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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

Buskowitz Energy sells signature solar home systems at 40% off

RENEWABLE energy developer Buskowitz Energy is offering its signature Solar Home Systems at a 40% discount per package, with rates starting at around P119,000, as part of its three-day Black Friday Sale, the firm said in a media release.

The sale aims to make the company’s solar energy systems “more affordable for home owners.”

“If more homes adopt solar power, then perhaps in the long run, we’ll see those savings go into more meaningful purchases for family members, lower daily operating costs for households, and create generations of green-conscious homeowners who will help create a more eco-friendly future,” Chief Executive Officer James Buskowitz said in a statement.

The offers under the 40% discount include the 2.2 kilowatt-peak (kWp) Solar Home Lite (P119,397.79); 3 kWp Solar Home (P170,638.76); 5 kWp Solar Home Plus (265,438.07); and 10 kwp Solar Home Max (P517,719.36).

Each package includes high-efficiency, tier-one solar panels; mounting hardware accessories; installation fees; net metering fees and free delivery within Metro Manila and other areas.

The firm, which also provides financing solutions for its customers, said that its residential solar line can help offset lower electricity costs by up to 60%.

Interested customers may avail of the Black Friday discount from today up until Nov. 29. — Angelica Y. Yang

US tech firms can pay gig workers with equity under SEC proposal

WASHINGTON — The US securities regulator on Tuesday proposed a pilot program to allow tech companies like Uber and to pay gig workers up to 15% of their annual compensation in equity rather than cash, a move it said was designed to reflect changes in the workforce.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Internet-based companies may have the same incentives to offer equity compensation to gig-workers as they do to employees. Until now, though, SEC rules have not allowed companies to pay gig workers in equity.

The proposal would not require an increase in pay, just create flexibility on whether to pay using cash or equity. It comes amid a fierce debate over the fast-growing gig economy, which labor activists complain exploits workers, depriving them of job security and traditional benefits like healthcare and paid vacations. The SEC’s Democratic commissioners said giving tech giants such flexibility would create an uneven playing field for other types of companies.

“Work relationships have evolved along with technology, and workers who participate in the gig economy have become increasingly important to the continued growth of the broader US economy,” said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton in a statement.

The proposed temporary rules would allow gig workers to participate in the growth of the companies their efforts support, he added, capped at 15% of annual compensation or $75,000 in three years.

Democratic SEC commissioners Allison Lee and Caroline Crenshaw opposed the move, saying alternative work arrangements, including independent contractors and freelancers, have existed for decades across a range of industries and it was not clear why tech companies should be singled out for special treatment.

“Whatever the potential merits of equity compensation for alternative workers, the proposal does not establish a basis for selectively conferring a benefit on this particular business model,” they wrote in a statement. — Reuters

Calling attention, investment and innovation to the housing market’s invisible segment

It seems to still be “all systems go” in Bogo, a city located in northern Cebu, as noted by Sambag Barangay Chairman, Virgilio Terada. Supply of essential goods are stable while hardware stores selling building materials are still open, except for those that chose to temporarily close shop. The problem, however, is that people still can’t buy anything, even if they need to repair or rebuild their homes.

When the city was placed under enhanced community quarantine in March, many of Terada’s constituents, most of which are construction workers, had returned home because work in Cebu City temporarily stopped. Terada did not only have to deal with their health situation, but also those in need of financial aid because their sources of livelihood had stopped.

“Tricycle drivers and construction laborers are the most affected, because nobody wants to go out and even major construction works stopped around here. There are still those doing minor home repairs, but these homeowners only hire two people at most because of physical distancing,” Terada revealed.

His only hope is for the pandemic to be finally over so they can all return to normal. “We really live in difficult times, and I can’t give all of them jobs or money. And without money, they can’t complete their homes.”

Terada’s community represents the staggering number of people who struggle to incrementally build a decent home, due to a lack of affordable construction materials and access to appropriate services, and whose home building plans are further dampened due to the pandemic. 

