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Shakey’s inks deal on Gokongweis’ JE Holdings entry

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SHAKEY’s said the entry of JE Holdings is seen to strengthen post-pandemic expansion plans. — FACEBOOK.COM/SHAKEYSPH

SHAKEY’s Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. and JE Holdings, Inc. have signed a subscription agreement covering 152,439,025 common shares of Shakey’s.

In a disclosure to the exchange on Thursday, Shakey’s said the deal gives Gokongwei-led JE Holdings a nine percent slice of the company for P1.26 billion.

“As disclosed on May 12, 2021, the board of directors approved the entry of JE Holdings to further strengthen post COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) expansion plans,” Shakey’s said.

The shares will be issued from the Shakey’s unissued authorized capital stock.

JE Holdings subscribed to Shakey’s shares at a price of P8.20 apiece, which is said to be a 10% premium from the company’s latest stock price and around 14.6% higher than its latest 45-day volume weighed average.

It now joins Century Pacific Group and the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore as the top shareholders of Shakey’s.

On Thursday, Shakey’s stocks at the local bourse declined by 1.18% or 10 centavos to close at P8.40. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Bill Cosby home from prison after court reverses sexual assault conviction

BILL COSBY — IMDB.COM

BILL COSBY was freed from prison and returned home on Wednesday, less than two hours after Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction, saying he never should have faced charges after striking a non-prosecution deal with a previous district attorney more than 15 years ago.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its split decision after Cosby had served more than two years of a three- to 10-year sentence following his 2018 conviction, prompting outrage from sexual assault victims and their advocates.

The 83-year-old actor and comedian was released from a state prison in Pennsylvania just before 2:30 p.m., a corrections department spokesperson said.

Around an hour later, he arrived at his stately stone mansion in Elkins Park, a Philadelphia suburb, before making a brief appearance alongside his lawyers in front of a gaggle of cameras late in the afternoon.

A frail looking Cosby smiled and nodded when asked if he was happy to be home but did not speak as reporters shouted questions. Later, Cosby posted a statement to his Twitter account, thanking his supporters and saying, “I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence.”

Mr. Cosby is best known for his role as the lovable husband and father in the 1980s television comedy series The Cosby Show, earning him the nickname “America’s Dad.”

But his family-friendly reputation was shattered after more than 50 women accused him of multiple sexual assaults over nearly five decades. His conviction was seen as a watershed moment in the #MeToo movement that brought forth an array of allegations against powerful men in Hollywood and beyond.

Mr. Cosby was found guilty of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, an employee at his alma mater Temple University, in his home in 2004. Ms. Constand’s allegations were the only ones against Cosby that were not too old to allow for criminal charges.

The court’s decision expressly barred prosecutors from retrying Cosby.

In a statement, Constand and her attorneys said they were not only disappointed in the ruling but concerned it could dissuade other victims from seeking justice.

“Once again, we remain grateful to those women who came forward to tell their stories,” they said.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, who charged Mr. Cosby in 2015, noted a jury found Mr. Cosby guilty and that Wednesday’s decision was not based on the facts of the case.

“My hope is that this decision will not dampen the reporting of sexual assaults by victims,” he said in a statement. “We still believe that no one is above the law —  including those who are rich, famous and powerful.”

Reaction was swift, with many women involved in the #MeToo movement expressing horror at the decision.

“THIS is why women do not come forward,” writer E. Jean Carroll, who has accused former President Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s, wrote on Twitter. Mr. Trump has denied her claim.

But Phylicia Rashad, Cosby’s co-star on The Cosby Show, celebrated the ruling for correcting “a miscarriage of justice.”

‘ONLY ONE REMEDY’
The court’s majority found that a state prosecutor, Bruce Castor, made a deal with Cosby’s attorneys in 2005 not to bring criminal charges after concluding he could not win a conviction.

