Netflix announces another round of global hit Squid Game

June 14, 2022 | 12:04 am

LOS ANGELES — Global megahit Squid Game will return for a second season, Netflix, Inc. announced on Sunday, offering a few hints about what is to come in the dark Korean drama.

Squid Game became Netflix’s most-watched series when it was released in September 2021. The show tells the story of cash-strapped contestants who play childhood games for a chance of life-changing sums of money. It inspired countless memes and Halloween costumes and kickstarted sales of green tracksuits.

Writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk teased a few details about the show’s second season in a letter released by Netflix.

Characters Gi-hun and The Front Man will return, he said, and “the man in the suit with ddakji might be back.”

“You’ll also be introduced to Young-hee’s boyfriend,” he added.

Young-hee is a motion-sensing animatronic doll featured in one of the games.

Netflix did not say when the new season would be released. — Reuters

Alaska Milk readies plastic upcycling facility in Rizal

June 14, 2022 | 12:04 am

ALASKA Milk Corp. (AMC) on Monday said it began the construction of a multi-layered plastic upcycling facility in Antipolo, Rizal as part of its net zero plastic waste goal by the end of the year.

The project is in collaboration with D&G Pacific Corp., RePurpose, Inc., and the local government of Antipolo City.

Tarang Gupta, AMC managing director, said the partnership with D&G Pacific to build an upcycling facility “is our way of staying relevant: offering solutions to our consumers, helping the environment, and contributing to nation-building as a whole.”

The move comes as sustainability continues to be a top priority of the company, industries, and governments here and abroad, the official added.

The facility will produce WoW boards, which are sturdy panels or sheets that are a direct replacement for particle boards, medium-density fiberboards, and plyboards.

“This plastic upcycling facility uses the TrashBot technology imported from TrashCon Laboratory in India that turns plastics and non-degradable materials that are otherwise dumped or burnt. This prevents the dumping of plastics and helps the environment by preventing trees from being cut,” AMC said.

D&G Pacific President Edmund M. Dimalanta said that aside from minimizing the volume of discarded materials and waste being sent to landfills each year, the facility also reduces the need for production using new or raw materials.

The reduction means cutting air and water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and often conservation of global resources.

“This initiative by AMC and D&G Pacific is a forward-thinking approach that the private sector can emulate,” Antipolo City Environment and Waste Management Officer Violeta S. Faiyaz said.

“We hope to be the best practice example to other cities looking into partnering with the private sector to help reduce plastic waste that is often thrown back to oceans and landfills,” she added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Damosa Land moves HQ to its new EDGE-certified building

June 14, 2022 | 12:04 am

DAVAO CITY — Floirendo-owned Damosa Land, Inc. has moved its headquarters to its new Damosa Diamond Tower, and is expecting at least two other companies to settle in within the next three months.

“We are the first tenant that actually will be moving in,” Damosa Land President Ricardo F. Lagdameo said at the inauguration ceremony on June 10.

The company is occupying the 15^th floor of the 17-storey building, the first EDGE-certified office building in Mindanao.

EDGE, developed by International Finance Corp., a member of the World Bank Group, is a green building standard and certification system. EDGE aims to encourage building developers to reduce their energy and water consumption, as well as greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Lagdameo said in an interview that 40% of the building space is already committed with one tenant expected to occupy one floor by July. Another client is preparing to set up offices on two floors.

He did not name the companies but said one is involved in financial services and the other in business process outsourcing.

Discussions are ongoing for other potential locators, he said.

“The pipeline is so long and it’s just a matter of negotiation. Hopefully, we will get a positive response in the coming weeks.”

He added that inquiries have significantly increased since January this year after a slowdown during the coronavirus pandemic in the last two years.

In their own headquarters at the Damosa Diamond Building, Mr. Lagdameo said they have adopted a design with wide spaces intended to encourage more collaboration and stimulate creativity among its growing manpower.

“There is a lot of seating areas where it’s a lounge… you can have your meetings with two or three people, you don’t have to be in a formal boardroom,” he said.

“You can even sit there in an amphitheater-type seating and you can even work there. What we are going to promote is you don’t have to work in your workstation all the time.”

