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ATN Holdings eyes P1-B sales until 2022 from infra projects

LISTED ATN HOLDINGS, Inc. is looking to generate P1 billion in the next two years from selling construction materials that will help it ride on the Philippines’ increased investments on infrastructure.

In a disclosure to the exchange on Thursday, the diversified company said it is positioned to grab a significant portion of the expected demand for construction materials through the government’s Build, Build, Build program.

It said it has a stockpile of about a million ton of finished goods, more than 200 million tons of rock reserves, hollow blocks to support the construction of 5 million mass housing units, and a facility that has an hourly capacity of 500 tons.

“We are initially setting a P1-billion sales target for 2021-2022 to be derived from a combination of rock aggregates, pre-mixed concrete and boulders,” ATN Chairman and CEO Arsenio T. Ng said in the statement.

“Our finished products meet the stringent criteria of quadruple A-rated contractors after passing rigorous multiple testing standards with specific gravity of 2.7 and above, for its premium basalt rocks as conducted by international technical experts on rock quality,” he added.

Among the projects ATN identified to support infrastructure build-out are the Metro Manila Subway project, the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road project, the Bulacan Airport project, and reclamation initiatives in Luzon island.

One project that the company had already committed to participate in is the Tutuban-Malolos segment of the North-South Commuter Railway, for which it will provide rock aggregates.

“Our regular discussions with notable industry stalwarts underpin the extensive demand for our core products. To our favor, most of them have firmly indicated their voluminous rock supply requirements and intention to work with us,” Mr. Ng said.

“Nonetheless, while we aspire to be the premier construction material brand in the country, we also deeply regard ourselves as an inclusive partner of the government in nation-building and climate change resiliency development,” he added.

The Philippines is looking at a P4.5-trillion national budget for 2021, from which about P1.107 trillion may be allocated to infrastructure projects. This is about 36% higher than 2020’s reduced P785.5-billion budget for infrastructure. — Denise A. Valdez

Subic expressway expansion 85% complete

NLEX CORP. said on Thursday its P1.6-billion Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEX) Capacity Expansion Project is now 85% complete.

“Now 85% complete, the capacity expansion of the 8.2-kilometer SFEX is aimed at improving traffic safety and easing travel to and from the Subic Bay Freeport Zone,” NLEX Corp. said in an e-mailed statement.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar recently led the progress inspection of the project, which is expected to be fully completed by the first quarter of 2021, the company said.

The project involves the construction of a new tunnel that is seen to serve as a “vital link on this key road that connects Bataan and Zambales,” the company added.

New bridges are also being built. The objective is to “increase road capacity from one lane in each direction to two lanes,” NLEX Corp. said. LED lights are being installed to improve motorists’ visibility when driving at night, it added.

“The SFEX Capacity Expansion is seen to expedite the delivery of goods, support trade and tourism in Subic, and complement Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s infrastructure development,” the company noted.

The company said recently that it had partnered with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to include in the project scope “the raising of elevation of the Maritan Highway-Rizal and Highway-Tipo Road Junction and enhancing its drainage system to improve flood management in the area.”

NLEX Corp. is a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. Its parent Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin 

AgriNurture, PITC team up to import raw inputs for rice-corn production

LISTED agricultural firm AgriNurture, Inc. has partnered with the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) on the importation of raw materials for the production of Bigas-Mais (BigMa) or rice-corn blend.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Thursday, the company said it signed a memorandum of agreement with PITC in preparation for the local production of the BigMa brand.

“The company is set to locally produce with its corn contract growers and include in its product portfolio the BigMa brand,” the disclosure said.

AgriNurture said the BigMa blend is a staple food alternative for Filipino consumers that is a low glycemic and dietary fiber rich.

It said that with its production of BigMa, its carbon footprint will be reduced, while also providing more livelihood to local farmers as the source of mais.

“The BigMa production will help the country achieve food-staple sufficiency faster, while providing a healthier and affordable option to the public,” the disclosure said.

The partnership came after the company ended the third quarter with an attributable net income of P37.52 million, 45% higher than the P25.88 million it had in the similar quarter last year. It also recorded a higher attributable net income for the first nine months of the year at P355.21 million, against P58.16 million in the same period a year ago.

