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Jollibee income soars to P2.3B 

JOLLIBEE Foods Corp. (JFC) registered a net income of P2.31 billion attributable to parent firm equity holders, a big jump from its P152.6-million profit a year earlier, in part as the food service company booked gains from a property sale.

Ernesto Tanmantiong, JFC chief executive officer, said the group’s performance during the period “set new record for sales for a first quarter” despite the challenges posed by the Omicron virus variant’s surge and the higher prices of raw materials and energy,

In a disclosure on Thursday, JFC said its net income for the quarter included gains from the transfer of certain land properties of the group to CentralHub Industrial Centers, Inc. and the sale of other properties amounting to P1.8 billion.

The property deals are part of the listed company’s plan to invest in CentralHub, a company in the industrial real estate business.

During the quarter, system-wide sales, which measure all sales to consumers from company-owned and franchised stores, jumped by 25.5% to P59.98 billion, propelled by robust same-store sales growth of 16.5% and global store network expansion and acquisition, which contributed 5.5%. Currency translation added 3.5% to the growth, JFC said.

Mr. Tanmantiong said system-wide sales of businesses in China, North America, EMEAA (Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia), including SuperFoods, had reached pre-pandemic levels, fueled by continued store expansion.

He said the store network of JFC’s foreign business for the first quarter surged by 20.3% organically or excluding acquisitions compared with the pre-pandemic first quarter of 2019, “in line with our long-term growth model.”

“Sales of our Philippine business were still below pre-pandemic levels, but are showing sustained strong growth for off-premise sales which grew by 57% compared to the first quarter of 2019, offsetting the decline in dine-in sales,” Mr. Tanmantiong said.

He said delivery sales accounted for around 20% of the Philippine business’ system-wide sales and had grown five-fold since 2019.

“In terms of operating profit, the Philippine business performed better compared to the first quarter of 2019 despite a decline in revenues and rising inflation,” he said, citing JFC’s business transformation program and continuing cost and profit management.

First-quarter system-wide sales included sales of Milksha, a popular Taiwanese bubble tea brand. JFC subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide, Pte. Ltd. completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in Milkshop International Co. Ltd., the company that owns Milksha on Feb. 22. JFC said the consolidation of Milkshop did not have a significant impact on the group’s sales and profit for the first quarter.

Quarterly global same-store sales increased by 16.5%, led by The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, which grew by 23.3%, the Philippine business by 22.9%, North America by 8.1% and EMEAA by 6.2%. JFC said the China business’ same-store sales decreased by 9.1% because of heightened pandemic-related restrictions.

Operating income climbed by 33.8% to P1.99 billion, backed by the faster profit growth in the Philippines. Gross profit margin was “slightly below” year-ago level due to rising inflation rate and higher freight charges, JFC said.

In 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, JFC implemented price adjustments and continued with internal cost efficiencies to support profit margins.

The company said that compared with pre-pandemic levels, first-quarter system-wide sales and revenues were already ahead by 10.5% and 6.2%, respectively. Operating income was lower by 5.2% while attributable net income was higher by 58%.

On Thursday, JFC shares declined by 0.09% or 20 centavos to close at P217 each. — Victor V. Saulon

Pilipinas Shell net income surges to P3.5 billion

PILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp. posted a net income of P3.53 billion in the first quarter, more than three times the earlier year’s P1.02-billion profit, which the listed energy company said placed it on track with its five-year plan.

“Pilipinas Shell remains steadfast and committed to our strategy of powering progress for the country, as opportunities are opening with a recovering economy,” Lorelie Quiambao-Osial, its president and chief executive officer, said in a statement on Thursday.

“Customer-centricity, innovation, agility, and our initiatives for sustainable energy are all designed to meet our expanding customers’ current and future needs with the resurgence of safe mobility,” Ms. Osial added.

In its financial report filed with the stock exchange, Pilipinas Shell reported gross revenues of P59.98 billion in the first three months of the year, higher by 48.4% from P40.43 billion a year ago.

Gross expenses were higher by 47% to P54.8 billion from P37.27 billion previously.

