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RCBC to complete branch upgrades within the year

RIZAL Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is looking to finish upgrading all its branches in the country to its Branch of Today (BOT) format this year.

There are 118 branches left to upgrade, the listed bank said in a statement late on Wednesday.

RCBC has a total branch network of 440.

“By leveraging cutting-edge technology and customer insights/feedback, we are not only modernizing our branches but also enhancing the overall customer journey. BOT represents a paradigm shift in how we approach banking where customers can seamlessly transition between digital and physical channels and expect the same level of service and convenience across all touchpoints,” RCBC Branch Services Support Head Richard M. Peralta was quoted as saying.

The BOT format aims to enhance the bank’s end-to-end digital channels to improve the delivery of its services in its branches. 

Enhancements include a digital portal and robotic process automation.

The overhauling of the bank’s branches is part of its digital transformation strategy in a bid to simplify customer services.

RCBC is also training branch personnel in line with the new features being added to the branches to complement the services provided via its digital platforms, the bank added.

“Our personnel are there to help customers make their way through various transactions and customer journeys,” Mr. Peralta said.

RCBC’s branch staff are trained to provide personal assistance to guide customers across different transactions, he added.

As of end-2023, RCBC was the sixth-largest lender in the country in terms of assets with P1.29 trillion, central bank data showed.

The bank’s net income fell by 39.47% to P2.2 billion in the first quarter in the absence of a one-off gain from its sale of properties recorded in the same period last year.

RCBC shares rose by 10 centavos or 0.44% to end at P22.60 apiece on Thursday. — AMCS

The other side of US Fed Chair Jerome Powell

FEDERAL RESERVE

Jerome Hayden “Jim” Powell is neither an academic economist as some would expect, nor an economics practitioner in the US Fed’s research department, or in a New York investment bank, or even the treasury. When he was appointed as the 16th chair of the US Federal Reserve in 2018, I did a quick search of the web that showed he is an American lawyer and an investment banker. He studied politics in Princeton University and earned his Juris Doctor (JD) from Georgetown University Law Center, both in the 1970s.

Yes, Powell is a lawyer. But he is not the first lawyer to serve as a central bank governor. We recall another lawyer, Sir Gordon Richardson, governor of the Bank of England in 1973-83, who visited Manila in the early 1980s to address the Southeast Asian Central Bank Governors meeting in Baguio. Like Richardson, Powell started as a lawyer, worked as a clerk at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, and practiced law for several years.

And like Richardson, he also abandoned law for banking.

In 1984, he embraced investment banking, first at Dillon, Read and Co., and later worked his way up in several financial institutions that included partnership at The Carlyle Group. He led its Industrial Group within the Carlyle US Buyout Fund. He briefly served as assistant secretary for financial institutions and undersecretary for domestic finance in the early 1990s at the Treasury under President George Bush, Sr. He then founded a private investment firm, Severn Capital Partners, that specialized in finance and investments in various industries.

His experience in central banking started when he was appointed a member of the US Fed Board of Governors in 2012 and promoted to chairman, succeeding now Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Known as a consensus-builder and problem-solver, Powell was also commended for his role in helping combat the financial fallout of COVID-19 by accommodative monetary policy. He argued then that supporting the US Fed’s dual mandate of price stability and full employment should take precedence over potential asset price inflation. He was branded by Bloomberg as “Wall Street’s Head of State” due to the extremely influential monetary policy under his watch and the resulting unprecedented profitability for Wall Street.

We cannot forget Powell’s turnaround in December 2021 when he dropped his view about US inflation as being transitory. “I think it’s probably a good time to retire that word and try to explain more clearly what we mean.” By that time, inflation had soared to 6.8%, the highest point since 1990. He admitted that “the risk of higher inflation has increased.” It was then that the US Fed hinted that quantitative easing and mortgage-backed security purchases had to be curtailed.

US inflation was more persistent than the US Fed had predicted.

This is the other side of Powell: he is capable of embracing change, in his career and in his views. In his taped message before the 2024 graduating class of Georgetown University Law Center on May 19, Powell not only reminisced over his family ties with Georgetown — having graduated there himself, following the footsteps of his own father, and his two daughters following the first and second generations — but also the hard work and the fun in the great campus in Washington, DC’s Georgetown. He enjoyed watching movies and dancing the steps of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, particularly of “The Time Warp.”

