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AEV third-quarter profit hit by real estate, infra units

NET INCOME CONTRIBUTION from the conglomerate’s power unit, Aboitiz Power Corp., rose by 4% to P14.5 billion from P13.9 billion in 2023. — ABOITIZ.COM

ABOITIZ Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) reported a 4% decline in its third-quarter consolidated net income, dropping to P7.3 billion from P7.6 billion last year, primarily due to reduced contributions from its infrastructure and real estate units.

Third-quarter core net income rose by 20% to P7.4 billion from P6.2 billion a year ago, AEV said in a statement to the stock exchange on Monday.

“Our third-quarter results reflect not only the strength of our diversified businesses but also the positive momentum we are seeing in the broader economy,” Aboitiz Group President and Chief Executive Officer Sabin M. Aboitiz said.

For the first nine months, AEV said its consolidated net income rose by 4% to P18.8 billion from P18 billion last year.

Core net income for the period increased by 9% to P18.8 billion from P17.3 billion a year ago.

“Power accounted for 64% of the total net income contributions from AEV’s strategic business units (SBU) for the first nine months of 2024, while financial services and food and beverage SBUs each accounted for 19%. Net income contributions from real estate and infrastructure SBUs were at 2% and -4%, respectively,” the conglomerate said.

Net income contribution from the conglomerate’s power unit, Aboitiz Power Corp., rose by 4% to P14.5 billion from P13.9 billion in 2023.

Beneficial earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization rose by 12% to P56.1 billion, driven by higher generation portfolio margins and additional capacities from the 159-megawatt (MW) Laoag and 94-MW Cayanga solar plants.

Net income contribution from Union Bank of the Philippines rose by 4% to P4.2 billion from P4 billion in 2023.

On a stand-alone basis, UnionBank grew its net income by 6% to P8.6 billion from P8.1 billion a year ago. Revenue increased by 9% to P57.7 billion.

Net income contribution from the food and beverage segment, which consists of Pilmico Foods Corp., Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corp., Pilmico International Pte. Ltd., and Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI), rose by more than eight times to P4.2 billion from P499 million last year.

“This was primarily driven by the Aboitiz Foods’ flour and agribusiness divisions, which continued to benefit from stabilizing commodity prices, optimized formulations in both feeds and flour, strategic selling price adjustments, and fresh contributions from CCBPI, where AEV acquired a 40% stake on Feb. 23, 2024,” AEV said.

AEV’s real estate unit, Aboitiz Land, Inc., saw a 27% decline in consolidated net income to P521 million due to higher operational expenses and overhead costs and asset monetization in 2023.

Net income contribution from the infrastructure segment led by Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. recorded a P148 million net loss, a reversal from the P1.4 billion profit last year.

The conglomerate’s share in Republic Cement & Building Materials, Inc.’s loss for the first nine months rose by 23% to P726 million as sales volume and selling prices continued to decline year on year due to weak market demand for cement.

Meanwhile, Mr. Aboitiz said the conglomerate is optimistic about its financial performance amid better macroeconomic conditions.

“With inflation moderating and recent rate cuts providing relief, we are optimistic about the opportunities ahead. These improving macroeconomic conditions will allow us to continue to create long-term value for our stakeholders and to contribute to the economic growth of our country,” Mr. Aboitiz said.

On Monday, AEV shares declined by 1.96% or 70 centavos to P35.10 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Entertainment News (10/29/24)

ATC puts up Villain Ville

THE gates of Villain Ville: The Sorcerer’s Lair at Alabang Town Center’s (ATC) activity center will be open from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, welcoming both children and adults. There will be artists to give visitors a spooky makeover with their glowing face art. Kids can also join coloring book activities and strike poses at the mirror on the wall. To participate, children aged four to 13 can be registered starting Oct. 28, with a minimum single receipt of P2,000 from all stores. Each pass grants entry to Villain Ville: The Sorcerer’s Lair for one child and one adult, including access to all activities and a loot bag. Activities will run in six time slots daily, starting at 12:30 p.m. and continuing until 8 p.m.

M2M to visit Manila for reunion tour

AFTER 25 YEARS, Norwegian pop duo M2M has reunited for their first-ever headline tour, The Better Endings Tour, which kicks off in Asia. The Manila stop will take place on May 1 and 2 at the Araneta Coliseum, presented by Wilbros Live. Marit Larsen and Marion Ravn, who shot to international fame in the early 2000s, are returning to the stage to celebrate their legacy. The tour also marks the 25th anniversary of their best-selling album Shades of Purple. Tickets are now on sale via TicketNet.