Pilipinas Shell said it had maintained a reliable supply of fuels for its customers despite industry supply chain pressures in the first quarter.

During the period, it saw a significant increase in global oil prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and heightened mobility restrictions due to the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Despite the pandemic, the company’s lubricants business expanded by 12% in terms of volume while premium sales volume rose by 24%.

Aviation sales volume recovered in 2022 with a 74% growth, as domestic and international borders reopened for passenger and cargo flights. But sales volume was not yet at pre-pandemic levels.

“Pilipinas Shell intends to accelerate its strategies throughout this year by growing, continuing to invest in and responding to the growing energy needs of the Philippines,” the company said.

Non-fuel retail gross margin during the quarter rose by 27% year on year to reach its highest quarterly performance level since 2016. The company now has 191 Shell Select stores, 223 Select Express sites, 78 deli2go stores, and 456 Lube bays nationwide. These outlets serve the “evolving mobility and purchasing behavior” of customers, the company said.

Pilipinas Shell said its loyalty program Shell Go+ has reached 1.3 million in membership.

In April, the company broke ground for its fourth import terminal in Brgy. Darong, Sta. Cruz, Davao. The facility is expected to strengthen the existing value chain as well as support the growing energy needs in southern Mindanao. Its three other import terminals are in Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, and Subic.

“The terminal also enhances the company’s responsiveness and reliability during typhoons and natural calamities,” it said.

“This year, the energy company will advance its sustainability agenda by continuing to drive its businesses to help contribute to the reduction of its carbon footprint while promoting its lower carbon products and offerings,” Pilipinas Shell said.

On Thursday, shares in the company rose 2.35% or 40 centavos to close at P17.40 apiece. — Victor V. Saulon

Everything Everywhere creators set out to surprise with sci-fi action comedy

MICHELLLE Yeoh in a scene from the film Everything Everywhere All at Once.

LONDON —  As its title suggests, Everything Everywhere All at Once from creative duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, takes audiences on an elaborate adventure across multiple universes.

The movie stars Michelle Yeoh as laundromat owner Evelyn Wang who has trouble connecting with her family and paying her taxes.

Preoccupied by a visit by her estranged, aging father, things come to a head during an audit meeting with an IRS agent (Jamie Lee Curtis) when Evelyn’s husband unexpectedly introduces her to an alternate multiverse. Evelyn and versions of who she might have become with different life choices are tasked with saving it from impending doom.

“The multiverse is such a terrible thing to explore in narrative or in film because the moment you introduce the idea of infinite possibilities, nothing that happens in this movie matters anymore,” Mr. Kwan told Reuters.

“That became an opportunity to kind of explore scary thoughts and philosophically resonant feelings that, the more we talked about it, we’re like, that’s kind of what the 21st century feels like,” added Mr. Scheinert.

Collectively known as Daniels, the duo directed music videos and the 2016 film Swiss Army Man.

“It takes a lot nowadays to surprise people because we’ve seen it all,” said Mr. Kwan. “Everything’s a sequel. Everything’s part of a franchise or a remake. And because of that, we had to constantly rewrite because we kept searching for things that really felt fresh.”

In a nod to Mr. Kwan’s roots, the film’s dialogue mixes Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. Early versions were written for Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan and Ms. Yeoh.

“When we realized that Jackie Chan is unbelievably expensive and famous and busy, we just decided to focus more of our attention on Michelle’s character because we already loved her and her character. And honestly, the script came alive. So it was for the best,” said Mr. Scheinert. — Reuters

Cebu Air net loss widens to P7.6B 

CEBU Air, Inc., the listed operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific, saw its attributable net loss for the first three months of the year widen to P7.61 billion from a loss of P7.30 billion in the same period a year earlier, its quarterly report showed.

The company’s revenues for the period reached P6.71 billion, 148% higher than the P2.71 billion generated in the same period in 2021.

“This was driven by passenger operations which grew 256% to P3.16 billion from P887 million in the same period last year. Ancillary and cargo revenues, likewise, increased 239% and 40% year on year, respectively,” the company said in its report.

Operating expenses increased by 26% year on year, primarily as a result of higher fuel expenses caused by the rise in jet fuel prices.

