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Pixar’s Elemental challenge: Originals aren’t breaking big at the box office

LOS ANGELES — Pixar, the studio that introduced the world to blockbuster franchises Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., and Cars, has a problem: an original film it spent seven years nurturing bombed at the box office.

The weak opening of Elemental last weekend has thrust the Walt Disney-owned animation pioneer into unfamiliar territory: being a laggard among rivals. Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. movie and Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, both animated films, have racked up big ticket sales this year.

Pixar’s love story, about overcoming outward differences, was the second-lowest domestic opening in studio history, taking in roughly $30 million in the US and Canada over the weekend.

The results represent a conundrum for the animation hits factory, say experts and former employees: How will Pixar launch new properties when moviegoing audiences only have time for well-known characters?

“As an industry, we need original IP to work,” Tony Chambers, Disney’s head of theatrical distribution, said in an interview over the weekend, using shorthand for “intellectual property.”

“If we, as a studio, don’t take a swing for it, which is what we did with Elemental, you don’t create franchises,” Mr. Chambers said.

To be sure, the challenge for originals is not Disney’s alone. Universal Studios will confront it later this month with DreamWorks Animation’s coming-of-age fantasy, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken.

But the trend packs a big wallop at Disney. New cinematic franchises power the entertainment conglomerate’s profit machine, feeding the pipeline for consumer products and theme park attractions, which accounted for over 60% of its segment operating profit last year.

Tom Sito, a veteran Hollywood animator whose credits include The Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King and who teaches at the University of Southern California, said audience tastes are changing.

“The generation now flexing their economic muscle were raised on games and animé,” Mr. Sito said. “Their sensibilities and timing are different. Witness the new Across The Spider-Verse movie.”

The successes of Super Mario Bros. and Spider-Man also reflect a new post-COVID-19 trend at box offices, Hollywood insiders say. Audiences have been spoiled by three years of direct-to-streaming releases of original animated features on services including Netflix, Disney+, and Apple, Inc.’s Apple TV+ at home. These viewers are now more likely to open their wallets at the cinema only for familiar franchises.

All top 10 movies at the box office in 2022 were sequels — such as Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick — or reboots such as The Batman. This year, Super Mario Bros. was the first film to break through the $1-billion mark and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, a sequel to the 2018 Academy Award-winning movie, has beaten expectations at the box office and is already being talked about as a repeat Oscar contender.

“People went for their comfort zone, which is ongoing sagas,” said Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co. “Pixar trying to drop an original piece like Elemental was always going to be a challenge in the middle of this sequel-fest.”

PIXAR REINVENTION
Interviews with four current and former Pixar senior managers depict a studio caught in transition and still finding its way under new leadership.

In his book, Creativity, Inc., Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull credited Pixar’s brain trust with the studio’s early box-office triumphs. He described how the five men who led the creation of its first feature-length animated film, Toy Story — John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, and Joe Ranft — would give candid feedback to elevate films “from suck to not-suck” in an unforgiving process.

Mr. Catmull and other members of the original brain trust are gone, though Mr. Docter remains, now in the role of chief creative officer. Under him, the studio is placing bets on young directors who bring fresh perspectives — if not extensive resumes — to the screen, such as Turning Red’s Chinese-born director, Domee Shi, who was the first woman with a sole director’s credit, or Soul’s Kemp Powers, Pixar’s first Black director.

“What we’re seeing is (Pixar) reinventing themselves,” said the former Pixar director.

Competitors, meanwhile, have swooped in to raid Pixar’s talent, including Brad Bird, director of the Oscar-winning films The Incredibles, and Ratatouille, and Academy Award-winning producer Darla K. Anderson, whose credits include Coco and Toy Story 3.

Former studio executives and insiders also blame former CEO Bob Chapek with training new audiences to expect big-budgeted Pixar originals to break on Disney+.

During the pandemic’s peak, when many cinemas were closed, Disney launched three Pixar films directly to Disney+ in the US., bypassing theaters. While the strategy boosted the subscription streaming service’s subscriptions, it sent a message to viewers: It’s OK to wait, said one veteran studio executive who worked at both Disney and Pixar, and worries this decision degraded the perception of Pixar movies, which cost as much as $200 million to make, as must-see theatrical events.

“In the long run, there’s been a bit of a mixed blessing because we’ve trained audiences that these films will be available for you on Disney+,” Mr. Docter told Variety. “And it’s more expensive for a family of four to go to a theater when they know they can wait and it’ll come out on the platform.” — Reuters

BoP and the challenge of capital flows

EMILIO TAKAS-W-UNSPLASH

Last Friday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) decided to reduce its projection of this year’s balance of payments (BoP) shortfall from $1.6 billion to $1.2 billion. Relative to our gross domestic product (GDP), the adjustment translates to 0.3% from 0.4%. For next year, the deficit is expected to persist but at a lower level of $500 million, or 0.1% of GDP.

Such an upgrade of the external payments outlook reflects what is perceived to be continued recovery of external trade in goods and possible increase in travel receipts and business process outsourcing (BPO) revenues. Much of the assumption is anchored on lower prices of major commodities including fuel.

But the bigger picture should not be lost on us.

The global economy faces weaker prospects. While it should be some comfort for us that our current account deficit forecast is lower at $15.1 billion from the original forecast of $17.1 billion, that deficit forecast indicates that we continue to depend on foreign savings. We lack the productive capacity to sustain the pace of economic growth unless we import more, and there’s nothing patently wrong with that, but that should challenge our capacity to export more. Otherwise, we would be in constant need of a huge volume of either foreign investment or foreign borrowing to pay our way to economic growth.

This is what happened in the first five months of 2023.

We all rejoiced that the BoP yielded a surplus of $2.87 billion, reversing the shortfall of $1.53 billion in the same period in 2022. While the current account was somewhat mitigated by the net inflows from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remittances, it remained in deficit. The surplus in the overall BoP was possible only because of the net foreign borrowings by the National Government (NG) and foreign direct investments (FDI).