On Thursday, shares of AgriNurture in the stock exchange rose 2.81% or 23 centavos to close at P8.41 per piece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

MPIC finance chief Nicol to leave post by month’s end; replacement named

DAVID J. NICOL, chief financial officer of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), is leaving his post by the end of the month.

The company told the exchange on Thursday its board of directors has accepted Mr. Nicol’s decision to retire effective Nov. 30. He will remain an advisor to the board for the next 12 months for transition.

As replacement, the board elected June Cheryl A. Cabal-Revilla as chief financial officer, chief sustainability officer and board member beginning Dec. 1.

Ms. Cabal-Revilla is currently chief sustainability officer, senior vice-president and group controller at the PLDT Group and chief finance officer of Smart Communications, Inc.

Prior to his retirement, Mr. Nicol was also executive vice-president and director at MPIC.

“Mr. Nicol does not have any disagreement with the board of directors of MPIC, and there are no matters relating to his retirement that need to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of MPIC,” the company noted.

Mr. Nicol first crossed paths with MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan in 1991 through First Pacific Co. Ltd. Mr. Pangilinan is the managing director and chief executive officer of the Hong Kong-based firm. Mr. Nicol joined MPIC in 2002.

MPIC is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of First Pacific, the others being PLDT Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group. — Denise A. Valdez

Price of K-pop love? An average of P68,000

Fans are willing to shell out big money on their idols

By Zsarlene B. Chua, Senior Reporter

IT’S no question that K-pop — Korean popular music — has carved out a big chunk of the music world for itself and the resulting “fandoms” have evolved from being just fans clubs to actual forces of nature that can troll and derail a political rally and the social media of US President Donald Trump. And these K-pop fans spend — and spend a lot — for their favored groups. A recent study by Southeast Asian e-commerce aggregator iPrice noted that fans of the group BTS (the fandom is called Army), can, on average, spend upwards of P68,000 ($1,422) on merchandise, concert tickets, and albums.

“It’s a huge number, but that person has collected at least 15 studio albums/EPs and attended five concerts aside from having numerous merch,” iPrice said in the study released on its website on Nov. 25. BTS fans spend much of their money on both merchandise ($545) and concerts ($541).

The study mapped the buying behaviors of the fans (presumably Southeast Asian based on the methodology) of three different K-pop groups — Twice, BlackPink, and BTS — by adding the “the average price of each category in iPrice’s database of hundreds of merchants and billions of products,” according to the study.

The study is also based on standalone online concerts and concert tours in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong and excludes music festivals, joint tours, or performances in awards ceremonies.

Fans of girl group Twice — the fandom is called Once — spend an average of $824, with the bulk going towards concerts at $446. Fans of girl group BlackPink (called Blinks) spend an average of $665, with the bulk of it — $349 — going to merchandise, which can be attributed to the fact that the group has fewer EPs and albums than Twice, which has about 20 albums and EPs, or BTS which has 16 albums and EPs. BlackPink, in comparison, has just two full-length albums, three EPs, and three live albums to its name.

According to the statistics portal Statista, “All in all, the South Korean music industry had a sales revenue of around 6.1 trillion South Korean won — and an export value of about $562.24 million.”

A MILLION PESOS
These numbers may come as a surprise to many, but seasoned K-pop fans have spent much more for their idols.

A Super Junior fan of 13 years told BusinessWorld that she thinks Elfs, as the fans call themselves, may spend more than $1,000 for their group. She herself has spent over a million pesos on her collection.

“I like collecting photocards and going to concerts… it reminds me of my memories with them,” the fan, who goes by the name Leny Magisj (she declined to use her real name), told BusinessWorld on Nov. 25 over the phone.

“I was there at their lowest and saw them at their highest,” she said of the group.

Super Junior is the 15-year-old group behind the 2009 hit “Sorry Sorry” which has a pretty solid fanbase in Southeast Asia, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Latin America, among others.

Leny said that since many Super Junior fans are adults and are working, they may have more buying power despite the K-pop group’s having a smaller fan base than those of BTS, BlackPink, or Twice. She noted, for example, that since mid-October, she spent P40,000 on merchandise alone.