As a result, Mr. Cosby was unable to avoid testifying as part of a civil lawsuit that Ms. Constand brought against him, since defendants can only refuse to testify when faced with criminal prosecution.

In a sworn deposition, Mr. Cosby acknowledged giving women sedatives to facilitate sexual encounters, though he maintained they were consensual. He eventually paid Ms. Constand a multimillion-dollar settlement.

His admission, which a judge later unsealed in 2015, helped form the basis for criminal charges later that year. Mr. Steele, who had just defeated Mr. Castor in the election for district attorney in part by criticizing him for failing to prosecute Cosby, charged Cosby days before the statute of limitations was set to expire.

Mr. Steele’s prosecution, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found, essentially amounted to reneging on Mr. Castor’s earlier promise not to charge Mr. Cosby, violating his due process rights. “There is only one remedy that can completely restore Cosby to the status quo ante,” Justice David Wecht wrote for a four-judge majority. “He must be discharged, and any future prosecution on these particular charges must be barred.”

One dissenting justice said Cosby should stay in prison, while two others said prosecutors should be allowed to retry him without relying on the tainted evidence.

Castor made national headlines in February as a member of former President Donald Trump’s legal defense team during Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial in the US Senate. The former prosecutor delivered a rambling opening statement that was widely panned by senators, including Republicans.

In an interview, Mr. Castor said his deal with Mr. Cosby was the only way to ensure he would pay some sort of penalty via a civil lawsuit. “I feel I made the right decision in 2005, and I still do,” he said.

Mr. Cosby’s first trial ended with a hung jury in 2017, when jurors could not reach a unanimous decision on his culpability. But he was found guilty at a second trial, after the judge, Steven O’Neill, allowed prosecutors to call five prior accusers —  four more than in the first trial.

Armed with those witnesses, prosecutors argued that Mr. Cosby’s assault of Ms. Constand was a well-rehearsed offense he had honed over decades: he befriended younger women, acting as a mentor, only to sexually assault them, often with the help of drugs. — Reuters

NCIP, Benguet town shut down Hedcor’s hydro plants

THE National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Bakun, Benguet local government halted the operations of Hedcor, Inc.’s three hydroelectric plants, which were earlier issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO) for alleged issues in obtaining consent from the tribes.

In a stock exchange disclosure on Thursday, Hedcor’s parent firm Aboitiz Power Corp. said the “forced shutdown” was upon the instruction of NCIP-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and “without any reference” to the directive of the Department of Energy (DoE) on June 25 for the plants to continue operating.

NCIP-CAR on June 22 issued the halt order, indicating that the town’s indigenous groups withdrew their consent to the plants in April due to “highly disadvantageous conditions in the deal” and “Hedcor’s alleged use of the memorandum as a tool to unduly exert pressure on the Bakun LGU officials to yield to [the company’s] demands.”

AboitizPower said according to lawyer Jerry A. Marave, who joined the group that implemented the shutdown, a court order and not a letter from the DoE can supersede the CDO.

Hedcor’s hydro plants affected by the order are the 2.4-megawatt (MW) Lower Labay, 3.6-MW Lon-oy, and 5.9-MW FLS.

Hedcor said the group insisted that the DoE letter “was not an instruction, but a simple reminder.”

In its letter, the department emphasized the importance of ensuring the integrity of the power system while advising the company to continue operating its hydro plants in compliance with the law, spot market rules and the grid code.

Leo Lungay, Hedcor’s vice-president for operations and maintenance, said that unless the Energy department “expressly states in writing and confirms that their letter sent on June 25… is simply a reminder, we will treat DoE’s letter as an order for Hedcor to keep operating our plants in Bakun.”

“However, we are forced to stop operations, with the threat posed by the situation. As much as we want to continue delivering power to the Luzon grid, we don’t want to compromise the safety of the community and our personnel,” he added.