Damosa Land is part of the Floirendo family’s Anflo Group of Companies. Its developments include the Seawind condominium in Davao City; Ameria, the residential component of its agropolis township project Agriya in Panabo City; and Bridgeport, a low-density mixed-use complex in Samal. — Maya M. Padillo

Ateneo vs UST in women’s volleyball stepladder playoffs

June 14, 2022 | 12:03 am

eya-laure-_the-uaap — THE Eya Laure-led No. 3 seeds UST Golden Tigresses — THE UAAP

By John Bryan Ulanday

REIGNING champion Ateneo and Santo Tomas as finalists of the last season before the pandemic meet in an unlikely rematch, disputing the right to move on to the next phase of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s volleyball stepladder playoffs at the Mall of Asia Arena.

After living to fight another day at fourth spot, the Blue Eagles march in another elimination game against the third-seeded Golden Tigresses at 6:30 p.m. to fire off the steep trek to the finals.

The winner gets a ticket upstairs against No. 2 and twice-to-beat La Salle before earning a shot at the formidable National University, which gained a free passage to the best-of-three finale after completing a 14-0 sweep of the elims.

Ateneo, as the rightful defending titlist before the pandemic halted the UAAP action for two years, caught that last playoff bus by besting Adamson in a knockout game for the No. 4 seed.

Now, the road is expected to only get tougher for the Blue Eagles starting with their good rivals.

“We live another day. I guess we’re here because all the players contributed to our momentum in gaining this Final Four spot. Now, we’re up against UST (University of Santo Tomas) which is a great team and lagi naming sinasabi, great teams will just push us forward,” said coach Oliver Almadro as Ateneo barged into the Final Four with a 25-20, 28-26, 25-22 win over Adamson the other day.

Riding in that momentum but with only little rest, Ateneo now faces a tall order against a well-rested Santo Tomas squad that is hoping to utilize it as an advantage in the do-or-die set-to.

“We’re hoping to maximize our few days of rest to correct our lapses and weak points. Hopefully, ‘yung mga learning and experience namin sa 14 games, mabitbit namin papasok ng stepladder,” noted Santo Tomas mentor Kungfu Reyes.

Ateneo bowed to Santo Tomas in the first round, 19-25, 21-25, 31-29, 31-33, but made a statement win in straight sets in their second meeting, 25-20, 25-20, 25-20, to enter the Final Four brimming with confidence to stay alive anew.

Jurassic World Dominion scores sizzling $143 million debut, Top Gun: Maverick stays strong with $50 million

June 14, 2022 | 12:03 am

Jurassic World Dominion (2022) — Jurassic World Dominion

LOS ANGELES — Jurassic World Dominion stomped to the top of box office charts, scoring a massive $143 million in its domestic box office debut.

Despite blistering reviews, the sixth film in Universal’s dinosaur saga is looming large over a sizzling weekend at the domestic box office. It’s only the third time in the pandemic era that ticket sales have collectively eclipsed the $200 million mark, according to Comscore. That’s also thanks to the enduring popularity of Top Gun: Maverick, which is still flying high in second place

Even with the near-deafening roar of Jurassic World, Tom Cruise’s beloved blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick stayed strong, adding $50 million from 4,262 North American cinemas in its third weekend in theaters. That’s a huge turnout for any film at this point in its theatrical run, but it’s even more impressive to pull in those numbers at a time in which Dominion is also packing a major punch at the box office.

By comparison, Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed $56 million in its third weekend, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness drummed up $32 million in its third weekend, and The Batman with Robert Pattinson collected $36 million in its third weekend. With $50 million between Friday and Sunday (a 44% decline from last weekend), Top Gun: Maverick has generated a staggering $393.3 million to date.

For Dominion, initial box office returns represent a slight decline in popularity, though the big-budget tentpole is still raking in huge amounts of money. To be fair, the latest installment in the prehistoric series has some Triceratops-sized footprints to live up to at the box office. Jurassic World, which rebooted the popular Jurassic Park trilogy in 2015, opened to a gargantuan $208 million and ended its theatrical run with $653 million in North America and $1.6 billion globally. Its sequel, 2018’s Fallen Kingdom, debuted to a softer-but-still-spectacular $150 million and tapped out with $417 million domestically and $1.3 billion worldwide.