On embracing change, Powell informed the Georgetown law crowd that after over 40 years since his own graduation, fundamental changes have taken place both in the workplace and in society in general, driven by technology. The pace of change would not slow down, rather it would gather more pace. He advised his audience to consider what practicing law would look like in 10-20 years. If for anything, one should be agile and prepared to take risks. Experience should be valued.

Change is what leadership is all about. And no one can ever say he is prepared to take on a leadership role because the first thing that strikes at the heart at such a point is self-doubt. As if he was addressing himself, Powell admit-ted that when one is challenged to do new things, it is safe and fair to assume he is going to make some mistakes. Nothing wrong with that, but that will be most valuable when one learns from them and never repeats the same mistakes. Dwelling excessively on past blunders is a no-no for Powell. It’s always a clean slate on which new wins can be inscribed.

Indeed, Powell exhibited this attitude when he finally deleted “transitory inflation” from his vocabulary. He admitted he should communicate better to his constituents if monetary policy is to be effective, even to the pedestrians. Change is fundamental to deliver on such an elusive mandate as price stability and full employment.

The US Fed Chairman has a broad perspective on what he called a “wide variety of potential paths.” Having left law practice for investment banking, he stressed to the law graduates that law education “teaches you to think clearly, analyze thoroughly, and understand all sides of an argument.” His law background made him choose to work in an investment bank in New York headed by former Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady, the former US senator from New Jersey and after whom the Philippines’ Brady bonds were named. At the same time, he mustered enough boldness, even as the most junior of staff, to approach Brady and indicated to him that he ultimately wanted to do public service. “I said that if you need someone to staff you on anything you do in Washington, I’m your guy.”

Powell was never discouraged hearing Brady responded with a simple “Great, thanks.” He was assigned a challenging task after a few months, and this was to defend an oil company from a hostile takeover. He delivered on his assignment, and when Brady was appointed Treasury head, he took Powell along and “opened the door… to higher levels of public service.”

Chair Powell talked about initiative and thinking beyond the law graduates themselves. “Each generation has an obligation to move us closer to the ideal, as embodied by the famous image of blindfolded Lady Justice holding the scales.” He concluded his address by quoting former US Fed Chair Ben Bernanke who said; “Those who are luckiest… also have the greatest responsibility to work hard, to contribute to the betterment of the world, and to share their luck with others.” While for some, it’s beyond luck, the point is to share one’s blessings.

The US Fed Chairman can speak with forthrightness because time and again, he has demonstrated independence of mind and heart. No amount of criticism and finger pointing by former US President Donald Trump that the US central bank was behind the sharp slowdown of the US economy affected him. He refused to cut interest rates despite Trump’s regular negative tweets against the Fed and its chairman.

In response to Trump’s pressure, Powell asserted that he intended to serve his full four-year tenure. Trump could not make him leave his post. Current President Joe Biden decided to uphold the independence of the US Fed and its chairman by reappointing him, a Republican, for another four years in 2022. This was enough of a pillar for Powell to lean on and remain independent in pursuing monetary policy.

Powell could very well maintain his policy independence because he chose to serve the American public. He nurtured public service as early as when he was just a budding investment banker. Based on public filings, Powell is independently wealthy, having a net worth estimated at about $55 million. He has served on the boards of charitable and educational institutions including a public charter school.

On Feb. 8, 2023, Fortune reported on leadership, CEO salaries and executive compensation. On its coverage of the US Fed Chairman, the title said it all: “The most influential figure in America’s economy earns just $190,000 a year — and he says that’s fair.”

 

Diwa C. Guinigundo is the former deputy governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He served the BSP for 41 years. In 2001-2003, he was alternate executive director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He is the senior pastor of the Fullness of Christ International Ministries in Mandaluyong.

The growing preference for ‘21st century skills’

REUTERS

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE proficiency and having an international outlook are among the “21st century skills” that are becoming more important in evaluating potential candidates for a position, executives said.

British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Executive Director and Trustee Christopher James Nelson, who has spent more than 40 years in international business, told BusinessWorld by phone that applicants must have an “international outlook.”

“In a sense, we’re trying to connect companies. We’re trying to grow the Chamber. That requires us to know what our members want at the same time, trying to bring new companies into the Philippines. (That requires) an international outlook,” he said.

