A SWEDISH national whose name is included in an international list of suspected terrorists was denied entry into the country, the Bureau of Immigration reported on Thursday. His three companions on a flight from Singapore were also barred from entering through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last February 5. Grifton SP. Medina, the BI’s port operations division chief, said the passengers were booked on the first flight back to their port of origin. The alleged terrorist’s identity was not disclosed for security reasons, Mr. Medina said. “He is just one of thousands of international terrorists whose names were included in the shared database containing information supplied by the various law enforcement and intelligence agencies here and abroad,” he said. State agents said the four were of Iraqi descent from Iraq’s Kurdistan region. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
Retired Justice Buena, 87
THE RETIRED supreme Court Associate Justice Arturo B. Buena passed away at the age of 87 on February 13 due to a “lingering illness,” the court announced. Mr. Buena was appointed to the high court on January 5, 1999, and served until his retirement on March 25, 2002. Prior to this, he was an associate justice at the Court of Appeals starting in 1986. He started his work in government in 1956, two year after passing the 1954 Bar exams, as liaison officer in the Office of the Speaker at the House of Representatives and as legal and technical assistant at the Senate Electoral Tribunal. He was also an assistant to former Justice Jose P. Bengzon in the turnover of supervision of the lower courts to the high tribunal. He also worked as acting deputy court administrator, deputy court administrator, and acting court administrator before his appointment to the appellate court. A native of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, Mr. Buena earned his pre-law and law degrees at the University of Santo Tomas, where he also taught law. One of the SC rulings he penned was the October 2000 decision dismissing the petitions filed against the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States. —Vann Marlo M. Villegas
Retired cops with drug trade links can still face criminal charges
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL Police (PNP) Chief Archie Francisco F. Gambo said on Thursday that cops who will take the offered early retirement option amid an investigation on illegal drug trade links can still face criminal charges after they leave the service. “Kapag nag (If you take the) optional retirement kayo hindi ibig sabihin na (it does not mean that you are) off the hook,” he told reporters in Camp Crame. By availing of the optional retirement, Mr. Gamboa said the police officers are still entitled to their benefits, but they could still be charged criminally if there is evidence against them. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo, in a briefing at the Palace, made a similar statement saying, “Giving them the retirement option doesn’t mean that they will not be prosecuted if there’s evidence they’ve been involved.” Mr. Gamboa also appealed to the media to refrain from focusing on naming the prominent personalities among the 357 cops under investigation, saying all of them are entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Of the total, 15 officers have taken early retirement while 43 are marked AWOL, or absent without leave, after they skipped a drug test ordered by the police chief. —Emmanuel Tupas, PHILSTARandGillian M. Cortez
Agri chief calls on private sector veterinarians to help battle ASF spread
AGRICULTURE SECRETARY William D. Dar called on veterinarians in private practice to volunteer their services in the government’s program to stop the spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF) that is threatening the country’s P400-billion hog industry. “This is the time to unite and be part of a national movement to eradicate the African Swine Fever,” Mr. Dar said during the International Farmers Summit held February 12 in Pasay City. He said private sector veterinarian can team up with the Department of Agriculture’s ASF Crisis Management Task Force for monitoring and surveillance, information dissemination, and planning on how to manage, contain, and control the deadly disease. The first ASF outbreak in Rodriguez, Rizal was confirmed in August 2019, and later spread in various parts of Luzon. Most of the cases have been addressed, except in some towns in Pangasinan where infected swines were reported in January. A new outbreak, this time in different parts of the Davao Region in Mindanao, is currently being managed.
THE MEASURE lowering the corporate income tax and streamlining fiscal incentives is not likely to hurdle the Senate before the March 13 adjournment, according to the Senate president, even as the Executive branch pressed the chamber for prompt action on the key tax reform.
“Malabo ’yung CITIRA (Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act) at PIFITA (Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act),” Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said in a radio interview aired on Thursday.
Mr. Sotto said Senator Juliana Pilar S. Cayetano, chair of the Ways and Means committee, discussed the tax reform measures during a Senate caucus.
“Sinasabi niya sa amin ’yung mga intricacies, medyo maraming questions (She told us the intricacies, there are many questions),” he said.
Mr. Sotto said the Senate leadership is scheduled to meet with the Executive department on Monday evening (Feb. 17), and later with Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III on Wednesday (Feb. 19).
“Siguro matatalakay din namin ‘yan (Maybe we can also tackle this),” he added.
The Department of Finance (DoF) recently came out with a newspaper advertisement that quoted President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on July 22, 2019, in an apparent public plea to the Senate.
“I implore Congress to immediately pass Package 2 of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, which will gradually lower corporate income taxes, and improve fiscal incentives,” the ad, which was published in the Feb. 11 issue of The Philippine Star, read in part.
Sought for comment, Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II explained the newspaper ad forms part of its information drive.
“We are doing all we can to support our legislative champions. This includes various forms of engagement — media interviews, explainers, briefers, speaking at public events, face-to-face meetings. We also provide legislators and their staff data and analysis on our tax reform packages upon request,” Mr. Lambino said in a phone message, Wednesday.
The Senate version of the measure is still being finalized by the committee; while its counterpart, House Bill No. 4157 was approved on Sept. 13, 2019.
