Actor Tirso Cruz III named new FDCP chairperson

July 12, 2022 | 12:05 am

bbm_2022-07-06_18-51-29 — PHILIPPINE STAR FILE PHOTO

VETERAN actor Tirso Cruz III is the newly appointed Chairperson of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). He succeeds Mary Liza B. Diño-Seguerra who held the position since 2016.

Ms. Diño-Seguerra served the national film agency as an appointee of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte since 2016. Prior to the appointment of the new chairman, Ms. Diño-Seguerra had been reappointed to the post in March, to serve for another three-year term until 2025.

An official statement by the FDCP, which was posted on its Facebook page on July 8, stated that Ms. Diño-Seguerra was called to Malacañang on July 6 by the Office of the Executive Secretary “to discuss the appointment of incoming FDCP Chairman Tirso Cruz III.”

It also stated that Ms. Diño-Seguerra “was instructed to continue to perform her duties as Chairperson and CEO in a hold-over capacity to ensure the continuity of the agency’s operations while waiting for the release of the official appointment documents of the incoming Chairman.”

It further added that the outgoing and incoming Chairpersons “have already talked and discussed details regarding the turnover process.”

Using Mr. Cruz’ nickname, Ms. Diño-Seguerra said in a statement: “I personally welcome the appointment of Kuya Pip as the new Chairman of the agency, and I hope that he continues the programs that we have started and take these initiatives to new heights,”

Mr. Cruz, along with the other new presidential appointees, took his oath at the Malacañang Palace on July 6. — MAPS

Gilas Pilipinas opens its FIBA Asia Cup campaign as it faces tough Lebanon

July 12, 2022 | 12:05 am

GILAS Pilipinas program director and coach Chot Reyes promised a fighting team even as he tempers expectations for his youth-laden troops in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup in Indonesia.

Mr. Reyes has tapped a cast of mostly collegiate stars and graduates with Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Ray Parks and TnT’s Poy Erram as reinforcements for the July 12-24 meet, which, he underscored, is part of the overall program for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

“We just want to manage everyone’s expectations. We’re going to try our best to get to the top eight in the FIBA Asia,” he said.

“But the objective, really, is to take a look at the players that we have on this team and see and look at their continued development and continue our process of finding out what it is going to take to make sure that we have the best team for 2023.”

The youngsters previously carried the fight for the country in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, losing to New Zealand, 106-60, and beating India, 79-63.

They will have another go at their old tormentor New Zealand as well as India in Group D of the Asia Cup preliminaries with highly-touted Lebanon as the other tough competitor in the bunch.

“There’s a huge, huge task ahead of us. We’re in a very tough group,” said Mr. Reyes, whose team needs to top the group to gain outright quarterfinal entry or at least finish second or third to make it to the qualifying phase.

“Lebanon is playing the best I’ve seen in recent years. Their team is really stacked. They’re playing a very high level of basketball. It will take our best to just be able to compete with that team. And we know how tough New Zealand is. India, as you saw, is no pushover as well,” said Mr. Reyes.

Gilas opens its campaign against Lebanon on Wednesday at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno before the rematch with India on the 15^th and the Tall Blacks on the 17^th. — Olmin Leyba

Globe says health superapp to go live by Q1 of 2023

July 12, 2022 | 12:04 am

OPERATORS of three telehealth applications have agreed to consolidate their platforms into one superapp, which will be launched in the first quarter of 2023, Globe Telecom, Inc. said on Monday.

KonsultaMD, HealthNow, and AIDE will be combined into “one full-service health superapp, the new KonsultaMD,” Globe said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

The goal is to create an integrated healthcare ecosystem, said Paolo Maximo F. Borromeo, president and chief executive officer of Ayala Corp.’s AC Health.

KonsultaMD, a teleconsultation app, is managed by Globe Capital Venture Holdings, Inc. (917Ventures), while HealthNow, which serves medicine deliveries, is a collaboration between 917Ventures and AC Health.

Homecare services provider AIDE was acquired in February by HealthNow.