All up, we see the continuing challenge of fortifying our infrastructure, both soft and hard, more enlightened policy on external trade, stronger protection of our workers abroad, and a more attractive policy environment to our trade in services including BPOs. Agriculture and industry, particularly manufacturing, require a more sophisticated level of technological know-how to achieve higher efficiency and productivity in order to be more globally competitive. The shift to financial technology is urgent, and the banks and other financial institutions should continue their initiatives.

In another broadsheet, we clarified that the Philippines’ level of external debt continues to rise but as long as this exposure is used to promote economic growth, our ability to repay our debt will be sustained. The numbers would show that in the last 20 years, our ability to repay has expanded many times over. And our ability to turn around and fund economic growth is illustrated by the sustained economic growth from 1999 until 2019 before the pandemic.

At the same time, we cautioned against any propensity to revive the old and failed strategy of debt-driven economic growth. Coupled with bad governance and excessive corruption, that is a sure recipe for another disaster.

But that seems to be the emerging trend. Our overall BoP was also driven by inflows from heavier borrowings by NG. Those global bonds issued in the US, Europe, and some Asian capitals plus loans from both multilaterals and bilateral creditors are inflows in the BoP that could overshadow the current account deficit and effectively mask the reality of our dependence on foreign savings.

But over time, we could have a Catch-22 situation here due to the need to service these previous foreign borrowings. We can only expect more FX outflows in the financial account. What is interesting here is that most of those foreign borrowings are normally deposited with the BSP, boosting the level of GIR, only to be withdrawn when some previous debts mature and need to be paid back. We borrow to fund economic growth, but to the extent that our public revenues are not enough to service our debts, we would have to draw from these borrowings.

At the risk of being repetitive, the operationalization of the Maharlika concept could abet this kind of a situation because funds from the budget would be diverted to it, and away from the normal budget expenditure like education, health, and public roads. To match the amount of the diversion, the NG will have to add that to its usual borrowing schedule. If done excessively and frequently, that Catch-22 situation is not impossible.

What adds complexity to the equation is the expected slowdown in global growth from 3.4% in 2022 to 2.8% in 2023. But as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects, the risks are dominant on the downside. If the financial sector is distressed, global growth could slide down further to 2.5% this year.

This scenario places emerging markets like the Philippines in a vulnerable situation. If the capital markets tighten, our debt spreads could widen and FDI as well as portfolio investments could retreat. The dynamics of capital flows could significantly shape the direction and composition of our overall BoP.

As a guide to the future, how did the Philippines manage capital flows during crisis periods?

We got a copy of the BSP’s Economic Newsletter No. 23-01 of January 2023 containing an interesting study, “An Empirical Note on the Philippines’ Policy Responses to Managing Capital Flows: Evidence from the Crisis Periods” by a group of senior economists from the Department of Economic Research namely, Jean Christine A. Armas, Erniel Martin R. Enrile, Ma. Aizl Camille C. Santillan, and Josephine A. David.

They recognized that capital flows contribute to funding economic growth, but large and volatile capital flows could be counterproductive. As we experienced in the past, they could drive the peso to appreciate, inducing excessive bank lending and investment as well as motivating speculative activities that could weaken the balance sheets of business. And there could always be a change in market sentiment and therefore capital reversals could happen. Again, based on past experience, we could travail again with currency crisis, collapse of consumption and investment, and bank failures.

These young economists, drawing from the literature, laid down five potential tools that could be employed by the authorities including 1. FX intervention; 2. monetary policy; 3. fiscal policy; 4. macroprudential policy measures; and, 5. capital controls or what the IMF now calls capital flow management measures.

The paper’s contribution to our greater understanding of our past and the options for the future is its empirical analysis of the effectiveness of those tools as employed in the local context.

By estimating the policy reaction functions for each of those tools, the economists found that the BSP’s FX intervention responded strongly to both FDI and portfolio investments. The BSP conducted this approach by accumulating FX in its GIR and intervening in the FX market. The economists found that its intervention was rather modest, showing that a flexible exchange rate system is the BSP’s first line of defense in managing capital flows. Again, the empirical study also showed that the BSP responded more to net capital inflows than to net capital outflows. The bias of the BSP is clearly against excessive appreciation which could undermine financial stability.

In the case of its monetary policy, the economists illustrated that the BSP has been careful not to readily adjust the monetary levers in the face of capital flows, whether incoming or outgoing with no distinction as to the type of financial capital.

The results also affirm the BSP’s adherence to its flexible inflation targeting framework. Monetary policy responds more to both inflation and output gaps, in that order. Monetary policy also responds to changes in the real effective exchange rate because of its effect on inflation.

It was also found that fiscal policy was a cyclical to net financial capital flows, that revenue or expenditure policies are neutral to net capital flows. Fiscal policy has not responded to the dynamics of capital movements. This was attributed to the very nature of the budget process, that its slow pace is not appropriate in responding to rapid capital flows, lest it worsens its impact on the markets and the economy.

What about macroprudential measures?

The BSP study revealed that these macroprudential measures were used according to the nature of the crisis. They were relaxed during crisis periods, as what happened during the pandemic crisis. Macroprudential measures have been generally deployed to handle financial stability risks due to capital flows.

It’s an excellent assurance by the BSP economists that their empirical work is robust with respect to data selection, sample coverage, and period. Even if the model specifications were changed, the results proved consistent. It’s more reassuring that the authorities pulled the right tools during crisis periods.

But the wild cards remain at play, not the least of which is the uncertain and volatile global situation. The other is what Isaac Newton could say today: “I can calculate the motions of the heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.”

 

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.

British banks set to ramp up data sharing in ‘dirty money’ crackdown

WIKIMEDIA

LONDON — British banks are gearing up to share more data with their peers on suspected serious economic crime as part of wider efforts to stem “dirty money” flows into the country from Russia and elsewhere, four sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

More than half-a-dozen banks are in advanced talks with British law enforcement and government agencies on plans to systematically share intelligence on major financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorism financing in two landmark pilots expected to launch within months, the sources said.

The moves come as Britain ramps up efforts to tackle economic crime, which lawmakers say costs the economy around 350 billion pounds ($450 billion) each year, and as the West has imposed sanctions against individuals, companies and industries to isolate Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

Banks have long been wary of sharing customer data for fear of falling foul of strict British and global data protection and privacy laws, which could trigger litigation by customers whose accounts have been locked pending investigations.