“This is an excellent opening,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Reviews are weak, but that has never stopped these beasts.” — Reuters

AllHome opens 58^th store in Davao

June 14, 2022 | 12:03 am

VILLAR-LED AllHome Corp. announced on Monday that it opened its newest branch in Vista Mall Davao, bringing its total store network to 58 locations nationwide.

“We are excited to open an additional AllHome location in a rising urban location in Davao City,” AllHome Chairman Manuel B. Villar, Jr. said in a statement.

He said the new branch is a “demonstration of capability to leverage our synergies” with the Villar group’s housing arm as well as the retail ecosystem of AllValue Holdings, Inc.

AllHome said it is targeting to have a total of 100 stores by 2026 and that aims to expand further in the Greater Manila Area.

“We are confident that this is achievable, given the Villar Group’s nationwide presence with a ready captive market as initial customer base,” Mr. Villar said.

Apart from Davao, other locations in the immediate pipeline are located in Caloocan; Las Piñas; Muntinlupa; Bulacan; Dasmariñas, Trece Martires in Cavite; and Cebu.

AllHome Vice-Chairman Camille A. Villar said that the firm’s 58^th branch shows the company’s “new-generation large format stores, one that maintains our brand of an elevated and comprehensive home shopping experience in terms of customer-facing touchpoints but also allows for increased efficiencies towards storage and product displays.”

“This new format also allows us to improve on our e-commerce fulfillment capabilities — one that I am sure our newest customers in Davao will come to appreciate and enjoy,” she added.

AllHome said it is set to add a minimum of eight new locations in 2022, which will feature “new generation” blueprint. This means it will have an optimized store footprint that requires lower capital expenditures.

“Our government continues to keep a brisk pace in downgrading restrictions towards a more normal, open economic scenario. Increasing store transaction counts, especially as reflected in the later periods of our financial year 2021 results are reflective of customers returning to our physical stores,” AllHome President and Chief Executive Officer Benjamarie Therese N. Serrano said.

“Locally, we are also very excited to introduce an elevated home shopping experience to the increasingly premiumize tastes of Davao City residents,” she added.

At the stock exchange on Monday, AllHome shares declined by 2.64% or 14 centavos to finish at P5.17. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Ovialand committed to making affordable, quality homes

June 14, 2022 | 12:03 am

PROPERTY company Ovialand is committed to building quality homes at affordable prices by using precast technology that will ensure a quick turnover time.

Ovialand employs precast technology that uses concrete to speed up the process of building homes.

“We can build homes within 30 to 45 days, which ensures a rapid turnover of our products to our clients,” Pammy Olivares-Vital, Ovialand president and CEO, said in a statement.

She noted that homes using precast concrete are “three times stronger than homes built using traditional concrete.”

“With a home by Ovialand, our clients do not just get a product instantly being delivered to them — they also get the best quality that they deserve,” she said.

Ovialand is also committed to making the process of buying a home more convenient for its clients. A dedicated Ovialand officer will assist clients — from determining the best home loan terms according to their needs up until the contracts are signed.

“Ovialand believes that all Filipinos deserve a home that is readily available to them, both in terms of the ease of buying it and the speed of how it is built. At the same time, this home should be of the best quality to give homeowners and families the comfort they need,” Ms. Olivares-Vital said.

Azkals seek to beat Palestine for hassle-free ticket to Asian Cup

June 14, 2022 | 12:02 am

THE Philippine Azkals go all out against Palestine on Tuesday at the MFF Stadium in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia with a coveted ticket to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup (AC) on the line.

The Azkals, with four points on a win and a draw, can overtake the Palestinians (six points on two victories) in the race for Group B top honors and a hassle-free entry into the Continental tilt with a win in the 12:30 p.m. duel.

“It’s going to be another final (must-win game) for us,” Philippine coach Thomas Dooley said.

“We got four points and we want to qualify and we have it in our hands. So we’ll fight 90 minutes against Palestine and we’ll see how that goes,” he added.