Mr. Nelson said team spirit, though a cliché, is important for hirers.

“Because we are a Chamber… our key role is to help our members. You look very much for that team spirit and that willingness to help people. It’s that interest and enthusiasm in the areas that we work in,” he said.

Mr. Nelson highlighted the importance of being a “generalist” because Chamber work involves the “complete gamut of various matters.”

“Our members are all in different sectors. We need to have generalists, so I look for people who can research (what they need to know), rather than (specialize) in a specific area only,” he said.

Jack Madrid, IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines president and chief executive officer, said cloud skills are important for those looking to work in tech.

“Cloud engineers and cloud developers are needed for AI (artificial intelligence) … Skills needed are diverse and include data analytics, cybersecurity as well as (a familiarity with) healthcare, accounting, and financial services,” he said in a Viber message.

Strong comprehension and critical thinking will also help a potential employee stand out from the rest of the talent pool, he said. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

TRB, expressway operators to roll out rebate for farm produce trucks

Motorists pass Mindanao Ave. Toll Plaza in Valenzuela on Dec. 17, 2020. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and expressway operators will implement a toll rebate program for trucks transporting agricultural products starting June 1.

“This program aims to protect the welfare of the general public by minimizing the impact of toll rate increase on the overall inflationary situation to ensure the stability of food prices,” TRB Executive Director Alvin A. Carullo said in a press conference on Thursday.

The rebate for accredited trucks carrying agricultural products varies depending on the vehicle class. For San Miguel Corp.-operated tollways, rebates range from P2 to P30, and for Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC)-operated tollways, they range from P16 to P156.

The toll exemptions cover users of the North Luzon Expressway, South Luzon Expressway, Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway, Subic-Clark Expressway, and Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway.

The TRB said farm-produce carrying trucks must have an Autosweep or Easytrip Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) account as a prerequisite to enroll in the toll rebate program.

The toll rebate program will be in effect for 90 calendar days or three months, with the possibility of extension following a review.

MPTC is the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

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. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Company drops plan to auction Graceland after judge blocks sale amid fraud claims

FACEBOOK.COM/ELVISPRESLEYSGRACELAND

THE COMPANY that had intended to auction off Graceland, singer Elvis Presley’s iconic mansion in Memphis, abandoned its plan on Wednesday after a Tennessee judge blocked the sale following allegations of fraud.

A representative for the company, Naussany Investments & Private Lending, told Reuters in response to a request for comment that it would withdraw all of its claims over Graceland. The statement arrived shortly after a court hearing in Memphis where Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued an injunction halting the foreclosure sale scheduled for Thursday.

Graceland, where Presley is buried, is a popular tourist attraction, drawing more than 600,000 visitors a year. Elvis Presley, dubbed the “King of Rock and Roll,” died in 1977 at age 42.

Naussany Investments had claimed that his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley — who died last year at age 54 — had used Graceland as collateral when borrowing $3.8 million that was never repaid, according to a public notice of the intended sale.

Mr. Presley’s granddaughter, actress Riley Keough — who inherited the home after her mother’s death — sued Naussany, asserting that her mother never took out the loan and that Naussany was engaged in fraud.

In a sworn affidavit attached to the lawsuit, the notary public listed on Naussany’s documents said she never met Lisa Marie Presley or notarized her signature.

The notary’s statement, Mr. Jenkins said on Wednesday, “brings in the question as to the authenticity of the signature” as well as whether the underlying document is fraudulent.

In response to an e-mail seeking comment, Gregory Naussany, whose role in the company is not clear, said it would “be withdrawing all claims with prejudice.” 

According to Gregory Naussany, the company made its decision in consultation with its lawyers after concluding it would have to file legal actions in multiple states, since the alleged loan was secured in Florida. He did not directly address Keough’s allegations.

In a statement, Elvis Presley Enterprises, which operates Graceland, said, “As the court has now made clear, there was no validity to the claims. There will be no foreclosure.” — Reuters

PHL banks’ operating environment seen stable

BW FILE PHOTO

PHILIPPINE BANKS, as well as those in emerging markets (EM) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, are expected to see a stable operating environment, but could be more vulnerable to economic shocks compared to developing markets (DM) in the region, Fitch Ratings said.

