chief Finance Officer Augusto D. Bengzon said.

Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno has said that the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte will cap annual budget deficit at three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) — a ceiling designed to make room for increased public spending on infrastructure and social services.

For 2017 the government set a P3.35-trillion budget, earmarking P860.653 billion for infrastructure spending, equivalent to 5.4% of GDP, against the P756.441 billion programmed in 2016.

Until the end of its term in 2022, the administration is looking to jack up infrastructure spending to an equivalent of 7.1% of GDP, as it aims to spur the economy to grow 7-8% annually starting 2018, from 6.5-7.5% this year.

ING’s Mr. Cuyegkeng said the government has some headroom for additional borrowing to fund infrastructure spending, noting a few years of fiscal deficits that are above three percent of GDP could be acceptable to the market and credit rating agencies for as long as spending is for expansion of the economy’s capacity.

The government debt-to-GDP ratio dropped to 42% in 2016 — the lowest level since 1996 — on the back of prudent fiscal spending, debt liability management and improved tax collections under previous administrations.

“But a chronically high deficit ratio without government measures to eventually cut this to more acceptable levels of three percent or less would be a cause for concern,” Mr. Cuyegkeng said.

Government to borrow P889.7 billion next year

June 20, 2017 | 11:46 am

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter

THE GOVERNMENT plans to borrow over a fifth more in 2018 — with bulk of loans to be sourced locally — to help support its ambitious spending plans, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters yesterday.

The Philippines will borrow about P889.72 billion next year, 22.3% more than its revised P727.64-billion program for 2017, Ms. De Leon said, explaining: “We are also looking at a higher [ceiling] in terms of… the deficit, so it is a higher amount.”

Ms. De Leon said the government will retain an 80%:20% borrowing mix, still in favor of domestic sources. Broken down, P711.776 billion will be sourced from local creditors, bulk of which is usually raised from the state’s offering of Treasury bills and bonds. About P177.944 billion will be borrowed from external sources, although Ms. De Leon said the Treasury has not yet determined how much will be secured via commercial loans and through foreign aid.

The Duterte administration is looking at a wider deficit ceiling equivalent to three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) annually starting 2017, as it plans to drastically raise spending, particularly on infrastructure.

The 2017 borrowing program was adjusted upward from P631.294 billion previously, in order to reflect the programmed deficit cap.

Last year, the government incurred a P353.422-billion budget gap, equivalent to 2.4% of GDP.

The Philippines in the past six years had embarked on a program of fiscal consolidation — increasing revenues while instilling more discipline in spending — that earned for it a string of investment-grade ratings from global debt watchers starting in 2013.

The administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who assumed office at the end of June last year, now plans to capitalize on the substantial fiscal space built to ramp up spending on infrastructure and social services in order to fuel faster economic growth that, in turn, will lift more Filipinos out of poverty.

The Treasury raised P150.602 billion in the first quarter, and now looks to generate P180 billion between April-June through weekly auctions of debt papers.

The government also raised $500 million in new money as it sold dollar bonds to foreign investors in January, as well as some P175 billion from its public offering of retail Treasury bonds last April.

Ms. De Leon said the 2017 borrowing schedule does not factor in the plan to issue “panda” bonds — denominated in yuan — which Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III wanted to pursue within the year.

“We still have to see the emerging developments in the ‘panda’ market so we have not really definitely said that we will go to the ‘panda’ market,” Ms. De Leon told reporters. “It will be a maiden issuance so we have to learn the process and learn the market more and make sure that whatever rates we get will also be competitive for the secondaries of our issuances right now.”

Mr. Dominguez has said that he is looking to issue yuan-denominated debt papers sometime next semester, which could amount to $200 million and come in three- and five-year tenors.

This new fund-raising platform will further pad the country’s coffers and support plans to increase infrastructure spending to an equivalent of 7.1% of GDP by 2022. In turn, this infrastructure push is expected to drive overall growth to as fast as 7-8% by the end of Mr. Duterte’s term in mid-2022 from the 6.2% average in the past six years, slash unemployment rate to 3-5% by 2022 from 5.5% last year and cut the national poverty rate to 14% also by then from 21.6% in 2015.