However, the trials are designed to coincide with a new UK law that is expected to take centre stage in the financial crime crackdown and tackle Britain’s image painted by parliamentarians as a global “destination of choice” for dirty money.

“Banks are the first line of defence against money laundering and fraud,” said lawmaker Simon Fell, vice-chair of a parliamentary anti-corruption group. “So any new mechanisms to share information that could help track down criminals, while respecting sensible privacy rights, is welcomed,” he told Reuters.

Two of Britain’s “Big Four” banks — Lloyds and NatWest — are participating in both data trials, industry sources said.

Lloyds and NatWest both declined to comment. HSBC and Barclays declined to comment when asked if they were taking part.

The first pilot involves around six banks and Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA), and would allow companies to share data if they identify multiple flags about potential serious financial crime, three of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the plans are not yet public.

The second pilot would involve launching a broader database for suspected economic crime and involves around eight banks, Britain’s interior ministry (Home Office) and bank lobby group UK Finance, two of the sources said.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said the government’s plans to combat economic crime would ensure a co-ordinated response between the government, law enforcement and the private sector.

UK Finance declined to comment.

RISKS OF OVER-SHARING
Cross-referencing data on customers who pose the highest financial crime risk would allow banks to spot patterns of criminality and reduce the risk of investigating suspicious activity in silos, one of the sources said.

Existing laws enable banks to share information related to suspected small-scale fraud, for instance through Britain’s national fraud database. But banks rarely do so for large-scale financial crimes such as money laundering, the sources said, partly because of worries they might risk breaching data protection rules.

The two pilots, however, would allow extensive information sharing between banks on large-scale financial crime, expand public-private data sharing initiatives and set up a similar platform to Britain’s national fraud database for serious economic crime.

The pilots could be formally launched by October when Britain’s economic crime and corporate transparency bill, currently on its way through parliament, is expected to become law. This legislation aims to protect regulated firms from confidentiality rules if they share information to tackle economic crime, giving them the leeway to ramp up data sharing.

One financial crime investigations lawyer, who declined to be named because of client sensitivities, said that information-sharing needed appropriate safeguards.

“The firms must still be able to show they have followed appropriate data protection rules and the right risk analysis process internally,” he said.

DATA QUEST
The NCA’s pilot, which follows a smaller trial involving just two banks, could help in circumstances such as flagging a business handling a huge influx of cash to check details with other banks and law enforcement, one source said.

The NCA told Reuters it was discussing the data sharing pilot with a number of banks to try and identify “actionable intelligence.” But it said the plan, part of a project called “Data Fusion,” was still in the design phase.

The second pilot also involves data regulator the Information Commissioner’s Office and technology firm Cifas, which already runs Britain’s national fraud database. — Reuters

Fake meat firms are failing as money dries up and hype begins to fade

UNREAL Food ended its pursuit of an eggless egg. Remastered Foods stopped developing vegan bacon. The Meatless Farm halted its plant-based sausages.

The great shakeout in the world’s fake meat sector is here and it’s widening.

As money flows less freely due to surging interest rates, investors have sharply pulled back funding just as inflation increases production costs and makes consumers more selective about their food choices. That’s hitting a crowded field, which had mushroomed after the early success of Beyond Meat Inc. and Impossible Foods Inc. 

With shoppers put off by excessive processing, nutritional value and taste, a growing list of alternative-protein companies are shutting down, laying off staff and selling themselves. Industry observers say more turmoil is coming before the sector stabilizes.

“You probably need a bit of a clear out in some of these categories to allow winners to come through,” said Mark Lynch, a partner at Oghma Partners in London, a corporate-finance advisory specializing in the food and beverage sector. Fewer players means resources will be more concentrated and survivors will control more of the available shelf space, he added.

Enthusiasm for alternatives to beef and pork surged in the aftermath of Beyond Meat’s 2019 initial public offering, and venture capitalists were willing to invest in companies that offered little more than a recipe book.

But sales haven’t matched wildly optimistic projections, as high prices and odd tastes and textures made the costly products easy to cross off shopping lists. The spate of failures extends from plant-based proteins and vertical farmers, to insect breeders and lab-grown meats. Global investment in food and agriculture tech dropped 44% in 2022, according to AgFunder.

The downturn has so far mainly claimed obscure names and early-stage companies, like Canada’s Merit Foods and China’s Hey Maet.

But in the UK, two up-and-coming companies recently appointed administrators: The Meatless Farm laid off staff at its headquarters in Leeds, while Plant & Bean got hit by soaring food and energy prices just two years after opening a mega factory in Lincolnshire.

The upheaval is part of an adjustment phase that happens in almost every high-growth consumer segment from smoothies to popcorn, said Andy Shovel, co-founder of British plant-based meat company THIS, whose sales are up about 45% this year.

The result will be less confusion at stores, better quality and prices getting closer to meat, according to Shovel. “From a customer’s point of view, this is only good news,” he said.

Industry stalwarts have also stumbled. Beyond Meat, which has seen its market value drop over 90% from its peak, has had multiple rounds of layoffs in the past year, as has Impossible Foods. Cuts have also affected Spain’s Heura Foods and California-based Eat Just Inc., which has continued to expand distribution in the US.

Traditional food companies are also retrenching. Nestlé SA pulled its Garden Gourmet line and Wunda pea milk from the UK because of intense competition. Meat giant JBS SA discontinued its Planterra unit after pouring money into a mega factory in Colorado.

Despite the turmoil, some investors remain upbeat. Big Idea Ventures, a food-tech investor fund, said last month that it’s closing in on a $75-million fund-raising target. Fake bacon maker MyForest Foods raised $15 million in fresh funding earlier this month, and Israeli startup Chunk Foods announced a seed round of the same size in the spring.

Agricultural giant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. still has faith in the sector, too. At an innovation center in Manchester, England, the company mixes processed soy with flavors to help make alternative proteins more appealing. Its venture capital unit is also continuing to invest in startups.

“The category is now evolving into what really consumers have been asking for,” said Leticia Gonçalves, ADM’s president of global foods. “Companies are now learning from the past and adjusting with new launches.”