The debt watcher in a report on Thursday gave the Philippines a “bb+/stable” operating environment score, with an implied operating score of “b” amid an improved sovereign rating.

“The higher scores in DMs reflect their greater resilience, supported by robust regulatory frameworks, typically higher sovereign ratings, and stronger economic fundamentals. In comparison, APAC EMs’ rapid growth and expanding financial inclusion present both opportunities and vulnerabilities for banks,” Fitch said.

Fitch added that economic and business growth in the region will be driven by a growing middle class and global trade diversification, but its operating environment scores for most emerging markets are unlikely to significantly improve in the near term.

Growing competition in emerging markets, including foreign entrants, will also affect EM banks’ risk management and controls, it said.

“We expect that improvements in emerging market operating environment scores will outpace those in developing markets, although emerging markets may remain more vulnerable to future shocks than developing markets, especially in markets where regulatory advancements lag peers,” Fitch said.

The credit rater said the operating environments of developing markets are typically more resilient to shocks amid their stronger regulatory frameworks, more sophisticated banking systems, and more robust economic foundations.

Their governments are also able to spend more to support the local economy, allowing them to recover from shocks faster compared with emerging markets.

The credit rater added that there is increasing pressure for financial inclusion among emerging markets in the region to provide a greater cushion for shocks.

Still, the operating environment scores of emerging markets in Asia have potential for upward revision in the medium- to long-term amid “brighter economic prospects,” Fitch said.

“Mitigation of banking system vulnerabilities, such as high credit growth or weak governance, through robust income growth and effective regulatory oversight would be positive for the operating environment scores,” it said.

“The positive adjustments for India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam reflect their solid economic growth prospects, which present better opportunities for banks to do business than what is captured by the modest GDP (gross domestic product) per capita level,” it added. 

However, the operating environment scores of emerging markets could be more volatile due to their sensitivity to global economic and financial stresses. — AMCS

Presidential succession and the War Cabinet

GR STOCKS-UNSPLASH

An area urgently needed to be addressed is the issue of command succession, particularly in instances when the highest positions of government become suddenly unable to function for one reason or another.

The Constitution does provide (Art. VII.8) that in case “of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation of the President, the Vice-President shall become the President to serve the unexpired term. In case of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation of both the President and Vice-President, the President of the Senate or, in case of his inability, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall then act as President until the President or Vice-President shall have been elected and qualified.”

Unfortunately, the foregoing does not address two issues: a.) the simultaneous or eventual deaths, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignations of the President, Vice-President, Senate President, and the House Speaker; and, b.) temporary disability or temporary or illegal removal from office of the President.

For the first issue, the Constitution partly addresses it by requiring Congress to make a law on “who shall serve as President in case of death, permanent disability, or resignation of the Acting President. He shall serve until the President or the Vice-President shall have been elected and qualified, and be subject to the same restrictions of powers and disqualifications as the Acting President.”

However, it still doesn’t address the happenstance of when all four: the President, Vice-President, Senate President, and the House Speaker are killed simultaneously, as in, for example a decapitation strike by a foreign power. Which is all the more plausible when one considers all four are required to work in Metro Manila.

It’s suggested here that, while a law could be done to address both issues, yet an Executive Order and/or Administrative Order by the President could be issued that could comfortably settle the matter and serve as a confi-dence building measure as well.

Thus, in case all four officials are indeed taken out permanently, it is suggested that the President’s Executive Order/Administrative Order designate the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, then Defense, then Local Government, in that order, and then so on, to serve as acting President until such time as the Senate can elect an acting President (following the logic and spirit of Art. VII.8, paragraph 1).

An Executive Order/Administrative Order could also solve the question on temporary disability, unavailability, or removal of the President. Thus, for example, in situations when the President is temporarily incommunicado, the Vice-President should automatically step in to act as President. In cases when either or both President and Vice-President are temporarily disabled, incommunicado, etc., then it is suggested here that the Secretary of For-eign Affairs, then Defense, then Local Government, in that order, and so on, serve as acting President until such time the President or Vice-President can regain control of the reins of government.