The world’s worst countries for workers

June 19, 2017 | 11:41 pm

A guide to monetizing your passion

June 19, 2017 | 11:04 pm

How often would you hear someone tell you to “follow your heart” when talking about money and income? Almost never maybe. Nowadays, people often think that earning money and following your heart are two things that are not mutually exclusive. But what if we tell you that it is possible to do both?

Let’s all agree on something first: we are all born with a passion, a burning desire to do something, something that makes us excited and gives us a natural high. Whether it’s a personal interest or a hobby, it’s something we are actually willing to do for free. But the good news is, we can also make money out of our passion. How then do we make this happen?

What are the things that you love doing? What activities spark joy and truly make you happy? What is something you’d be willing to really work hard for?

Clarissa: I love my job in advertising but I also found joy in teaching and singing. I have my full time job from Mondays to Fridays. Then, on Saturdays, I would teach in the university where I graduated from. And, when I have free time, I would accept singing gigs during weddings, concerts or parties.

Sharon: Selling was a gift I discovered when I was really young and still in school. As soon as I discovered this gift, I grabbed every opportunity that presented itself and sold all sorts of things from shoes, shirts, toys, supplements, even firecrackers.

While we are passionate about doing certain things, it is also important to clearly define how far you will use this passion in generating additional income.

Sharon: It is very important to be clear on why you are doing this. That it’s a business even if you are doing it as a hobby and just for fun. It is important to know that you spend on a hobby whereas business brings in the money.

Clarissa: There’s a part of me that’s scared to make the things I’m passionate about as my only source of income because I have days when I’m not as inspired and I wouldn’t like to be forced into doing them just because I need the money. I don’t want to feel pressured to beat deadlines and meet quotas as I usually just want to do these out of love and fun. So, it’s really important to be clear on why you’re doing this and up to what extent you’re willing to monetize your passion.

Set specific targets for your hobby‑turned‑business. For example, you love baking and you are willing to bake a few batches of cookies on a weekly basis to earn extra cash. Have a target in mind. Let’s say you will only take in three orders for the week. By doing so, you can still earn and do what you love, while avoiding burning yourself out. It will take some time and practice, but you will find the balance eventually.

What do I need to set this up? How much capital is needed? Where would this capital come from? What materials will be used? Who are my suppliers? All these are things you should be able to map out and think about. Luckily, for some ventures, it’s actually possible to start making money out of nothing.

Sharon: Sheer passion and burning desire were my only capital. What I just did was source out suppliers who would do business on a consignment basis. There are a lot of them out there who are willing to do this so, I started creating partnerships with them.

Clarissa: Skills and talents do not need start‑up costs at all. Since mine were service‑oriented, all I needed to do was market and sell myself to potential clients. Of course, I had to really think about what gigs I wanted to do and what stints I wanted to sign up for.

Nobody becomes successful with just being passionate and wanting to do things. Make sure you don’t get trapped with perfecting your plans. Accept that your plans will be needing re‑work along the way anyway, so just go and start doing it. Invest your time and effort, and give it your best shot.

Couple your desire with hard work. Improve your craft and follow through with hard skills.

When we decided to be advocates of financial literacy by developing our books, we knew that there was a lot of work to be done. We discussed and thought about what we wanted to impart to our readers. We read even more articles and books to expand what we know about managing finances. We had to learn how it was to publish a book and how copyrights come into play. We even studied how online businesses and distribution work. All these took time, effort and a lot of management to translate our plans into reality.

During this venture, you will also face countless obstacles. Many times, you will question your worth and be pushed to doubt what you can do. But, never let it faze you. Do not shortchange yourself. Know your worth and learn to ask for a fair price. At the same time, always make sure you give it your best effort and talent. You are already doing something you love, might as well make others love your work as much as you do.

At the end of it all, you’ll realize that all the hard work and challenges are worth it.

Sharon: From toys and shirts, my passion in selling and business grew to real estate, billboard advertising and publishing. Although I’m still on my way to achieving all my dreams and business goals, I am loving this journey.