She also has all 10 versions of the album cover of the group’s most recent release, Time_Slip — each member got a solo cover plus there is a cover with the group shot — which costs $21 per album in Korea. She also bought some extra copies of the album with her favorite members on the cover. She bought them when she went to South Korea. (It is important to note that Super Junior is a very prolific group, having released more than 100 albums over the last 15 years via the main group and its sub-units.)

Aside from collecting photocards, she also spends money going to Super Junior concerts in South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.

Another K-pop fan said that she spends P25,000 per concert or event including airfare and tickets but excluding hotel fees. She is currently a fan of Super Junior, Day6, CNBlue, and BTS.

“Last year, I travelled thrice to watch concerts/fan meetings abroad,” she said.

Still another K-pop fan, this time of the boy groups SF9, EXO, Shinhwa, and Big Bang (she has been a K-pop fan since 1999), told BusinessWorld via Instagram that she “probably spent more than [P68,000] last year for concerts.”

“And I’m a ‘conservative’ spender,” said Sarah (not her real name), adding that it’s the combined spending for her and her daughter who’s also a member of the fandoms.

She figured that people who are not “conservative” spenders spend “probably close to a million pesos or more.” And because she’s conservative, she only buys one album version per comeback of their group.

“My most expensive purchase was a photobook worth almost P3,000 (SF9’s L’Amitie photobook released in July 2020),” she said, before thinking it over and adding that she also bought two Armani Lipsticks ($38) because of GOT7 member Jackson Wang who is currently the face of Armani Beauty.

Do note that spending for their idols, especially for the most devoted K-pop fans, doesn’t stop at buying albums, merchandise, or going to concerts. It may also include paying for billboards to promote the group’s new project or, as in the case of Super Junior which celebrated its 15th anniversary on Nov. 6, a celebratory message delivered via satellite and displayed over the skies of Shanghai, China reading, “SJ 15th Anniv Walk Together,” the theme of the anniversary celebration. (View the satellite message here)

Chevron Philippines names Billy Liu country chairman, general manager

CHEVRON Philippines, Inc. has appointed petroleum industry expert Billy Liu as the firm’s new country chairman and general manager to lead its downstream business, the company said on Thursday.

Mr. Liu is currently managing the marketing of transportation fuels, finished lubricants, and coolants for commercial and retail sales under Chevron’s international fuels and lubricants segment.

“I am truly delighted to be at the helm of Chevron’s business in the country… We will continue to drive our long-lived mission of supplying fuels and lubricants to meet the nation’s fuel and economic demands, while upholding our social responsibilities,” Mr. Liu said in a statement.

He expressed optimism that retail sites of the Caltex brand, primarily marketed by Chevron, will grow by the end of the year.

“This year, Caltex has so far opened 21 retail sites, a figure that is still expected to increase before 2020 ends,” he said.

Mr. Liu has succeeded Louie Zhang who recently retired from the company after 31 years of service. — Angelica Y. Yang

BSP policy stance to stay accommodative

THE CENTRAL BANK has room to remain accommodative if there is further need to support the economy towards recovery, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila, Jr. said.

“For the foreseeable future, while there’s this impact of the pandemic that’s dampening of economic activity, then you can expect that the policy stance will remain accommodative over the near-term. There’s a lot of available policy space should there be the need to act,” Mr. Dakila said at the BusinessWorld Virtual Economic Forum on Thursday.

The official said the country entered the crisis in a “position of strength” and “nowhere close to the zero lower bound,” giving it ample space to respond when the need came.

So far, the BSP has already slashed benchmark interest rates by 200 basis points (bps) this year to provide economic stimulus during the pandemic, with the latest 25-bp cut fired off last week. This brought down rates on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase, lending, and deposit facilities to record lows of 2%, 2.5%, and 1.5%, respectively.

Mr. Dakila said rate cuts act as an additional “impetus” for the market, but he noted that the  virus will continue to affect investor confidence.

He said following the central bank’s easing, average bank lending rates slipped to 8.37% in June from 8.5% in March.

Despite this, credit growth stood eased to 2.8% in September, the slowest pace since the 2.4% in June 2007, as lenders tightened their credit standards while borrowers’ confidence remained low.

“Once that confidence builds in, then we can expect economic activity to pick up,” Mr. Dakila said.

