THE Philippines’ balance of payments (BoP) position swung to a surplus in March, driven by foreign currency deposits from the National Government and the central bank’s investments abroad.
Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Tuesday showed that BoP recorded a $754-million surplus last month. This is a turnaround from the $73-million gap a year earlier, as well as the $157-million deficit in February.
This is also the biggest BoP surplus since the $991-million surfeit in December.
“The BoP surplus in March 2022 reflected inflows arising mainly from the National Government’s (NG) net foreign currency deposits with the BSP and BSP’s income from its investments abroad,” the central bank said in a statement.
Last month’s BoP surplus could be partly attributed to the global bond issuance by the government, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.
The Bureau of the Treasury raised $2.25 billion through its maiden triple tranche dollar-denominated bond offering in March.
The government will use the proceeds for the national budget and the sustainable finance program.
At its end-March level, the BoP reflects a final gross international reserve of $107.31 billion, down 0.5% from the $107.8 billion a month earlier.
This is enough to cover 7.1 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 5.3 times based on residual maturity. It also represents buffers equivalent to 9.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.
The BoP position posted a $495-million surplus in the first quarter of 2022, a reversal from the $2.844-billion deficit in the same period last year.
The BoP gives a glimpse into the country’s transactions with the rest of the world. A deficit means more funds left the country, while a surplus shows that more money came in.
The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine could complicate global and domestic recovery and affect the country’s BoP this year, Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said.
“War-induced volatility in the global financial and commodity markets has the potential to spill over to the local economy, and so this points to a negative impact to our major trading partners and leading to a [BoP] deficit for 2022,” Mr. Roces said in a Viber message.
The Philippines is a net oil exporter, making it vulnerable to the surge in fuel prices caused by the war.
For this year, the BSP expects the BoP position to post a $4.3-billion deficit, which is equivalent to 1% of the gross domestic product.
UKRAINE and Russian flags are seen through broken glass in this illustration taken March 1, 2022. — REUTERS
WASHINGTON — The World Bank is reducing its global growth forecast for 2022 by nearly a full percentage point, to 3.2% from 4.1%, due to the impacts from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, World Bank President David Malpass said on Monday.
Malpass told reporters on a conference call that the World Bank was responding to the added economic stresses from the war by proposing a new, 15-month crisis financing target of $170 billion, with a goal to commit about $50 billion of this financing over the next three months.
Malpass said the biggest component of the bank’s growth forecast reduction was a 4.1% contraction in the Europe and Central Asia region — comprising Ukraine, Russia and surrounding countries. Forecasts also are being cut for advanced and many developing economies because of spikes in food and energy prices caused by war-related supply disruptions, Malpass said.
“We’re preparing for a continued crisis response, given the multiple crises,” Malpass said. “Over the next few weeks, I expect to discuss with our board, a new 15-month crisis response envelope of around $170 billion to cover April 2022 through June 2023.”
The plan follows from a World Bank $160-billion COVID-19 financing program, of which Malpass said $157 billion was committed through June 2021.
Malpass said the financing partly will support countries that have taken in refugees from Ukraine and will also help address problems in countries affected by food shortages.
Malpass said World Bank and IMF member countries this week will be discussing new assistance for Ukraine, and expects specific commitments to be announced by a number of donor countries. — Reuters
THIS image of a goat-headed yogini was found in a London garden after going missing 20 years ago. — PHOTO FROM ARTRECOVERY.COM
By Kai Schultz andUpmanyu Trivedi
THIS image of a goat-headed yogini was found in a London garden after going missing 20 years ago. — PHOTO FROM ARTRECOVERY.COM
FROM a tiny office in southern India, S. Vijay Kumar scans case files on his laptop with the precision of a forensic scientist. To an untrained eye, the width of a bronze Shiva’s nose or the definition of its knuckles are invisible details. To Mr. Kumar, these are clues on a statue that unlock some of history’s biggest art heists.
For more than a decade, Mr. Kumar has devoted himself to a singular cause: recovering smuggled artifacts from the world’s richest collectors. Along with other civilian detectives scattered across time zones, he has roiled an insular art crowd, helping to seize scores of pieces from major museums and auction houses.
With encyclopedic command of the material, Mr. Kumar hunts for distinguishing marks on antiques, matching archival photographs with offerings in glossy Christie’s catalogs. His network assists police squads, busts smugglers, and scrutinizes customs records. They make little money from the work, he said, leaning on volunteers to send tips through social media and conduct “hard-core background searches.”
“I’m quite a character in that I call a spade a spade,” said Mr. Kumar, whose organization, India Pride Project, maintains a database of several thousand artifacts with questionable provenance. “These objects were never intended for a billionaire’s bedroom.”
His sleuthing follows a strong tailwind. Amid tense disagreements over globalization, the right of a nation to its history, and how to atone for colonial sins, art restitutions have surged in recent years. The illicit trade of cultural goods is big business. Upper estimates of the market’s annual value reach nearly $10 billion. That number makes it one of the world’s most significant black markets, though historians note that valuing the only Euphronios krater is a little tricky.
The scope of seizures has also ballooned, encompassing sandstone sculptures plundered under the Khmer Rouge and a mosaic from one of Caligula’s ships. From 2017 to 2020, law enforcement recovered almost ten times more stolen objects worldwide than the number reported missing, according to Interpol’s Works of Art team. Data comes from the organization’s 195 member countries, though not all submit figures.
Powerful institutions have not been spared. Facing prosecution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art surrendered a golden mummy coffin after learning that it was stolen during the Arab Spring. Traffickers dumped the corpse into the Nile before it ended up in New York, where Kim Kardashian posed next to it at the Met Gala. The museum apologized to Egypt and reformed its acquisition policies.
“We rely on disgruntled employees to tell dirty secrets,” said Lynda Albertson, the chief executive of ARCA, a Rome-based organization that studies art thefts and coordinates with the authorities. “And we just stuff them away, like little squirrels putting our nuts in the tree.”
Art crimes are hard to crack. Legitimate sales mix with the shady. Pieces disappear for decades before reappearing on the auction floor. Smugglers fake provenance records and strike during crises. As Russia’s war in Ukraine intensified, conservators hung barbed wire around galleries and hid paintings in basements.
Western nations are increasingly adept at maneuvering around barriers. They have appointed special agents to arrest dealers in five-star hotels, subpoena the e-mails of museum curators, and track terrorist groups using plunder to plot attacks. Money laundering is often a concurrent activity, particularly in financial and trade centers such as Geneva, Dubai, and Malta. In many cases, just a handful of people are responsible for a vast majority of the stolen works in each region.