Assuming an extreme situation when every Cabinet official, Senate President, and House Speaker are all either rendered eliminated permanently or temporarily disabled or temporarily incommunicado, it is suggested that an Executive Order/Administrative Order be issued delegating commander-in-chief powers, particularly civilian control over the military, to the Governors of Tarlac, Quezon, Cebu, Palawan, Davao Del Sur, and Zamboanga Del Sur corresponding to the six Unified Commands of the Northern Luzon Command, Southern Luzon Command, Visayas Command, Western Command, Eastern Mindanao Command, and Western Mindanao Command, respec-tively.

The six governors shall exercise Executive powers for the territories corresponding to the specific Command designated to them, including the powers described in the Constitution’s Art. VII.18, i.e., Martial Law and suspen-sion of habeas corpus, until such time as the remaining members of Congress that could ordinarily constitute a quorum or, in the absence of that, the surviving members of Congress and all the incumbent surviving Governors have been able to select a civilian as President, to serve until the contingency has passed by declaration of law.

Finally, the President can issue an Executive Order/Administrative Order, such that, when called to exercise his Commander-in-Chief powers (Art. VII.18) or in the instance the Congress declares that the Philippines is in a “state of war” (Art. VI.23), the automatic constitution of a War Cabinet (basically a streamlined National Security Council) be done. When called, the latter shall take over the functions of the National Security Council and be entrusted with the conduct of any armed conflict the Philippines is involved in. The regular Cabinet continues to operate on matters unrelated to or peripheral to the armed conflict.

As such, suggested members of the War Cabinet are the Vice-President, Executive Secretary, Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, the Local Government, Justice, and Finance, the Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff, the National Economic and Development Authority Director General, and National Security Adviser. Each War Cabinet member should be mandated with specific control and supervisory powers over other designated Cabinet members on specific matters deliberated upon by the War Cabinet.

These are things better done now rather than later.

The views expressed here are his own and not necessarily those of the institutions to which he belongs.

 

Jemy Gatdula is the dean of the Institute of Law of the University of Asia and the Pacific and is a Philippine Judicial Academy lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence. He read international law at the University of Cambridge.

https://www.facebook.com/jigatdula/

Twitter @jemygatdula

Low firefighting pay blamed for 2024 fires in Brazilian Amazon

REUTERS

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has experienced its largest blazes on record in the first four months of the year, with the environmental workers union placing partial blame on lower government spending on firefighting.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has staked his international reputation on protecting the Amazon rainforest and restoring Brazil as a leader on climate policy.

The Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, is vital to curbing catastrophic global warming because of the vast amount of greenhouse gas it absorbs.

A record drought in the Amazon rainforest region, driven by the El Niño climate phenomenon and global warming, has helped contribute to dry conditions fueling fires this year.

More than 12,000 square kilometers of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest burned between January and April, the most in over two decades of data, according to Brazil’s space research agency Inpe.

That’s an area larger than Qatar, or nearly the size of the US state of Connecticut.

Fires in the Amazon generally do not occur naturally but are ignited by people, often seeking to clear land for agriculture.

Firefighting budget cuts are also partially to blame, environmental workers union Ascema said in a statement.

They complained that this year’s budget for environmental agency Ibama to fight fires is 24% lower than 2023.

In a statement, Brazil’s environment ministry said that the Amazon fund, which draws on donations from foreign governments, put 405 million reais ($79.4 million) toward firefighting at the state level under Lula’s current administration, which began in 2023.

The federal government sent about 380 firefighters to Roraima, the northern Amazon state that was hit the hardest by the fires, which were intensified by drought, the ministry said.

It did not respond to questions on cuts to Ibama’s firefighting budget. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ibama agents have suspended field work since January amid tense negotiations with the federal government for better pay and working conditions.

Ascema has rejected the latest government offer and demanded larger salary rises after more than a decade of paltry increases and dwindling staff.

While the area burned is a record for the first four months of the year, it pales in comparison to blazes in the peak dry season from August to November, when an area that size can burn in a single month.

“The government needs to understand that without total engagement from environmental workers, the situation foreseen for this year is unprecedented catastrophe,” said Ascema President Cleberson Zavaski.