Short film on the Palawan binturong now streaming

THE award-winning short film Pictures of Nothing, about the Palawan binturong, is screening in a month-long online exhibition commemorating World Animal Day. Made by artist and wildlife biologist duo Mac Andre Arboleda and Rollyna Domingo, the film premiered earlier this year at the Mozilla Festival and explores the connection between animal conservation and human surveillance. Its star is the binturong, a small, threatened carnivore native to Southeast Asia and found exclusively in Palawan in the Philippines. The nocturnal and arboreal creature inhabits the rainforest canopy, making it difficult to study, and it faces threats from deforestation and illegal wildlife trade. Pictures of Nothing can be watched via this link: https://www.pardicolor.org/pictures-of-nothing only until Nov. 4.

Newport World Resorts to light its Christmas tree

THE Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Newport World Resorts will take place on Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. The Grand Christmas Tree, located at The Plaza on the second floor of Newport Mall, signals the resort’s transformation into The World of Christmas for the upcoming holiday season. KAO Manila, the night club a few steps away from the tree, will be offering drinks after the ceremony.

Ice Seguerra concert features OPM videoke hits

COMING up on Nov. 8 is Ice Seguerra’s Videokit Hits OPM Edition Isa Pa!, will take place at The Music Museum in the Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan City. It aims to provide the ultimate videoke experience with Mr. Seguerra at its center. Tickets, priced from P1,500 to P7,000 (the highest price including a meet-and-greet and signed poster), are available via TicketWorld.

Japanese horror mystery SANA to hit PHL theaters

THIS November, just two weeks after Halloween, Encore Films is bringing SANA: Let Me Hear to cinemas in the Philippines. The film by Japanese horror director Takashi Shimizu starts off in 1992, where a rooftop confrontation between schoolgirls ends in tragedy as one falls to her death. Set in present day, a young woman named Honoka (Nagisa Shibuya) is hired to teach summer classes at the same school, where she witnesses a student suffer the same fate as the girl 32 years before. SANA: Let Me Hear arrives in local theaters on Nov. 13.

Lanson Place to light its Christmas tree

THE Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Lanson Place, Mall of Asia, will take place on Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m. Their Christmas tree, located at the lobby on the third floor of Lanson Place, signals the hotel’s transformation for the festive season. There will be a display of Christmas lights and music will be played. Refreshments and cocktails will be served following the ceremony.

Discovery Boracay and Coron mark Halloween

Discovery Boracay celebrates the spooky long weekend starting on Oct. 31 from 4 to 7 p.m at the Sandbar with a Sunset Session. On Nov. 1, guests of all ages can enjoy the Halloween Trick or Treat from 3 to 5 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome to join for P800 net. Continue the excitement with DJ Davide’s Sunset Session at Sandbar from 4 to 7 p.m., then end the evening with a Pinoy BBQ Buffet priced at P1,499 net per person at Sands. Keep the party going on Nov. 2 with DJ Justine V for a Sunset Session from 4 to 7 p.m., followed by an Italian BBQ at the Courtyard priced at P1,499 net per person at from 7 to 10 p.m. for P1,499 net. Meanwhile, Discovery Coron has a Halloween lineup with Trick or Treat activities, a Sunset DJ Party, and discounted spa treatments for some extra relaxation. On Nov. 1, guests can enjoy a Halloween-themed adventure at the Kids Treehouse, while others can relax at the Sunset DJ Party at Dugong Bar Deck with drinks and music. For a more tranquil experience, unwind with 20% off treatments at Glow Spa. On Nov. 2, guests can enjoy a Halloween Buffet at the poolside with a live band for P2,200 net, featuring an American-inspired spread to cap off their Halloween adventure. For reservations, visit https://www.discoveryboracay.com/special-offers/book-direct for Discovery Boracay and https://www.discoverycoron.com/special-offers/book-direct for Discovery Coron.

Harnessing the power of human capital: Building a prosperous future for the PHL

PHILIPPINE STAR/WALTER BOLLOZOS

(Lifted from the acceptance speech delivered by the author as the 2024 Arangkada Lifetime Achievement Awardee, conferred by the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines at the Arangkada Forum on Oct. 24.)

With profound gratitude and humility, I stand before you today, honored as the 12th Arangkada Philippines Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. I sincerely thank the JFCs (Joint Foreign Chambers) of the Philippines for this recognition. It is an honor that reflects not just my personal efforts, but the collective work of many who share the vision of a prosperous, resilient, and inclusive Philippines.

While this lifetime achievement award suggests that it covers my whole lifetime already, I assure you that it will not bring to a close my public service journey, which now runs almost five decades. Indeed, you can still count on my ongoing commitment to making a difference in serving our country, now more as a private citizen.

Throughout my journey, from my early years as a finance professor at the Asian Institute of Management, then 19 years at the Asian Development Bank fostering private sector development and public-private partnerships, to leading the University of the Philippines as its President and most recently serving as Secretary of Trade and Industry, one thing remains constant in my mind and my heart: the belief that the true engine of our nation’s economic growth is its people. The Filipino workforce is our greatest asset — young, dynamic, resilient, and brimming with potential, recognized by global companies already operating here in our country.