Clarissa: I need my creative outlet and I feel that I am in my element whenever I teach, speak in public or perform on stage. I feel great when I touch lives by sharing my gifts. I know I’m living my purpose when I see our readers and followers learn a thing or two, and completely change their money mindset. And of course, it doesn’t hurt that you earn from doing the things you love.

Your passion will start this journey but your actions will see it through. Persevere through the challenges because at the end of the day, you will be left with nothing but a full heart and a full pocket.

Clarissa Seriña‑de la Paz and Sharon W. Que are financial literacy advocates and the bestselling authors of “I Wish They Taught Money in School” and “Money Grows on Trees” Check out their books at www.lifestyleupgrade101.com. Get 10% off, plus a free notepad and bookmark, by sharing this story with the hashtags #MoneyMonday and #SparkUp. Remember to make your post public!

How does the Philippines fare in terms of innovation?

June 18, 2017 | 11:30 pm

innovation

QC aims to be the future ‘wellness capital of Asia’

June 16, 2017 | 10:17 pm

In life, there is nothing more essential than being healthy. Without it, we may not find happiness, peace, and success in all other aspects. It is undeniably more valuable than any precious stone, amount of money, or exquisite item that this world can give. The creed of having a well‑balanced lifestyle is a tall order that few can live up to, though it isn’t as difficult as solving mathematical equations, or solving Raymond Smullyan’s “The Hardest Logic Puzzle Ever.” I can say this as someone who is battling chronic myeloid leukemia or CML—a type of cancer that deeply affects the blood and the bone marrow.

Trying to hustle and grind just like any other working millennial, I prioritize staying healthy, especially now that I have begun living independently in Quezon City, far beyond the perimeters of our home in Cavite. With a yoke upon my shoulder for the rest of my life, I need to make sure that I can breathe peacefully in my own small corner in this city, which happens to be one of the country’s most progressive and jam‑packed.

Last week, Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista made a huge announcement. He declared that Quezon City would become the “Wellness capital of Asia,” with boosted medical tourism facilities. This was a big promise. The city, according to plan, will become a bastion of health and wellness not just in the country but ahead of the nearly 50 countries in the continent.

The plan is ambitious, considering that the Philippines was named “one of the unhealthiest countries in Asia” just last year in a survey, with as much as 80% of 764 Filipino adults claiming that they are not satisfied with their health.

And so, when the good mayor also invited journalists to cover a wellness tour that would boast the country’s “state-of-the-art medical facilities,” I jumped at the opportunity to become a part of it: to see if indeed, this city where I live and work can provide respite to someone who needs to recuperate.

First stop: a dead man’s home.

Art Erka Capili Inciong | Photo Wikimedia Commons

Behind the old beige and white walls is a story that the city government of Quezon City has preserved for years. At the Quezon Memorial Circle from Gilmore Street in New Manila stands The Quezon Heritage House: the abode and refuge of the family of the late Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon. Acquired in 1927, the house bore witness to many tumultuous events in President Quezon’s life—being a leader who took the challenge of building a nation, convalescing, and up to his last days.

The tour was led by a kind lady named Redge Jimenez Lopez, the external public relations officer of the Quezon City Tourism Office. Together with Ms. Lopez were our tour guides from the same office, Vince Buenaventura and Dhoi dela Cruz.

We walked on the floors decked out in charming machuca tiles, amid the neo‑classical American architectural design, and entered in Quezon’s room. Some of the objects inside his room were well‑preserved. His wife, Doña Aurora Quezon, the first chairperson of the Philippine National Red Cross, spent her life as first lady and mother in this house. We saw how fine she was as a lady.

Good thing, some of her good ol’ stuff have been preserved like her peinadora (dresser) inside her room, the well‑designed vintage plates, and a caja de la planta in the kitchen. The ground floor of the house is where the late President’s memorabilia are located. From being the country’s first Senate President to becoming the President of the Philippine Commonwealth, indeed, President Manuel L. Quezon, through these well kept files, showed how glorious his life was. We also learned different facts of life as our tour guide presented a lot of brain teasers and trivia.