Noreen Marie N. Vicencio, Hedcor’s vice-president for corporate services, said that the firm had constantly reached out to the community for a customary dialogue or tongtongan.

“Prior to the issuance of this CDO, we were hopeful with the confirmed tongtongan that we were supposed to have with the IP (indigenous peoples) leaders last June 15. However, with the last-minute cancelation advised by the LGU, and followed by the BITO (Bakun Indigenous Tribes Organization ), we are saddened that the situation has come to this,” she said.

According to NCIP-CAR, the CDO can only be lifted if Hedcor submits proof that it has secured the certificate precondition and the free informed prior consent of the Bakun IPs, in line with the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997.

According to the IPRA, project developers may acquire permits and licenses only after receiving the certificate from the NCIP, expressing consent from the indigenous community hosting the project.

Hedcor operates 21 hydropower plants supplying 258 MW of renewable energy.

On Thursday, shares in AboitizPower improved 2.25% or 55 centavos to finish at P25 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang

A tale as old as Wuthering Heights

ALDEN Richards and Jasmine Curtis-Smith team up for the second time in GMA Network’s new drama romance series, The World Between Us.

Directed by Dominic Zapata and written by Glaiza Ramirez, the story takes its inspiration from Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights.

It follows Lia (played by Jasmine Curtis-Smith) and her adopted brother Louie (played by Alden Richards) who grew up together after Lia’s mother, Rachel (Dina Bonnevie), took Louie in when he was left an orphan. When Louie and Lia grow up, circumstances keep them apart despite their hopes to be together.

The story depicts various kinds of love — romantic love, love for family, siblings, and friends.

“We rediscovered love during the pandemic,” the show’s director Mr. Zapata said of the story’s relevance during an online press conference on June 23 held via Zoom. “I could have read the script 10 years ago [and] it might not have had the same effect.”

The series begins during the childhood of Lia and her strict older brother Brian (Tom Rodriquez). When the young Louie is welcomed into their home, he and Lia develop a close friendship that eventually blossoms into a romance.

“You experience her (Lia) story from childhood to adulthood,” Ms. Curtis-Smith said of her character. “We learn who we are as we grow, [with the] experiences we go through along the way, with the people na mamahalin natin o sasaktan tayo (whom we love or those who hurt us).”

Meanwhile, Mr. Rodriguez’s character is always hungry for love and validation, “to the point na kahit siya, ‘pag nagbibigay ng pagmamahal, hindi niya alam kung paano gawin (to the point that when he shows love, he finds it difficult to channel),” he described.

Mr. Richards said that this time, he plays a role “na hindi lang puro good boy.”

“There will come a time in the story when I will take vengeance on the people who have done [him] wrong,” Mr. Richards added. “I have never done anything like it on [television].”

Joining Ms. Curtis-Smith and Mr. Richards in the cast are Jaclyn Jose, Sid Lucero, and Kelley Day, with the special participation of Glydel Mercado.

The World Between Us premieres on GMA Telebabad on July 5. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Cirtek unit gets 25% capacity boost from new equipment

CIRTEK Holdings Philippines Corp. on Thursday said the new equipment obtained by its semiconductor unit will boost its manufacturing capacity by 25% in the second half of next year.

“This is at the back of the Cirtek Group’s manufacturing capacity already running at 100%,” Cirtek Holdings said in a disclosure on Thursday.

Cirtek Electronics Corp. began procuring new equipment earlier this year. The new units will support the orders it booked in the first quarter.

Three customers were secured from “major telecom players in Europe,” Cirtek Senior Vice-President for Marketing Tony Callueng said.

Cirtek also took note of the bright outlook for the industry.

Citing a market research report from the Integrated Circuit (IC) Insight, the IC market is said to grow by 24% this year due to a 21% increase in shipments and a two percent bump in average selling price.

In a separate report, IC Insights also forecasts sales for the IC market to grow to over $500 billion this year.