But to fully unlock our people’s potential, we must confront and bridge the gaps in our system. Investing in Filipino workers is not just an option but a national imperative. I am encouraged as our government under the current Administration shares this vision, and during my time at the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry), I also made upskilling, reskilling, and upscaling of our workforce a priority agenda. I commend the JFCs for championing the same cause, as reflected in the theme of its forum, “Level Up: Upskill, Upscale, and Uplift.”

At the core of this effort is education. For a country to progress, education must be a priority, as the once developing countries like ours have proved. I welcome the enactment of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Act. This initiative addresses the learning gaps that emerged, especially during the pandemic, ensuring students receive the necessary support in literacy and numeracy.

The ARAL Act is a very good first step. Still, the findings of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2) underscore the significant challenges in our education system — overburdened teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and a lack of resources. Tackling these issues requires a coordinated approach from government, educational institutions, and the private sector. The goal is simple: no student should be left behind. Providing our youth with essential skills is a critical task for our future.

For instance, we need to enhance teacher training, update curricula to meet current needs, and ensure schools have the resources to prepare students for the future. A key challenge is raising selectivity and standards for teachers, aiming to attract top graduates, particularly at the elementary and secondary levels.

Countries like Singapore, South Korea, and Japan have demonstrated that attracting top graduates into the teaching profession leads to stronger educational outcomes. These countries have made teaching prestigious and competitive as a profession, which encourages the best and brightest students to pursue careers in education.

LONG-TERM NATURE OF HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT
HCD (Human Capital Development) — spanning education, training, health, and skill-building — demands long-term investment before its full benefits emerge. While the Philippines has made efforts in this arena, we fall short compared to the ambitious programs of our ASEAN neighbors. One critical gap is our limited commitment to sending top college graduates abroad for advanced studies at master’s and doctoral levels, while other countries, like Indonesia and Vietnam, have been doing so in massive numbers for years back to accelerate their progress.

From primary education to higher education and professional training, it takes years, if not decades, to fully train a highly skilled workforce. For example, sending students abroad for master’s and doctoral studies can take five to 10 years before they return and contribute significantly to national development.

Upskilling a workforce through vocational or technical training programs or reforming education systems can take time to implement and produce results. Countries like South Korea and Singapore have seen the benefits of such policies only after decades of continuous investment.    Investments in public health, nutrition, and social services improve workforce productivity. Still, these effects manifest gradually as the population becomes healthier because they are better nourished and more capable over time.

Prosperous neighboring countries with strong human capital (HC) adopted long-term, visionary strategies that transcend political cycles:

• Decades of investment in education and skills programs, like SkillsFuture, have made Singapore a global economic leader.

• In Vietnam, HC strategies, including government scholarships for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) studies abroad, have modernized the economy and fostered a high-tech workforce.

• The Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP), with a massive $8-billion fund, supports master’s and doctoral scholarships for young Indonesians domestically and abroad.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE PHILIPPINES
We can balance short-term demands for results with long- term HC investments by institutionalizing programs through legislation to secure initiatives, like education reforms beyond political cycles and changes, collaborating with businesses and educational institutions to share investment in workforce development, and setting measurable milestones to track progress and demonstrate success within shorter political tenures.

The Philippines, like many other countries, needs to adopt a long-term strategy for HCD, recognizing that:

• Continuous investment in the education sector is critical. The government must address not only access to education but also the quality of education and the upskilling of workers, even if these won’t yield immediate visible outcomes.

• There must be a political and public consensus that certain long-term projects (education reform, scholarship programs, health initiatives) are vital to the nation’s future. Regardless of electoral cycles, the commitment must be sustained.

• Strong leadership from both the public and private sectors will ensure that long-term investments in HC become a national priority, even if the results will only be evident in future generations.

• Sustained public-private partnerships in education and training will enable the Philippines to strengthen technical and vocational education, foster closer collaboration between academe and industry, and create pathways for lifelong learning.

Investing in HC is a long-term imperative for building a prosperous, inclusive, and competitive economy. Prosperous nations prioritizing HCD have shown that the returns are substantial, though they take time to manifest. Countries that balance short-term gains with long-term HCD strategies are better positioned to thrive in the evolving global economy.

A CALL TO ACTION: A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR PHL
As I accept this award, I do so with a renewed commitment to continue the work of building a brighter future for our nation. The theme of today’s forum, “Level Up: Upskill. Upscale. Uplift,” is a call to action for all of us. The task is not for one sector alone — it requires the cooperation of government, industry, academia, and civil society. We need a unified nation to do this.

Together, we must invest in the potential of the Filipino workforce. To enable us to build industries that are globally competitive, innovative, and sustainable.

And most importantly, each one of us must ensure that every Filipino benefits from the progress we achieve.

Thank you for this great honor, and let us continue to move towards a bright future for the Philippines — toward shared prosperity and lasting progress.