“There’s been an explosion of interest” in stopping smugglers, said Matthew Bogdanos, who leads the antiquities trafficking unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which has returned around 1,700 pieces since opening in 2017. “There’s a lot of really good people out there who have suddenly decided, or realized, ‘Damn, this stuff is irreplaceable.’”
Occasionally, they snag a big fish. Last year, American hedge fund billionaire Michael Steinhardt agreed to surrender $70 million worth of treasure. His collection included a libations vessel that depicts a stag’s head and a Cretan chest used to store human remains.
The biggest hauls often involve India and other Asian nations, where unguarded temples are easy targets. During a bust known as Operation Hidden Idol, officials found goods worth more than $100 million in the New York warehouses of Indian-American art dealer Subhash Kapoor. Mr. Bogdanos said he might stand trial in the US as early as this summer.
Mr. Kumar, 48, knows all about that one. He helped break the case and then wrote a book. The US recently returned 157 smuggled artifacts to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to a government report, India recovered less than two dozen pieces in the 35 years before 2012.
“We get random phone calls from unmarked numbers saying they’ve hired a gunman to shoot and all that crap,” Mr. Kumar said. “This doesn’t happen without some bad apples. My stand to them has always been: Sue me.”
A FRAUGHT DEBATE Looting is a story of money and conquest.
Genghis Khan called robbing his enemies “the greatest pleasure.” Napoleon’s armies ransacked European cities, snatching paintings from chapels and melting sculptures made of precious metals. In the chaotic weeks after the US invaded Iraq, vandals stole thousands of antiquities from the national museum in Baghdad.
Mr. Bogdanos, a hard-boiled former marine, said that episode was a watershed moment in the world’s awareness about the provenance of artwork. His desk is adorned with dozens of yellow Post-it notes — each one representing an ongoing investigation into purloined works now believed to wrongly be in US hands.
“No one wants to denude museums of their treasure,” he said. “I just want to know that it got there properly. And if it didn’t, it should go back.”
Repatriation pulls support from an unlikely coalition of political groups. In the West, activists on the left frame the debate around righting the wrongs of white supremacy. Factions of India’s religious right argue that Hindu idols are sentient and therefore stealing them is akin to kidnapping.
To date, dozens of nations have ratified a 1970 UNESCO convention against the trafficking of antiquities. But the scars remain: A 2018 report commissioned by the French government found that around 90% of African artifacts are still held outside the continent.
Resistance comes from all quarters. The British Museum has refused to surrender some of its most notable pieces, including the Rosetta Stone. Many private sellers are giving up entirely. A 2019 journal article found that the number of ancient-art storefronts in Manhattan fell from a dozen to three over the previous two decades.
Arguments against returning antiquities span the practical and the philosophical.
Kavita Singh, an art history professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, cautioned against thinking of museums as belonging to a “flat world.” Facilities in poorer countries are often dilapidated. When a million-dollar idol gets publicity, officials cannot simply hand it over to a faraway temple. Many pieces end up in the purgatory of a government storeroom.
For those who subscribe to cosmopolitanism, or the belief in a shared global identity, the location of an artifact is a minor detail. In an age of 18-hour direct flights and hyphenated identities, a Buddha statue holds meaning far beyond Tibet.
“The concern is that these objects should be returned because they are of value to the local populations from which they were taken first, or from which they were purchased,” said James Cuno, the president of the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world’s wealthiest arts institution. “But now those populations are in Berlin. They’re in Delhi. They’re in Beirut.”
HOW TO CATCH A THIEF To the most devoted art sleuths, academic shades of the debate are ultimately a distraction. A stolen object is a stolen object — and there is nothing like cleaning dirt off a gem.
From his hometown of Chennai, Kumar spoke of Indian art in loving, cinematic detail. His is a lifelong passion. As a young boy, Mr. Kumar’s grandmother instilled in him an appreciation for elegant bronzes from the Chola dynasty.
The path to antiquities hunting took longer. Coaxed by his parents to secure himself financially, Mr. Kumar studied accounting in college and then launched a career as a shipbroker.
But the itch persisted to document India’s rich yet undervalued artistic traditions. Mr. Kumar began visiting remote temples dotted with snake pits. In 2006, he created a blog, Poetry in Stone, likening it to a “dummy’s guide to Indian art.” Through the internet, he found other “heritage hounds,” he said, mostly techies from the subcontinent who scattered during the Dotcom boom. They soon compiled possibly the largest database of missing Indian artifacts.
Within a few years, Mr. Kumar got his big break. He matched items sold by Mr. Kapoor, the New York art dealer, with photographs in French studies of temples from the 1950s. That information was passed to the Indian police and US investigators, who called Mr. Kapoor “one of the most prolific commodities smugglers in the world.”
Since then, Mr. Kumar has helped repatriate pieces from institutions as diverse as the National Gallery of Australia and the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio. He has also earned a reputation for social media activism. His Twitter is a scrapbook of quotes from obscure art history books. He laments artifacts photographed in the marbled bathrooms of collectors. The hashtag #BringBackOurGods is a constant.
“I have been critical of the law enforcement machinery, the hypocritical art world and the crooks alike, and so I’ve made enemies everywhere,” Mr. Kumar wrote in his book, The Idol Thief, which chronicles the twists and turns of the Kapoor case.
Mr. Kumar insists that pressure is necessary. Traffickers are rarely prosecuted.Many probes go nowhere. Technology has tilted power from a few ringleaders to a diffuse network of scrappy smugglers who communicate using Google Translate. Badgering police is part of the gig. “If they do their job, we clap,” he said. “If they don’t do their job, we go to the press.”
Collaboration with other art sleuths greases the wheels.
Last fall, Chris Marinello, was standing in a widow’s garden outside London when he made a startling discovery: the long-lost sculpture of a goat-headed deity — all 10,000 pounds of her.
“I was quite moved,” said Mr. Marinello, who was hired by the woman to conduct due diligence on pieces at her country estate.
Mr. Marinello, a lawyer and the founder of Art Recovery International, started to research the sculpture, known as a yogini, a goddess and master of tantra. He contacted Sotheby’s. He consulted a British historian. Then he reached out to Mr. Kumar’s India Pride Project. “Do you know anything about this piece?” he wrote in an e-mail. “This is an important and significant yogini which we have been trying to locate for over two decades,” Mr. Kumar replied.
Mr. Marinello shared high-resolution photos. Mr. Kumar contacted police in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Officials confirmed that several yogini statues were looted from the village of Lokhari around 1980.