In spite of this, the company said that operating loss narrowed by 22% to P5.34 billion in the first three months from P6.82 billion previously.

At the same time, Cebu Air incurred P2.52 billion in non-core losses, mainly due to forex translation of dollar denominated loans and unrealized mark to market losses from the derivative value of its convertible bonds.

As a result, the company’s net loss widened by 4% to P7.61 billion, it noted.

The airline had 16,521 flights in the first three months of the year, 128% higher versus last year.

Its passenger count jumped by 272% to 2.05 million during the period.

“Cargo operations sustained its growth, as cargo rose 36% to 34.2 million kilograms from last year,” Cebu Air noted.

The company also said that starting March, “the path toward recovery became clearer as vaccinations rates increased, coronavirus cases declined, alert levels de-escalated, and local government units simplified travel requirements.”

“For the rest of 2022, Cebu Pacific sees a better business outlook driven by domestic recovery and reopenings of international destinations. However, it remains cautious of the risks presented by increasing jet fuel prices and interest rates and depreciation of the Philippine peso versus US dollar. It will continue to invest in the modernization of its fleet and will remain committed to providing affordable and accessible air transport services for all,” Cebu Air added.

Cebu Air shares closed 2.22% lower at P44 apiece on Thursday. — Arjay L. Balinbin

A home for Pinoy documentaries

FOR the longest time, documentaries were the little sibling in the film industry, relegated to a single section of a film festival or a single “best documentary” category in film awards that honor every tiny aspect of production of feature films. So, four Filipino documentarians spearheaded a film festival focused specifically on documentaries. That same film festival has now evolved into a website, DaangDokyu.ph — a growing online archive of stories of the Filipino.

Daang Dokyu, or “the docu way,” started in 2020 as an online film festival celebrating the 100 years of film. The idea of a film festival for documentaries actually began in 2018 when filmmakers Jewel Maranan, Baby Ruth Villarama, Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, and Monster Jimenez were thinking of a way to celebrate the centennial year of Philippine cinema.

The four filmmakers worked with a curatorial team that included former National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Cinema Committee Chairperson Teddy Co, and filmmakers Sari Dalena and Adjani Arumpac to selected 45 documentaries out of 300 submitted and solicited works.

What started as a five-week film festival which ran from September to Nov. 2020, has transformed into a website. With the support of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), DaangDokyu.ph is led by Ms. Maranan as project director.

“We aim to contribute to the ecosystem of truth-based narratives by increasing the accessibility of information and education about Philippine documentaries, elevating the appreciation of documentaries and its practice, and encouraging the development of an audience and distribution network of documentary works,” Ms. Maranan said during the website’s launch on May 4 at the CCP.

WEBSITE FEATURES
DaangDokyu.ph has a database of 1,000 Philippine classic and contemporary documentaries. Each title has a web page containing its information, a trailer, and film stills.

Its homepage features information on the latest uploads such as Lauren Greenfield’s The Kingmaker (2019), Aleia Garcia’s Yanbu (2015), and Carlo Lopez’s Kapag ang Ilog ay Tahimik, Asahan Mo’t Malalim (2019). The oldest documentary with an information page is Dean Worcester’s Native in the Philippines from 1913.

“The website contains a database of documentaries. We acquire them through communicating with filmmakers who gave permission for the films to [on the website],” Ms. Maranan told BusinessWorld, shortly after the launch.

Links to the pages where specific documentaries are currently streaming can be accessed through the website. The titles can only be viewed if a platform is currently hosting a streaming of it.

“The site itself don’t host the streaming but it is a space there the public can see where to find them,” she clarified. “We also don’t want to replace public streaming platforms. The purpose of the site is for education and information, and at the same time to promote the future distribution of the films.”

Screeners are also available for previews upon request from programmers, organizers, and educators.

The website also features a “Submit a Film” tab for filmmakers who wish to include information on their films on the website.

“The filmmakers only have to access the ‘Submit a film’ button. They will be led to a link where they can provide information about their film. They can provide the links to the streaming site. The website will generate a film page for them,” Ms. Maranan said.

Access to the website requires no subscription.