While a win guarantees a return trip to the AC as one of six group winners, a different result can complicate things and worse, turn out catastrophic.

A draw with Palestine gives the Filipinos five points at the end of the qualifiers and they could only hope it would be enough to land them in the five best second-placers across the six groups.

At press time, the Azkals rank fourth behind six-pointers Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, and India. Malaysia (three points) is in fifth followed by No. 6 Indonesia (three points).

If the Philippines loses to Palestine, it gets stuck at four points, its bid to make the cut hugely dependent on the results of the other matches.

The Azkals, who opened the final round of the qualifiers with a 0-0 stalemate with Yemen, kept their hopes alive after scoring a 1-0 win over Mongolia on Gerrit Holtmann’s clinical stoppage-time strike last Saturday. — Olmin Leyba

BTr partially awards T-bill offer as rates rise on tightening bets

June 14, 2022 | 12:02 am

THE GOVERNMENT partially awarded the Treasury bills (T-bills) it offered on Monday as investors wanted higher yields, with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the US Federal Reserve expected to raise borrowing costs further this year due to rising inflation.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised just P14 billion via the T-bills it auctioned off on Monday even as total tenders reached P29.68 billion, nearly double the P15-billion offer.

Broken down, the BTr raised P5 billion as planned through the 91-day T-bills, with total bids reaching P12.33 billion. The average rate of the tenor went up by 13.2 basis points (bps) to 1.572% from the 1.44% seen last week.

The government also made a full P5-billion award of its offer of 182-day T-bills as tenders reached P15.02 billion. The average rate of the six-month tenor went up by 10 bps to 1.934% from the 1.834% fetched at last week’s auction.

Meanwhile, the Treasury partially awarded its offer of one-year securities, raising just P3.924 billion out of the P5-billion program even as the tenor attracted P6.84 billion in bids. The average rate of the one-year T-bill went up by 2.8 bps to 2.325% from the 2.297% seen at the previous auction, where it made a full award.

At the secondary market prior to Monday’s auction, the 91-, 182- and 364-day T-bills were quoted at 1.4863%, 1.8785%, and 2.1071%, respectively, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation 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 partial award of its T-bill offer as rates climbed on expectations of further tightening from the BSP and the Fed.

Ms. De Leon said with US inflation being persistently high, this may cause the Fed to fire off a more aggressive rate increase at its June 14-15 meeting.

A trader said in a Viber message that faster Philippine inflation and the Fed’s policy meeting this week caused investors to ask for higher rates.

The US consumer price index increased by a faster-than-expected 8.6% last month, the largest year-on-year increase since December 1981, according to US Labor department data released on Friday, showing inflation has yet to peak.

This caused renewed bets of aggressive action from the Fed that could dampen growth prospects for the world’s largest economy.

The US central bank kicked off its tightening cycle with a 25-bp increase in March followed by a 50-bp hike last month as inflation continued to reach multi-year highs.

Meanwhile, at home, Monetary Board member and incoming BSP chief Felipe M. Medalla said in a Bloomberg interview last week that they are “almost” sure to hike at their June 23 meeting and there is also a “90% chance” of another increase at their subsequent review on Aug. 18.

Mr. Medalla said the real question is if an August hike would be the last one for the year and noted decisions beyond this would be data dependent.

Increases worth 25 bps in the Monetary Board’s June and August meetings would bring the benchmark rate to 2.75% from 2.25% currently. The BSP began unwinding its pandemic-driven easy policy with a 25-bp hike at its May 19 review.

Headline inflation in May surged by 5.4% year on year from 4.9% in April and 4.1% a year ago. This is the fastest print since the 6.1% seen in November 2018.

Year to date, inflation has averaged 4.1%. This is lower than the central bank’s 4.6% forecast but above its 2-4% target for the year.

The BTr wants to raise P250 billion from the domestic market in June, or P75 billion through T-bills and P175 billion via Treasury bonds.