ADM expects the alternative-protein market to grow annually by “high single-digits” and reach $100 billion in sales by 2030. Euromonitor International, which tracks sales in retail outlets and food services, predicts global sales volume of meat and seafood substitutes to grow more than 10% this year.

About two-thirds of young consumers are planning to spend more on vegan meat and dairy products citing health perceptions and environmental benefits, according to Emma Ignaszewski, associate director at Good Food Institute, an industry group.

For some companies, the disruption is an opportunity. Minnesota-based Wicked Kitchen — a maker of vegan convenience foods like jackfruit pepperoni pizza — acquired plant-based seafood company Good Catch for over $7 million in stock as well as vegan fish brand Current Foods in a deal valued between $7 million and $10 million, Chief Executive Officer Pete Speranza told Bloomberg.

Food is now widely understood as central to efforts to combat the climate crisis and alternative proteins are seen as delivering the biggest benefit, according to Rosie Wardle, a partner and co-founder of Synthesis Capital, who has been active in the space for a decade.

“This correction was overdue,” she said. “The best companies in the sector will be able to find the capital they need even in these challenging times. Ultimately this sector is here to stay.” — Bloomberg

Secret Invasion, a Marvel mini-series without a ‘superhero solution’

IMDB.COM

LOS ANGELES — Samuel L. Jackson is grateful that Marvel decided not to depict his role as the spy Nick Fury as a “swagalicious one-eyed guy that knows everything that will kill you in a hot minute.

“He’s vulnerable and kind of finding his way in this,” Mr. Jackson told Reuters about his character, the protagonist with the eye patch in the TV action series Secret Invasion.

The six-episode show premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday.

It follows Nick Fury as he and his allies fight to stop the shapeshifting reptilian humanoids known as the Skrulls from committing international terrorist attacks and eventually invading Earth.

The cast includes Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, a Skrull ally of Nick Fury, Emilia Clarke as G’iah, Talos’ daughter, and Olivia Colman as agent Sonya Falsworth.

While the series, directed by Ali Selim, is based on other projects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it takes a different direction from previous Marvel shows.

“Superheroes can’t fix the problems that we’re trying to fix. So, it’s innately human,” Ms. Clarke said. “There are people talking in rooms, which you’re not used to in the MCU. But they’re always trying to mess with convention. They’re always trying to create something genuinely new.”

Fury, along with other members of the spy organization known as the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D), doesn’t have supernatural abilities to lean on to help win the day.

“It happens in a very organic kind of way, to know that we’re inside something that doesn’t have a superhero solution,” Mr. Jackson said.

What it does have, from the first episode, is plenty of suspense, said Ms. Clarke.

“You really won’t know who is what and how and when, and there’ll still be a moment when they will get you and it will be shocking. And that, in itself, is just so juicy,” she said. — Reuters

AI versus the great chefs of Europe and the World

LOUIS HANSEL-UNSPLASH

“VOILÀ!” declares the chatbot, assuming the voice of your favorite chef. “Here is the pièce de résistance.”

You nod and smile.

“Behold the kaleidoscope of ingredients, the gorgeous symmetry of the plating, the meticulous tweezering of the microgreens.”

You nod and salivate.

“Inhale the aroma, taste the way it enraptures your mouth…”

But you get nothing but air on your state-of-the-art Apple, Inc. mixed-reality headset.

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) threatens much of the status quo, but top chefs aren’t going to be displaced any time soon. The experience of haute cuisine — or indeed of anything that comes out of a kitchen — is an intricate interplay of the sensory, the emotional, and the locational. All that — plus the satisfaction of scoring a tough reservation — is impossible to replicate with machine learning.

A lot of people really want to return to restaurants, fight with waiters, and be awed or perturbed by the pretensions of chefs. As my colleague Leticia Miranda recently pointed out, the COVID-era solution to hospitality industry costs and overhead — the ghost kitchen — has quietly gone out of fashion because dining isn’t just about getting a box of food in front of you. My fellow opinionista, Ben Schott, warns about the perils of “Cur-AI-tion”: You get a sameness of recommendations, while the sense of discovery dissipates.

Only you can eat your own meal, and each restaurant visit is personal. It all contributes to foodie debates about Michelin stars and what rises or falls on the ladder of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ ladder — which was announced last night. I was gratified to see Central of Lima, run by Virgilio Enriquez and Pia Leon (who are married), take the No. 1 slot. (Leon’s own restaurant Kjolle came in at 28.) Another husband-and-wife team — Junghyun and Ellia Park of Atomix in New York City — took the No. 8 slot. I’ve dined at Central a number of times and been to Atomix (and the Parks’ other restaurants) on countless occasions. I was happy to see London’s Ikoyi rise in the rankings too. My appetites feel justified.

At the center of every restaurant experience is the star presence of the chefs, the best of whom exude a supple kind of charisma that AI has yet to master. They’ve been capitalizing on this pop-up cult of personality for a while now.

I certainly jumped at the chance when Bertrand Grebaut of Septime (No. 24) had a one-night appearance at Frenchie in Covent Garden here in London in early May. And now I am more excited than ever to dine at his actual place in the 11th arrondissement in Paris. Sometimes you get to see a brilliant chef who no longer has a restaurant, as was the case of the legendary Kobe Desramaults — who used to run In De Wolf in Belgium. He made a two-day appearance at Lyle’s in London, and I made sure I got in on day one.

In London, the celebrated West African chef Adejoke Bakare is waiting to open her new location. In the meantime, she’s launched a series of collaborations with other local chefs at The Globe Tavern in Borough Market. On Tuesday evening, she was cooking with Sirichai Kularbwong, whose Thai restaurant Singburi in Leytonstone was a delightful surprise on the National Restaurant Awards list of the UK’s 100 best eateries.

The pop-up phenomenon is just about 10 years old. Contra in New York City began inviting famous chefs from overseas and across the US to cook for a night or two at the restaurant on Orchard Street in the Lower East Side. New Yorkers who couldn’t find the time or cash to fly to London, Brussels, Tokyo, or Copenhagen get the chance to bask in the presence of chef celebrities (and taste their food).