“In the future, we might curate thematic collections. It will depend on the public and the cultural institution’s support, so that the website continues to be funded,” Ms. Maranan said. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Automotive sales climb 41% in April  

VEHICLE sales for April improved by 40.9% year on year to 25,149 units on the back of improved consumer demand, according to a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) released on Thursday.

The report showed that the sales figure is higher compared with the 17,843 units sold in the similar month last year.

Month on month, total vehicle sales last month is 15.3% lower compared with 29,685 units sold in March.

Auto Sales
“The April sales performance reflects the continued containment of the pandemic underpinned by the improved consumer demand for big-ticket items compared with last year. This has enabled the industry to achieve a double-digit growth of nearly 41%, albeit lower by 15.3% on a month-on-month basis,” CAMPI President Rommel R. Gutierrez said in a separate statement.

Data from the report showed that passenger car sales for April increased 12.4% year on year to 6,259 units while commercial vehicle sales went up 53.9% to 18,890 units.

Year-to-date sales figures showed that the industry has sold 99,903 units, higher by 13.3% compared with 88,155 units sold in the similar period last year.

Passenger car sales declined 10.4% year on year to 24,582 units while commercial vehicle sales went up 24% to 75,321 units.

“The government’s economic growth target of 7%-9% this year, driven by the overall improvement in employment and domestic demand will play a critical role in the economy and the industry’s recovery alike,” Mr. Gutierrez said.

Among car firms, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. has the highest market share at 50.99% or 50,945 units sold, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippine Corp. at 13.28% or 13,270 units sold, Nissan Philippines, Inc. at 7.59% or 7,586 units sold, and Suzuki Phils., Inc. at 6.30% or 6,294 units sold.

For 2022, CAMPI previously announced that it was eyeing to sell 336,000 units, higher by 17% compared with the sales volume in the previous year, at 268,488 units. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Titlist Ateneo, UP brace for the final duel of ‘Battle of Katipunan’

UP Fighting Maroons engage in a final duel for the UAAP men’s basketball. — THE UAAP

DYNASTY against destiny will be the name of the game as three-time reigning champion Ateneo and University of the Philippines (UP) engage in a final duel for the prestigious title of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 men’s basketball at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Friday.

The mighty Blue Eagles and a strong challenger in the Fighting Maroons traded blows in the first two games of the best-of-three series, setting the stage for one last showdown at 6 p.m. with equally high stakes on the line for both squads.

A win by Ateneo, the three-time defending titlist, would extend its reign in the league for a fourth straight season while UP’s triumph would deliver it to the “Promised Land” — at last after 36 long years.

Facing elimination for only the first time in four years after a tough 81-74 overtime loss in Game One, Ateneo showed steady resolve despite another near meltdown by escaping with a narrow 69-66 Game 2 to force a winner-take-all.

This time, coach Tab Baldwin sees no difference as he braces for another down-the-wire combat in the last installment of the fabled “Battle of Katipunan’’ for all the marbles of the unique UAAP tourney under a bubble setting amid the pandemic.

“You can’t really separate these two teams very much from one another so I think Game Three is going to be potentially an epic game. We’re excited that we’re there,” he said as Ateneo and UP sport a 2-2 overall slate this season.

Ateneo scored a 90-81 win in the first round of the eliminations while UP got back with a stinging 84-83 win in the second round that also denied the former a 14-0 sweep and ticket straight trip to the finals.

“Nothing is easy in this series. It’s tough and if ever there’s a flip of a coin, Game Three could be that,” added Mr. Baldwin, crediting the wonders of debuting collegiate coach Goldwin Monteverde for UP.

UP, which also ended Ateneo’s 39-game, three-year winning streak, expects the same airtight duel with the working formula so far to topple its good rival’s dynasty.

“The formula in basketball has to be consistent in playing as a team offensively and defensively. We had a slow start last game and our defense was not that tight, but we’re gonna work on it,” said Mr. Monteverde, the former author of National University dynasty in the Philippine high school scene.