The government borrows from local and external sources to help fund a budget deficit capped at P1.65 trillion this year, equivalent to 7.7% of gross domestic product. — Tobias Jared Tomas

TDK’s Laguna plant to run on EDC’s geothermal energy supply

June 14, 2022 | 12:02 am

TDK Philippines Corp. is powering its entire manufacturing plant in Laguna with renewable sources after it signed up with Lopez-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC) for geothermal energy supply.

In a media release on Monday, EDC said TDK is sourcing 2.5 megawatts (MW) of geothermal energy from the First Gen Corp. unit’s facilities in Leyte.

“As a partner, we will make sure to support TDK’s sustainable business operations by supplying 100% renewable energy sourced from EDC’s Unified Leyte and Green Core Geothermal, Inc. power facilities,” said Arlene Sy Soriano, head of First Gen’s power marketing and sales.

“TDK’s green initiatives, which include cutting down carbon emissions by 50% in 2035 and achieving net zero by 2050, are aligned with our decarbonization and regeneration mission,” she added.

EDC said TDK had been implementing measures to cut its carbon footprint “by evaluating and calculating the energy-saving effect of its products since 2011.”

In its social media account, TDK is described as a manufacturer of magneto-resistive recording heads for computer hard disk drives. It listed its global group as TDK Corp., a comprehensive electronic components manufacturer based in Japan.

EDC said the TDK group’s green initiatives support the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as well as its environmental vision for a cleaner decarbonized world.

The geothermal energy producer quoted TDK President and Chief Executive Officer Tamotsu Aiba as saying: “The partnership with First Gen is a big step for TDK Philippines to achieve our environmental mission to a cleaner, decarbonized world. TDK will continue to reach its environmental targets from the perspective of the entire supply chain and create value for a sustainable society.”

EDC said its geothermal energy supply would provide “uninterrupted baseload power rain or shine, all year round” or what it calls Geo 24/7. The renewable source will enable TDK to avoid a minimum of 13,139 tons of carbon dioxide in lieu of coal each year, it added.

TDK will also benefit from more affordable electricity rates resulting from having zero value-added tax on generation charges and fixed rates that are not indexed to fuel commodities and foreign exchange.

First Gen’s EDC unit has more than 1,480 MW of installed capacity, equivalent to about 20% of the country’s total installed renewable energy capacity. Its 1,185.4-MW geothermal portfolio accounts for 62% of the country’s installed geothermal capacity.

The Philippines is the third-largest geothermal producer in the world. — VVS

Justin Bieber is showing early signs of recovery, surgeon says

June 14, 2022 | 12:02 am

285799116_739574070593613_6723829173528303516_n — PHOTO FROM INSTAGRAM.COM/JUSTINBIEBER

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LONDON — Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber is showing early signs of making a recovery after he was diagnosed with a virus that left half of his face paralyzed, according to a surgeon who specializes in face paralysis.

In a video posted on Instagram, Mr. Bieber said he had contracted Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which affected nerves in his ear and face. He noted that his right eye was not blinking.

Charles Nduka, a consultant plastic reconstructive surgeon in Britain and the co-founder of health charity Facial Palsy UK, said about 75% of patients with the syndrome who receive early treatment, including steroids and antivirals, make a full recovery.

“I did notice in the video shared by Mr. Bieber that he does appear to have some evidence of recovery, which is encouraging,” Mr. Nduka told Reuters.

“With facial paralysis one of the most obvious things is patients are unable to close their eye fully to blink and they are unable to smile,” Mr. Nduka added.

“Before the smile recovers, the first thing that will develop is there is increasingly symmetry in the face at rest. So, the base of the nose often elevates slightly, and the mouth becomes more even. On the video that was shared I could see some signs that there is some early recovery.”

Mr. Bieber, 28, said he was physically unable to perform his upcoming shows.

Mr. Nduka said he works with patients in the entertainment industry and it is important they first address any issues weakening the immune system before returning to work.

“They will be under financial pressures and all sorts of pressures to get back out there as soon as possible, but doing so will only lead to longer term problems,” he said. — Reuters

Net foreign direct investment

June 14, 2022 | 12:02 am

NET INFLOWS of foreign direct investment (FDI) slumped to its lowest in 10 months in March, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine darkened the outlook for investments. Read the full story.