Ms. Cayetano on Wednesday said she is close to sponsoring the measure in the plenary, but no timeline was given.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said he expects the CITIRA to be passed into law by March.
The government is hoping the CITIRA will spur more foreign investments in the country, as it proposes to cut corporate income tax to 20% from the current 30%.
However, the uncertainty over the bill’s provisions on tax incentives has been identified as one of the reasons for slowing foreign investments.
Foreign direct investments fell by 29.9% to $6.413 billion in the January to November period last year. Data provided by Philippine Economic Zone Authority showed that approved investments in 2019 dropped 16.19% to P117.54 billion, from P140.24 billion in 2018.
The Senate panel is also currently deliberating on the proposed PIFITA, in an attempt to meet the Finance Department’s year-end target for its passage.
Mr. Duterte has a history of threatening the Senate for not prioritizing his legislative agenda. At his SoNA in July 2017, he singled out Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, then the Ways and Means committee chair, for signaling that they will not pass the version of the second tax reform package as proposed by the DoF.
“I call on the Senate to support my tax reform in full and to pass it without haste,” Mr. Duterte said at that time. “Si Angara ayaw rin mag-clap. Bantay ka lang sa election, tingnan mo (Angara does not want to clap. Wait for the election, you will see).”
Lawmakers have become reluctant to support tax measures, drawing from the experience of incumbent Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto, who lost his 2007 senatorial bid over the increase of value-added tax to 12% from 10%.
Aside from the CITIRA and PIFITA, other pending reform measures are the proposal to provide a uniform framework for real property valuation and assessment; and the bill increasing government’s share from mining revenues. — Charmaine A. TadalanandBeatrice M. Laforga
JENNY, a 31-year-old Filipina who works as a cook in South Korea, canceled a plan to visit relatives in Cotabato City this summer amid a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak that has killed more than a thousand people and sickened tens of thousands more in China.
“I have to be confined at the Seoul National University Hospital for two weeks when I return to ensure I don’t have the virus,” she said via Facebook Messenger chat. “I don’t want to go through that hassle.”
Tourists not just from China and its administrative regions, but from all over the world have canceled their trips to the Philippines because of the virus scare, according to Jose C. Clemente III, president of the association of local travel agencies.
About 10% of his company’s two million bookings outside China as of Feb. 3 had been scrapped, he said by telephone.
Still, he thinks it could have been worse. “Cancellations from other markets, especially the Western markets have not been as much as we had anticipated,” said Mr. Clemente, who is also president of Rajah Tours Philippines, Inc.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima T. Romulo-Puyat has said the industry could lose P42.9 billion from February to April — P16.8 billion this month, P14.11 billion in March and P11.98 billion in April.
Roberto Lim, executive director and vice-chairman of the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (ACAP) said they expect to lose about P3 billion from ticket refunds in the next two months after the Philippine travel ban on China and its administrative regions.
The Philippines has three confirmed cases of COVID-19, including one death, all involving Chinese nationals. More than 400 people have been checked for infection, more than half of whom had been confined, according to health authorities.
The government wants Filipinos to visit local spots in the face of an international tourism decline because of the outbreak.
LOW RATES
No less than President Rodrigo R. Duterte is joining the domestic travel campaign by visiting Boracay, Cebu, and Bohol.
Travel operators are trying to entice the market with lower rates for local destinations, while hotels and restaurants have cut rates by up to 50%, according to the Tourism department. Airlines will also offer lower fares.
The Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) said as much as 40% of Boracay flights were canceled since the Philippine travel ban on China, Macau, and Hong Kong was imposed early this month.
Marites Lopez, a 32-year-old entrepreneur from Sultan Kudarat who accepts online travel bookings through the Unified app, said she had only one client this year — a Filipino worker from Saudi Arabia.
Travel inquiries from Singapore and Taiwan did not materialize, she said via Facebook Messenger chat.
“It’s very difficult because the situation is very alarming especially with talks that the new coronavirus is airborne,” she said. “I have lost a lot of sales because of that.”
The Health department has said there is no evidence yet that the virus could be transmitted through the air, citing the World Health Organization.
Mr. Clemente said the industry should find ways to attract foreign visitors amid the coronavirus scare.
“We will definitely continue marketing to our tourism markets and we will do our best to offer more palatable rates,” he said.
“We will continue imposing the guidelines and other health procedures imposed by the Department of Health, Department of Transportation and all other agencies,” he added.
Foreign arrivals reached 7.4 million in the 11 months to November last year, 15% higher than a year earlier, according to data from the Tourism department.
The agency said last month it targets to attract 9.2 million international visitor arrivals this year.
“We may have to revisit that figure, depending on how long this situation persists,” Mr. Clemente said.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles cited the need for a “catch-up plan” to meet tourism targets instead of revising these now. “It’s too early to reassess the situation. Reassessment will probably happen after the second quarter.”
Aside from Western tourists staying away from Asian destinations including the Philippines, some local travelers have also canceled their trips overseas.
“Filipinos planning to travel abroad have expressed concerns about their travel plans and some of them have already cancelled or rebooked their flights,” Charo Logarta-Lagamon, a spokesperson for budget carrier Cebu Pacific, said by telephone.