“For one thing, the team takes pride. We never give up…” he added as the Fighting Maroons aim to set a date with UAAP destiny for the first time since 1986. — John Bryan Ulanday

Across the universe

Movie Review
Doctor Strange in the
Multiverse of Madness
Directed by Sam Raimi

Oh! Look! A Dr. Strange sequel! (Don’t remember the first one.)

A new Benedict Cumberbatch! (He was better in The Power of the Dog.)

A new Marvel superproduction! (As if that was a recommendation.)

A new Sam Raimi!

Well—

And so it came to pass that I found myself sitting down to my first Marvel movie in years — okay, since last year’s The Eternals (actually liked that one). This picture starts off running, literally, with one Dr. Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) sprinting across the gap between universes with one America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) till they reach the Book of Vishanti — only they don’t; a multitentacled demon is in hot pursuit, and the demon manages to finish off Strange and is about to do the same to Chavez when a star-shaped hole in reality pops open and Chavez and corpse fall through into the city of Manhattan, where Stephen Strange is attending the wedding of former girlfriend Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdam), and around one corner a giant one-eyed octopus is on the rampage —

And so on and so forth. At this point I’m blanking out on details — Book of Vishanti? Darkhold? Westview? I don’t have Disney+ and haven’t bothered to see Wandavision or Spiderman: No Way Home so maybe half the narrative’s zoomed past my head; the movie’s a beat too fast to follow (why is Manhattan full of flowers?) so I’m leaning back hoping to just enjoy the ride.

Might as well note while sitting that the movie has an old-fashioned regard for books: one seems to be the source of dark power, the other a symbol of hope; pages are flipped or singed, and whole volumes burnt to crisp; nothing wrong in my book with the assertion that the printed word is an important source of knowledge and inspiration and should be respected as such; fully expect to crack open Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, speak the word “bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!” and find myself running for my life inside someone’s dream.

Meanwhile grooving to this movie is more fun than one might expect, and I blame Raimi: he hasn’t made a picture in nine years and you miss his gonzo often low-tech sensibility — the way his camera suddenly zooms in for emphasis, say, or the way eyeballs pop out of sockets, or the way twisted half-decomposed bodies refuse to stay quiet. Folks get me wrong about superhero movies; my problem isn’t that they’re too comically lightweight or too darkly grim; my real problem is that there’s nothing to look at. Hiring malleable directors to manage traffic flow in your franchise may help churn out stable predictable product, but if you want to capture lightning in a bottle, first you have to have lightning.

Raimi is lightning, or at least used to be; in cult films like the Evil Dead movies and Darkman he’s proved to be inventive and imaginative with little to nonexistent production budgets. Maybe the trouble with this picture is that it has too much money (a lot of the effects look too polished); worse, maybe he’s running low on imagination and is simply drawing from his old if capacious bag of tricks; those of us who remember the earlier filmmaker are perhaps only grooving to what we remember of his trademark mov—Oh! Is that Bruce Campbell squirting mustard all over his face?

Maybe not. Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda a.k.a. The Scarlet Witch provides the electric charge that jolts this patchwork mess to life. Her quest to seek her lost children is a struggle any parent, or anyone who’s lost a loved one can understand. That furtive thought lurking at the back of one’s grieving mind: “Maybe if I bring them back” — the results may never be good, but we’re not being honest if we say we never entertained such thoughts.

And Raimi plays it up; wraps Olsen in shadows as she strides forth with red LED eyes, splatters her face with drying blood (Brian de Palma’s Carrie much?). As far as gore goes, this is Parental Guidance Raimi, barely worth mentioning, but one look at Olsen’s wild despairing face and you know where the true horror lies: this is love without hope seeking a way to keep itself alive, knowing what it’s doing is wrong wrong wrong, lying to itself constantly that maybe somehow somewhere there’s a way. I saw the movie with some people, and one of them remarked: “I kept rooting for the evil witch.” I can relate to that and suspect Raimi can too —  at one point we see Wanda’s imagined children watching TV, and on the small screen was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I remember Woody Allen in Annie Hall saying “I immediately fell for the Wicked Queen.”