“Prevention efforts, such as raising awareness about ignitions, creating firebreaks in strategic areas, and conducting prescribed burns, depend on employing people with stable conditions,” said Manoela Machado, a fire researcher at the Woodwell Climate Research Center. “These measures will influence the severity of the fire crisis when the dry conditions allow fires to spread.” — Reuters

Paparazzi photographer accuses French actor Depardieu of Rome assault

GÉRARD DEPARDIEU in a scene from the 1993 movie Oh, Woe Is Me. — IMDB

ROME — A veteran Italian paparazzi photographer has accused Gerard Depardieu of assaulting him in central Rome after he took photos of the French actor and his partner at a famed restaurant.

Rino Barillari, 79, told Italian media he went to Harry’s Bar on Via Veneto when he heard that Mr. Depardieu was having lunch there on Tuesday with friends.

Mr. Barillari started taking photos before retreating to the street outside, after Mr. Depardieu’s entourage repeatedly asked him to leave.

The actor’s partner, Magda Vavrusova, followed him to remonstrate, Mr. Barillari said, with Mr. Depardieu rushing out soon afterwards and punching him three times, leaving him with a cut to his head that needed hospital attention.

“I reported Depardieu, a bully (to the police). He can’t believe he can get away with it,” Mr. Barillari told Il Messaggero newspaper.

Police said they were looking into the incident.

Mr. Barillari’s account differs significantly from that of Mr. Depardieu and Ms. Vavrusova, who said he had shoved them around.

“The photographer pushed me by touching my torso and chest with his arm,” Ms. Vavrusova said in a statement sent by her lawyer Delphine Meillet, adding she had also reported Mr. Barillari to police.

“Faced with the violence of the situation, Gerard Depardieu, who intervened between the paparazzi and his partner, fell and slipped on him,” the statement said.

In an interview with la Repubblica newspaper, Mr. Depardieu blamed the incident on Mr. Barillari.

“He started pushing, he was also pushing Magda, and … I completely lost my balance and fell,” he said.

Gianni Riotta, a well-known Italian journalist who witnessed the altercation disputed Mr. Depardieu’s version of events.

“That is a bald lie. He pummeled Barillari,” Mr. Riotta told Reuters, adding that he had given police a statement describing how Mr. Depardieu had attacked the photographer.

“With surprising agility, I saw Depardieu charge out of the restaurant towards the photographer and then he punched him,” adding that the attack left Mr. Barillari “bleeding profusely.”

Mr. Depardieu, one of France’s top movie stars, has been at the center of a growing number of scandals in recent years, including numerous allegations of sexual assault, that have tarnished his legacy. He is due to go on trial in Paris in October for alleged sexual assaults against two women during a 2021 film shoot. He has denied any wrongdoing. — Reuters

ACEN agrees to increase credit facility to YMP Telecom Power to P466 million

AYALA-LED AC Energy Corp. (ACEN) said it has agreed to YMP Telecom Power, Inc.’s request to increase its loan to P466 million from P200 million.

In a statement on Thursday, ACEN said it had signed a request letter to amend the terms of the agreement signed in December 2023. The amendment aims to increase the total facility amount from P200 million to P466 million, it said.

The loan would fund development costs for specific energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

Last year, ACEN said that its subsidiary Belenos Energy Corp. acquired YMP Telecom Power, Inc. and its affiliate YMP Industrial Power, Inc. by purchasing 100% of the outstanding shares held by Yoma Micro Power Pte. Ltd.

On its website, YMP describes itself as a “leading company” in Southeast Asia engaged in distributed renewable energy that encourages telecom operators and tower companies to decarbonize.

The company designs, procures, installs, and maintains solar and solar-hybrid power plants to allow telecom companies to save on diesel, YMP said.

Currently, ACEN holds around 4,700 megawatts of attributable capacity across the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia.

At the stock exchange on Thursday, shares in the company gained one centavo or 0.2% to end at P5 apiece. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Savor slow moments with slow food

What is slow food? Obviously, it is the opposite of fast food. What is fast food? The synonyms for fast food from Google were the following: convenience food, ready meal, processed food, junk, etc. According to Chit Juan, president of the NextGen Organization of Women Corporate Directors (NOWCD), the slow food movement started in Italy in 1986, when Carlo Petrini was concerned with the introduction of the “fast service restos,” a better term for fast food. The Philippine group was formed in the early 90s, which included renowned Chef Beth Romualdez. In 2012, Chit Juan attended the Terra Madre Salone del Gusto event in Italy and was convinced to be active in the movement, which advocates good, clean and fair food. Soon thereafter, she formed the Slow Food Manila community, while others formed their own groups in Negros, Kalinga, Cavite, Pangasinan and other areas of the country.