 

Alfredo E. Pascual is a former president of the Management Association of the Philippines and a former secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry.

map@map.org.ph

aepascual@gmail.com

UnionBank’s Q3 earnings climb by 76%

BW FILE PHOTO

UNION BANK of the Philippines, Inc. (UnionBank) saw its net income rise by 76% to P3.5 billion in the third quarter, it said on Monday.

This brought its nine-month net profit to P8.56 billion, the bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

Its financial statement was unavailable as of press time.

The bank’s net revenues climbed by 9.2% year on year to P57.7 billion in the first nine months from P52.8 billion, which was driven by the expansion of its consumer loan portfolio, it said, adding that consumer credit now makes up 60% of its loan book.

“The bank efficiently allocated its capital to expand its consumer lending activities, which was evident in our record-high net revenues. The leading indicators brought about by our growing retail customers are very promising,” UnionBank Chief Executive Officer Edwin R. Bautista said in a statement.

“Our new-to-bank credit card customers per month are averaging 2.5 times higher than last year. The active users of our digital channels have increased to 5.6 million from 4.7 million last year. Consequently, we have seen digital fund transfer transactions growing by 40% year-on-year. These customer metrics are the ones driving revenues today and onto the future,” he added.

Net interest income rose by 14.2% to P42.56 billion, with its interest earnings at P62.48 billion and interest expenses at P19.89 billion amid an elevated rate environment.

Its net interest margin improved by 58 basis points (bps) year on year to 5.9%, which it said is among the highest in the industry.

“The large proportion of our consumer portfolio is reflected in the continuous improvement of the bank’s net interest margin. With the improving macroeconomic backdrop and expectations of declining interest rates, there is still room for further margin expansion. We should be able to reprice our funding cost downwards, while sustaining the high yields coming from our consumer business,” UnionBank Chief Financial Officer Manuel R. Lozano said.

Meanwhile, the bank’s other income stood at P15.083 billion at end-September.

“Moreover, the bank’s ability to generate fee income as a proportion to its assets is at 1%. This is more than double the Philippine banking industry’s average,” UnionBank said.

On the other hand, UnionBank’s operating expenses stood at P33.027 billion in the first nine months.

“IT (information technology) related expenses went down by 17.3% versus the first nine months of 2023. The downward trend in IT expenses started when we concluded the integration of the acquired Citi consumer business earlier this year,” it said.

“The bank continued to invest on customer acquisition, service delivery, and client engagement to maintain its strong momentum in the growth of its consumer business. This has resulted in the strong growth in our customer base, which is now over 15 million as of September 2024. This includes close to 500,000 new credit card clients this year,” UnionBank added.

Provisions for credit losses stood at P13.51 billion.

The bank’s net loans and receivables reached P523.25 billion at end-September.

On the funding side, its deposit liabilities stood at P652.63 billion, with low-cost current and savings account or CASA deposits at P419.4 billion.

UnionBank had P1.15 trillion in assets at end-September, while its capital funds stood at P193.06 billion.

The bank’s shares lost P2.10 or 5.12% to end at P38.95 apiece on Monday. — BVR

Brenda Lee’s ‘Rockin’’ holiday hit gets redone in Spanish with AI

NOCHE BUENA Y NAVIDAD - BRENDALEE.LNK.TO

“ROCKIN’ Around the Christmas Tree,” a perennial holiday hit from Brenda Lee, has been rerecorded and released in Spanish with artificial intelligence (AI) used to replicate the singer’s distinctive voice.

“Noche Buena y Navidad,” as the new recording is called, was released Friday by Universal Music Group, according to a statement from the company.

The recording, which was done with Ms. Lee’s permission, is the first product resulting from a new partnership that Universal entered into earlier this year with SoundLabs, an AI company.

Ms. Lee recorded the song in 1958, when she was 13 years old. It’s been used in many TV shows and films, including 1990’s Home Alone, and has reached more than one billion streams on Spotify.

Producer Auero Baqueiro adapted the lyrics, which vocalist Leyla Hoyle sang in Spanish. SoundLabs then used its technology to mimic Ms. Lee’s sound.

“Throughout my career, I performed and recorded many songs in different languages, but I never recorded ‘Rockin’’ in Spanish, which I would have loved to do,” Ms. Lee said in a statement. “To have this out now is pretty incredible and I’m happy to introduce the song to fans in a new way.” — Bloomberg

Arthaland gets SEC approval for P3-B follow-on offering

ARTHALAND CENTURY PACIFIC TOWER — ARTHALAND.COM

LISTED property developer Arthaland Corp. has secured the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its planned P3-billion follow-on offering (FOO).

The SEC issued the order rendering the registration statement effective, as well as the certificate of permit to offer securities for sale, on Oct. 25, Arthaland said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

The FOO has a base offer consisting of up to four million cumulative, nonvoting, nonparticipating, nonconvertible, and redeemable peso-denominated Series F preferred shares and an oversubscription option of two million Series F preferred shares, both at P500 apiece.