The widow, in her 90s, agreed to give up the piece. The men approached the Metropolitan Police, who confirmed that she had acquired the moss-freckled yogini with the house. This year, at a handover ceremony in London, Indian diplomats showered it with flower petals. “The goddess made her way home,” Mr. Kumar said.
CRYING MOMENTS The euphoria of finding an object lost in time makes up for frustrating dead ends.
Reunions are emotional. The most rewarding restitutions are often anchored in painful histories. Arthur Brand, a Dutch detective, recalled a painting that was seized from Jewish gallerists in Nazi Germany. The Louvre, where it ended up, returned the piece to their granddaughter eight decades later.
“When you see somebody’s face in this particular moment, it’s like a bridge to the past,” he said. “The whole family starts to cry, her new family, because the rest are not there anymore.”
For Mr. Kumar, the stakes are on vivid display in India’s hinterland.
On a recent day, a cluster of barefooted men surrounded him the moment he exited his car in Sivankoodal, a speck of a village fringed with coconut trees. “Have you got the posters?” one asked. Mr. Kumar unfurled several silkscreened banners. They depicted an 800-year-old sculpture looted from the main temple decades ago. The statue portrays the Hindu gods Shiva and Parvati, along with their son. Mr. Kumar said it sits in the Asian Civilizations Museum.
“You tell anyone who asks you about the banner that the idol has been smuggled to Singapore,” he said. The museum didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Kumar inspected the temple, a low-lying structure festooned with fairy lights and surrounded by mongoose burrows. Inside, he read stone inscriptions dating to Rajendra the Great. “If we get the idol, future generations will benefit,” said Sigamani, 63, a sweat-slicked farmer who goes by one name.
The statues that remain are beating hearts here. A priest clothes them in saris and applies turmeric paste to their foreheads. New idols are submerged in tubs of rice, as if in a womb. After they are removed, believers consider them living entities.
These are galvanizing trips for Mr. Kumar. Reflecting on the number of pieces still missing, anger contorts his words. He rails against museums that display idols in “glass cages,” reducing them to showpiece curiosities. He seems pained when describing traffickers who hack off the arms of statues for transport or sully their complexion with synthetic paint.
His mission has no shades of grey. The chase is addictive, he said, and something like an obsession. But it’s also one Mr. Kumar believes has a vital taproot: conferring dignity at the margins of society. It’s a cause he can’t give up.
“We’re preparing for a long-drawn-out battle,” he said. “We will make sure that a stolen object cannot be sold. We will not let you put price tags on our gods.” — with assistance fromChristian Berthelsen, Bloomberg
OVER 61 galleries, art schools, independent art spaces, art collectives, and, for the first time, an NFT marketplace, are slated to showcase their exhibits online from 10 a.m. on April 24 to May 1 at www.artinthepark.ph. And as the world opens up to more face-to-face activities, Art in the Park will also be presenting a lineup of events and exhibits live on April 28 at the Jaime C. Velasquez Park in Makati City.
Known as the more affordable counterpart to the Art Fair, Art in the Park features art whose prices are capped at P50,000.
This year’s exhibitors include Ang INK., Arnold Art Collection, ART for Space Gallery, ART LAB: Atelier Cesare & Jean Marie Syjuco, Art Toys PH, Art Underground, Art Verite Gallery, ArtBeat Collective, Artepintura Gallery, Artery Art Space, ArtPAPER, Association of Pinoyprintmakers, The Authenticity Zero Collective, Avellana ArtGallery, Boston Art Gallery, Cevio Art Haus, Cornerstone Pottery (EJ Espiritu), De La Salle – College of St. Benilde, District Gallery, FA Gallery, Far Eastern University, Galeria de las Islas, Galerie Anna, Galerie Artes, Galerie Stephanie, Good on Paper, Hugpong Panay, ILCP Art Space, J Studio, Jon and Tessy Pettyjohn, KAIDA Contemporary, KASIBULAN, Kababaihan sa Sining at Bagong Sibol na Kamalayan, Kulay Art Group, MAG, Manila Collage Collective, Mariyah Gallery, Mia Casal Ceramics, Modeka Art Space, MONO8, Museum Foundation of the Philippines, Nineveh Artspace, Orange Project, Pangasinan Group, Parokyano ng Malabon, Qube Gallery, Redlab Gallery, Resurrection Furniture, Sagada Pottery, Sheerjoy, Sierra Madre Gallery (Joey de Castro), Space Encounters, The Thursday Group, Tin-aw, TUP Manila, UP College of Fine Arts, Village Art Gallery, Vinyl on Vinyl, vMeme Contemporary Art Gallery, White Walls Gallery, and Ysobel Art Gallery.
Art in the Park will continue to benefit the Museum Foundation of the Philippines in support of its projects and programs for the National Museum of the Philippines and its network.
SPECIAL EXHIBITS The affordable art fair will have a number of special exhibits in addition to the works presented by the galleries.
It welcomes back two of the most important artists practicing in the country today, the husband-and-wife Rodel Tapaya and Marina Cruz. Each artist will be presenting solo projects that underline their ongoing interests in experimentation with various media. Mr. Tapaya will be exhibiting nine artworks for Chicken Army, and Ms. Cruz will be exhibiting 11 artworks for Imprinted Musings.
Mr. Tapaya’s works are characterized by visionary narrative tableaux which combine folklore and social history into painterly figurations. Meanwhile, Ms. Cruz continues to explore the materiality of antique objects, photographs, and dresses and how they shape her personal biography. The couple founded IsTorya, a narrative design studio that celebrates creativity, love of identity, and new ways of learning that are rooted in the stories of the Filipinos.
Another special exhibit features Studio 1616, a group of art students under the mentorship of artist Lynyrd Paras who banded together in 2012 to present their work at Art in the Park. Now, a decade later, and in celebration of the fair’s 16th anniversary, they are back and will be exhibiting 15 artworks for sale, each measuring 16 x 16 inches, on the website.
They will also be exhibiting their work, Reflect Deflect, installed live at the Jaime Velasquez Park. The work takes off from the tents that characterize Art in the Park, using steel and mirrors as reflective surfaces that encourage visitors to examine themselves more closely.
The artists from Studio 1616 are Johanna Helmuth, Yeo Kaa, Jeremae Jumaoas, Jerahmeel Alvarez, Keb Cerda, Dale Erispe, Jayvee David, Jett Osian, Levin Paras, Ciron Señeres, Kiko Urquiola, Gian Miroe, Roy Rosatase, Yani Unsana, and Erick Villaruz.