Moving forward, Mr. Dakila said BSP’s policy actions will remain data-dependent.

“The [Monetary] Board looks first and foremost at the inflation outlook — whether there’s any threat to the attainment of our inflation outlook over the policy horizon,” he said, but noted inflation is “not really a major concern at this stage.”

Headline inflation stood at 2.5% in October, quicker than the 2.3% logged in the previous month but still within the 2-4% target of the central bank.

The BSP last week revised its inflation forecast for this year to 2.4% from 2.3% previously. For 2021 and 2022, the central bank expects slightly lower average inflation of 2.7% (from 2.8%) and 2.9% (from 3%), respectively.

Mr. Dakila added they can still accommodate another cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR). For this year thus far, the BSP has slashed the RRR of big banks by 200 bps to 12% while reserve ratios of thrift and rural banks were cut by 100 bps to three percent and two percent, respectively.

“It (further RRR cuts) will not necessarily be because of the pandemic, I think, but as the BSP governor had said, he wants to lower the reserve requirements to single-digit levels by the end of his term. So, this is part of a structural reform program where you want to shift away from the instruments such as the reserve requirements to more market-based instruments for the conduct of monetary policy,” Mr. Dakila said. — L.W.T. Noble

October BoP surplus biggest in nearly a decade

THE COUNTRY’S balance of payments (BoP) surplus reached its highest in nearly a decade in October, supported by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) income from foreign investments and foreign exchange operations.

The BSP reported on Thursday that the country posted a BoP surplus of $3.44 billion last month, surging from the $163 million logged a year ago and also 63% bigger than the $2.104-billion surfeit seen in September.

This is the biggest monthly surplus since the $3.95 billion recorded in November 2010.

The BoP portrays the country’s economic transactions with the rest of the world within a given period.

Year to date, the country’s BoP position was at a surplus of $10.31 billion, 80% higher than the $5.73-billion surfeit in the first 10 months of 2019.

The BSP expects a BoP surplus of $8.1 billion by year-end which is equivalent to 0.6% of gross domestic product.

Contributing to the October surplus were the BSP’s income from investments abroad, inflows from its foreign exchange operations and foreign currency deposits of the national government held with the central bank, it said in a statement.

These were slightly offset by payments made by the government for foreign debt obligations.

Improvements in foreign direct investments (FDI), foreign portfolio investments, and cash remittances also supported the October surplus, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said on Thursday.

“We have also received quite a number of foreign aid to help us recover from the pandemic and the successive natural calamities that happened,” Asian Institute of Management economist John Paolo R. Rivera said in an email.

Hot money posted a net inflow of $439.46 million in October, surging by 320% from the $104.53 million last year and a reversal of the net outflows worth $493.65 million in September. Meanwhile, net FDI inflows climbed 46.9% to  $637 million in August.

Cash remittances also rose 9.3% to $2.601 billion in September from the $2.379 billion seen a year ago.

The BoP position in October also reflects a final gross international reserves (GIR) level of $103.8 billion, increasing by 3.35% from the $100.44 billion seen as of end-September and by 20% from the $85.834 billion recorded a year ago.

“The latest GIR represents a more than adequate external liquidity buffer. This is equivalent to 10.3 months worth of import of goods and payments of services and primary income,” the central bank said.

A BoP surplus may not necessarily be ideal in the long run as we become dependent on export-driven growth, Mr. Rivera said.

“A surplus is good if it’s driven by an increase in exports because it will lead to a stronger economy as consumption spending will increase. But it is not good if the surplus was due to decline in imports, which is indicative of a weak economic growth,” he said.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed September exports grew 2.2% to $6.22 billion, the first month of expansion since February. Meanwhile, imports declined by 16.5% to $7.92 billion. This brought the September trade deficit at $1.71 billion, smaller than the $3.41-billion gap in the same month of 2019. — L.W.T. Noble

Full MMFF lineup includes films from canceled summer festival

THE 10 official full-length films that will be featured in the wholly digital version of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) have been named and will include the typical mix of fantasy, comedy, romance, and drama that the festival is known, as well as some of the official entries of the canceled Summer MMFF.