The tentative offer period is from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4, while the target listing date on the PSE is Nov. 14, based on the company’s prospectus dated Oct. 23.

Arthaland recently set the FOO’s initial dividend rate at 7.3260% per annum.

The company is looking to generate P2.96 billion in net proceeds if the oversubscription option is fully exercised.

Of the total, the company will earmark P1 billion for the repayment of a short-term facility used to fund the redemption of the company’s Series C preferred shares fully drawn in June.

Another P1.14 billion will partially fund an investment into a project company tasked with the development of a two-tower residential condo project called Project Teal, with an estimated cost of P5.87 billion. The project will be undertaken by Arthaland unit Sotern Land Corp.

The project will be on a 3,700-square-meter residential property within the vicinity of major universities in northern Metro Manila.

The first tower of Project Teal is set for launch by the second quarter of 2025, with completion expected by 2029. The second tower is set to be finished by 2031.

The company will also use part of the net proceeds for other loan payments as well as general corporate purposes.

Arthaland tapped BDO Capital & Investment Corp. as the sole issue manager, lead underwriter, and lead bookrunner for the planned offer.

On Monday, Arthaland stocks were unchanged at 42 centavos. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Musk and friends are smothering the internet’s truth seekers

FREEPIK

NOT LONG after Hurricane Helene wrought destruction across the southern US, a more bewildering storm blew through: Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) bumped up against angry residents and armed militia in Tennessee and North Carolina, people who’d been riled up by rumors that the officials were there to take their homes. FEMA evacuated its teams, leaving behind communities that desperately needed help.

A cursory search of X (formerly Twitter) brought up several viral videos suggesting that FEMA was bulldozing bodies under the rubble, but press reports like this one (https://tinyurl.com/25zxhkz6) in the Washington Post were unclear about exactly where and how the rumors were spreading. They were just… spreading. That posed something even more troubling:

How could you hold online platforms accountable for conspiracy theories if you didn’t know where they were being shared?

The answer is “You can’t,” because the people studying the flow of disinformation are being sued by those who seem to benefit from the spread of “alternative facts.”

A raft of lawsuits and congressional investigations against several groups studying disinformation in the US, coming largely from Republican lawmakers and tech billionaire Elon Musk, have had a chilling effect on the broader effort to tackle viral falsehoods. These research groups study how lies spread online and alert the public when they find coordinated campaigns to mislead people. They analyze networks of accounts, map viral posts, and document who creates and shares misleading content.

Why the aggression? In part, because of the way that some of the disinformation campaigns tracked by these groups have also aligned with conservative positions.

Take the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of Republican leaders and influencers, including Donald Trump himself, questioned many of the social-distancing measures and mask mandates, and created the vaccine skepticism that became part of conservative messaging. When anti-disinformation groups called on social media platforms to remove posts with COVID misinformation (which they did), Republicans saw that as a partisan attack. When they did the same with posts about the “stolen” 2020 election, that was seen as yet another attack on conservatives.

The tech giants have attracted some ire for this, but it’s the small anti-disinformation groups that are most vulnerable, especially if Trump gets voted in on Nov. 5. There has already been a noticeable decline in their research output the past year — hence the lack of information about how the FEMA rumors were spreading. They’re too busy defending against lawsuits.

A standout example was the unwinding in June of the Stanford Internet Observatory, which was founded in 2019 by Alex Stamos, the former chief security officer of Facebook, after his frustration that the social network wasn’t more transparent about Russian influence operations on its platform during the 2016 US presidential election. His new group went on to uncover large networks of fake Facebook accounts being used to warp political discourse. But that work came with a price.

The Observatory found itself having to pay millions of dollars in lawyers’ fees to defend itself against several lawsuits; one 2023 suit from Trump adviser Stephen Miller claimed that the Observatory and other research groups “conspired with the federal government to conduct a mass surveillance and censorship operation targeting the political speech of millions of Americans.” (Stanford University denied in June that the group had been dismantled but admitted its founding grants would “soon be exhausted.” It didn’t respond to a request for comment.)

Lawsuits, congressional subpoenas and probes have hit similar organizations. They have names like Graphika, the University of Washington Disinformation Lab, Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, Global Disinformation Index, NewsGuard, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, and the Center for Countering Digital Hate.

The latter is fighting a lawsuit from Musk over a report it published in September 2023, which claimed Musk’s X was profiting from neo-Nazi accounts.* Musk has also sued Media Matters, a liberal media watchdog group, for reporting in November 2023 that ads from major brands on X appeared next to Nazi-related posts, a case that is still ongoing.

Even some government initiatives have been targeted, including the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which tackled foreign information but now faces a shutdown.

Shining a spotlight on how disinformation spreads isn’t illegal, yet these groups’ critics have dubbed them a “censorship industrial complex,” a sentiment that plays dangerously into Trump’s comments about Americans having an “enemy within.”