The street artist Distort Monsters bridges digital art and traditional art with Monster Mayhem Megamash. Influenced by skateboarding and punk rock, the artist’s works revolve around countering adversity with some hardcore resilience. He has been painting for over a decade, with his work being brought to life on the streets, in gallery exhibitions, canvas pieces, art toys, public installations, and the metaverse.
Art in the Park, in partnership with Globe Platinum, will present 100 pieces from part two of Monster Mayhem MegaMash, that takes the artist’s colorful creatures in two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and digital forms, from murals to beyond NFTs (non-fungible tokens). These one-of-a-kind monsters will be available at www.artinthepark.ph as giclee prints that contain unique QR codes that when activated, will enable buyers of the prints to onboard the images as NFTs which they will also own. Priced at P9,500, the concept of the online exhibit takes off from Blindboxes, where buyers do not know which of the 100 unique prints and NFTs they have purchased until the giclee prints are delivered to them.
A live installation of 10 three-foot-high resin sculptures will complement the online exhibition of Monster Mayhem MegaMash. They will be on view at the Jaime Velasquez Park from April 24 to May 1.
Meanwhile, as part of their 30th-anniversary celebration, Ang Illustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK) will present an exhibit called INK in the Park, with a collection of 40 artworks from various illustrators including Juno Abreu, Aldy Aguirre, Fran Alvarez, Jamie Bauza, Benedir Dasig, Jovan De Ocampo, Danielle Florendo, Liza Flores, Tin Javier, Jasmin Lacay, LD Mendoza, Arli Pagaduan, Jonathan Ranola, Mark L. Ruste, Jomike Tejido, and Ige Ochoa Trinidad.
ONLINE AND ONSITE EVENTS Complementing the online and onsite exhibits are several online events which will be held via Facebook Live. They are:
• the video premiere of IsTorya ni Rodel Tapaya and Marina Cruz will be held on April 24, 5:30 p.m.
• the video premiere of Studio 1616’s exhibit will be on April 25, 5:30 p.m.
• the video showing of INK STORY: 30 Years of Ang Illustrador ng Kabataan on April 26, 5 p.m.
• a panel discussion on INK Story: 30 Years of Ang Illustrador ng Kabataan, Ang INK with Ateneo Art Gallery will be held on April 26, 5:30 p.m.
• the video premiere of Distort Monsters’ Monster Mayhem Megamash on April 27, 5:30 p.m.
• and The Platinum Series, art activity for kidson April 30, 10 a.m.
There will also be live events on April 28, 4-8 p.m. at Jaime Velasquez Park.
Distort Monsters will hold a live mural painting session starting at 3 p.m. on April 28. He will also discuss his Monster Mayhem MegaMash project, and how this bridges the gap between traditional art and NFTs in a talk scheduled at 5 p.m. on the same day.
Ang INK’s exhibition of new work available for purchase on this day. Art lovers also have the opportunity to see Studio 1616’s installation, Reflect Deflect live.
To complete the Art in the Park experience, a special two-hour DJ set by After The Noon Records will entertain the crowd from 6 to 8 p.m. Food and drinks will also be available at the park.
Art in the Park is organized by Philippine Art Events, Inc., for the benefit of the Museum Foundation of The Philippines and with support from Globe Platinum and Bank of The Philippine Islands.
For more information, visit www.artinthepark.ph and follow www.facebook/artinthepark and @artintheparkph on Instagram.
UNIVERSITY of the Philippines Fighting Maroons’ Ricci Rivero — THE UAAP
By John Bryan Ulanday
RAMPAGING University of the Philippines (UP) drained timely hits to repeat over Far Eastern University (FEU), 73-70, and notch its eighth win in a row in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Tuesday.
Most Valuable Player contender Zavier Lucero nailed the go-ahead bucket in the last minute to backstop Ricci Rivero’s game-high of 19 points as the Fighting Maroons kept a stranglehold of second spot with an 8-1 card.
Carl Tamayo (14) and CJ Cansino (12) threw in help, Mr. Lucero had seven while Maodo Diouf added a 7-point, 8-rebound, 3-steal and 3-block line including the game-sealing free throw in the last 29 seconds in UP’s scattered attack.
“We struggled finding our rhythm in the first half. Slowly though, we rediscovered our confidence in time especially in the third quarter bridging to the end,” said coach Goldwin Monteverde following a week-long rest due to the Holy Week break.
UP on a seven-game win streak — its longest and best season start since winning the UAAP crown in 1986 — bled for just 34 markers in the first half before exploding for 23 in the third that served as its stepping stone in the wild finish.
The Fighting Maroons also scored a tough 83-76 win over the Tamaraws in the first round.
Though Messrs. Lucero and Diouf were able to create separation for UP from a 70-all count, FEU still had two chances to force an overtime but super rookie RJ Abarrientos muffed his attempts including the one at the horn after UP’s Harold Alarcon’s missed free throws to ice it in the last 5.9 seconds.
In the second game, Schonny Winston exploded for 33 points, four rebounds and two steals as La Salle got back on track with a 112-83 coast-to-coast win over Santo Tomas after bowing to Ateneo last week.
Justine Baltazar (17), Evan Nelle (16), Michael Phillips (15) and Kurt Lojera (10) had their shares to make it up for the absence of Joaqui Manuel, who served his one-game suspension after his foul on Ateneo’s Ange Kouame got upgraded to an unsportsmanlike foul.
“We had our best offensive game so far this season. We’re able to execute and run what we’re supposed to run. It took the fight out of UST,” said coach Derrick Pumaren as La Salle broke free in the third quarter behind Mr. Winston’s 19 markers alone.
Emman Ojuola put up 16 markers and 14 boards in FEU’s sixth loss in nine outings while Paul Manalang’s 13 points went down the drain for the Growling Tigers, who also fell to 3-6.
Proto Photo Educator - Teodulo Protomartir. — PHOTO FROM UP VARGAS MUSEUM
Photo by Teodulo Protomartir — PHOTO FROM UP VARGAS MUSEUM
Photo by Teodulo Protomartir — PHOTO FROM UP VARGAS MUSEUM
Día del Libro returns
AFTER TWO years of cancellations due to the pandemic, Instituto Cervantes, the cultural arm of the Embassy of Spain, brings back the tradition of celebrating the Día del Libro (International Book Day) on April 23. The event will have a hybrid format with both onsite and online activities. There will be an online recital of Filhispanic Poetry, and the onsite handwriting of the novel Don Quijote de la Mancha at the Intramuros branch of Instituto Cervantes. It will also offer of free books and T-shirts featuring poems. At the online Poetry Recital, which is ongoing, poetry lovers are invited to recite verses written in Spanish by Filipino poets. All the recorded recitations are being compiled into a video that will be posted in Instituto Cervantes’ social media on April 23. The onsite event will see visitors at Instituto Cervantes’ Intramuros branch participating in a quixotic attempt: to handwrite a fragment of Don Quixote de La Mancha. The final hand-written book will be deposited in the Library of Instituto Cervantes. Interested parties can join on the same day with no prior registration, although they can reserve their slot by filling out the Registration Form on the following link: https://cultura.cervantes.es/manila/en/escribo-el-quijote— i-m-writing-don-quixote-/150572. Participants in the handwriting chain will receive a rose. Admission to all activities is free on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information, contact 8526-1482 or visit http://manila.cervantes.es or www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.