Chit says that Slow Food helps preserve food heritage and food cultures all over the world as it has presence in more than 100 countries. It is a grassroots movement that includes artisans, farmers, and food producers, chefs and consumers. The focus of the movement is on biodiversity and the preservation of food cultures, best expressed in the Ark of Taste living catalogue, where about 95 of our native species are listed for the world to see. Some of these are kadyos, criollo cacao, yellow cattle, black native pig, familiar fruits like duhat, kamias, macopa, mabolo, etc. Chit says many more can be included as native to the Philippines. Italy has over a thousand, being the prime mover of the global movement.

NOWCD in collaboration with Slow Food Philippines had a wonderful food tasting event called “Savor Slow Moments with Slow Food” at Joel’s Place Proscenium, Rockwell on May 16. The NOWCD women were transported to a new world of contemporary “grocerant,” or a hybrid modern grocery, specialty store and restaurant. Joel’s Place, founded by Donnie Tantoco, warmly welcomed the “Alpha Ladies.” He narrated its history, concept, which opened in December 2023 and was named after his late brother Joel.

Joel’s Place was captivating, a feast for the senses with the vibrant colors of fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables complemented by the scent of fresh bread and other culinary delights. The NOWCD ladies were treated to a gastronomic sampling of food using Slow Food principles curated by Chef Beth. She has been with the Rustan’s Group and opened 32 outlets in Tagaytay Highlands. She spent time in Europe where consumers know where their food comes from — always with a story, with provenance. In the Philippines, consumers don’t know. “No kuwento, no kwenta.”

Chef Beth taught us how to taste vinegar with sugar cubes and sample different kinds of olive oil with apple slices. Starters pako and farro salad and main courses creamy risotto and pork skewers were paired with appropriate wine. She also introduced three types of artisanal salt produced with danger of being extinct: Tibuok salt, one of the world’s rarest salts from Bohol filtering sea water through ashes, Sugpo salt from the Pangasinan salt beds that become Sugpo ponds during rainy season, and Tultul salt, or solid cooked salt from Guimaras. My own family produces natural sea salt in Dasol, Pangasinan and just discovered that it is called Sugpo salt.

Chit says that everyone can contribute to the advocacy through something we do three times a day: eating! We can trace the source of food and be conscious to protect and promote local food, traditions, ingredients, products. It is also a way of honoring the farmers.

The NOWCD’s Slow Food event at Joel’s Place was an educational and fascinating experience. Special thanks to Donnie and Frances Yu, Chit and Chef Beth, as well as the NOWCD Events committee with director Sherisa “Baby” Nuesa (she’s “scared of kitchens”), chair Karen Batungbacal, with members Gianna Montinola, Raissa Hechanova, Teresa Javier.

Do you know where your food comes from? What do you serve during your board meetings? Your family meals? Let us all be slow food advocates — good, clean and fair!

The views expressed herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of his office as well as FINEX.

 

Flor G. Tarriela was former PNB chairman and now serves as board advisor. A former undersecretary of Finance, she is lead independent director of Nickel Asia Corp., director of LTG, Inc. and FINEX. A gardener and an environmentalist, she founded Flor’s Garden in Antipolo, now an events destination.

King Charles’ portrait is artful propaganda

PORTRAIT OF KING CHARLES III by Jonathan Yeo. 2023. Oil on Canvas, 2.59 × 1.98 m.

SO MUCH INK (if not sputum) has been splattered since the unveiling of Jonathan Yeo’s portrait of King Charles III that I had to see the painting for myself away from the online muck. It’s on display at a gallery on Pall Mall in London until mid-June before it goes into the less accessible Drapers Hall, which is reached through circuitous alleys in the shadow of the Bank of England. For now, it is appropriately on exhibition one block down from Charles II Street. As works of art go, its crimson dimensions are impressive and its visceral impact undeniable if contrapuntal, evincing scorn and laughter or tenderness and admiration. That is all to the point and beside the point.

PORTRAIT OF KING CHARLES III by Jonathan Yeo. 2023. Oil on Canvas, 2.59 × 1.98 m.