Trump has pledged to “shatter the left-wing censorship regime” if reelected, while the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 proposes ending all government funding for disinformation research. Doing so would leave America more vulnerable to manipulation and confusion, particularly at a time when social media firms have, partly in response to the growing pressure, cut back on their trust and safety teams and closed access to researchers, most notably with Facebook’s shutdown in August of its trend-monitoring tool CrowdTangle.

In early October, the head of the US intelligence community warned of a serious threat from foreign actors including Russia, Iran, and China, aimed at “undermining trust” in polls and the US democratic process, ostensibly through social media.

The coming election is set to be one of the closest for decades, threatening a raft of new conspiracy theories about a rigged vote. Calling disinformation research “censorship” erodes the already-scant checks and balances we have on large technology platforms. It leaves Americans more exposed to the next storm.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

*The court dismissed Musk’s case in March 2024, ruling the billionaire had tried to “punish” critics. Musk has appealed.

InstaPay, PESONet transactions jump 34% to P12.37 trillion as of September

BW FILE PHOTO

THE VALUE of transactions done via InstaPay and PESONet jumped to P12.37 trillion as of end-September, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Transactions coursed through the two automated clearing houses climbed by 33.9% in the first nine months of 2024 from P9.24 trillion in the same period a year ago.

Meanwhile, the combined volume of transactions done via InstaPay and PESONet also surged by 64% year on year to 1.05 billion at end-September from 638.9 million.

Broken down, the value of PESONet transactions rose by 26.9% to P7.22 trillion in the first nine months from P5.69 trillion in the same year-ago period.

The volume of transactions that went through the payment gateway also increased by 9% to 73.9 million from 67.8 million.

On the other hand, the total value of transactions done through InstaPay jumped by 44.8% to P5.14 trillion as of September from P3.55 trillion a year prior.

The volume of InstaPay transactions stood at 974.4 million in the nine-month period, soaring by 70.6% from 571.1 million the previous year.

PESONet and InstaPay are automated clearing houses launched in December 2015 under the central bank’s National Retail Payment System framework.

PESONet caters to high-value transactions and may be considered as an electronic alternative to paper-based checks.

On the other hand, InstaPay is a real-time, low-value electronic fund transfer facility for transactions up to P50,000 and is mostly used for remittances and e-commerce.

Digital payments made up 52.8% of the volume of retail transactions in 2023, latest BSP data showed, higher than the 42.1% share in 2022.

Meanwhile, in terms of value, 55.3% of retail transactions last year were done online, also up from 40.1% the year prior.

The BSP wanted at least 50% of the volume and value of retail transactions done online by end-2023 under its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap.

The increase in digital payments was driven by wider use of online transaction channels among individuals and businesses, the central bank said, with the coronavirus pandemic accelerating this shift.

The central bank wants online payments to make up 60-70% of the country’s total retail transaction volume by 2028, in line with the Philippine Development Plan. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Boy George explores fame in new art collection depicting music stars

PURPLE REIGN BY BOY GEORGE - CASTLEFINEART.COM

LONDON — British singer-songwriter Boy George explores celebrities’ relationship with stardom in a new art collection launching on Friday.

Mr. George has depicted music stars David Bowie, Madonna, and Prince alongside a self-portrait from his Culture Club days for Fame, a limited edition collection with British art retailer Castle Fine Art.

The colorful portraits called Yamamoto, Madame X, and Purple Reign respectively depict his idol Bowie in his Tokyo Pop suit, Madonna as her alter-ego and name of her 2019 album, and Prince in a purple coat in reference to his 1984 album Purple Rain.

The works hang alongside Mr. George’s older paintings, including other celebrity portraits featuring intricate beading, studs, sequins, and safety pins.

“It’s really a reflection of me and how I see the world, my sense of humor, things that I love, my heroes, people that influence me, people that have been important to my life,” he told Reuters.

“We all have our own relationship with fame … I would say my relationship with fame has changed dramatically in the last 10 years because my thinking about things has changed so dramatically.”

The Culture Club frontman, whose real name is George O’Dowd, shot to fame in the early 1980s with his distinctive voice and androgynous look as the band topped charts with songs like “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” and “Karma Chameleon.”

Mr. George, 63, described his artistic process as a “simplistic approach … like getting ready (to go out).

“You start with a plain face … and as you add things, it turns into something. It gets a sadness or … attitude,” he said.

“It’s the essence I’m looking for. I’m not really trying to create something that looks exactly like somebody from a photograph.” — Reuters

PLDT, Smart boost LTE capacity, add sites in Mindanao

PLDT INC. has secured a P2-billion social loan from HSBC Philippines to expand its fiber network. — BW FILE PHOTO

PLDT Inc., through its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc., continues its long-term evolution (LTE) technology capacity expansion efforts in the country, the Pangilinan-led telecommunications company said on Monday.

“This reinforces our commitment to deliver the best possible experience to our customers in Davao City and across the country, connecting families, enabling businesses of all sizes, and powering the country’s overall digitalization thrust,” PLDT and Smart First Vice-President and Deputy Network Head Roderick S. Santiago said in a statement.