With a global chip shortage looming as demand continues to rise, Cirtek said it is collaborating with customers to address the issue.

“Due to the industry’s bullish outlook, supply chain backlogs, and chip demand outpacing supply, customers have even started to consign equipment to Cirtek as insurance for production capacity on top of Cirtek’s own internal equipment,” the company said.

Aside from this, Cirtek also sees a growing trend in products in the internet of things, wireless communication such as 5G deployment, medical devices and wearables.

Shares of Cirtek at the stock exchange went down by 1.62% or 10 centavos on Thursday, closing at P6.08 each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

For your Height only

COREY Hawkins and Leslie Grace in In the Heights (2021) — IMDB.COM

Movie Review
In The Heights
Hbo Max

LIN-MANUEL Miranda’s In the Heights, which he started working on in college and managed to stage on Broadway some nine years later, has finally made it to the big screen. It’s handsomely produced with a $55 million budget, shot on location in Washington Heights, and features a strikingly handsome cast of mostly young actors and a handful of recognizable veteran talents.

The movie is entertaining enough: the intertwining stories of largely Hispanic New Yorkers, sweating through one memorably hot summer as they pursue their various suenitos, or “little dreams.” Bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) wants to return to the Dominican Republic to reopen his late father’s business, which is for sale; nail technician Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) wants an apartment downtown and a career as a fashion designer; Nina (Leslie Grace) wants a college degree from Stanford; dispatcher Benny (Corey Hawkins) wants Nina, daughter of Kevin (Jimmy Smits), who owns the cab company he works for.

Throw in “Abuela” Claudia (Olga Merediz) who wanted to save enough money to go back and visit the Dominican Republic after so many years away; Kevin, who sells off pieces of his company to help finance Nina’s tuition; Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV) who wants to go to college someday; and Usnavi, who on top of wanting his father’s business wants to ask Vanessa out on a date. Oh, and the Piragua Guy (Lin-Manuel Miranda), who wants to recover the business he lost when a Softee truck started roaming his neighborhood.

I want to say it’s refreshing to see Hispanic faces telling Hispanic stories to a largely Hispanic and Afro-Latino beat… though there seem to be a lot of power ballads to my inexpert ears, and plenty of Broadway moments where the story stops dead on its tracks to allow a singer to hit his or her high note for at least a minute while we admire their tonsils. The rap lyrics don’t seem as intricately or cleverly written as in Mr. Miranda’s later Hamilton, though even that musical I found problematic, with its casting of black and Latin actors in the role of white patriarchs, largely whitewashing their role in slavery (for the record Hamilton’s own record was ambiguous: he supported abolition but didn’t let his stance jeopardize his relationships with George Washington and other influential slaveowners; he believed in freeing slaves, but also believed in property rights).

Jon Chu’s filmmaking serves this Miranda musical better than Thomas Kail’s did of Mr. Miranda’s more famous musical — this is a movie adaptation conceived as a movie, not an expensive high-def video recording lit mostly in red spots. The colors are bright, the camera active enough — though when the camera cuts to the beat and chops up Christopher Scott’s athletic choreography to insert sweeping swooping crane shots and other modern dance musical cliches you’re reminded that Mr. Chu’s previous work included Step Up 2 and Step Up 3D. We’re not cracking open and deconstructing the musical here folks, we’re just doing a big-budget music video, with short snippets ready to be uploaded to YouTube.

An aside: what would an interesting movie musical look like nowadays? Tossing out all the cliches would be nice; seeing a dance choreographer’s work intact would be nice. A more contemplative filmmaker with an actual vision would be nice, someone like, say, Tsai Ming-liang (The Hole and The Wayward Cloud anyone?). Also happens to be Asian, though not Asian-American.