“We are hoping that we could damp down the effects of the coronavirus outbreak,” Mr. Clemente said. “We hope a vaccine will be found soon.”
Lauren Glover, a British English teacher in her late 30s who plans to visit the Philippines, is keeping an eye on the situation in the country.
“If the Philippines gets more confirmed cases, I will definitely not be going there anytime soon,” she said in a chat message.
THE spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could delay the recovery of the country’s economic growth this year as it could impact drivers like remittances, consumption and tourism, according to ANZ Research.
Still, growth is expected to remain on track, with the government and the central bank expected to support the economy with fiscal and monetary stimulus.
In a report released on Thursday, the research arm of ANZ Bank said the COVID-19 outbreak is a “key downside risk” to the Philippine economy.
“A hit to Q1 GDP (gross domestic product) growth looks likely, but further out, the impact on full-year growth will depend on how quickly the virus spread can be contained and how quickly infrastructure spending can be pressed into action,” ANZ Research said, adding the impact on full-year GDP is “unclear for now.”
The economy grew by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing the full-year 2019 figure to 5.9% in 2019, slower than 2018’s 6.2% and missing the downward-revised 6%-6.5% set by the government for that year.
The full-year reading was also the slowest in eight years, and also broke the economy’s seven-year streak of at least six percent growth.
ANZ Research said the outbreak could trim first-quarter growth by as much as 0.42 percentage point (ppt), which they forecast to be at 6.8%.
It, however, maintained its 2020 GDP growth forecast at 6.2% on the back of the assumption that COVID-19’s economic impact “should be relatively modest.”
The government is targeting 6.5% to 7.5% GDP growth this year.
“Recent high frequency indicators, such as credit and import growth, suggest that economic conditions are recovering, albeit at a modest pace,” ANZ Research said.
“In our base case scenario, we assumed that the bulk of the negative impact will occur in Q1 followed by a recovery in growth in H2, supported by both monetary and fiscal stimulus.”
UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc.’s Economic Research Unit (ERU), in a separate research note yesterday, for its part said annual GDP growth in 2020 could be stalled at 5.8% in the case the COVID-19 outbreak continue for about six months. ERU’s baseline 2020 growth forecast is at 6.6%.
CURRENT ACCOUNT
ANZ Research said slower economic activity in China and other affected countries will have spillover effects on the Philippines, particularly tourism, remittances and import demand, which could consequently affect the country’s current account.
ANZ said Mainland China accounted for just 0.1% of total remittances in the 11 months to November 2019, while remittances from Filipinos working in Hong Kong and Taiwan accounted for 2.6% and 2.0% respectively, bringing the cumulative number to 4.7%.
“It is also important to bear in mind that around a fifth of overseas Filipino workers are engaged in the shipping (passenger and cargo) industry, so any weakness in cruise travel or global trade…will have a negative impact.”
The report said a 50% drop in remittances from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan for three straight months, coupled with a 20% decline in inflows from the rest of Asia, could shave 0.11 ppt off first-quarter GDP. Meanwhile, an extended decline in these inflows for a year could trim as much as 0.51 ppt from full-year GDP growth.
Meanwhile, slower Chinese economic activity due to business closures and internal travel restrictions will likely dampen Chinese demand for imports, it said.
“The Philippines’ exposure to goods exports…to China is estimated to be around 1.6% of GDP… Thus, a 20% drop in import demand from China for three months will translate to a 0.08 ppt hit to Philippines’ Q1 GDP through this channel,” it added.
With Chinese exports to the Philippines also likely to take a hit amid factory shutdowns, local industrial production may also be affected negatively.
Still, ANZ Research said the Philippines may be “relatively less exposed” than its neighbors to trade disruptions due to the outbreak.
As for tourism, ANZ Research expects tourist arrivals from other countries, not just China, to slow amid contagion fears, with the suspension of flights to some countries most affected by the virus also preventing some Philippine overseas workers from returning to work.
A reduction in Chinese visitors, which was the country’s second biggest tourism market last year, is expected to affect GDP by between 0.20-0.56 ppt, depending on the extent of the outbreak and the decline in tourist arrivals.
ANZ Research, however, said lower oil prices will give the current account some buffer versus the expected negative economic impact of COVID-19.
“Although lower remittances from Asia and weaker tourism receipts will exert downward pressure on the current account, this could be offset by a reduction in the fuel import bill…” ANZ Research said.
“Much will depend on the pace of recovery in capital imports going forward. At present, despite the risk from the virus outbreak, we expect any deterioration in the current account deficit in 2020 to remain manageable.”
POLICY SUPPORT
“Broadly, while the virus outbreak may delay the expected [economic] recovery, we still expect it to come through, given the monetary and fiscal stimulus involved,” ANZ Research said.
It said the timely passage of the 2020 budget will support the economy’s recovery after growth slowed in the first two quarters of 2019 due to the delay in the enactment of that year’s spending plan.
“We expect government spending in the year to expand at a sustained pace underscoring an improvement in public construction investment… Furthermore, legislation passed late last year, allows any unused funds from 2019 (both for capital outlays and operating expenses) to be allocated in the current year — a provision for an extra boost if needed,” it said.