In 2024 alone, PLDT added new sites and expanded LTE capacity in Davao City and other cities and provinces in Mindanao such as General Santos, Tagum, Koronadal, and Digos; and Bukidnon and Polomolok in South Cotabato.

PLDT said its continued investments in network expansion are part of its ambition to help bridge the digital divide while also bringing connectivity and advancing the country’s digitization efforts.

Last week, PLDT announced that it had secured a P2-billion social loan from HSBC Philippines to expand its fiber network.

The company said proceeds from the loan would be allocated for its fiber network infrastructure expansion to reach the country’s fourth to sixth class municipalities, including those considered as geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

At the stock exchange on Monday, shares in PLDT shed P3, or 0.2%, to close at P1,462 apiece.

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

Gokongwei group bets big on Cebu with NUSTAR Hotel expansions

By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante, Reporter

THE GOKONGWEI GROUP is banking on Cebu’s booming gaming industry and tourism with its ultra-luxury NUSTAR Hotel, set to open in December as part of a P30-billion investment package.

“The P30 billion, a big chunk of that is for the construction,” Katrina Mae L. de Jesus, assistant vice-president of resort marketing and business development and brand marketing at NUSTAR Resorts and Casino, told BusinessWorld on Saturday.

The NUSTAR hotel is set to soft open by December to “start and build upon the holiday market and then carry on from there,” Roel Constantino, general manager for hotels, told reporters.

This will add 223 hotel rooms and another 383 rooms from the Grand Summit Hotel, which is set to open by 2027. These additional capacities will drive the room count to nearly a thousand, making it the biggest hotel complex in Cebu.

Mr. Constantino said the upcoming NUSTAR hotel foresees the market to be more international. The rooms are larger, starting at 52 square meters (sq.m.).

Currently, Fili Hotel has 379 rooms and houses the casino and NUSTAR Mall.

Ms. De Jesus said Fili Hotel is currently at a 70-80% occupancy rate as some amenities are yet to be operational.

“It’s the grand ballroom that helped. There were lots of events. I think that’s what contributed to the occupancy,” she said.

The core conference area, called the New South Convention Center, is an aggregate of the three ballrooms and the in-between function-spaces, spanning a 19,000-sq.m. capacity. The grand ballroom opened in June 2023.

VIP GAMING SPACE EXPANSION EYED
Trevor Hammond, senior vice- president of gaming and integrated resorts operations, said there is quite a large segment of very important persons (VIPs) that like to play in private salons, which allows an opportunity to expand in the future.

“There is a lot of opportunity to grow. I think we’ve allocated three floors in NUSTAR — the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors — for any possible expansion that we would need for any private gaming rooms for the junket operators,” he said.

He said on level two, the property has eight VIP gaming rooms where the junket operators conduct their business.

Mr. Hammond said that VIP and mass gaming each contribute about 50% to the gross gaming revenue.

“I would say Koreans run about 40%, and some Chinese run about the other 40%, and then local about 20%,” Mr. Hammond said, referring to the share of the VIP market.

Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific in 2022 launched daily flights to Seoul from Cebu City, which helped boost their Korean market, according to Mr. Hammond.

Meanwhile, for the mass market, source markets are mostly locals followed by Koreans.

“Koreans are a good market for us because their average play is higher. They’ve got a shorter period of play, so they don’t spread it out over a long period. They just come and hit it,” he said.

Mr. Hammond also noted that with the success of NUSTAR, the firm is looking into the idea of spreading its gaming footprint across the Philippines, potentially Luzon.

“We’re constantly looking around. It would be another license. Licensed for specific two regions and two properties,” he said.

“Luzon is where the critical mass is. Clark is a good opportunity there. That’s an area that’s growing,” Mr. Hammond added.

NUSTAR recently launched its official online gaming platform, Play Maxx.

Mr. Hammond also expects online gaming to contribute 20% to 30% to the revenue; however, physical casinos are still the preferred and main driver.

Ahead of the holidays, NUSTAR held its Christmas Lighting event and launched its improved rewards program that features tiered memberships that vary from star, sky, sun, zodiac, and universe.

The soon-to-be-launched NUSTAR Rewards app allows users to book hotels and restaurant reservations, redeem rewards, participate in draws, and more, Alan Teo, chief operating officer of NUSTAR, said.

NUSTAR Resort and Casino is a five-star integrated resort developed by Universal Hotels and Resorts, Inc. (UHRI).

UHRI is a privately owned company by the Gokongwei group and is the estate owner and operator of NUSTAR in Cebu. Robinsons Land Corp. is a partner of UHRI in the hotel management and operations and the mall management and operations of NUSTAR Resort Cebu.

The relationship between storms and a strong energy infrastructure

Last week, Severe Tropical Storm (STS) “Trami” (local name “Kristine”) dumped a huge volume of rainwater, knocked down many trees, electrical posts, and cables, and caused power blackouts or fluctuations in many provinces in the Visayas and Luzon.