Doesn’t help that Chu alludes to older, better musicals — the pool synchronized swimming number recalls Busby Berkeley and the best of Esther Williams (no waterskis or rising towers or breathtaking dives alas, and the sparklers are reserved for another number); the dance up against the side of an apartment building recalls Fred Astaire’s number in Royal Wedding, only they did it without computers. Trouble is watching these reminders makes you want to pause HBO Max to go into Amazon or Criterion to look for those older, better musicals instead.

Speaking of ethnic New York neighborhoods during a hot summer, Spike Lee’s earlier Do The Right Thing (and at one point this movie cracks open a few fire hydrants in apparent tribute) pretty much sums up my problem with this picture: Miranda’s is a Disneyfied New York, more a Washington Heightsland complete with guide rails and waiting lines for the rides and water park slides than an actual New York neighborhood. The streets are too clean (I did at one point jab my finger at a corner of the screen to exclaim “Look! A piece of litter!”), the actors too well-scrubbed. Where’s the grime? The rats? The enormous piles of trash bags, not just in Washington Heights but practically every neighborhood — Woodside, Flushing, Belmont, Coney Island? As if on cue one singer does walk past a pile of black bags — but discreetly tucked away in an alley, all carefully knotted up). More, where’s the ’tude? The beauty parlor number (in a shop the size of a Broadway stage) promises a little Latin sass (I thought the forehead waxing bit to be the movie’s comic highlight) but few of the cast speak, much less sing, any profanity, maybe the occasional “shit!” (not enough to raise the PG-13 rating to R). Dads hug daughters, daughters hug dads, everyone hugs the neighborhood abuela; sure, everyone has problems and no one has money, but there’s nothing that can’t be resolved with a little determination, a lot of love, and a rousing Broadway number.

Compare Mr. Lee’s provocation of a film, which starts with Rosie Perez dancing to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” and ends with Mr. Lee himself hurling a garbage can through a plate glass window. I miss the bitterness at being put down all the time every time; I miss the hot fiery fury that minorities feel when faced with everyday institutional racism (the most In the Heights manages to stoke up is mild dismay, maybe a little melancholy, a brief DACA demonstration that one might mistake for a Disneyland Main Street parade). The loudest voice one hears in this picture is yelling “We’re here and we want our dreams!” (also “Don’t forget to buy your daily Lotto ticket!”). The loudest voice heard in Do the Right Thing goes “We’re here we’re not going anywhere, and we’re not taking any more shit from you!” Take a guess which one I find more honest.

Britney Spears’ father asks for probe of her abuse claims

FACEBOOK.COM/BRITNEYSPEARS
FACEBOOK.COM/BRITNEYSPEARS

LOS ANGELES —  Jamie Spears, father of Britney Spears, has asked for an investigation of the pop superstar’s claims that she had been mistreated under a legal conservatorship by being denied the ability to make her own medical decisions.

In a court filing late on Tuesday, attorneys for Jamie Spears said he was “greatly saddened to hear of his daughter’s difficulties and suffering” and “believes there must be an investigation into those claims.” Britney Spears has been under a conservatorship since she suffered a mental health breakdown in 2008.

The “Stronger” singer told a Los Angeles judge last week that she had been forced to take the drug lithium against her will and was prohibited from marrying or removing a birth control device, and that she wanted the “abusive” conservatorship to end. Jamie Spears is a joint conservator of his daughter’s finances and also was in charge of her personal affairs until he stepped down from that position in Sept. 2019. Care manager Jodi Montgomery, a licensed fiduciary, was appointed temporary conservator of personal affairs.

Last year, Britney Spears began a legal process to prevent her father from ever returning to that role. Attorneys for Jamie Spears said in the new filing that he had no intention of trying to reclaim the position and was not involved in her “personal care or medical or reproductive issues.”

“Mr. Spears has been unable to hear and address his daughter’s concerns directly because he has been cut-off from communicating with her,” the filing in Los Angeles Superior Court said. The attorneys also asked the court to hold a hearing to investigate whether Montgomery should continue to oversee the singer’s personal affairs given Britney Spears’ court testimony.