ANZ Research also noted that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) earlier this month cut its policy rates by 25 basis points (bps) “to solidify the improving growth trajectory and guard against downside risks from the outbreak.”
The rates on the BSP’s reverse repurchase, overnight lending and deposit facilities now stand at 3.75%, 4.25%, and 3.25%, respectively.
Both ANZ Research and UnionBank’s ERU expect another 25-bp cut from the BSP this year. However, “a higher-than-expected impact from the coronavirus may extend the easing cycle further,” ANZ Research said.
“With the difficulty of assessing the economic impact of the COVID-19 health scare to China and to the region, UnionBank’s ERU thinks that another 25 bps cut may be pushed earlier than expected,” ERU said.
BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno has said the central bank is looking to cut rates by another 25 bps by midyear even as risks to the economic outlook persist. — LWTN
THE ANTI-RED TAPE AUTHORITY (ARTA) signed its first agreement with a local government unit (LGU), partnering with Pasig City for the creation of a specialized unit to address bureaucratic red tape.
ARTA Director-General Jeremiah B. Belgica inked the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pasig City Mayor Victor “Vico” N. Sotto to establish the Anti-Red Tape Unit, ARTA said in a statement Thursday.
The unit would notify ARTA about the formulation, modification, and repeal of regulations. It would verify the accuracy of the city’s Citizen’s Charter and its compliance with the zero contact policy and prescribed processing time.
Citizen’s charters detail each government agency’s checklist of requirements and procedures for its applications and request processes. ARTA last year set a December deadline for agencies to submit their respective charters.
“With the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, we’re confident that Pasig will become much better in removing red tape in the coming years… [And through] this partnership, we will be able to help each other make Pasig business-friendly and make our systems and processes more efficient sa tulong po ng bawat isang nasa kwartong ito (with the help of everyone in this room,” Mr. Sotto was quoted as saying in the statement.
The MoU details the support to strengthen the implementation of the Ease of Doing Business law in Pasig from the UPPAF (University of the Philippines Public Administration Research and Extension Services Foundation, Inc.) Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development (RESPOND) Project and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines.
The Ease of Doing Business law or RA 9485 was passed in 2018 to improve efficiency in government services.
The Philippines improved its ranking in the World Bank’s 2020 Doing Business report to 95th from 124th a year earlier, but was still seventh among the 10 Southeast Asian nations measured.
ARTA is also set to assist Pasig City in assessing their business one-stop shop and in activating its local board assessment appeals, which hears appeals on property assessments.
The authority also presented their programs on a regulatory reform team, one-stop shops for construction permits and property registration, and regulatory impact assessment training, among others. — J.P.Ibañez
SOUTH KOREA’S status as a cultural juggernaut just got a serious shot of international credibility.
Parasite, a dark comedy about the divisions of wealth and class, became the first foreign-language film in history to win the coveted Oscar for best picture. The movie — made for $11 million by Seoul-based Barunson Entertainment & Arts Corp. — beat out Hollywood competitors made for nine times as much.
The win, which ignited celebrations online in South Korea, could mark a watershed moment for its entertainment industry that’s become a key form of soft power for the Asian nation with the explosion of K-Pop and Korean soap operas. Cultural exports are also becoming more vital to South Korea’s economy, which is pivoting away from the manufacturing-focused industries that helped it emerge from the ruins of the Korean War.
Parasite has so far grossed $165 million at the box office, a number that’s likely to jump after the movie’s surprise victory, which will likely lead to a re-release in the US where its theatrical run is already almost over. In 2017, winning best-picture prize bolstered the commercial prospects of the American coming-of-age drama Moonlight, which made about $65 million on a similarly modest production budget of about $4 million.
The past decade has seen an evolution in South Korea’s status as an entertainment powerhouse, with the world’s most popular boy band, BTS, driving a global embrace of the K-Pop music genre. The country’s television industry is responsible for a wave of romantic dramas that have achieved cult status throughout Asia, particularly in the hard-to-crack, but immense Chinese market. The success of Baby Shark, a viral YouTube hit targeted at children that spawned a merchandise empire, also showed South Korea’s growing foothold in online content.
PRESIDENTIAL PRIDE
Smaller in scale, the South Korean film industry still brought in about $2 billion in 2018, according to the latest available data from Korea Creative Content Agency — a body linked to the nation’s culture ministry.
South Korea erupted in collective celebration at the news of Parasite winning the Oscar, with messages of congratulations and joy trending on social media platforms such as Twitter. The country’s president, Moon Jae-in, tweeted his pride at the film’s success. Shares of Barunson Entertainment surged as much as 17% Tuesday in Seoul, extending their 19% rally the previous day. The stock of the chief investor and marketer of the film, CJ ENM Co., rose as much as 4.3% on Tuesday.
“This will become a turning point for Korean movies to grow globally,” said Kim Young-ho, spokesman for the Korean Film Council. “It’s the most splendid achievement.”
Parasite tells the story of a family of unemployed people that entrenches itself in the life of a wealthy clan to gain access to things they can’t afford. A foreign film winning the best-picture prize marks a break from tradition at a time when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, is under fire for failing to diversify its ranks and the recipients of its awards.
Parasite beat competitors such as Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood, which had a budget of about $95 million and 1917, the favorite to win the award, which cost a similar amount to make.