“This combined digital team, supplemented by the network of services from AC Health, allows us all to be in a better position to provide much-needed access to quality healthcare services and medicines across the country, accelerating our goal of touching the lives of one in five Filipinos by 2030,” Mr. Borromeo said.

According to Globe, KonsultaMD currently has over 1 million members and a retail network of over 50,000 outlets.

“Over the past two years, HealthNow and AIDE have emerged as critical players in the AC Health ecosystem, growing its base to over one million registered users,” the telco said.

917Ventures’ Managing Director Vince Yamat said the group hopes to democratize health services.

“We have long experienced the challenges and difficulties of healthcare in the Philippines, and we intend to address those challenges,” he added. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Tickets for Maroon 5 concert out in August

July 12, 2022 | 12:04 am

CONCERT promoter Live Nation Philippines has announced the ticket details on American pop rock band Maroon 5’s concert on Dec. 8, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Ticket prices to Maroon 5’s 2022 World Tour start from P2,500 (general admission) and go all the way up to P23,500 (Floor Standing).

Tickets will go on sale online and at ticket outlets at 10 a.m. on Aug. 6, with pre-sale for fan club members on Aug. 4, and Live Nation Philippines on Aug. 5. Tickets will be available at www.smtickets.com and SM Ticket outlets.

The six-piece band — composed of current members Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, James Valentine, Matt Flynn, PJ Morton, and Sam Farrar — will visit the country for the first time in three years for the 2022 World Tour.

The last time the band performed in the Philippines was in March 2019 when it was a stop on their Red Pill Blues Tour. That concert was also held in the same venue.

Maroon 5 rose to popularity with the release of their debut album Songs About Jane in 2002 which had the singles “This Love,” “She Will Be Loved,” and “Sunday Morning.” Throughout their career, the band has won three Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, and eight Billboard Music Awards, among others. Their latest album, Jordi, released in 2021 featured the single “Memories, “Nobody’s Love,” “Beautiful Mistakes” featuring Megan Thee Stallion, “Lost,” and “Lovesick”.

For concert updates, visit https://www.facebook.com/livenationph — MAPS

JRU seeks Final Four slot while LPU aims for date with destiny

July 12, 2022 | 12:04 am

jru_synergygmanetwork — SYNERGY/GMA NETWORK, INC.

JOSÉ Rizal University (JRU) seeks a first trip to the Final Four for the first time since 2018 while Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) guns for a breakthrough semifinal appearance when the two collide on Tuesday in a do-or-die duel in the NCAA Season 97 volleyball at the Paco Arena.

The winner of the 2:30 p.m. showdown will clinch the No. 4 seed and forge the first stepladder semis match with No. 3 San Sebastian College at a still unspecified date for the right to battle No. 2 Arellano University.

The victor of the stepladder semis will earn the right to play top seed College of St. Benilde, which swept the elimination round in nine games, in the best-of-three finale next week.

Idle Mapua is currently at No. 4 with a 5-4 mark but will be eliminated due to an inferior quotient.

The Lady Bombers are eyeing to make it back to the Final Four after making it that far in Season 93 four years ago while the Lady Pirates are aiming a date with destiny as it has never made the semis since joining the league 11 years back.

Meanwhile, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (UPHSD) and San Beda, both totting 2-6 slates, clash in a non-bearing contest at 12 p.m. — Joey Villar

Raslag starts testing 18-MWp solar power plant in Pampanga

July 12, 2022 | 12:03 am

RASLAG Corp. announced the commissioning of an 18.011-megawatt peak (MWp) solar power plant in Pampanga that it expects to contribute P71.68 million in revenues this year.

The solar plant, named Raslag-3, is the company’s third operating solar power plant.

The company received provisional approval from the grid operator to connect Raslag’s user system to the grid for feedback power or load purposes and as a generator customer.

National Grid Corporation of the Philippines certified that the connection for testing and commissioning purposes will take place effective on July 7 until Sept. 7, 2022.

Raslag-3 is expected to generate 13.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) for the rest of 2022 and 27 GWh in 2023.

The company said that assuming an average wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) settlement price of P5.30 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), Raslag-3 can potentially contribute revenues of around P71.68 million for the second half of 2022, P142.94 million in 2023 and P142.51 million in 2024.