Montgomery’s lawyer, Lauriann Wright, said in a statement that her client “has been a tireless advocate for Britney and for her well-being” and would present a care plan to the court “setting forth a path for termination of the conservatorship.” The statement also said the conservatorship did not govern marriage or family planning. — Reuters

Greenergy acquires shares in AgriNurture

GREENERGY Holdings, Inc. acquired 10 million secondary common shares in listed agro-commercial firm AgriNurture, Inc. (ANI) in a move aimed at improving its green projects.

The company said in a stock exchange disclosure on Thursday that the acquisition was through the open market at a price of P6.13 per share, amounting to P61.3 million exclusive of taxes, fees, and commission.

After the acquisition, Greenergy now holds 105.10 million shares, which is equivalent to 10.26% of the total issued and outstanding shares of ANI.

“The transaction will strengthen the position of the company in the other ‘green’ projects,” Greenergy said in the disclosure.

Both Greenergy and ANI are led by businessman Antonio L. Tiu.

According to its website, Greenergy has business interests in food and agriculture, banking and finance, real estate development and construction, renewable energy, technology, biotechnology, and green infrastructure projects.

In May, the company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Winsun Green Ventures, Inc. decided not to renew its distribution agreement with solar panel supplier Hanergy Thin Film Power Asia Pacific Ltd. for the sourcing of solar panels on a pending project.

ANI is an agro-commercial firm that has business interests in the export and trading of organic products such as vegetables, fruits, and grains, according to its website.

On Thursday, shares of Greenergy at the stock exchange rose 3.72% or 16 centavos to end at P4.46 apiece while stocks of ANI improved 1.77% or 11 centavos to close at P6.33 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Venice festival to honor Jamie Lee Curtis with lifetime achievement award

JAMIE Lee Curtis speaking at the 2018 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Halloween,” at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. — GAGE SKIDMORE/EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
JAMIE Lee Curtis speaking at the 2018 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Halloween,” at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. — GAGE SKIDMORE/EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

LONDON —  Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Venice International Film Festival in September, where the latest instalment of her Halloween movies will screen out of competition, organizers said on Wednesday.

Curtis made her film debut in John Carpenter’s 1978 horror flick Halloween, playing babysitter Laurie Strode, who faced off against deadly serial killer Michael Myers. She has reprised the role several times since in the popular slasher film franchise.

“I am incredibly humbled to be honored in this way … Halloween — and my partnership with Laurie Strode — launched and sustained my career, and to have these films evolve into a new franchise that is beloved by audiences around the world was, and remains, a gift,” Ms. Curtis said in a statement.

The 62-year-old, also known for True Lies, Freaky Friday, and Knives Out, will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 78th edition of the festival before an out-of-competition screening of Halloween Kills, scheduled for release in October.

This year’s festival runs from Sept. 1 to 11. — Reuters

Robinsons’ Bridgetowne to house telco neutral data center Beeinfotech PH

BRIDGETOWNE Master-planned Perspective at C5 Pasig — ROBINSONSLANDCONDOS.COM

ROBINSONS Land Corp.’s (RLC) Bridgetowne Destination Estate will be the home base for a telecommunication neutral data center, which will give the development the opportunity to become an integrated smart city.

Bee Information Technology PH, Inc. or Beeinfotech PH has leased out a building in RLC’s estate.

“Beeinfotech PH occupies our Campus One development which has close to 19,000 square meters (sq.m.) of data center space. It will also build a power center on a 1,500 square meter land, which is adjacent to their leased premises,” RLC Senior Vice-President and Office Buildings Division General Manager Jericho P. Go said in a statement on Thursday.

Beeinfotech PH will be using the office building for a neutral data center, which allows the interconnection of various telco carriers. This will allow it to access all technologies and network providers.

It will also allow business process outsourcing (BPO) tenants and those occupying office spaces in RLC’s development to have access to a data center facility.