Besides best picture, Parasite took home several other top prizes, including for best director, best international feature film and best original screenplay.
“This is definitely an event that will raise global attention on Korean content, expanding the boundary into movies — not only TV drama or K-Pop,” said Sang-Woung Han, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities.
Industry executives partly credited Miky Lee, vice-chairman of CJ Group — South Korea’s largest purveyor of TV programs and movies as well as food and home-shopping services — for the movie’s success. CJ ENM said it would continue to help Korean movies break into the global market.
Lee, the 61-year-old granddaughter of Samsung Group’s founder has been a relentless promoter of Bong and other Korean directors and actors.
“Parasite won the best picture because the movie has successfully delivered on the universal issue of economic polarization,” said Jeon Chanil, a long-time Korean film critic.
Parasite director Bong Joon Ho’s two prior movies, Snowpiercer and Okja did not do well at the box office in the US, but they are now two of the most popular movies on Netflix. Accepting the best director award late Sunday in Los Angeles, he said he never thought he would win.
Later, speaking to reporters backstage, he said he hoped a non-English film winning such top prizes won’t be rare in the coming years.
“It’s very surreal,” Bong said. “I feel like something will hit me and I will wake up from this dream.” — Bloomberg
HOLLYWOOD’S latest power couple hail from opposite sides of the world.
Samsung scion Miky Lee is one of the backers of a $275 million investment in Skydance Media, the company founded by Larry Ellison’s son David, 37, in 2010, according to a statement. The deal brings together the $62 billion Ellison fortune and South Korea’s $29 billion Samsung clan, the Asian nation’s richest.
Lee, 61, the granddaughter of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull, oversees CJ Group’s entertainment and media business, a separate conglomerate from Samsung Group. It opened her homeland’s first multiplex, invested in the DreamWorks studio and funded Parasite, the South Korean comic thriller that won four Oscars Sunday, including best picture.
With Lee’s avid support for the film industry, CJ has financed and distributed three other films made by Parasite director Bong Joon Ho, including Snowpiercer and Okja.
David Ellison’s Skydance is best known for franchises like the Mission: Impossible films and the upcoming Top Gun sequel. It courted controversy last year after it hired Pixar pioneer John Lasseter to lead its animation business, scooping up the former Walt Disney Co. executive who was dismissed for workplace misconduct.
The tie-up underscores the entertainment world’s enduring appeal to the world’s richest people. In 2004, former Ebay Inc. executive Jeff Skoll started Participant Media, which makes movies targeting social issues. David Ellison’s sister Megan is also a film producer, whose credits include Zero Dark Thirty and Phantom Thread.
The Skydance deal, led by investment firm RedBird Capital Partners, values the company at $2.3 billion, according to Tuesday’s statement. Other investors include Tencent Holdings Ltd. and the Ellison family.
Lee’s involvement is an even bigger coup after Parasite took home the top award at the Oscars. Her acceptance speech suggests she won’t be diluting the sometimes challenging output of her media empire.
“I really want to thank our Korean film audience,” she said at the ceremony in Los Angeles. “That made us really never be able to be complacent and keep pushing the directors, the creators, keep pushing the envelope.” — Bloomberg
How a piece of paper tacked to a bulletin board fueled a rumor mill
By Sam L. Marcelo,Associate Editor
THE memo that started a firestorm in Ballet Philippines.
A PALL OF uncertainty, fear, and evaporated dancers’ tears still hangs over the rehearsal halls of Ballet Philippines (BP) days after it was suddenly announced that National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes would be replaced as artistic director (AD) of the company she founded in 1969, by Mikhail “Misha” Martynyuk, a star dancer of The Kremlin Ballet theater — a young company compared to the giants of Russian ballet (Bolshoi, Mariinsky) as it was founded only in 1990 — and Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.
Mr. Martynyuk’s appointment was announced through an internal memo dated Feb. 8. Signed by BP President Kathleen “Maymay” Lior-Liechtenstein, it read, in part: “We anticipate your warm welcome and full support as Misha starts an exciting season for the company.” The memo was the first time that BP dancers and Ms. Reyes, whose term as artistic director ends in March, officially heard that Mr. Martynyuk — who was nominated by the Russian Embassy — was assuming the role of AD.
Ms. Lior-Liechtenstein and the rest of the BP Board didn’t anticipate how much havoc could be wreaked by an innocuous-looking piece of official stationery tacked to a bulletin board.
On Sunday evening, Feb. 9, former Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) president Nestor O. Jardin, who served BP in various capacities, including lead soloist and artistic director, denounced the move in a Facebook post that went viral in cultural circles: “I am appalled to learn that National Artist Alice Reyes who is currently artistic director of Ballet Philippines did not get the full support of its board of trustees and president causing her to resign from the company she co-founded with Eddie Elejar. And more appalling is that she was not at all consulted on the choice of her successor. When the board of trustees exercises its legal power over artistic matters, it is bound to kill a performing arts company. I do hope this doesn’t happen to Ballet Philippines.”