To those who are planning to take a look and take a trip down memory lane in the late President’s life, the Quezon Heritage House is open at the Quezon Memorial Circle, Diliman, Quezon City from Mondays to Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Here are the admission fees:

Public School Students ‑ free
Private School Students ‑ ₱10.00
Non‑Students ‑ ₱10.00
Tour operators ‑ ₱300 per bus
Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Employees of the City Government, Guests of the City government and Lakbay‑Aral visitors ‑ free

Art Erka Capili Inciong | Photo QC Tourism Department

Just a five‑minute walk from the Quezon Heritage House, also inside the Circle, the Quezon City Experience (QCX) Museum is a seriously interactive social history museum. The museum projects the great city’s humble beginnings, its struggles, the pressing problems it is facing now, and certainly, how well‑achieved it is today through its 16 galleries, fitted with world‑class installations, tablets, and holograms.

We started in a gallery with the pylons of the Quezon Memorial Shrine, which represent the three islands of the Philippines. The walls of the room carry a 360‑degree illustration of the entire city from the top of the shrine.

Then we entered an overwhelmingly green gallery which simulates Quezon City’s past before it became the powerful metropolis that we know today. The late President Quezon supposedly envisioned his first urban plan while looking over the landscape from a hilltop. A few steps away is a replica of Manuel L. Quezon’s office in the Malacanang. Here, we saw the plans of the first local government. We also sat on his chair and felt like presidents for 15 minutes.

The war gallery of the QCX museum tells stories of how the city engaged in the second world war, as well as the urban legends that haunt locals. SPOILER AHEAD: There is a hologram of the infamous “white lady” of Balete Drive.

The museum also pays tribute to the city’s housing projects. There is a gallery where you can walk through a typical Filipino living room and dining room. We sat at the the couches and seemingly listening to the vintage radio (which honestly looks like a microwave oven) and glanced through a display of achievements of a typical Filipino family on one of the segments of the house’s walls. Very Pinoy.

One of the more exciting galleries, I must say, is the education gallery. Here, the educational setting in Quezon City is elaborated and described. There is a large interactive and motion‑sensitive television screen where we answered a history quiz. OPM songs blasted from headphones to simulate a high‑school field.

Quezon City is known as “the city of stars” for the country’s prime broadcasting companies and film establishments are located here. The entertainment gallery showcases the entertainment industry that has been living under the metropolis’ roof for decades now. There are dressing rooms, a simulation of a news studio, replicas of film and television cameras and a costume from a defunct television program in the gallery.

The most moving gallery, perhaps, is the one where the city’s issues were presented via different art installations, depicting poverty, hunger and lack of funds for education.

Should you wish to visit the museum at the Quezon Memorial Circle, Diliman, Quezon City, here are the admission fees:

Students with ID ‑ ₱80
Quezon City resident ‑ ₱100 (must present valid ID with address)
Non-Quezon City resident ‑ ₱150
Group of 50 ‑ 20% discount
Group of 50 students ‑ 30% discount
Senior citizens/Persons with disability/Solo parent ‑ 20% discount
Family of 5 members ‑ 20% discount
Free admission for children 6 years and below

Being originally from Cavite, I had a closer look at how great this city is which I consider my second home. The stories behind its achievement are inspiring. Quezon City is not just a progressive city, it is a place where innovative ideas are formed and unwavering dreams are made.

Art Erka Capili Inciong | Photo Hillside Cafe & Juice Bar

Quezon City may be known as the birthplace of the food park, which are typically teeming with sinful and cheap food, but there are also healthier options.

Hillside Cafe & Juice Bar offers fresh organic food. The interiors itself have a “feel‑good” ambiance that everyone can take pleasure in.

I ordered their baked salmon with caesar dressing, with brown rice and side salad. For only ₱345, you too can devour this scrumptious healthy meal. The cafe also serves various kinds of juice and smoothies with names that are out of your usual guilty thirst‑quenchers. Prices range from ₱145 to ₱340.

Beside the cafe is the Cedarhills Garden Center, a horticultural milieu that promotes natural and organic farming in the heart of Quezon City. A place where one can buy or breathe in the fresh air.