Referred to as the owner-driven construction segment, they constitute 55% of what is called the “unserved” segment, whose housing needs reached 5.9 million units, as revealed by a 2020 housing gap study by Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, and Center for Communications and Research (CRC). The study further revealed that, by 2022, the anticipated housing crisis will hit the Philippines hard with a 15-million housing gap if nothing is done to immediately address it.

The study was one of the highlights of the recently launched ‘BAHAYnihan: Rising Together through Housing’ online forum organized by Habitat for Humanity Philippines, the Terwilliger Center, and CRC. The online forum was part of Habitat’s celebration of Urban October and was a first of a series of quarterly online forums that aim to build awareness of the housing needs in the country and the unserved population, and to create partnerships, particularly with the business sector, in solving the gap.

“The economy is at a stand-still, which makes the flow of resources slower and limits the opportunities for income generation. Low-income households are putting house repairs and upgrades on hold, and this continues to happen because the Philippines is one of the most unequal economies and societies in Southeast Asia. This inequality causes exclusion in various aspects of the housing market system: financial, material, services, information, and policy exclusion,” said Jessan Catre, Terwilliger Center’s Philippine Shelter Venture Lab Country Lead. 

Strengthening housing markets

Typically, low-income households build homes that they improve as soon as their resources allow. The process of housing improvement itself is often a ladder out of poverty for families. These changes benefit the larger community, reducing inequality and building resilience against economic and natural disasters.

Additionally, housing is shown to be a larger-than-expected contributor to emerging economies’ GDP, with a contribution of 14.9% of the GDP in the Philippines alone, on par with sectors such as manufacturing that often draw more attention in economic recovery plans. In the Philippines, the undercount of the entire housing sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP is already at Php 1.39 trillion (US$ 29 billion).

Given the importance of housing in social and sustainable development indicators, there is great potential for serving low-income families’ shelter needs. In the Philippines, these incremental builders represent a market value of Php 626.5 billion (US$13 billion).

With the launch of the Terwilliger Center in 2016, and the Philippines’ Shelter Venture Lab in 2019, Habitat for Humanity aims to play a catalytic role by stimulating changes in market systems, including supporting companies to find market opportunities that can meet the shelter needs of low-income families. The Center works with local firms and other market actors to expand innovative and client-responsive services, products and financing. Such an approach enables low-income households, particularly incremental builders, to improve their shelter more effectively and efficiently.

In partnering with Philmetal Products, Inc., the Terwilliger Center supported in expanding the roofing materials company’s distribution channels, in order to enable 2,500 low-income households in Cebu to access more affordable, improved quality materials. 

“We are also working closely with media companies to produce content about better housing targeted at low-income audiences. Our interventions include audience research so we can better understand how low-income households behave, particularly what kind of content they consume and how they access it,” Catre said. Other partnerships have provided provide digital training and educational opportunities to aspiring skilled construction workers and tradesmen.   

Business solutions to housing

To ensure business-driven solutions are making a real difference, the Terwilliger Center is engaging with more market actors across the supply chain, as well as often-overlooked labor groups such as incremental builders and masons.  

“By working through the core business model of companies, we can increase their ability to reach new market segments and change the way the housing and construction sector works for low-income Filipinos. An inclusive approach makes good business sense. By making their products and services accessible to more Filipinos, businesses are also expanding their own resources and markets,” Catre added. 

In the Philippines, the Terwilliger Center and Habitat for Humanity Philippines continue to bring attention to the unserved segment’s housing needs through the BAHAYnihan Forum. In January, the second iteration of the forum will gather national corporate leaders to find and promote business solutions that provide quality products and services to the unserved segment.

Enterprises, corporations, startups, professional associations, academics and other interested parties can apply to join the Terwilliger Center’s programs by sending an expression of interest alongside an organizational or professional profile. Selected organizations will receive financial and technical support, and will benefit from Habitat’s knowledge of low-income housing, and latest findings from ongoing research on the unserved but emerging segment and global best practices. Contact us at TCIS-PH@habitat.org to find our more and submit your expression of interest.

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