“This year is not like the other years because of the pandemic… but it’s not enough reason not to hold the MMFF,” Danilo Lim, chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) which organizes the MMFF, said in the vernacular in a Nov. 24 digital press conference.

“Christmas won’t be complete without the Metropolitan Manila Film Festival. The festival has long been part of the tradition: a time where families get together, watch, and enjoy,” he said of the importance of the festival.

And thus the move to digital using the Filipino streaming service Upstream and GMovies, both of which have also been used by another local film festival, the Quezon City International Film Festival or QCinema.

Earlier in the year, the film festival named the first four entries based script submissions, but because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quarantine protocols in place which made it very difficult to produce films in a pandemic, three of those first entries had to back out: Ang Mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan, Praybeyt Benjamin 3, and The Exorcism of My Siszums.

Only fantasy film Magikland, directed by Christian Acuna and produced by Lore Reyes and the late Peque Gallaga, managed to finish production. The film, which took three years to make according to Mr. Reyes in the press conference, is meant to complete the film cycle which is made up of the two other fantasy films created by Mr. Gallaga and Mr. Reyes — Magic Temple (1996) and Magic Kingdom (1997).

“Bringing this film to life will hopefully be direk Peque’s legacy,” Mr. Acuna said in the same press conference.

Four official film entries from the canceled Summer MMFF — it was supposed to be held in April — made the cut and are now part of the Christmas MMFF. These are the family drama Coming Home by Adolfo Alix, Jr., about a sick OFW who comes home to his estranged family; an LGBT-themed drama, Isa Pang Bahaghari by Joel Lamangan, about a man coming home to his family and enlisting the help of his gay best friend so his family will accept him; horror film The Missing by Easy Ferrer, about a renovation gone wrong set in Saga, Japan; and a romantic drama, Tagpuan by McArthur Alejandre, about a the love story of an estranged husband and wife.

The Missing, according to Mr. Ferrer, presents a “different way of showing horror films” as it combines Filipino horror stereotypes with Japanese horror elements like those found in Ring (1998) and Ju-on: The Grudge (2002).

Noel Ferrer, the MMFF spokesperson, clarified that the films which were carried over from the Summer MMFF were not intended to replace the films that backed out and that the films were re-evaluated using the following criteria: artistic excellence (40%), commercial appeal (40%), Filipino cultural sensibility (10%), and global appeal (10%).

The other entries in the festival are: the biopic film Suarez: the Healing Priest about the life of Fr. Fernando Suarez, directed by Joven Tan; the comedy Mang Kepweng: Ang Lihim ng Bandanang Itim by Topel Lee, a follow-up to the 2017 film Mang Kepweng; another comedy, Pakboys Takusa by Al Tantay, featuring a gang of middle-aged playboys; Boys’ Love film The Boy Foretold by the Stars by Dolly Dulu, about a high school student falling in love with a classmate who recently got his heart broken; and the drama Fangirl by Antoinette Jadaone, about a young fan forming a relationship with her idol.

Fangirl was described by film critics as Ms. Jadaone’s bravest film to date as the film revolves around the theme: “Don’t meet your heroes,” and how fans typically idealize their idols.

The MMFF, the country’s largest film festival, is organized by the MMDA and runs from Dec. 25 until the first week of January. During this period, only Filipino films are screened in theaters nationwide. Recent grosses of the festival have amounted to P1 billion. — Zsarlene B. Chua

MRC Allied transforms into holding firm; structure stays

FORMER property development business MRC Allied, Inc. is now operating as a holding company, the firm said in a disclosure to the local bourse on Wednesday.

MRC Allied will now be “carrying on the business of a holding company for that purpose either in its name or in the name of any other corporation,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

It said that it would still “purchase or otherwise acquire and own, hold, use, develop, subdivide, manage, operate, lease, lease out, sell assign, transfer, mortgage, pledge, exchange otherwise dispose of real property and personal property or business of every kind and description.”

These were included as amendments in its articles of incorporation.

The firm also added additional provisions on secondary purposes, such as acting as a guarantor or co-obligor of any person, corporation or entities that it may have direct or indirect interest in, and borrowing or raising money by issuing bonds, among others.

“MRC will continue its usual business. It will continue its usual business operations and no change in its capital structure,” MRC Allied said.