Asked what he thinks of Mr. Martynyuk and how his appointment will affect BP, Mr. Jardin told BusinessWorld in an e-mail: “He [Mr. Martynyuk] doesn’t know Ballet Philippines, what it stands for, its repertoire of uniquely Filipino contemporary pieces, and its legacy to Philippine dance. What this signals to me is a shift in artistic direction of Ballet Philippines to a Russian style classical ballet company.”
It is common knowledge is that Mr. Martynyuk has performed with Ballet Manila (BM), the dance company headed by Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, on at least two occasions: the first in 2013, as Solor in BM’s production of La Bayadere; and again in 2017, as Basilio in Don Quixote.
In contrast, he has never performed with Ballet Philippines. Former BP soloist Edna Vida, in a Feb. 9 Facebook post, asked: “Does he know our repertoire? Does he know our brand of classical ballet and modern dance? What does this man know about our beloved company? Who is he?” (In addition to sharing dance as their vocation, Ms. Vida and Ms. Reyes also share the same blood — they are sisters.)
“We want to stay uniquely Ballet Philippines and not become Ballet Russe de Manila. We don’t want Ballet Philippines to look like any other ballet company. Why should we allow it after 50 years of being a unique trailblazer? What a shame!,” ended Ms. Vida’s post.
Ballet Philippines’s repertoire, which is composed of about 500 pieces, is vast and varied. Insiders are worried that the appointment of Mr. Martynyuk means that ballet buns, pointe shoes, tights, and tutus will take over a company that has always prided itself on its versatility.
Ms. Reyes is known for groundbreaking pieces such as Amada, a wild-haired tribute to feminine power based on Nick Joaquin’s “The Summer Solstice”; Carmina Burana, a monumental piece that combines the lines of classical ballet and the freedom of modern dance; and Itim Asu, a reinterpretation of Virginia Moreno’s play The Onyx Wolf, which is slated to be remounted this February. Danced with bare flexed feet and grounded bodies, these pieces are outside Mr. Martynyuk’s wheelhouse.
Although he won a prize for best performance of modern dance choreography in 2002, Mr. Martynyuk simply has not put in the time with the Ballet Philippines. “This company [Ballet Philippines] is a Filipino cultural institution. It can do ballet, modern, contemporary, and everything in between,” said a member of the Ballet Philippines community. “The unforeseen appointment of Mr. Martynyuk as artistic director blatantly and disrespectfully ignores the proper process of succession… People are livid because he has no knowledge and zero connection to the company and its history.”
The appointment of Mr. Martynyuk — with his ties to Ms. Macuja — also birthed rumors that Ballet Philippines would eventually be merged with Ballet Manila, which recently lost its home to the fire that destroyed Star City. It didn’t help that Ballet Manila knew about Mr. Martynyuk’s appointment before Ballet Philippines did. (Ms. Macuja was a professional reference and, at one point in Mr. Martynyuk’s interview, the BP Search Committee had to call Ms. Macuja and ask her to translate, over the phone, what Mr. Martynyuk was saying. Mr. Martynyuk later stopped by BM to say hello to Ms. Macuja, who initially had no idea that he was in the Philippines. In hindsight, the optics of that visit did nothing to quell talks of a merger.)
Ms. Macuja, a proponent of the Russian Vaganova technique just like Mr. Martynyuk, denied these rumors. In a Feb. 9 Facebook post, the Ballet Manila CEO and artistic director said: “I am very happy where I am.”
Ms. Macuja had to face the online onslaught by herself because the BP Board — caught flat-footed by the speed and the ferocity of the cultural community’s response — chose to stay silent.
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
It took the BP Board three days — an eternity considering the churn of social media — to address the rumors surrounding Mr. Martynyuk’s appointment. First, through a brief statement posted on Facebook on Feb. 11, which barely addressed issues raised, and then through a face-to-face meeting between BP dancers and BP vice-chair Marianne “Maan” B. Hontiveros, who was also part of the Search Committee tasked with looking for Ms. Reyes’ successor. By then, hashtags such as #LiechtensteinResign (referring to the BP President) had already proliferated on social media. The meeting was too little, too late.
In a Feb. 11 phone interview with BusinessWorld, Ms. Hontiveros assuaged fears that BP would turn into a Russian clone. “We had emphasized to Mr. Martynyuk that it is important that Filipino choreographers be engaged to continue choreographing works with Filipino themes and motifs. And he’s very happy to do that,” she said, “We’re not here to redo the entire company. We’re just here to enhance the training of the talent of the Philippines and to grow it.”
She also refuted that Ms. Reyes was not consulted. “Alice Reyes actually had recommended candidates: an American, Adam Sage; and a Filipino, Ronelson Yadao. They were both invited for an interview, but they did not make themselves available for the interview.”
Mr. Sage, the current ballet master and associate director of BP, was the first foreigner to join Ballet Philippines and danced with the company from 1981 to 1983. Mr. Yadao, meanwhile, is a BP soloist and choreographer who returned to the company in 2017, after five years with Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan.
Both of Ms. Reyes’s candidates were informed of their interview with the BP Search Committee through an e-mail sent two days ahead of the appointed date. Neither Mr. Sage nor Mr. Yadao could make it due to prior commitments; their requests for alternative dates were refused.