Multiverse of Madness is pretty good, perhaps the best Marvel since Raimi’s own Spider-Man movies and, really, it’s hard to fault the picture for anything save for flaws that don’t really matter (rigorous plotting, realism, characterization of everyone not played by Olsen). Oh! And timing —  over a month ago A24 released Everything Everywhere All at Once and what Dr. Strange achieved for $200 million the Daniels did for only $25 million; the universes are wilder (Paint Universe and Dispersing-Cubes Universe vs. Hotdog Fingers Universe and Just Rocks Universe), the MacGuffin even more bizarre (Book of Vishanti, meet The Everything Bagel). Perversely, the fight sequences in Everything are superior because: 1.) very little if any of it involves CGI, and 2.) it’s performed mostly by Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh — talk about low-tech, they are perfectly capable of and do the action for real. Yes, Olsen was affecting but Michelle Yeoh, I submit, has the richer role, playing Loser Evelyn, Movie-Star Evelyn, Sausage Fingers Evelyn, and so on. And none of this is arbitrary; turns out almost every Evelyn is a result of a choice her character makes or fails to make (the rest were created by the choices of people who have affected Evelyn, or basically everyone else), suggesting the branching, bewildering complexity of even such an ostensibly low-profile life. In effect The Daniels now are what Raimi was when he first started, directing his own scripts with almost no resources —  and this I see is where I first came in; pardon me while I let myself out the side door.

JG Summit incurs P689-M net loss on oil volatility

LISTED conglomerate JG Summit Holdings, Inc. reported a core net loss of P689 million for the first quarter of the year, compared to a core net income of P232 million in the same period in 2021.

“While the reopening of the economy fueled significant improvements in topline…, unprecedented volatility in oil and input prices weighed on the group’s margins, particularly in JG Summit Olefins Corp.,” the company said in a statement.

“Coupled with peso depreciation and mark-to-market losses, [JG Summit] ended the quarter with a net loss of P2.8 billion,” it added.

Except for Robinsons Land Corp., the company observed revenue growth across all of its subsidiaries. It said that its revenues improved by 7% year on year and 6% quarter on quarter due to relaxed mobility restrictions.

JG Summit’s gearing and net debt-to-equity ratios stood at 0.70 and 0.53, respectively, as of March 2022.

“At the parent level, cash amounted to P23.7 billion while net debt stood at P74.3 billion as of end-March 2022, which shall be further reduced as [the company] expects to receive cash dividends of P11 billion from its investments in the second quarter of 2022,” JG Summit said.

On per-business performance, Universal Robina Corp.’s revenues increased by 22% year on year to P35.8 billion, JG Summit noted.

Meanwhile, Robinsons Land’s revenues and net income decreased by 61% and 51% to P6.4 billion and P1.4 billion, respectively, primarily because of “high base boosted by the lumpy contribution from Chengdu Phase 1 last year.”

JG Summit Olefins saw its first-quarter revenues grow by 37% to P12.4 billion. This was driven by “increased polymer sales value as well as fresh contributions from Aromatics and Butadiene sales, as well as LPG trading,” JG Summit said.

At the same time, Robinsons Bank Corp. saw its revenues improve 5% year on year to P2.4 billion, mainly due to “higher interest income, partially offset by lower trading gains.”

JG Summit likewise saw its equity earnings from Manila Electric Co. rise in the first quarter by 30% to P1.6 billion. This was “driven by strong topline growth given the uptick in energy sales and an increase in pass-through charges of fuel,” it said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Saclag, Araos lead six Pinoys vying for gold in kickboxing

PHILIPPINE kickboxing team on the way to Bac Ninh Gymnasium in Hanoi. — VNA PHOTO/TUAN ĐUC

BAC NINH, Vietnam – Six Filipinos led by Jean Claude Saclag and Gina Iniong Araos vie for gold medals in the finals of the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games kickboxing tourney on Friday at the Bac Ninh Gymnasium in Hanoi.

Mr. Saclag, the reigning champion in the men’s low kick 63.5kg class, battles Chaleamlap Santidongsakun of Thailand while Ms. Araos, also the defending champion, faces another Thai, Waraporn Jaiteang, in the women’s low kick minus 60kg class.