The Grand Gelinaz took off around the same time: In 2015, it had 37 of the top chefs of the world switch places with their colleagues, each cooking in a different location, with diners buying tickets not knowing which chef would show up where. It was a delicious mess, with cooks materializing in kitchens they were completely unused to. “Why isn’t the water boiling?” was a common complaint. Still, gourmets got to know and taste fare of talents from oceans away.

Now there are restaurants — or halls, to be more accurate — whose business models are all about accommodating visiting chefs: lovely places whose charm is all about impermanence, such as Early June in Paris and Carousel and Oranj in London. Some terrific cooks (like Anthony Ha and Sadie Mae Burns of Ha’s Dac Biet) seem to go from pop-up to pop-up. One young cook at Early June insists that he likes working for pop-ups because he learns so much from each of the guests who show up in Paris. Still, he’d like to start his own brick-and-mortar restaurant one day.

Popping-up can cut other ways, though. As chef-owners are all too aware, it’s difficult to hang on to talent in the post-COVID era. That may be because sous chefs and veteran servers are taking their expertise and popping up at establishments that will accommodate their preferred work schedules. They come and go because the market is adjusting to transience.

Will technology eventually catch up to all this? I can imagine the day when chef Rasmus Munk of the Alchemy in Copenhagen (which came in at an impressive No. 5 in the 50 Best) will beam a hologram of himself to outlets where anointed acolytes prepare an actual meal — keeping his IRL presence as the premium for visitors to the original in the Danish capital.

“Nothing is permanent,” says John Ogier, one of the founders of the Lasdun, the wonderful new restaurant at the National Theatre on London’s South Bank. But it’s a lovely evening by the Thames. The late sunset streams in through the beautiful brutalism of Denys Lasdun’s architecture. The food by chef Tom Harris is marvelous — a sumptuous chicken and mushroom pie, smoked eel on potato pancake. We conversed about his life cooking around London and the world. I tried not to sneak a peek at Nigella Lawson, who was dining by the window. How can anything artificial ever compare to a summer day like that?

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Recruiters valuing potential more than education

EMPLOYERS are assigning more weight to job applicants’ growth potential compared with educational attainment, according to Sprout Solutions, a software-as-a-service company specializing in human resources (HR) offerings.

“Previously, the trend was for HR professionals to look at a person’s educational background, but now they don’t even look at their resumes,” Arlene De Castro, chief product officer of Sprout Solutions, said at a briefing.

“More and more companies are adopting the mindset of looking at how a person can grow in their organizations.”

According to Sprout’s State of HR 2023 report released on Thursday, Philippine employers are now hiring younger applicants to save money, with compensation becoming less competitive this year.

About 57.1% of employers offer in-house training programs with the goal of retaining and upskilling recruits, against the 40% recorded a year earlier.

Patrick Gentry, chief executive officer and co-founder of Sprout, said the firm is working with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and other agencies to help smaller companies streamline HR processes.

“We work with each of these agencies with the goal of automating and streamlining their processes to make them comply with government standards,” he said at the briefing.

“With the way that the country is opening up now, what we’re seeing is healthy competition for talent.”

Sprout said the main areas of focus for HR departments are employee growth opportunities (43.3%), recruitment (41.1%), and learning development (40.85%).

The DoLE has said it is working on narrowing the gap between worker skills and employer needs this year through upskilling programs.

Ms. De Castro noted that more companies should adopt remote or hybrid work setups to attract and retain talent.

According to the report, 51% of HR professionals in the Philippines say their work is predominantly on-site, while 50.5% expect the adoption of hybrid work in the near future.

“It is now an employee-centric world, and many workers now demand flexibility,” she said.

Job quality in the Philippines worsened in April, as the underemployment rate, which measures workers seeking further employment or longer hours, increased to 12.9% from 11.2% a month earlier, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The jobless rate fell to a four-month low of 4.5% from 4.7% in March.

The Asian Development Bank  has said the pandemic increased the need for digital skills with companies continuing to shift towards digitalization.

“Employers are now seeking rising stars or those from the younger generation to see how they can contribute to the market, instead of looking at an applicant’s work experience,” Ms. De Castro said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Regulation slowed response to Credit Suisse crisis, SNB says

THE CRISIS at Credit Suisse Group AG this year, which led to its near collapse and takeover by UBS Group AG, demonstrated that existing financial regulation can end up slowing the response to stress situations, Switzerland’s central bank said.

The design of loss-absorbing bonds known as AT1s, as well as the functioning of liquidity requirements, during the episode meant that Credit Suisse didn’t take steps to address the emergency as quickly as needed, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) said in its annual Financial Stability Report on Thursday.

“In a period of stress, regulatory metrics are relatively narrow and may delay corrective action,” the SNB said. “The experience with Credit Suisse shows the need for a review of the Too-Big-To-Fail framework in order to facilitate early intervention.”

Following the closing of the historic takeover deal earlier this month, UBS Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti is now beginning a highly complex fusion of the two global banks that’s likely to involve thousands of job cuts. The combined bank will face gradually higher capital requirements from 2025 as a result of its larger size and systemic importance.

CONFIDENCE COLLAPSE
The SNB argued that the features of AT1 bonds, developed following the financial crisis in 2008 to shore up capital and absorb losses in stress situations, didn’t work as planned in the case of Credit Suisse. During the rescue the Swiss government decided to impose total losses on the holders of some $17 billion worth of Credit Suisse AT1s.

Credit Suisse didn’t cancel interest payments on AT1 bonds as it experienced financial distress, which could have brought relief, as doing so would have worsened the decline in market confidence, the SNB said.

Amid the rapid slump in its share price and outflows of client funds that begin in late 2022, the liquidity situation at Credit Suisse also outstripped the regulations intended to ensure banks have enough funds to meet their obligations, according to the report.

“The bank’s liquidity buffers and the collateral prepared for central bank facilities were not sufficient to cover the massive liquidity outflows and the higher prepositioning requirements,” the SNB said, adding that the issue was exacerbated by needing to meet operational needs as well as requirements from payment agencies and clearing institutions.

When the crisis struck, Credit Suisse also didn’t have enough ready collateral to access sufficient funds from the central bank. In March, the SNB introduced a special uncollateralized facility to bridge the bank until the rescue by UBS could be brokered.