From different press statements I gathered, here are what several agencies and utilities have done to help.

The Department of Energy (DoE): Its Task Force on Energy Resiliency (TFER) monitored and helped coordinate the energy sector which mobilized many resources to restore power across affected areas in Luzon. Teams of linemen, engineers, and technical personnel from electric cooperatives, the National Power Corp. (in off-grid areas), the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), Meralco and other private distribution utilities worked tirelessly to restore electricity in these areas. This includes the simultaneous clearing of debris, repairing of downed power lines, and rebuilding of damaged substations.

The NGCP: It has an Integrated Action Plan to respond to typhoons and other natural calamities, annual Blackout Drills to prepare for major system disturbances, an Overall Command Center during critical periods, emergency restoration systems (ERS), spare equipment including transmission line hardware, and choppers, ready for rapid deployment when needed.

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco): As of Oct. 24, nearly 600,000 Meralco customers suffered from power interruptions as the storm badly affected parts or the whole of its franchise area in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal, Bulacan, and Metro Manila. Non-stop work led to the restoration of power by Oct. 27. Meralco Vice-President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga humbly thanked their customers “for their patience and understanding. Our crews and personnel will not stop until power service has been fully restored to the remaining affected customers.”

GLOBAL COOLING AND DISASTER PREPARATIONS
The bulk of our disaster preparations are focused on “man-made” global warming and climate change. The main narrative is that the Earth is warming in a manner that some have described as unprecedented, unequivocal, and catastrophic, and which is leading to rising sea levels (as the ice in Greenland and the Antarctica is melting fast) and the flooding of low-lying cities and places.

I do not believe this is true.

Planet Earth is 4.6 billion years old and there have been many episodes of global warming that follow global cooling. For instance, prior to the Modern or 20th century warming, there was the Medieval Warm Period (followed by the Little Ice Age), and before that there was the Roman Warm Period.

What is actually happening is not the rise of sea levels but the rise of water levels in rivers, lakes, and creeks due to annual flooding. There has been more rain and thus floods, not less. And this is what we should prepare for more.

If we look at the history of El Niño (which is the result of a sea surface temperature or SST anomaly/variance of 0.50°C or warmer) and La Niña (an SST variance of -0.50°C or colder), the 1950s to ’70s had more periods of La Niña, while the 1990s and 2000s had more periods of El Niño. Then early this decade there was a prolonged, triple-dip La Niña, followed by a big El Niño and now we are back to La Niña, with projections that it will last until the middle of 2025. All this is official data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology or BoM (see the accompanying chart).

From 2020 to 2022 in the Philippines, we had three years of no summer or dry season — it rained throughout all 12 months, as reflected in the triple-dip La Niña of those years. After the bad El Niño which ran from June 2023 to May this year, it has entered a neutral phase (an SST variance between +0.50 C to -0.50 C) with heavy rain since around June, and now we are entering La Niña again.

So we anticipate prolonged rains for the rest of this year until early next year. We expect more rain and flooding, not less, with possibly another year without summer in 2025 and beyond.

What to do in these periods of prolonged rain and flooding, this global cooling trend? Here are some measures we can consider.

1. Regular, annual dredging of rivers, creeks, and lakes. Make them deeper so they can hold more rainwater and thus minimize flooding.

2. Build more dams, weirs, man-made lakes, and other water catchments. Open-pit mining can help — the mined-out areas should not be covered with soil and planted with trees but instead be left as they are to become artificial lakes.

3. Our energy infrastructure should have endless capital expenditure (capex) upgrades. We should have redundancy in system reserves like substations and peaking plants which are unencumbered by price controls.

4. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) should expedite the approval of necessary capex upgrades. All regulated entities — private distribution utilities like Meralco, electric cooperatives, and the NGCP — need ERC approval for their capex projects. The delay in the approval of important projects (especially those damaged by typhoons and floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions), plus the business uncertainty of regulatory reset mechanisms, adversely affect supply, distribution, and transmission systems’ efficiency.

In the case of the NGCP, it has 115 pending capex applications worth more than P600 billion, of which seven have been completed. Under the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) law, regulatory approvals should be issued within 270 days. The NGCP says they have already infused P340 billion in capex since 2009 and they will infuse more.

And then there is a recent Supreme Court ruling that limits the NGCP’s ability to procure the right of way (ROW) for projects that are not ERC approved.

Our climate policies and energy regulation policies need a reboot. There will be strong storms again because those are part of nature, part of the natural climate cycle of warming and cooling. But the inconvenience and economic damage of those storms need not be repeated if we prepare for global cooling and have a strong energy infrastructure via regular and large capex projects that get faster regulatory approval.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. Research Consultancy Services, and Minimal Government Thinkers. He is an international fellow of the Tholos Foundation.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

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