The unwillingness to compromise on scheduling matters is symptomatic of the rift between BP’s executive department and its artistic department. The lack of communication manifested itself in myriad ways before reaching this point: staffing requests to fill vacated positions in the artistic department went ignored while the executive department beefed up its own team; dinner parties at Ms. Lior-Liechtenstein’s home, where BP dancers were expected to attend, conflicted with actual performances; and finally, the piece of paper announcing Mr. Martynyuk’s appointment, which fomented the unrest in the dance community.
These developments have all but squashed the jubilant spirit of BP, which should be celebrating its 50th season. Instead of basking in the glory of BP and its founder — a living legend held in high esteem — the dancers feel lost and upset, questioning the fate and the future of the company that raised them.
BP dancers are protective of the company and its legacy, built on the bodies of those who came before them. They have nothing against Mr. Martynyuk, a man they barely know, but they are wary of him. What grates is the callous disregard shown by the Board in their tone-deaf announcement of Mr. Martynyuk’s appointment — and, to add insult to injury, the Board’s expectation that the company wouldn’t react badly.
The Board decides who gets to be artistic director. It also decides how to convey this decision to the dancers who have dedicated their lives to an art and institution they love. Clearly, a piece of paper tacked to a bulletin board wasn’t the way to do it. The Board did Mr. Martynyuk no favors by releasing a memo before talking to the dancers. There will be no “seamless transition” as the Board hoped — there is already an online petition to rescind or revise Mr. Martynyuk’s contract.
Liliane “Tats” Rejante Manahan, a noted supporter of culture and the arts, summed up the fiasco in a Feb. 12 Facebook post:
“The cause of tears was a simple case of protocol gone awry, disregarding not just the propriety of including the artistic director’s opinion, but also, the respect for the heart and soul that fuels the impetus that defines the essence of this well-loved and established dance company.
“It is my fondest hope and prayer that all will be well, because to lose these beautiful dancers, and break this dance company’s genealogy, will indeed be a tragedy.” — with Michelle Anne P. Soliman
THE strong liquidity position of airports in the Asia-Pacific region will enable them to withstand the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak that has forced several airlines to suspend their flights to and from China and its administrative regions, Moody’s Investors Service said.
“Asia-Pacific airports are generally well-positioned to manage the challenges posed by a quick containment of the coronavirus because of their strong liquidity,” Moody’s Investors Service said in its report e-mailed to reporters on Thursday.
Moody’s noted that airport revenues are likely to be affected by the coronavirus epidemic, which is “curtailing” the region’s airline traffic.
It said the crisis brought by the coronavirus, which has killed more than a thousand people and sickened tens of thousands more in China, is a “credit negative” for Asia-Pacific-based airports.
Rated airports in the region, according to Moody’s, face more “acute risks” than their global peers because of the bigger number of their Chinese passengers and their proximity to countries with confirmed cases of the virus.
For an example, Australia Pacific Airports (Melbourne) Pty Ltd., which has been assigned A3 ratings, “is more exposed to the disruptions resulting from the coronavirus outbreak, reflecting the airport’s relatively high exposure to China in combination with its large investment pipeline,” Moody’s said.
But such risks are “balanced by the airport’s track record of maintaining its credit profile as well as its strong liquidity position,” it added.
Moody’s explained further: “While the coronavirus poses immediate challenges to airport revenue growth, the fundamentals of these businesses are likely to remain intact and sustainable over the long term, reflecting their strong market positions as providers of essential services and leverage to rising incomes in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Most of the rated airports in Asia-Pacific region, according to Moody’s, generate solid free cash flows and are able to defer their investment programs.
“This factor provides a buffer to manage a short-term decline in aviation demand,” Moody’s said.
The impact will also depend on the duration of the coronavirus-related disruptions in the industry. Moody’s said the coronavirus outbreak could continue disrupting flight operations in the region even in the next two to three quarters, basing it on “past experiences from the manifestation of event risks — such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003.”
Air Carriers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (ACAP) has said it was expecting to lose around P3 billion from ticket refunds in the next two months following the China travel ban.
Moody’s has also said that banks in the Asia-Pacific region could suffer from potential loan defaults if the borrowers, specifically the companies involved in these sectors, will face prolonged suspensions in their operations.
ABACORE Capital Holdings, Inc. is building a P1-billion cement plant and silo through a joint venture agreement with Honghui Pioneer S-Cement International, Inc.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange yesterday, the listed company said its board of directors had approved the joint venture agreement between its subsidiary Omnilines Energy International Network, Inc. and Honghui Pioneer S-Cement, which covers the establishment and operation of the cement plant project.
It likewise approved the sale of the company’s land in Mabini, Batangas to a subsidiary of Honghui Pioneer S. Cement, Lifthigh Development Corp. The transaction is valued at P225 million.
The board also authorized AbaCore to invest and buy shares in Honghui Pioneer S-Cement worth up to 10% of its authorized capital stock.
The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Montemayor Aggregates & Mining Corp., has also been granted authority to sell a 50,000-square meter property to local real estate developer Carino Development and Management Corp. The land is priced at P5,000 per square meter for a total of P250 million for the sale.
“[The] transactions are geared towards the implementation of the board’s annual dividend policy of up to 10% for the benefit of all shareholders,” AbaCore said in the disclosure.