“Going forward, banks should be required to prepare a minimum amount of assets that can be pledged at central banks.”

The SNB said that the Swiss authorities will carry out an in-depth review of the crisis in the context of the Too-Big-To-Fail regulations and present a report to parliament within 12 months. — Bloomberg

Twitter moves to patch relationship with Google Cloud 

TWITTER has resumed paying Google Cloud for its services, patching up a relationship that became strained after Elon Musk acquired the social network and stopped paying Google and various other companies.

Twitter’s new chief executive officer, Linda Yaccarino, helped get the relationship back on track, according to a person familiar with the situation. As part of the discussions, which have included talks between Ms. Yaccarino and Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, the two companies are also negotiating a broader partnership that could include advertising and Google’s use of Twitter’s API, said the person, who requested anonymity to discuss a private matter.

Mr. Musk has been supportive of the new direction in the relationship, the person said. Another person with knowledge of the matter confirmed there are no issues currently between the companies.

Spokespeople for Twitter and Google declined to comment.   

Since billionaire Mr. Musk acquired San Francisco-based Twitter last fall, the social media platform has pushed many of its vendors for discounts. Reducing spending on cloud computing emerged as a particular goal of Mr. Musk’s, according to another person with knowledge of the matter.

Twitter has paid Alphabet Inc.’s Google Cloud about $200 million to $300 million per year, three people with knowledge of the matter estimated. The social media company largely uses Google Cloud for data analysis and machine learning.

Platformer first reported that Twitter had stopped paying its bills with Google Cloud.

Google at first struggled to get through to Musk to discuss the unpaid bills. In an attempt to reach him, Google employees contacted people at his space exploration firm, SpaceX, which also does business with Google Cloud, according to two of the people.

Google had some levers at its disposal to press Twitter to pay, including restricting aspects of the cloud computing platform.

The companies announced their partnership in 2018. Twitter was once one of Google Cloud’s most important customers, but Google has since broadened its client base. After reporting its first profitable quarter earlier this year, Google hopes to use its artificial intelligence to close the gap with larger cloud rivals such as Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com, Inc. — Bloomberg

EntertainmentNews (06/23/23)

Ayala Malls Cinemas premieres new Indiana Jones flick

HARRISON FORD is back to play his iconic role of archaeologist adventurer Indiana Jones one last time. Ayala Malls Vertis North is hosting the Philippine premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the final installment of the action-packed franchise. Fans can enjoy the collateral activities at the premiere on June 25 and the opening weekend on July 1 and 2. On June 25, moviegoers will be greeted by a quartet performance featuring original soundtracks from the film series. Cosplayers will roam the cinema lobby in their best Indiana Jones look, while fans are invited to come in safari-inspired outfits. Guests can take photos at the Rope Bridge set up, complete with atmospheric noises such as creaking ropes. Exclusive Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny movie merchandise will be raffled off to guests at the movie premiere, including a limited-edition poster and an outdoor jacket. On July 1 and 2, Ayala Malls Cinemas is hosting a treasure hunt at Glorietta, Greenbelt, Ayala Malls Manila Bay, TriNoma, and Alabang Town Center, that will challenge participants to find missing artifacts under a time limit. After the hunt, guests can take photos at the Indiana Jones photowall. The final Indiana Jones film can be enjoyed on Ayala Malls Cinemas’ A-Giant Screen which features a four-times larger cinema screen with wide viewing angles, high contrast, bright pictures, excellent color temperature, and superior surround sound experience. Exclusive to Ayala Malls Vertis North and Ayala Malls Manila Bay, the Ayala Malls A-Giant cinemas also include a Skybox section for luxurious movie-watching comfort with Dolby Atmos for a surround sound experience, fully motorized leather recliner seats, USB charging ports, and a foldable table for snacks. Plus, a purchase of an Ayala Malls Cinema ticket already comes with free popcorn from The Movie Snackbar. Ayala Malls Cinemas offer immersive 4DX Cinemas (Greenbelt and UP Town Center), A-Luxe Seats, and A-Giant Screens (Ayala Malls Manila Bay and Ayala Malls Vertis North). Book tickets at all Ayala Malls Cinemas, Zing app, or SureSeats.com.

Film on coming out screened this Pride Month

TO commemorate LGBTQIA+ Pride month, Noontime Drama, an award-winning Filipino short film on coming out, will be screened for free online and in select cinemas nationwide. Noontime Drama explores how the meticulous slow cooking of traditional Filipino comfort food symbolizes parents coming to terms with their child’s sexuality or gender identity. The 14-minute piece follows single mother Sonia (Susan Africa) as she struggles to prepare the perfect kare-kare together with her daughter Leslie (Zar Donato) in time for a family reunion. As the tension simmers between the protagonists, unresolved issues resurface, and deflection fills each conversation. The film is written and directed by Kim Timan and Sam Villa-Real, both from the Digital Filmmaking Program of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. Noontime Drama was a Grantee of the 2020 CineMarya Women’s Film Festival (Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino), where it was hailed as the Best Film and Best Screenplay. It likewise nabbed the Best Short Film and Best Performer Awards at the 2021 Dreamanila International Film Festival, and the 3rd Best Short Film at the 2021 CineKabalen Culinary Cinema, among other honors. Noontime Drama will be screened as part of the 2023 Pelikulaya Film Festival from June 23 to June 30 at the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Cinematheque Centres nationwide, online on JuanFlix: The FDCP Channel. It can also be viewed in select cinemas in Metro Manila. The short will also be on view at the MIYERKULET Freedom Extravaganza on June 30, 7 p.m., at the Penthouse of Fil Garcia Tower, Quezon City.