Raslag also noted that this projection could be higher as WESM price is on the upward trend from P7.86 per kWh in January to 9.88 per kWh in June.

Raslag was founded in 2013 and will now operate three feed-in tariff eligible solar power plants with a combined capacity of 41.2 MWp, including Raslag-3.

At the stock market on Monday, the company’s shares slid by 3.38% or P0.07 to finish at P2 apiece. — Justine Irish DP. Tabile

Sopranos actor Tony Sirico, 79

July 12, 2022 | 12:03 am

Michael Imperioli and Tony Sirico in The Sopranos (1999) — Tony Sirico (R) with Michael Imperioli in a scene from The Sopranos.

ACTOR Tony Sirico, who played the lovable but murderous gangster Paulie Walnuts on the HBO series The Sopranos and was frequently cast in Woody Allen films, died on Friday at age 79, his family said.

Mr. Sirico played a major role in the HBO drama that started in 1999 and became an influential hit early in the era of prestige television.

Though he played smaller parts in six Woody Allen movies from 1994 to 2016, Mr. Sirico was not especially well known before his breakout role, in which he was a captain in the crime family of lead character Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini.

The Paulie Walnuts character was a steely criminal who displayed periodic kindness, sometimes providing goofy comic relief with malapropisms, but always loyal to the boss.

“A larger than life character on and off screen. Gonna miss you a lot my friend,” Sopranos co-star Steven Van Zandt said on Twitter.

Mr. Sirico often played Italian-American mobsters, including a small part in Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese’s popular and critical hit from 1990. Mr. Sirico also took a comic turn voicing the talking dog Vinny on the animated show Family Guy.

His credits in Woody Allen movies include Bullets Over Broadway of 1994, Mighty Aphrodite of 1995, Everyone Says I Love You from 1996, Deconstructing Harry from 1997, Celebrity from 1998, and in his post-Sopranos fame, Café Society of 2016.

“It is with great sadness, but with incredible pride, love and a whole lot of fond memories, that the family of Gennaro Anthony ‘Tony’ Sirico wishes to inform you of his death on the morning of July 8, 2022,” his brother, Robert Sirico, a Roman Catholic priest, posted on Facebook.

He is survived by two children plus an unspecified number of grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews and others, his brother said.

No cause of death was reported.

Born in Brooklyn on July 29, 1942, Mr. Sirico served 20 months in prison on a gun charge in the early 1970s, according to the movie database IMDB.com.

His first movie role came in 1974’s Crazy Joe, about the Mafia figure Joey Gallo, but his defining role was in the HBO series created by David Chase.

“When I first read David Chase’s script, I knew this was special,” Mr. Sirico is quoted as saying on IMDB. “This is what I’d been looking for all my life. … I knew right away this was a role to kill for.” — Reuters

LausGroup Eagles rule the APAC Steal Open Qualifiers

July 12, 2022 | 12:03 am

Team-Photo — LausGroup Eagles top in the APAC Steal Open Qualifiers.

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — The LausGroup Eagles, one of the country’s premier National Basketball Association (NBA) 2K Leagues sponsored by Countryside Entertainment, Inc., reigned supreme in the entire Asia-Pacific (APAC) region after recently conquering the APAC Steal Open Qualifiers, sponsored by US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

In the tournament that featured teams from Korea, Australia, and the Philippines — the squad performed in dominating fashion by sweeping their opponents in the second round, and earning an impressive 3-1 victory in the finals — pulling in $2,500 as champions.

The team, composed of Isaiah Vincent “LGE_ice” Alindada, Dominic “LGE_Domo” Penaflorida, and Paolo Jerald “LGE_Papa” Madronio, will represent APAC in the upcoming Coinbase NBA 2KL Steal Open in Indianapolis, Indiana this August where they will be up against 14 NBA 2KL teams and one amateur team from Europe participating in the said tournament.

Led by veteran coach Al Timajo and team manager Ian Seranilla, the Eagles are confident that their recent win will serve as a major milestone for online basketball gaming in the Philippines.