Mr. Go said the data center will help Bridgetowne Destination Estate to become an integrated smart city development.

Beeinfotech PH is also developing a dedicated power center “to provide multiple layers of redundancy for its supply of power.” This will ensure that the development will have enough power supply as the data center would have a higher demand for electricity.

“Campus One in Bridgetowne is the ideal location for this project as it is serviced by multiple telco providers, and the area is flood free and far away from the earthquake faultline,” Beeinfotech PH President and Chief Executive Officer Reynaldo Huergas said.

On Thursday, shares of Robinsons Land at the local bourse improved by 1.27% to finish at P17.50. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

SSS says process improvements to improve loan payment scheme

THE Social Security System (SSS) said it is seeking to upgrade the process for administering loans, chiefly via the use of the payment reference number (PRN) in salary, calamity, emergency and restructured loan payments.

SSS President and CEO Aurora C. Ignacio said in a statement Thursday that the changes will enable the pension fund to process loans more rapidly.

A PRN is a system-generated number for the member or employer’s loan billing statement. The SSS sends the billing statements and notices with PRNs every month to the registered e-mail address and mobile number of the borrower.

Loan payments that do not carry the PRN will no longer be accepted, including those filed via the electronic data interchange facility.

Ms. Ignacio said the initial plan was to implement mandatory PRN use starting Feb. 1 but decided to move the target date to July 1 to give their members and employers more time to register via the My.SSS portal.

The portal allows them to update their basic information, including e-mail addresses and phone numbers, to ensure they receive notifications and the PRN, which needs to be presented upon payment.

Borrowers can also update the amount they want to pay in their billing statement via the portal or through SSS branches.

The pension fund released P62.35 billion in loans to its members in 2020, up 53.6%. However, loan payments declined by 17.6% to P32.44 billion due to hardships they may have experienced during the pandemic.

Contribution collections fell 7.1% in 2020 to P204.75 billion. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Actress gets 3 years prison for role in NXIVM cult

Smallville TV show actress Allison Mack — EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/
Smallville TV show actress Allison Mack — EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/

Smallville TV show actress Allison Mack was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday for her role in NXIVM, a New York-based cult in which women were branded with its leader’s initials and ordered to have sex with him.

Mack, 38, was sentenced by US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn, after pleading guilty in 2019 to racketeering and conspiracy. She is expected to begin serving her sentence on Sept. 29.

Before being sentenced, Ms. Mack tearfully apologized to her victims and her family, saying her actions while in the group were “abusive, abhorrent and illegal.” She said she had completely renounced NXIVM leader Keith Raniere, who was sentenced to 120 years in prison last year for sex trafficking and other crimes. “Coming out from under this delusion has been the most difficult experience of my life,” Ms. Mack said.

Former NXIVM members testified at Mr. Raniere’s trial that he established a secret sorority within the organization in which “slaves” pledged total obedience to “masters,” with Mr. Raniere at the top as “grand master.” Women were kept on starvation diets, branded with Mr. Raniere’s initials and in some cases coerced into sex with him. Leaders of the group were said to use nude photos and other compromising materials to keep lower-ranking members in line. Ms. Mack, who was both a “slave” of Mr. Raniere and “master” of other women, admitted in her guilty plea that she coerced two women into doing unpaid work by threatening to release damaging information about them.

Mr. Garaufis said that Mack had been an “essential accomplice” in Mr. Raniere’s “monstrous crimes,” rejecting her lawyers’ plea for a sentence of home confinement or probation. However, the judge agreed with prosecutors that she deserved credit for cooperating against Mr. Raniere, warranting a sentence much lower than the 14 years called for by federal guidelines. He also said he believed her remorse was sincere.

Smallville, a television series that ran from 2001 to 2011, featured a young Clark Kent before he became famous as Superman. Ms. Mack played Chloe Sullivan, his close friend. — Reuters