Araneta City displays #EveryHueInYou for Pride Month

ARANETA City in Quezon City is holding a month-long celebration of Pride Month, starting with the #PRIDEstrian crossing at the intersection of Gen. Aguinaldo and Gen. Malvar (near Gateway Tower and New Frontier Theater) which was repainted with colors of the pride flag. It also put up the #ForestOfHue, an art installation filled with colorful trees at several of the malls in the area. It will be set up at the Farmers Plaza Activity Area from June 24 to 30. It is also promoting HIV awareness by hosting the Tanggulan art exhibit of photographer Niccolo Cosme which features portraits of several beauty queens that are painted using HIV+ blood. The exhibit has been shown in several malls in Araneta City and will next be on view at the Gateway Mall Activity Area from June 23 to 30. Araneta City is also challenging netizens to show their fierce side by joining the #RampaSaAraneta contest in which they must film themselves walking at the #PRIDEstrian and #ForestOfHue. The video must then be uploaded on TikTok, tagging Araneta City and using the hashtags #AranetaCity #RampaSaAraneta #CityOfFirsts for a chance to win prizes like an overnight stay at Novotel Manila Araneta City and ₱5,000. The competition runs until June 30.

Glorietta hosts K-pop activities in June and July

AYALA MALL’S Glorietta Activity Center will be the venue for a public press conference featuring K-pop group NCT DOJAEJUNG, which recently released its successful debut album, Perfume. Ayala Malls Zing Plus members can get exclusive access to the press conference on June 25 by presenting their Zing Plus membership — one Zing Plus membership is equal to one event pass, although the passes are available only while supplies last. There are more K-Culture activities in store for Glorietta’s patrons, starting with the launch of K-Park at the roof deck of Glorietta 1. The restaurant row features authentic Korean installations and flavors. There will also be a Korean Products Festival on June 28-29 at the Palm Drive Activity Center, with skincare products, accessories, and Korean snacks, among other sought-after Korean items. Glorietta will also be hosting a BTS 10th Anniversary fan party on July 7 to 9, with exclusive exhibits, interactive experiences, and special surprises to celebrate BTS and its fandom. For more information and announcements, visit https://www.ayalamalls.com/ or head to Glorietta’s social media pages at https://www.facebook.com/iloveglorietta/ and https://www.instagram.com/iloveglorietta/

Newport, Cornerstone seal partnership

INTEGRATED resort Newport World Resorts recently sealed a partnership with Filipino multimedia entertainment agency Cornerstone Entertainment for a series of concerts featuring favorite OPM stars. Beginning the second half of 2023, four concerts are lined up to take center stage at the Newport Performing Arts Theater. On Aug. 4, there will be a concert featuring the duo of OPM legend Rey Valera and singer-comedienne K Brosas. KZ Tandingan will take center stage on Sept. 23. On Oct. 20, it is Piolo Pascual’s turn, and on Dec. 22, the holiday spirit will come via Big Band crooner Richard Poon. For more information on Newport World Resorts’ entertainment offers, visit www.newportworldresorts.com and follow @newportworldresorts on Facebook and Instagram, and @nwresorts on Twitter.

Tribute album marks Christian Bautista’s 20th anniversary

CELEBRATING two decades of exceptional music, Universal Records has released a tribute album entitled The Way You Look At Me: The Songs of Christian Bautista to honor the balladeer. The album features Mr. Bautista’s hits as rendered by  OPM artists such as Ben&Ben, Julie Anne San Jose and Rayver Cruz, I Belong To The Zoo (IBBTZ), Morissette, KZ Tandingan, Sam Concepcion, Zephanie, and Kyle Juliano. The first drop was IBTTZ’s “Hands To Heaven” back in October followed by Morissette’s take on “Colour Everywhere.” Julie Anne San Jose and Rayver Cruz starred in the two-episode Pag-ibig Na Kaya: The Mini-series to promote their own version of the hit song. Ben&Ben’s “The Way You Look At Me” became a much-talked about topic online after its official music video featuring the BarDa love team was released. The Way You Look At Me: The Songs of Christian Bautista can now be streamed in its entirety on your favorite digital streaming platforms.

Stream The Way You Look At Me: The Songs Of Christian Bautista:

Spotify | Apple Music | Audio Clip

1.       The Way You Look At Me — Ben&Ben
2.       Hands To Heaven — I Belong To The Zoo
3.       Pag-ibig Na Kaya — Julie Anne San Jose and Rayver Cruz
4.       Colour Everywhere — Morissette
5.       Kapit — Sam Concepcion
6.       Kailan Pa Ma’y Ikaw — KZ
7.       Everything You Do — Kyle Julian
8.       Since I Found You — Zephanie

Best approach on intra-department worker transfer

Our management team is planning to conduct a corporate-wide rightsizing program to help improve labor productivity. Our chief executive officer (CEO) told us not to terminate anyone, authorizing us only to transfer workers to where they are most needed. What would you advise in this situation? — Cutting Corners.

Even a young human resource manager would tell you that transferring people is a legal prerogative given to employers and their management representatives. It’s the inherent right of management to undertake lateral, intra-department or inter-department transfers or reassign workers to where they can contribute more.

However, that legal right is not absolute. Such prerogative must be exercised with caution. Transfers must be done with no demotion in rank, no reduction in salary, no diminution of contractual benefits, and without disruption to seniority or other employment arrangements.

Also, the key to transferring people to another department or location must not be done in bad faith, with discriminatory intent, or constitute an indirect form of punishment. For instance, an employee may be an active union member or is perceived to be a union organizer. Even if you believe that you’re moving people to new jobs or locations where they’re best needed, you must do it without antagonizing them.

WIN-WIN SOLUTION
To avoid any issues when transferring employees, extra caution must be exercised by management. This will require you to discover a win-win approach that a transferee would welcome as an opportunity for a change of scene. Here’s my top-of-the-mind advice:

One, issue a clear-cut transfer policy. The human resource (HR) department must draft a policy for approval by all department heads and the chief executive officer. This policy must include the objectives (labor productivity, multi-skilling, preparation for promotion, etc.), qualifications of employees to be transferred to other departments or locations, the procedure to be followed, the length of assignment, and other requirements listed below.

Two, define eligibility requirements. Those who will be transferred must have at least an average work performance over the past three years, no record of any disciplinary action, and express a willingness to learn other tasks, even if outside of their educational attainment.

New employees may be eligible for intra-department transfers provided they have at least one year of service and have logged in an above average work performance.