“The LausGroup Eagles are excited to represent the country and the entire Asia Pacific in the US tournament. This is a huge achievement for the team and we will do our best to continue raising the bar for Philippine esports,” Mr. Timajo said.

Paul Laus, President of Countryside Entertainment, Inc., and the LausGroup Eagles, shared that this achievement shows that the team is a force to be reckoned with in online basketball not just in the Philippines, but in the whole of APAC.

“Based on the APAC qualifiers, our team’s hard work, long hours of training and commitment proved that Filipino e-athletes can go up against the bigger leagues on the global stage. I am really proud of what this team has accomplished, and we look forward to raising the bar of Philippine online basketball for the years to come,” Mr. Laus said.

Metro Manila office market recovery seen by Q4

July 12, 2022 | 12:03 am

THE office market in Metro Manila is on track for a robust recovery starting in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to real estate consultancy firm Lobien Realty Group (LRG).

In a statement, LRG said data from the first six months of 2022 showed that the office vacancy rate in Metro Manila is now at 19%, but is expected to improve as office demand picks up with increased economic activity.

“Moreover, demand for office space in Metro Manila is seen to improve and will be adequately met by the office space supply in the pipeline which is currently pegged at 1.7 million square meters (sq.m.),” it said.

According to LRG, the Makati business district has a pipeline of 307,000 sq.m. in office spaces that is expected to be completed by 2028. The business district in Taguig has 250,000 sq.m. of office space in the pipeline, while Pasig has pending office space of 139,0000 sq.m.

According to LRG, average office space rent in Metro Manila’s business districts remained unchanged at P1,110 per sq.m.

“Opportunity is seen for office space tenants and locators due to the 19% vacancy rates, ample supply of office space pipeline in all office space grades and the possible weakening of rental rates for landlords to shed the available office supply in the market,” LRG said.

The property consultancy firm said it is “very optimistic” on the recovery of the market.

“The back-to-office directive for those BPOs operating in PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) areas will increase demand by approximately 400,000 sqm over the next six months,” it said.

The return of mobility will also allow more companies to operate at pre-pandemic levels, which is expected to boost jobs and demand for office spaces, LRG said.

Companies are also likely to secure larger office spaces to ensure social distancing amid the pandemic, it added.

“Although hybrid office arrangements are expected to be instituted by several companies, this is not expected to significantly affect the office space market due to the current telecommunications infrastructure and the preference of local businesses for physical presence of employees in the offices,” LRG said.

“Finally, with the new administration, clearer regulatory and taxation guidelines and the easing of mobility restrictions due to high vaccination rates and non-recurrence of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) surges, online gaming locators may return to the Philippines which is expected to significantly increase office space demand,” it added. — RMDO

Philippines ranks 10^th in crypto adoption

July 12, 2022 | 12:03 am

The Philippines ranked 10th in the Cryptocurrency Adoption Index by Australian-based financial technology website Finder. In the July 2022 release of the survey, the index measured crypto trends of 26 countries. Finder surveyed 7,514 internet users in the Philippines, which showed 16% of Filipinos owned cryptocurrency. This was higher than the global adoption rate average of 15%. Compared with its Asia-Pacific peers, the Philippines placed sixth highest, ahead of Indonesia (12th overall), Malaysia (13th), Japan (23rd), and New Zealand (24th). Bitcoin (39%) was the most popular form of cryptocurrency among Filipinos.

Philex sets earlier date for stock rights offering

July 12, 2022 | 12:02 am

PHILEX Mining Corp. will move the start of its offer period for its P842-million stock rights offering to an earlier date, according to its disclosure on Monday.

The start of its offer period was moved to July 12 from its initial timetable of July 14 to 25.

This was in line with the requirement of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to have the start of the offer period 10 business days from the issuance of the permit to sell, which the company received earlier than expected on June 28.

In June, the company announced that it received its permit to offer securities for sale from the SEC for the offering. Philex will offer up to 842 million common shares with a par value of P1.00 per share.

Net proceeds from the offer will be used by the company for the capital expenditures and development cost of the Silangan copper-gold project in Surigao del Norte. This represents the company’s investment in Silangan Mindanao Mining Co., Inc. through Silangan Mindanao Exploration Co., Inc.