Since it has become a holding company, an additional company might be added as its subsidiary in the future, it added.

MRC Allied’s wholly-owned units include Menlo Renewable Energy Corp., MRC Tampakan Mining Corp., MRC Surigao Mines, Inc., and Makrubber Corp.

Shares in MRC Allied on Thursday decreased by 3.57% to finish at P0.54 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang

Security Bank sees PHL GDP contracting by 9.9%

SECURITY BANK Corp. sees the economy shrinking by 9.9% this year due to slower business activity and with a vaccine against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still under development.

“Uptick and renewed lockdowns worldwide provide downside risks. We do expect some additional activity to pick up in the next quarter,” Security Bank Executive Vice President and Treasurer Raul Martin A. Pedro said during the bank’s economic forum on Thursday.

“Heading to the fourth quarter, it will be better but not significantly better. If we look at nominal levels of economic activity, we would be hovering around P4.1-4.3 trillion in terms of GDP (gross domestic product),” he added.

The bank’s new forecast is worse than its projection of a 7.7% contraction in September. The government expects the economy to shrink by 4.5%-6.6% this year.

The Philippine economy remained in recession as GDP declined by 11.5% in the third quarter, a reversal of the 6.3% expansion recorded in the same quarter last year but easing from the record 16.9% plunge in the previous three-month period. This brought the year-to-date average to a contraction of 10%.

Security Bank said it expects the government to spend more efficiently to further accelerate business activity amid the pandemic.

“Fiscal support and improved mobility is imperative to support growth recovery. But the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) is left to do heavy lifting,” the bank said.

The BSP has fired off several stimulus measures to help boost the economy. Last week, the Monetary Board trimmed the rates on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase, lending, and deposit facilities by another 25 basis points (bps) to 2%, 2.5%, and 1.5%, respectively. This brought cumulative cuts for the year to 200 bps.

Meanwhile, the government has provided a fiscal boost by way of two economic stimulus laws to aid businesses and sectors hit by the pandemic: Republic Act (RA) No. 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and RA 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan II).

However, Security Bank said these have been insufficient in stoking economic activity as most businesses are only recouping the losses they sustained in the past month.

“Bayanihan II per se has no additional impact because it only applies to current loans. Therefore, it has not changed the equation for the banks,” Mr. Pedro said.

“In a growing economy, you would expect that it will be importing a lot for capital expenditure and the result of that should be a weaker currency,” he added.

He said household spending and manufacturing will likely only start rebounding in the first half of 2021.

“A good part of our economy has been affected by the pandemic. It clearly changed our approach trying to reduce exposures to highly affected industries. We became a little stricter on our standards but the mentality towards MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) has not changed. Once the economy normalizes, it is an area we want to be heavily involved again,” Mr. Pedro said.

The bank expects Philippine GDP to return to growth by 2022, forecasting a 6% expansion for that year. — KKTJ

Comedy tonight: Red Ollero cracks jokes for a good cause

IT’S hard to ignore Red Ollero. He stands a little over six feet tall and possesses a certain stature. He has appeared in movies, produces and writes for Comedy Manila and Solid OK, and he opened for the sold-out Mall of Asia Arena show of Filipino-American comedian Jo Koy. That show had an audience of thousands, a fact one can’t ignore, because he reminds you of it in the first few minutes of his special, Red Ollero Live at the Paper Lantern.

Mr. Ollero is streaming his 37-minute special, which was shot at a Solid OK open mic just a few days before the March lockdown. Tickets for the stream can be bought via Ticket2Me.net, on a pay-what-you-want basis (P100 to P1,000), and all proceeds go towards a cause that’s ignominious to ignore: the charity efforts of Tulong Kabataan for victims of recent typhoons Rolly and Ulysses. As of the time of writing, Mr. Ollero has already raised P30,000.

BusinessWorld was able to obtain a review copy of that show, and the jokes jump from his own large figure, buffets, the gym, the church, and all the people in them. A special highlight (for this reporter, at least) was his ability to sustain a chain of dick jokes for three whole minutes. I’m not joking (but he was). Frankly, the whole sequence left me pumping my fist, and the sheer feat of saying dick joke after dick joke for that measure of time is something to be applauded (depending on your taste, of course).