Three, promote transfers as a routine. Make the policy applicable for all to ensure equal opportunity to learn new aspects of the business operation. One thing to watch out for is department heads blocking the transfer applications of their favorite, hard-working employees. The only approval needed should be from the receiving department head, who is responsible for vetting the qualifications of transferees.

Four, offer a little cash incentive. This could take the form of a nontaxable, modest monthly cash allowance to help cover transportation costs and related expenses. The other option is for the organization to advance a down payment to buy a motorcycle other such expenses, like the acquisition of a crash helmet.

This must be an interest-free loan to be given only to employees being transferred to a new location, especially in areas where there are no suitable or adequate means of public transportation.

Five, make the transfer temporary. The maximum term is two years with a non-extendible period of one year, not to exceed three years in total. This is to give other qualified employees the chance to experience working in other areas and learn new skills.

The exception is when an employee is transferred to a location that is nearer their residence, or if such transfer is more advantageous for the organization.

Last, link it to the performance appraisal system. All intra-department transfers must be a part of the company’s management development program, succession plan, and the employee’s career development plan. This system ensures that everyone is assisted in achieving their desired promotions.

NOT A PUNISHMENT
I know some dictatorial managers who would object to this advice. If you’re that kind of manager, then this  advice is not for you. It’s not unheard of for intra-department transfers to be intended as a penalty for poor performance. This is not exactly the right approach.

If you want to improve the performance of underperforming workers or those with attitude problems, the correct approach is a performance improvement plan; transferring them to other departments may cause these departments’ heads to say no. After all, why should any other department welcome your problem employees?

Remember that an intra-department transfer should help workers achieve their career goals and at the same time equip the organization with a deep bench of agile, flexible, and highly-qualified people with varying skills.

In conclusion, exercising management prerogative in employee transfers could give dictatorial managers the impression that they can do anything. Don’t make this mistake. Instead, muster the positive energy to think of win-win solutions.

 

Join Rey Elbo’s July 23-29, 2023 “Kaizen Study Mission” to Toyota City, Japan. Chat with him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or e-mail elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.com

The myth of LGBT discrimination

RODRIGO CURI-UNSPLASH

An argument that the LGBT activists push out is the “discrimination” they suffer from the rest of society. That because of such unequal treatment they have to bear, additional legislation is needed to allow them the civil rights protection afforded to everyone else. The question, however, is: Do such allegations of discrimination have any basis?

The point being made here is not that no discrimination exists. Discrimination can exist after all, provided such is legally done within the ambit of the “equal protection” concept under our constitutional system (i.e., unequal treatment between those of different classes). Discrimination can also exist in the sense that everybody gets discriminated against, to the point that they are of such levels that they do not justify a policy response.

With regard to the latter, let us see for example Senate Bill 689 (2022, the “Anti-Discrimination Act”), which alleges that: “According to a United Nations (UN) study, 30% of LGBT in the country reported being harassed, bullied, or discriminated against by others while at work because of their sexual orientation and gender identity or expression (SOGIE). The same study also said 21% of Filipino respondents believed that they were denied a job because of their SOGIE.”

The problem with the foregoing charges is that they are based on subjective self-perception. If indeed the LGBT are being harassed or discriminated against in the workplace or denied employment, it would have been the simplest thing to look at the Department of Labor and Employment or National Labor Relations Commission records to determine the extent. If indeed the LGBT are being persecuted, the Philippine National Police or National Bureau of Investigation records would bear the extent of the crimes committed against them. That no such evidence was proffered casts suspicions on the credibility of the “discrimination” argument.

Indeed, if workplace discrimination were true, then one reliable indicator would be income levels and in this regard the data goes against the idea of discrimination: US studies found that the LGBT community “earn more, save more, have less debt and are better prepared for retirement, according to a Prudential survey of more than 1,000 LGBT respondents. Respondents not only reported significantly higher annual incomes — $61,500 compared with the national median of $50,054 — and had $6,000 more in household savings. They were even slightly more likely to have jobs in the first place, with an unemployment rate of 7% versus the national rate of 7.9%.” (“Gay people earn more, owe less”; CNN, 2012)

Even more recent studies demonstrate that not only do the LGBT community earn equally with the rest of the population but they benefit from “a 10% premium, meaning that gay men in recent years earned substantially more than straight men with similar education, experience, and job profiles.” (“Gay Men Used to Earn Less than Straight Men; Now They Earn More”; Harvard Business Review, 2017)

In fact, previous studies that tried to show discrimination against the LGBT are now being considered suspect: “The measurement, analytic, and interpretive decision-making displayed in much (though certainly not all) of the LGBT discrimination and well-being literature is troubling, indicative of a lack of standards, poorly defined concepts, impressionistic conclusions derived from small numbers of interviews, the politicization of results, and the overall novelty of the field.

“With society’s recent changes in norms and values, there is little evidence that chronic, repetitive, and intense discrimination based on sexual orientation remains a health issue. Moreover, the ‘minority stress’ perspective privileged in such research opposes the idea that gays and lesbians should be seen merely as victims of social stress. They — like any other minority group — have long drawn strength from association and from establishing alternative structures and values, all of which temper the effect of discrimination.” (“Weak Data, Small Samples, and Politicized Conclusions on LGBT Discrimination,” Public Discourse, 2020)

While it may be true that discrimination against the LGBT happen in other countries, for example 64 countries have laws criminalizing homosexuality, the Philippines is not one of them. In fact, pro-LGBT proposed legislation, such as the abovementioned SB 689, admit that “Pew Research Center says 73% of adult Filipinos say homosexuality should be accepted [and that] the Philippines is the second most gay friendly country in the Asia-Pacific.”

Congress alone gives the lie to the discrimination argument: a known transgender has been elected to the House and an LGBT party-list registered to run for a seat. Members of the LGBT community are prominent members of business, the academe, and showbusiness — with many of them occupying top positions and enjoying high earnings. And the political and social influence of the LGBT clearly goes beyond its 2-5% share of the population.

In fine, the words of legal philosopher John Finnis is of great relevance: “Reality is known in judgment, not in emotion. In reality, whatever the generous hopes and dreams and thoughts [will always have to give way to what is actually there].”

 

Jemy Gatdula is a senior fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence

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

Twitter  @jemygatdula

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