It noted the sale of land to Lifthigh, the acquisition of shares in Honghui Pioneer S-Cement, and the property sale to Carino Development are still subject to conditions precedent in the contract signed by the parties.
Last year, AbaCore also announced it was selling a 30,117-square meter land in Batangas to Subic-based Premiere-Slag International, Inc. for P225.88 million. It said then that it was subscribing to 10% of Premiere-Slag’s proposed authorized capital stock of P1.02 billion for P102 million, with the intention of being a direct owner of the cement manufacturer.
AbaCore’s current business interests span across financial services, real estate, gold mining and coal mining. Its attributable earnings in the nine-months to September 2019 stood at P231.67 million, down 27% from a year ago amid a 14% decline in revenues to P334.58 million.
Shares in AbaCore at the stock exchange were flat on Thursday at P0.87 each.
NEWS that a Russian will become the new artistic director of Ballet Philippines (BP), replacing National Artist Alice Reyes after her term ends in March, has sparked a social media uproar in cultural circles, inspiring a Change.org petition and a demand that the appointment be rescinded.
“We the Ballet Philippines community, dance artists, alumni, and artistic team, are united in the belief that Ballet Philippines is Filipino, for the Filipinos, and by Filipinos,” declares a statement addressed “To the Ballet Philippines Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees,” which has been spread through social media with the hashtag #WeAreBalletPhilippines.
“We call on the Board to revoke the appointment of the foreign national Mr. Mikhail Martynyuk as Artistic Director,” it continues.
There is also a Change.org petition asking the BP Board to “to rescind or revise the contract offered to a Russian artist from a position as Artistic Director to another honored artist position in Ballet Philippines and to keep the position of Artistic Director Filipino.” It has garnered 2,558 signatures as of posting.
THE RUSSIAN
BP’s Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Mikhail “Misha” Martynyuk in a memo dated Feb. 8. Mr. Martynyuk is a star dancer of The Kremlin Ballet theater and holds the honorary title of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation which was given to him in 2011.
While Mr. Martynyuk is no stranger to the Philippines, having performed as a guest artist with Ballet Manila on several occasions since 2012, he has never performed with Ballet Philippines.
And it is this unfamiliarity with BP’s DNA which has raised both eyebrows and voices.
Ballet Philippines has unique status in the local ballet world. Founded by Ms. Reyes, with the support of Eddie Elejar, in 1969, it is both a classical and contemporary dance company, with a vast and varied repertoire of about 500 pieces, from full-length classical ballets to uniquely Filipino contemporary classics like Amada and Itim Asu. The Cultural Center of the Philippines’ website — BP is one of its resident companies — describes the company as “widely recognized today as a cornerstone of the Filipino cultural identity” and as being “globally recognized as the country’s flagship company in ballet and contemporary dance.”
Ms. Reyes, a National Artist for Dance who served as BP’s artistic director for its first 20 years until 1989, returned to BP in 2017 to supervise the celebration of the company’s 50th season.
What has cultural workers most dismayed is that a resolutely Filipino company will be led by a non-Filipino.
As educator Cecilia Manika wrote in a Facebook post: “… the Artistic Director (AD) as soul and inspirational leader of the whole company must be Filipino! That has been and always will be because we own the right to be Filipino in theme, style, and inspiration. All foreign artists are welcome to collaborate as ballet masters, guest artists, what have you… but the company’s soul cannot be relinquished to another nationality. How can foreign nationalities dig deep into our own literature, our own historical past, or immerse themselves into the life and culture of indigenous tribes so as to derive inspiration for a new dance that expresses culture or heritage? Artistic Directors do that… Will he be as passionate as an Agnes Locsin or Alice Reyes or for that matter Rolando Tinio or Ryan Cayabyab, national artists who have collaborated with Ballet Philippines for original Filipino works?”
Sharifa Pearlsia P. Ali-Dans, assistant secretary at the Department of the Interior and Local Government, commented on one of the many posts on the matter: “The name is Ballet Philippines so why in heaven’s name has the Board appointed a foreigner? In other countries, they are so nationalistic. Don’t we have a Filipino First policy? Are we so bereft of Filipino talents that we have a foreign national as artistic director and still call it Ballet Philippines?”
Dance scholar Ricca Bautista, who worked with Alice Reyes on her book on BP, wrote: “We do not need a Russian artistic director to legitimize Ballet Philippines. Philippine ballet belongs to the Filipinos… I maintain that appointing a RUSSIAN director for Ballet Philippines after its 50th year is a blatant RECOLONIZATION of a dance form that has flourished in the country for over a century through Filipinization… It reeks of the belief that a Filipino is not good enough to lead our own ballet.”
“Ballet Philippines should celebrate and promote Filipino talent in order to be the national flagship in ballet and contemporary dance,” the #WeAreBalletPhilippines statement says. “By appointing Mr. Martynyuk, the Board overlooks the legacy, essence, and artistic mandates of Ballet Philippines, which has resonated with countless artists and audience members globally for the past 50 years.
“We ask the Board of Ballet Philippines Foundation, Inc. for a dialogue with the community, dance artists, alumni, and artistic team, who have created and continue to create this legacy, so that we may all work together towards further cementing Ballet Philippines’ place in the international stage,” it ends.