Photo exhibition of Protomartir’s works on view
“Proto Photo Educator: Teodulo Protomartir,”an ongoing exhibition at the UP Vargas Museum in Diliman, Quezon City, features a wide range of images by Protomartir, considered a pillar of photography education in the country. The showcase boasts of over 50 photographs taken by Protomartir. Each snapshot narrates a part of early Philippine amateur photography as well as scenes and slices of life in the early 20th century Manila through the lenses of 35mm cameras. The collection likewise consists of negatives, prints, and albums that highlight the quality and culture of Salon Photography of that era. It includes a selection from the Vargas Library and Archives that depicts the trying life in Manila during the Second World War. This is the first collaborative project between UP Vargas Museum and the New Media Cluster and Photography Program of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. The exhibition is on view until April 23 at the 1/F West Wing Gallery and Video Room of UP Vargas Museum.
IN LIGHT of the deluge of disinformation plaguing the county, KulturaSerye — Araneta City’s Gateway Gallery’s online talk series — will discuss the origins, dynamics, and challenges brought by disinformation in traditional media and the digital space. Titled “The Battle for Truth,” the webinar will be live-streamed on April 23, 2 p.m., on the official Facebook page of Gateway Gallery. History and leadership advocate Mona Magno-Veluz (known on Tiktok as Mighty Magulang) will scrutinize this phenomenon. “The Battle for Truth,” the second KulturaSeryewebinar for 2022, can be viewed for free, and will provide a digital certificate for attendees who will answer the talk’s online evaluation form. UP Los Baños instructor John Carlo Santos will moderate the talk. For inquiries on KulturaSerye or other programs, e-mail at gatewaygallery@aranetagroup.com, or call 8588-4000 local 8300.
Art in the Park goes online
AFTER THE hybrid edition of Art Fair Philippines 2022 earlier this year, its sister event, Art in the Park, returns online on April 24 to May 1. Known as the more affordable counterpart to the Art Fair, Art in the Park features art whose prices are capped at P50,000. This year, 63 galleries will be showcasing works online. Special exhibits will include Studio 1616 (group which includes artists Yeo Kaa and Lynyrd, among others), Rodel Tapaya, Marina Cruz, and NFT artworks by Distort Monsters. For more information, visit www.artinthepark.ph.
Watch PETA’s Game of Trolls online
THE PHILIPPINE Educational Theater Association (PETA) will stream Liza Magtoto’s martial law musical, A Game of Trolls, on www.ktx.ph on April 22 and 23. This is a video of an original live performance from 2017. The musical was directed by Maribel Legarda, with lyrics, composition, arrangement, and musical direction by Vincent de Jesus. Tickets are priced at P150 for video-on-demand viewing. For ticket and bulk inquiries, contact Mitch Go at 0917-539-1112.
Aunzo, Tumampos exhibit at ARTablado
RICO Aunzo and Ramil Tumampos — artists who share an affinity with the unsung heroes of labor including farmers, fisherfolk, construction workers, health workers, and small business owners — celebrate this with a two-man show called “Fruits of Labor” which opened on Easter Sunday at the Robinsons Land ARTablado in Level 3 of Robinsons Galleria. Born in Tatum City, Davao del Norte, as a teen Mr. Tumampos worked with his father making hand-painted billboards for movie houses. As the demand for cinema marquees died down, he shifted to painting on canvas and explored a style characterized as “impressionist transparency mixed with Cubism.” Today Mr. Tumampos resides in Magalang, Pampanga and actively joins art exhibits. Naptalie “Rico” Aunzo sees the country as filled with Pedro Masipags (and not Juan Tamads), which he depicts in his work as angular or slightly distorted figures that appear “idol-like, introspective, with long necks and portentous eyes that are shut.” The artist’s watercolor painting was included in then Ateneo president Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin’s book of reflections titled Siya Nga! in 2020, along with works by other artists.
Musical theater workshops with Rony Fortich
THE BGC ARTS Center begins its 5th run of online musical theater workshops in May. Online workshops are available for children (nine to 12 years old), teens (13 to 17), and adults (18 years old and above). The immersive four-week program includes 10 group sessions (of 1.5 hours each) and two one-on-one sessions with Rony Fortich, plus a culminating online performance for family and friends. Each student will also receive vocalization tracks, a personalized minus one, and a digital certificate of completion. The workshops begin on May 23. The online recital is scheduled for June 19. Slots are priced at P7,500. To register, visithttps://www.bgcartscenter.org/musical-theater-workshops.
Pelikulaya 2022 calls for entries
THE FILM Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) is now accepting submissions for this year’s Pelikulaya: LGBTQIA+ Film Festival. With the theme “Pantay-pantay, Iba’t Ibang Kulay!” (Equal, Different Colors!), the festival aims to spotlight stories and narratives that delve into the underrepresented members of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially the trans community, to promote better understanding of inclusivity, visibility, diversity, and equality. Entries are to be submitted through bit.ly/PelikulayaShortFilmCompetition on or before May 13. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/FDCP.ph.
Almario releases anthologyLugaw ni Leni, Pink Parol, KKK, Kakampink, Atbp.
NATIONAL Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario has come up with a 220-page anthology entitled Lugaw ni Leni, Pink Parol, KKK, Kakampink, Atbp. The book, which Almario co-edited with Aldrin Pentero, contains almost 200 pages of poems, short stories, essays, and letters, plus original prayers, musical compositions, and statements of support inspired by Vice-President Leni Robredo who is running for president in the national elections in May. All the works, except for one, are written in Filipino. The book features a 24-page colored insert of photos and images of Mrs. Robredo. Book design is by Fidel Rillo with cover illustrations by Mark Anthony Taduran and Kapitan Tambay. The anthology is available in San Anselmo Publication, Inc.’s Facebook page and Shopee, and soon in other bookstores. Over 75 Filipino artists contributed works to the volume.
PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan leads signing ceremonies with PLDT, Smart, edotco, EdgePoint, Axiata and DigitalBridge representatives. Seated, from left: Suresh Sidhu (CEO, EdgePoint), Justin Chang (Managing Director, Head of Asia, DigitalBridge), Mr. Pangilinan, Mohamad Adlan Ahmad Tajudin (CEO, edotco Group) and Annis Sheikh Mohamed (CFO, edotco Group). Standing, left to right: Joachim Horn (Next-Generation Solutions Advisor, Smart), Marilyn V. Aquino (Chief Legal Counsel, PLDT), Anabelle L. Chua (CFO, PLDT). On screen: Alfredo S. Panlilio (President and CEO, PLDT and Smart), Dato’ Izzaddin Idris (President and Group CEO, Axiata).
By Arjay L. Balinbin, Senior Reporter
PLDT, Inc. announced on Tuesday that it entered into agreements with two foreign tower companies for the sale and leaseback of its 5,907 telecom towers for P77 billion, which will be used to repay debt, fund major cash requirements, and pay special dividends of up to P9 billion.
The group’s subsidiaries, Smart Communications, Inc. and Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., signed the sale and purchase deals with the subsidiaries of international telecommunications infrastructure services companies edotco Group and EdgePoint, PLDT said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
The 5,907 towers — almost half of PLDT’s total tower portfolio — are spread across the Philippines, with 2,973 being acquired by ISOC edotco Towers, Inc., a subsidiary of edotco Group, and 2,934 towers by Comworks Infratech Corp., a subsidiary of EdgePoint.
With the proceeds from the transaction, the PLDT group aims to prepay P27.5 billion in debt maturing this year, PLDT Chief Finance Officer Anabelle L. Chua said during a press briefing.
“We do not need to borrow P24.5 billion that will be used for capital expenditures and other investment requirements. Originally, based on our plans, we would have had to borrow; but this time, we can avoid doing that with the proceeds that we’ll generate from this transaction,” she noted.
“So with the P52 billion that’s largely being used to deleverage the company, we should enjoy savings on our financing costs. The estimate here of P2.6 billion is calculated at the assumption of a 5% interest rate per annum,” she added.
The company also expects to see a payment of special dividends of up to P9 billion to its shareholders.
The transaction was signed on Tuesday. PLDT expects staggered closing because of the number of towers being transferred.
“First closing is expected in May 2022 with final closing by the fourth quarter,” Ms. Chua said.
PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan in March said the bids the company had received for its towers were “north of the P50-billion mark.”
Asked how PLDT was able to fetch a higher valuation for the towers, he said during Tuesday’s briefing: “I think that’s partly on the back of the good condition of our towers; partly because of the good credit standing of PLDT, I would like to believe, and partly because we had good financial advisors.”
“I think, on the whole, the timing was perfect, and also this is the first ever towers sale to be achieved here in this country, so in many respects, it had the benefit of a first mover advantage,” he added.
edotco Group, which has more than 54,000 towers across nine countries in Asia, and EdgePoint, which owns around 10,000 towers across Indonesia and Malaysia, will “bring to bear global best practices and technologies in operating the towers which should translate into better network quality, higher resilience and faster recovery from typhoons and other natural calamities,” PLDT said.
PLDT said its wireless arm Smart has agreed to lease back the towers sold in the transaction for a period of 10 years.
“Smart has secured competitive terms as the anchor tenant on the towers and expects to benefit from operational and capital expenditure savings,” the company said.
“The sale and leaseback will be complemented by a new tower build commitment of 1,500 towers in total over the next few years,” it added.
Regina Capital Development Corp. Equity Analyst Anna Corenne M. Agravio said in a phone message that the transaction is “one of the largest asset acquisitions by foreign players that the market has observed so far.”
“Given that this means PLDT will book considerable gains, the deal would help the company lower its leverage — which has stayed elevated since 2019 — even with its aggressive spending,” Ms. Agravio added.
According to PLDT, the arrangement is also expected to be “earnings accretive from the first full year post closing.”
“This implies that the deal would not just be a one-off gain,” Ms. Agravio said.
“PLDT’s share price has outperformed the index the past few days, so it looks like investors have turned more bullish on the telco,” she added.
In a separate phone message, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said: “This is a positive signal to the international investment community, attesting to increased confidence by foreign investors to bring in more capital into the country.”
“This in view of the country’s improved economic and credit fundamentals in recent years/decades as attested by relatively favorable credit ratings of about 1-3 notches above the minimum investment grade, maintained despite the pandemic since 2020, as well as the country’s attractive demographics, with a population of 110 million, or the 12th largest in the world, with relatively young population and majority of the population already at working age since 2015 (demographic sweet spot) that helps sustain relatively faster economic growth in recent decades,” he added.
PLDT shares closed 0.37% higher at P1,899 apiece on Tuesday.
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.
PHILIPPINE AIRLINES President and Chief Operating Officer Capt. Stanley K. Ng. said the company’s first quarter results were “very encouraging” and “better than expected.” — REUTERS
FLAG CARRIER Philippine Airlines (PAL) said on Tuesday that it saw “very encouraging” results in the first quarter as travel demand began to recover amid relaxed restrictions.
“It’s very encouraging, the results of the first quarter, which we will release soon. It was better than expected. We actually beat our budget,” PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Capt. Stanley K. Ng told reporters during a briefing.
“For domestic travel, we’re already at more than 80% of our pre-pandemic level, while for international, we’re around at 60% of our pre-pandemic level. So the results are really encouraging,” he added.
The airline anticipates returning to pre-pandemic levels of domestic flight capacity this year.
PARTNERSHIP WITH SINGAPORE At the same time, PAL and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) announced a partnership on Tuesday to entice more Filipinos to visit Singapore, which officially opened its borders on March 4.
“With this partnership, we are really looking forward that this route can recover soon. We’re looking at adding a third; and by the fourth quarter, we’re looking at going back to the pre-pandemic level of our flights,” Mr. Ng said.
STB Chief Executive Keith Tan said Singapore considers the Philippines as an “important tourism market.”
“Strong flight connectivity between our countries is really important for us, both for tourists and business travelers,” he added.
Under the partnership, “passengers of PAL will… be entitled to exclusive boarding pass privileges that provide special deals and promotions across a wide range of tourism establishments in Singapore, including Museum of Ice Cream, Mandai Wildlife Reserve, establishments on Sentosa, and more,” STB said in a statement.
It noted that since April 1, vaccinated travelers to Singapore have been enjoying “a streamlined travel process, requiring only proof of vaccination, a pre-departure coronavirus test, and a simple SG arrival card.”