Of course it’s rude, and sometimes it could be rude. The jokes elicit laughs that aren’t quite ladylike. Your face would crumple at a full-on grimace (I noted this at a joke about communion wafers). This would certainly be a hit for irreverent 20 to 40-somethings, but anybody older might be wont to clutch their pearls (well, depending on how liberally they were raised). As he said himself during the special, “Buti napaka-open minded niyo; mga putangina niyo (It’s good that all of you are so open-minded, you sons of bitches).”

He delivers like your eloquent friend with a high tolerance for alcohol with hours of time on his hands. You can jump into the special at any time, and it will feel like you’ve walked in on an inuman (drinking session), and you’re sorry to be late. His observations are also quite deft (I again would like to point out his observations on communion wafers); not cheap shots at low-hanging fruit. He’s also aided with a physical aspect, thanks to a highly expressive face.

“As a child, I really enjoyed reading Pugad Baboy and listening to the albums of Rex Navarrete. I learned how our culture can be funny,” said Mr. Ollero in an interview with BusinessWorld. “I grew up and I would consume more content from the internet like Homestar Runner and Penny-Arcade, and they would do funny stuff I haven’t seen or heard before. [That] taught me how to look at something very differently from others. Finally, comedians like Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr taught me to not be afraid to speak my mind.” He has been performing, starting out as a teen, since 2007. Asked if he had always been funny, he said, “Maybe? I was voted ‘Most Cheerful’ in grade school.”

It’s easy to see what an audience gets from a show: the laughter, of course, but then one will also see another point of view of how the world works for other people. “Their laughter is the most desired response for a comedian. That’s all we really look for, that’s the primary purpose of my stand-up,” he said.

“The best comedy [comes from] things you don’t expect. That’s why I like taking mundane daily things that just happen and find the funny in them. The buffet joke came from real experiences, and I just exaggerated it for comedic effect. These are just things people say and I just took that logic and blew it up,” he said about his observations.

As one of this country’s most well-known acts, of course he’d know what this country might need for a more robust comedy industry. “We need more comedians, like a lot of really good ones. The more we are, the more shows we can do, the more people are going to know about us.”

Lockdown Laughs

RED Ollero isn’t quite alone. Here is a list of comedy offerings by members of Comedy Manila, presented in podcast formats since the lockdown.

KoolPals (on Spotify) – Comedy trio GB Labrador, James Caraan, and Nonong Ballinan say on their Facebook page, “Ang KoolPals ay isang podcast tungkol sa kahit ano. At kahit ano, kaya naming gawing nakakatawa! (KoolPals is a podcast about anything; and we make anything funny).” A vague proposition, but one that has made it a No. 1 trending podcast on Spotify (at least on Nov. 24).

Nagmamarunong (on Spotify and Facebook Live) – Another podcast in trio format, comedians Micah Andres (he usually starts the show riled up by the news), Andren Bernardo (the self-proclaimed “face that runs the place”), and Michael Saddi (who has a son) talk about whatever pops into their heads, and then argue about it.

The Kids are Asleep (Facebook Live) – Three dads: Jeps Gallon, Michael Saddi (from Nagmamarunong), and Jethro Trogo talk about raising their kids, the stock market, and other sundry, but they make it funny.

The Class Clown with Chino Liao (Spotify) – Mr. Liao has a wide variety of guests on his podcast, so while laughing you’ll also learn a lot from members of several industries: from sneakers to science.

Pusong Pinoy, Pusong Hapon (Facebook Live) – Comedians Israel Buenaobra and Yuri Horikoshi teach each other the rudiments of living in Manila and Japan (Mr. Horikoshi has been living in this city since 2016), while peppering it with dick jokes. Mr. Buenaobra also holds open mic nights every Friday for aspiring comedians.

Some of these acts will be performing for Comedy Manila’s upcoming Nov. 28 show, Feature Perfect, at 8:30 p.m., via Zoom. Tickets are available via Ticket2Me.Net for P300. Performers include Winer Aguilar, Micah Andres, Andren Bernardo, Ramon Cabochan, Jeps Gallon, Derf Hebrado, Roger Naldo, and Alexio Tabafunda.  —  JLG

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