Also fighting for the gold are Renalyn Dacquel who is up against hometown bet Thi Hang Nga Nguyen in the women’s minus 48kg full contact category; Gretel De Paz who will battle Indonesian Pieter Ariesta in the women’s full contact minus 56kg division; Zeph Ngaya who takes on Vietnamese Huynh Thi Kim Vang in the women’s minus 65kg full contact finale; and Claudine Veloso who clashes with Amanda Loupatty of Indonesia in the women’s minus 52kg low kick division.

Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas (SKP) Secretary-General Atty. Wharton Chan believes the country can surpass the 2019 SEA Games haul of three gold medals, two silvers, and a bronze in this year’s regional showpiece.

“Our athletes have done a tremendous performance and exceptional job despite fighting in a hostile terrain after beating several Vietnamese athletes,” Mr. Chan said. “I predict we can be at 80% or 5-of-6 or maybe 4-of-6 in winning golds in tomorrow’s finals. We can surpass the three golds last time.”

Whatever happens in the finals, the Philippines is assured of bringing home eight medals, counting the bronze medals won by Honorio Banario and Emmanuel Cantores, who suffered 0-3 defeats in the semis.

Mr. Banario lost to Cambodia’s Lvay Chhoeung in the men’s semifinals of the minus 71kg low kick event while Mr. Cantores bowed to Nguyen Quang Huy of host Vietnam in the men’s semifinals of the minus 60kg low kick event.

Former CCP president Bal Endriga, 82

HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/BALTAZAR.ENDRIGA.9
HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/BALTAZAR.ENDRIGA.9

FORMER Cultural Center of the Philippines president Baltazar “Bal” Nacion Endriga passed away on May 10. He was 82 years old.

Mr. Endriga was also an active member and past President of the Philippine Computer Society (PCS) and a former partner of SyCip Gorres Velayo & Company (SGV).

As an educator, Mr. Endriga was one of the founders of Meridian International (MINT) College for business, arts, and technology, where he served as president.

He also actively supported the Artists Welfare Project, Inc. from its inception in 2007.

He is survived by his wife Tessie Endriga, children, and grandchildren.

Filmmaker Dennis Marasigan, with whom Mr. Endriga worked on various projects in the arts in the country and abroad, wrote on Facebook: “We celebrate your life and pledge to continue working for your dreams, even while we extend our sincerest condolences to all those who knew and loved him.”

The wake is being held at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig from May 11 to 14. The funeral Mall and interment are on May 15, 9 a.m. — MAPS

Ty-led GT Capital names Sebastian as board chairman

GT CAPITAL Holdings, Inc. has named Francisco C. Sebastian as its new chairman, taking over the post held by Arthur V. Ty in the holding firm of the Ty family’s diversified business interests.

In a press release on Thursday, Mr. Ty said the change in the firm’s chairmanship signals the group’s “initiative and commitment to further professionalize its leadership moving forward.”

“With Mr. Sebastian at the helm, we are confident that GT Capital will continue to prosper and contribute to nation building,” he added.

Since May 2016, Mr. Sebastian has been co-vice-chairman of GT Capital while also a member of its executive committee. He has served the group for the past 25 years, starting out in 1997 as president of First Metro Investment Corp., the investment banking arm of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank).

For 14 years, he held the same post in First Metro until he became chairman in 2011. He concurrently serves as vice-chairman of Metrobank. He is also concurrent director of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Federal Land, Inc.

Before joining the Metrobank group in 1997, Mr. Sebastian worked in Hong Kong for 20 years from 1977.

Mr. Ty will continue to be a director of GT Capital and the chairman of Metrobank, while concurrently holding various board positions in other companies of the Ty group.

Meanwhile, Alfred V. Ty will remain the vice-chairman of GT Capital and chairman of Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. and Federal Land.

In the media release, GT Capital said it is beginning a new decade “in the good hands of a dedicated, qualified and professional” chairman after having grown and completed its consolidation phase on the 10th year after its initial public offering.

GT Capital earlier reported a 48% increase in core net income for 2021 to P11 billion, while consolidated income grew an even higher 68%, driven by the growth in its banking and automotive businesses.

At the stock exchange, shares in the company dropped by 1.76% or P9.00, finishing at P503 each.

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