PAL Holdings, Inc., the listed operator of PAL, saw its net income improve to P60.6 billion last year from a loss of P73.1 billion in 2020, primarily due to an increase in “other income” attributable to gain from debt settlement and condonation.
Its revenues for 2021 reached P58.7 billion, 6.2% higher than the P55.3 billion in 2020. — Arjay L. Balinbin
WILL it be 2016 all over again with Barangay Ginebra cashing in on its 3-2 lead and securing the clincher in Game 6? Or will there be a repeat of 2017 with Meralco forcing another standoff at three wins apiece and setting up a blockbuster winner-take-all?
With history split on the outcome of similar situations, the title-seeking Gin Kings and the embattled Bolts throw everything at each other in tonight’s sixth match to further their respective causes in their battle for the 46th PBA Governors’ Cup diadem.
The stakes in the 6 p.m. tiff to be played at an expectedly full-packed Smart Araneta Coliseum are higher on the part of Meralco, which teeters on the brink of blowing its fourth opportunity to score a franchise breakthrough. Aside from their 4-2 setback in 2016, the Bolts fell short against Ginebra in 2017, 4-3, and in 2019, 4-1.
“They only have three wins. (If) We win this game, we tie the series so that’s what we’re focused on right now,” said a defiant Bolts coach Norman Black.
His charges are staying upbeat that they can still salvage this and go all the way with back-to-back victories.
“Our mindset is: Let’s win this game then let’s do it again on Friday (Game 7). More than ever, we’re motivated to win the first championship for Meralco,” said gunner Allein Maliksi.
“We’ll give it our best shot,” added big man Raymond Almazan.
On the threshold of its fourth title in the last five Governors’ Cup meets, the Gin Kings treat Game 6 as a “life-or-death.”
“We’ll definitely go for it on Wednesday. We can’t afford to be forced to a Game 7 kasi we know how difficult it is dealing with Meralco’s defense. It showed in the latter part of Game 5, sobrang hirap,” said Ginebra skipper LA Tenorio. “So that’s our do-or-die game on Wednesday, not on Friday.”
The Gin Kings got on the hill after overhauling the Bolts’ 2-1 upperhand with big wins on Holy Wednesday, 95-84, and on Easter Sunday, 115-110.
“We know that trying to beat a good team like this three times in a row is nearly impossible. When I look at it, it seems close but it’s really very far away,” said Ginebra mentor Tim Cone.
Justin Brownlee, fresh from becoming the first import to make 400 three-pointers in Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) history, as well as Scottie Thompson, Mr. Tenorio, Christian Standhardinger and hopefully a healthier Japeth Aguilar spearhead Ginebra’s closeout bid against the life-saving efforts of Meralco’s Tony Bishop, Chris Newsome, Mr. Maliksi, Aaron Black, Mr. Almazan and Cliff Hodge.
THE government fully awarded the reissued seven-year papers it offered on Tuesday at a higher average rate. — BW FILE PHOTO
THE GOVERNMENT made a full award of the reissued Treasury bonds (T-bonds) it offered on Tuesday at a higher average rate due to inflation fears and hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve policymakers.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P35 billion as programmed from the reissued seven-year bonds it auctioned off on Tuesday, with bids reaching P47.336 billion.
The debt papers, which have a remaining life of six years and three months, were awarded at an average rate of 5.779%, up by 17.8 basis points (bps) from the 5.601% fetched when they were last sold on March 22. The bonds have a coupon rate of 3.75%.
The average rate was also higher than the 5.6836% quoted for the seven-year tenor at the secondary market prior to the auction, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said in a Viber message to reporters that the government made a full award of its T-bond offer at a higher rate due to hawkish comments from Fed officials suggesting a hike of 50 bps to tame rising prices.
Central banks around the world have been tightening their monetary policies to temper inflation despite lingering risks to economic growth.
A Reuters poll last week showed analysts expect the Fed to raise rates by 50 bps each for its May and June review to respond to runaway inflation. These analysts also expect a 40% probability of recession by 2023.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard on Monday said he wants to increase benchmark interest rates to 3.5% by the end of the year to slow inflation that reached 40-year highs in February and March. This would mean 50-bp interest hikes at all six of the Fed’s remaining meetings this year.
US inflation surged to 8.5% year on year in March amid record high fuel costs.
Oil prices rose on Tuesday due to the closure of oil fields in Libya. Brent crude rose by $1.46 or 1.3% to settle at $113.16 a barrel, while US crude rose by $1.26 or 1.2% to $108.21 a barrel.
Meanwhile, a trader in a Viber message said the T-bond auction result came as a surprise as the market was expecting the rate of the tenor to only be between 5.5% and 5.75%.
“Bids were higher due to CPI (consumer price index) pressures and hawkish tone of other central banks,” the trader said.
The trader added that Tuesday’s auction result may cause the market to be defensive ahead of next week’s 10-year T-bond offer.
The BTr wants to raise P200 billion from the domestic market in April, or P60 billion through Treasury bills and P140 billion via T-bonds.
The government borrows from local and external sources to help fund a budget deficit capped at 7.7% of gross domestic product this year. — T.J. Tomas with Reuters
ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Shot Sage Blue Marilyn
acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen
40 x 40 in. / 101.6 x 101.6 cm.
Painted in 1964.
ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987) Shot Sage Blue Marilyn acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen 40 x 40 in. / 101.6 x 101.6 cm. Painted in 1964.
“IF you remember the ’60s, you weren’t really there.” This famous quip says much about our rose-tinted nostalgia for the decade. The fun-loving hedonism of Woodstock and Beatlemania may be etched into cultural memory, but Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe portraits reveal a darker side to the swinging ’60s that turns our nostalgia on its head.
Warhol’s iconic Marilyn Monroe portrait Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, due to go on sale at Christie’s in May, is expected to fetch record-breaking bids of $200 million (£153 billion), making it the most expensive 20th century artwork ever auctioned. Nearly 60 years after they were first created, Warhol’s portraits of the ill-fated Hollywood star continue to fascinate us.
According to Alex Rotter, Christie’s chairman for 20th and 21st century art, Warhol’s Marilyn is “the absolute pinnacle of American Pop and the promise of the American dream, encapsulating optimism, fragility, celebrity and iconography all at once.”
Hollywood stars were great sources of inspiration for the Pop art movement. Monroe was a recurring motif, not only in the work of Warhol but in the work of his contemporaries, including James Rosenquist’s Marilyn Monroe, I and Pauline Boty’s Colour Her Gone and The Only Blonde in the World.