Hillside Cafe & Juice Bar is located at 57 Mo. Ignacia Ave, Diliman, Quezon City. It is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Art Erka Capili Inciong | Photo Google Earth

Located at E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, Quezon City, St. Luke’s Medical Center is gearing to be at the forefront of international medical tourism spots with its facilities and services. The assistant vice president for Institutional accounts, Tristan Ramos, gave us a quick tour on what St. Luke’s offers. Recently, a network of independent healthcare providers, Mayo Clinic Care Network, partnered with St. Luke’s Medical Center for their patients. With this partnership, collaboration among physicians is promoted. Patients can expect extensive answers to their complex medical questions at no additional charge.

We first went to the hospital’s newly‑opened concierge building where foreign patients can be directly assisted (which we found very convenient), then to the main hospital where various health institutes are located. Memories as a leukemia patient flashed as I walked through the halls of the hospital. Two years ago, I went through a test called fluorescent in situ hybridization procedure at this same hospital’s Institute of Pathology, which confirmed the diagnosis. Several follow‑up blood tests also happened in this place. The hospital serves as the “go‑to place” of those battling different ruthless illnesses.

St. Luke’s uses cutting‑edge technology to easily diagnose and treat different modern‑day maladies. They also make sure that the hospital has everything—from medical to administrative—that can cater to as many people.

When asked if the management is ready for the city government’s vision of advancing medical tourism in Quezon City, the vice‑president and assistant head of St. Luke’s medical practice, Dr. Anthony T. Uygongco answered: “We are ready.”

‘WE ARE HONEST TO OUR CLIENTS’

Located at the 5th Floor of South Insula Condominium in Timog Avenue, Svelt‑i offers health and beauty services using state of the art technology. When I asked Dr. Lalaine Salazar about the edge of the clinic among other clinics that has sprouted in Quezon City, she said: “We are honest to our clients. We tell them what they should do and assess their problems before proceeding to a certain procedure.”

Svelt‑i’s top services include Revlite, I‑curve, and Accent Ultra. Revlite is a revolutionary aesthetic medical laser that helps in removing tattoos, reducing acne scars and wrinkles, fine hair removal and treatment of vascular lesions. I‑curve offers a slimming treatment which is non‑invasive. Accent Ultra is also a non‑invasive procedure for body and face contouring.

To know more of Svelt‑i’s other services, visit www.svelti.com.ph.

During times when life hits you so bad, sometimes the best thing to do is pamper yourself with a fancy trip to the spa.

To cap off a long, tiring, but undoubtedly fun day, as part of the tour’s itinerary, we found ourselves, dog‑tired and begging for a treat at The Spa at TriNoma. We also needed the boost to face tomorrow’s challenges in our workplaces—including the demands of our bosses.

The place is an oasis in the mall, located at Level 3, Wellness Zone of TriNoma Mall, North Ave, Quezon City. The Spa has other branches in Metro Manila, but perhaps this is the most well‑appointed, it even requires a reservation made two days prior to a session.

Because I am no fan of a full body massage, I requested for a foot massage only. It was a perfect ending after a day full of walking through a city which soon will be welcoming more feet.

All in all, Quezon City has the potential to become a metropolis of health and wellness. Personally, the city government’s vision for the city gives me hope to continue my life as a working millennial, and made me realize that there is a better, healthier way to live.

Even though I am facing my own battle, I can assure my family that my second home is capable of making me “well.”

I also must say this: Quezon City gives hope to our country to redeem itself, and eventually become globally competitive in terms of health and wellness. I am excited to see how medical tourism in this city will develop.

Being diagnosed with CML does not mean that I have to stop living and discovering a lot of good things in the world. There are still a lot of places I have yet to discover and I am looking forward to those moments across the world. At least for now, I know that this city has a place for me.

Place of the Gods

June 15, 2017 | 11:59 pm

Text and photos by Bettina V. Roc, Associate Editor

Try telling a friend you’re traveling to Mexico and the first thing you will likely be asked is “Why?”

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