The arguing is beside the point because royal portraiture’s role through the millennia is to project power and legitimacy; thus, disputes about an artifact’s artistic merit are secondary to its propaganda value. But it is to the point because the Windsors are 21st century monarchs whose clout is circumscribed by constitutional precepts and can only exert influence in much less dogmatic ways, including social media contretemps. The commentary has certainly come in torrents of sweetness or bile as people debate whether the portrait is becoming or unbecoming of a king, whatever that means nowadays.

And so, for the moment, this is the most famous painting in the world. It’s the kind of global preeminence the ailing Charles hasn’t much enjoyed since succeeding to the throne in September 2022. Even the eye-rolling of those who have no patience for royalty (“There are real crises in the world, people!”) help keep him and his kingdom in the global conversation. They can take some comfort in a general election taking back the spotlight in the UK.

For much of history, a portrait of a monarch or national ruler was rarely about aesthetics. What was more important was the story being told, the version of history being propagated. This has been true since the time of Alexander the Great, when his rival successors used stylized images of his tousled hair — heroically swirled by the winds of war — as emblems of their own claims to power, indeed divinity. Roman emperors were accorded sacrifice as gods, hence the many images of even minor rulers like Galba (who ruled for just over seven months). Fast forward to the last century and you have Mao Zedong in China and Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union engaging in virtually the same kind of political idolatry. It continues in the North Korea of the Kims today.

Western Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries also produced some of the more compelling examples of art as political spin. It was the era of the doctrine of the divine right of kings, and as Roy Strong, the former director of the National Portrait Gallery in London, wrote, it was an “alliance of art and power that was of such profound significance.” The best example of this was another English monarch, and the object of Strong’s expertise, Elizabeth I. The most magnificent of these was the so-called Armada portrait that commemorated her navy’s “miraculous” victory over the Spanish fleet sent to conquer the kingdom in 1588. There are three that have survived of the English goddess — for the queen is so otherworldly she is barely human in these portraits — who has soundly defeated her enemies. So effective was the propaganda that to this day, the world has forgotten that an English Armada launched against Spain the very next year ended up an expensive failure.

The divine right of kings gave way to constitutional monarchy after Europe’s age of revolution. And royal imagery was itself transformed. The prime exemplar of this was England’s second Queen Elizabeth. Her portraits — both photographic and painterly — documented her transformation across her nearly 71 years as monarch from vibrant young woman to stiff-lipped matriarch of the unruly “Firm.” She is still distant but also reflective of the travails of human existence. She’s not a goddess like her namesake but shares the wear and tear that we must all go through on the way to dusty death.

At the turn of the century, the painter Lucian Freud produced his portrait of the aging queen (who’d outlive him by more than a decade). It generated almost as much controversy as the latest one of Charles. One newspaper said it made Elizabeth look like one of her corgis. But for anyone who has seen the painting in person, it is the brushstrokes that tell the story, no longer really propaganda except in the Windsors’ retelling of their existence as fallible human beings bending toward decrepitude — though still remote. The textured queen after all still wears her crown, which has more spark than she does. It adds to the royal mystique.

Magazines can still depend on royal portraiture to perk up mostly moribund circulations. Hence, the regular appearance of glamorous images of the Windsors on covers around the world. This week, even as the debate over the king’s painting goes on, Tatler in the UK published its annual royal portrait issue, with a rendition of Catherine, Princess of Wales, by the artist Hannah Uzor. In case anyone misinterprets its intentions, the magazine’s cover line is “A Portrait of Strength & Dignity.” Kate, like her father-in-law, is undergoing cancer treatment.

Frailty has become a form of royal enchantment. That’s a long way from the imperishable Glorianas of Tudor times. The Yeo portrait of Charles was commissioned when he was still Prince of Wales, during his decades-long wait to be king. While the work’s red hues obscure Charles’ military uniform and look hellish, one intriguing detail has been thrown in to soften all the brimstone: a butterfly, unobscured — like the sitter’s hand and face — by all the scarlet and crimson. The explanation is that it is a symbol of his final emergence from his chrysalis to become monarch in his own right. I have another reading, inspired by his years as a princely mystic-in-waiting and based on the famous Taoist adage of the sage who woke from a dream. Is Charles a king dreaming he’s a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he’s king?

OK, now snap out of it. There’s an election to be fought over.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

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