In the first quarter, Philex reported that its net income attributable to parent firm equity holders increased 23.4% to P690.39 million.

At the stock exchange on Monday, Philex shares rose by 2.24% or seven centavos to close at P3.20 apiece.

Philex is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and PLDT, Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

BTr partially awards T-bills at mixed rates

July 12, 2022 | 12:02 am

THE GOVERNMENT partially awarded its offer of Treasury bills (T-bills) on Monday at mostly higher rates on expectations that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will raise borrowing costs more aggressively at its next meeting.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P13.16 billion from its auction of T-bills on Monday, lower than the P15-billion program, even with bids reaching P36.72 billion or more than twice the planned amount.

Broken down, the Treasury made a full P5-billion award of 91-day securities as the tenor attracted P24.56 billion in bids. The average rate of the tenor went down by 3.2 basis points (bps) to 1.876% from the 1.908% fetched at the previous auction. Accepted rates ranged from 1.825% to 1.894%.

Meanwhile, the BTr raised just P4.1 billion from the 182-day debt papers out of the P5-billion program, even with total tenders reaching P7.05 billion. The tenor’s average rate went up by 29.9 bps to 2.907% from the 2.608% fetched for a full award last week, with the government accepting offers ranging from 2.825% to 2.95%.

Lastly, the government awarded only P4.06 billion in 364-day debt papers out of the P5-billion plan, with bids reaching P5.11 billion. The average rate of the one-year tenor climbed by 17 bps to 2.981% from the 2.811% seen at last week’s auction, with the yields on the awarded bids within the 2.8% to 3.143% band.

The last time the rate for the one-year tenor breached 3% was in April 2020 when it averaged 3.371% amid slower inflation, National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon told reporters in a Viber message. Demand for government debt was also high that month due to uncertainties brought about by strict coronavirus lockdowns.

At the secondary market prior to Monday’s auction, the 91-, 182- and 364-day T-bills were quoted at 1.8515%, 2.3971%, and 2.6928%, respectively, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Reference Rates published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website.

Ms. De Leon said the government made a partial award of its offer of six-month and one-year T-bills on Monday at rates “based on BTr reasonableness test, including guidance from BSP on path of rate hike.”

A trader likewise said yields on the longer T-bill tenors climbed as the market anticipates a 50-bp hike from the BSP at the Monetary Board’s Aug. 18 meeting following signals from the central bank chief.

BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla last week said the central bank is prepared to raise benchmark rates by 50 bps at their Aug. 18 meeting to keep inflation in check after the peso on Thursday breached the P56 level against the dollar to move closer to its record low.

He said the US central bank’s hawkish stance has placed “strong depreciation pressures” on global currencies such as the peso, which adds to inflation risks.

The peso closed at P56.06 versus the dollar on Thursday, down by 39 centavos or 0.7% from the previous day, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed. This was the peso’s worst finish since Sept. 27, 2005’s P56.30 a dollar and just 39 centavos away from the record low of P56.45 on Oct. 14, 2004.

The Monetary Board has raised benchmark interest rates by a total of 50 bps so far this year via back-to-back 25-bp hikes at their May 19 and June 23 meetings, bringing the overnight reverse repurchase facility or policy rate to 2.5%.

A 50-bp hike at the August meeting will bring the BSP’s key rate to 3%. Mr. Medalla last week said the BSP may need to raise borrowing costs by at least 100 bps more this year to bring the policy rate higher than the midpoint of its 2-4% inflation target.

Headline inflation reached 6.1% in June, the fastest in nearly four years. This brought the first-half average to 4.4%, above the 2-4% goal but still lower than the central bank’s 5% forecast for this year.

On Tuesday, the BTr will auction off P35 billion in 10-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) with a remaining life of six years and six months.

The Treasury wants to raise P200 billion from the domestic market in July, or P60 billion through T-bills and P140 billion via T-bonds.

The government borrows from local and external sources to help fund a budget deficit capped at P1.65 trillion this year, equivalent to 7.6% of gross domestic product. — Diego Gabriel C. Robles