Born Norma Jeane Mortenson but renamed Marilyn Monroe by 20th Century Fox, the actress went on to become one of the most illustrious stars of Hollywood history, famed for her roles in classic films like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Some Like It Hot. She epitomized the glitzy world of consumerism and celebrity that Pop artists thought was emblematic of 1950s and 1960s American culture.
While Rotter’s statement may be true to some extent, there is also a sinister edge to the Marilyns because many were produced in the months following her unexpected death in 1962.
On the surface, the works may look like a tribute to a much-loved icon, but themes of death, decay, and even violence lurk within these canvases. Clues can often be found in the production techniques. One of the collection’s most famous pieces, Marilyn Diptych, uses flaws from the silkscreen process to create the effect of a decaying portrait. Warhol’s The Shot Marilyns consists of four canvases shot through the forehead with a single bullet. In this, the creation of Warhol’s art is as important as the artwork itself.
At a glance, the surface-level glamor of Warhol’s Marilyn immortalizes the actress as a blonde bombshell of Hollywood’s bygone era. It is easy to forget the tragedy behind the image, yet part of our enduring fascination with Marilyn Monroe is her tragedy.
Her mental health struggles, her tempestuous personal life, and the mystery surrounding her death have been well documented in countless biographies, films, and television shows, including Netflix’s documentary The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes and upcoming biopic Blonde. She epitomizes the familiar narrative of the tragic icon that is doomed to keep repeating itself — something that Warhol understood all too well after surviving a shooting by Valerie Solanas in 1968.
The death at the heart of Warhol’s Marilyns is not just rooted in grief but is also a reflection of the wider cultural landscape. The 1960s were a remarkably dark period in 20th century American history. A brief look at the context in which Warhol was producing these images reveals a decade plagued by a series of traumatic events.
Life Magazine published violent photographs of the Vietnam War. Television broadcasts exposed shocking police brutality during civil rights marches. America was shaken by the assassinations of John F Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Footage of JFK’s death captured by bystander Abraham Zapruder was repeatedly broadcast on television. Celebrated Hollywood stars were dying young and in tragic circumstances, from Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland to Jayne Mansfield and Sharon Tate.
This image of the 1960s is echoed by the postmodern theorist Fredric Jameson, who describes the decade as a “virtual nightmare” and a “historical and countercultural bad trip.” Stars like Monroe were not as flawless as they may appear in Warhol’s portraits, but were “notorious cases of burnout and self-destruction.”
Warhol understood this more than anyone. His Death and Disaster series explores the spectacle of death in America and affirms the 1960s as a time of anxiety, terror, and crisis. The series consists of a vast collection of silkscreened photographs of real-life disasters including car crashes, suicides, and executions taken from newspapers and police archives. Famous deaths are also a central theme of the series, including portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jackie Kennedy — all of whom are associated with significant deaths or near-death experiences.
Death and Disaster came about in 1962 when Warhol’s collaborator Henry Geldzahler suggested that the artist should stop producing “affirmation of life” and instead explore the dark side of American culture:
Maybe everything isn’t always so fabulous in America. It’s time for some death. This is what’s really happening.
He handed Warhol a copy of the New York Daily News, which led to the first disaster painting 129 Die in Jet!.
The recent hype around the auctioning of the Marilyn portrait reveals as much about our time as it does about our nostalgia for the 1960s. We choose to remember the decade in all its glorious technicolor, but uncovering its darker moments provides room for reconsideration. Perhaps Warhol’s Marilyn is not just a symbol of the swinging ’60s, but an artefact from a time that was as turbulent and uncertain as our own.
Harriet Fletcher is an Associate Lecturer in English and History at the Lancaster University.
THE COURT of Tax Appeals (CTA) affirmed the cancellation of the tax assessment on Fonterra Brands Philippines, Inc. for 2019 to 2010 worth P1.3 billion, inclusive of interest.
In a ruling on Apr. 11 and made public on Apr. 18, the CTA en banc said it agreed with the decision of the court in division, which said the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) formal letter of demand did not say when the payment of deficiency taxes was due.
“Indeed, the Formal Letter of Demand’s failure to state when the payment of the deficiency taxes shall become due violates respondent’s right to be informed of the determinable amount for which it is liable to pay,” the tax court said in the ruling written by CTA Associate Justice Juanito C. Castañeda, Jr.
“Petitioner (Commissioner of Internal Revenue) failed to raise meritorious arguments to justify the reveal of the assailed Decision and Resolution, as such the denial of the instant Petition for Review is in order.”
The petitioner is the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (CIR), who has the authority to decide disputed assessments and to cancel tax liabilities based on the country’s revenue code.
Fonterra Brands Philippines, the respondent, is engaged in the business of manufacturing, importing, and distributing on a wholesale basis of dairy and other food products under the Anchor brand.
“A final assessment notice must not only indicate the legal and factual bases of the assessment but must also state a clear and categorical demand for payment of the computed tax liabilities within a specific period,” CTA Associate Justice Roman G. del Rosario noted in his separate concurring opinion.
HARTE-HANKS PHILIPPINES Meanwhile, the Supreme Court (SC) has reversed a CTA decision dismissing the appeal of Harte-Hanks Philippines, Inc.’s P2.54-million excess input value-added tax (VAT) on zero-rated sales for the second quarter of 2008.
In its ruling on Mar. 7 and made public on Apr. 18, the high court said the CTA Second Division and en banc made an error in denying the company’s claim, as it had jurisdiction over the claim for refund.
Harte-Hanks Philippines, the petitioner, is a domestic corporation engaged in outsourcing customer relationship management solutions by inbound or outbound call services to its clients. The CIR is the respondent for the case.
The CTA en banc previously affirmed the Second Division’s ruling favoring the CIR’s motion to dismiss the claim due to premature filing.
“By way of exception, judicial claims filed during the window period from 10 Dec. 2003 to 6 Oct. 2010, need not to wait for the exhaustion of the required 120-day period,” the SC said, citing previous jurisprudence.
It added that the petitioner filed the judicial claim with the CTA Second Division on June 29, 2010, which was within the period of the cited exception.
“As a final note, the court emphasized that, although the petitioner did not actually invoke BIR Ruling No. DA-489-03 in any of its pleadings to justify the timeliness of its judicial claim with the CTA, the BIR ruling applies to all taxpayers who filed their judicial claims within the window period of Dec. 10, 2003, to Oct. 6, 2010,” the high court said in its ruling written by SC Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando. — John Victor D. Ordonez
This is also the biggest BoP surplus since the $991-million surfeit in December.
