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Former teen idol Zac Efron plays serial killer Bundy in new drama

LONDON — Zac Efron, who won legions of female fans in the High School Musical films, takes on a more sinister role in crime drama Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, playing American serial killer Ted Bundy.

The film, released on Netflix in the United States and Sky Cinema in Britain on Friday, follows the 1979 trial of Bundy, who was executed in Florida in 1989, through the eyes of his girlfriend Liz, played by Mirror Mirror actress Lily Collins.

Before his death, Bundy admitted to killing more than 30 young women across several US states in the 1970s.

For Mr. Efron, the role is very different to his past work, with recent credits including musical The Greatest Showman and comedy Baywatch.

“This was a way into a genre that I thought was a little bit more cerebral than your standard hack and slash movie,” he told Reuters in an interview, adding he liked versatility.

“This is an in-depth look into one of the worst mass manipulators of the public and mass murderers of young girls and women probably ever and it’s a hard story to tell.”

The film takes its title from the words of judge Edward D. Cowart — played by John Malkovich — when he sentenced the 32-year-old Bundy to death, calling his crimes “extremely wicked, shockingly evil, vile.”

The televised Miami trial saw charismatic former law student Bundy, who escaped police custody twice, represent himself in a courtroom attended by fans.

“Nobody believed Bundy was capable of these horrible crimes because of how he looked, how he acted,” director Joe Berlinger said.

“We live in an era of… people putting out false imagery of who they are, and so the lessons of Bundy today, I think are even more relevant than ever before.” — Reuters

Maynilad boosts production at Putatan

MAYNILAD Water Services, Inc. said the algae proliferation in Laguna Lake affected operations at its Putatan water treatment facilities. — PHILSTAR/JEREMY PINTOLO

MAYNILAD Water Services, Inc. said on Thursday that it was able to increase the production of its two Putatan water treatment facilities to 125 million liters per day (MLD) from 80 MLD, despite the continued algae proliferation in Laguna Lake.

The improvement was recorded as of 2 a.m. on May 2, at a time of the algal bloom because of the warmer temperatures brought about by the mild El Niño.

“While this is still below our normal production — as the facilities’ full combined capacity is at 250 MLD — it is an improvement that will help us to better stabilize supply in the network, and marginally increase the supply availability window for some of the affected areas,” the company said in a statement.

“We are intensifying our treatment interventions to address the issues brought about by the algal bloom and bring our production back to normal levels,” it said.

In the meantime, Maynilad identified the affected customers as those in portions of Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, and Cavite. They will continue to experience low pressure to no water supply daily until May 14.

The company said 40 mobile water tankers are doing the rounds of severely affected areas to provide potable water to customers.

Separately, Ramoncito S. Fernandez, Maynilad president and chief executive officer, said the “intense algae generation” had affected the water concessionaire’s operations.

“We had to slow down our operations last week down to about 85 MLD from our normal 250 for the two plants because of the presence of algae,” he told reporters.

He said algae is generated because of too much nutrients, mostly phosphorous and nitrogen, coming from fertilizers, pesticides from various and other sources.

“With intense heat, photosynthesis is happening. This green matter is generated. The level of intensity of algae is unprecedented, this is the first time we’re seeing such intense algae generation,” he said.

He said the proliferation was more than four times what Maynilad had been experiencing, prompting the adjustments on its operations.

“Both physical and chemical interventions had been done, we have now increased our output to 126 MLD this morning. We hope to ramp it up to 150, 170 MLD in the next week or so,” he said.

Mr. Fernandez also said that Maynilad had been informed by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) that the level of Angat Dam had gone down to 177.9.

“The forecast is that it will go down to 171, the lowest will by 157 if no rains will come but we were promised by NWRB that our 48 cms (cubic meters per second) will not be affected,” he said.

“The next crisis is that if there are no rains continuously up to July, the level of Angat might reach 160 which is the low offtake already where turbidity might be higher, which will mean slowing down our plants,” he added — Victor V. Saulon

Demand for BSP’s TDF drops ahead of review

BSP
BIDS for the central bank’s term deposits declined further. — BW FILE PHOTO

APPETITE FOR term deposits declined at this week’s auction ahead of the meeting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy-setting Monetary Board.

The BSP on Thursday said tenders received for its term deposit facility (TDF) reached just P29.644 billion this week, lower than the previous auction’s bids worth P34.327 billion but still filling the P20 billion on offer.

Following the Labor Day holiday, the central bank offered shorter tenors this week, namely six-day and 13-day papers. As with last week’s auction, it also didn’t offer the month-long tenor yesterday.

Demand for the six-day tenor hit P14.126 billion this week, lower than the P15.02 billion worth of tenders seen in the previous offering but still more than the P10 billion in week-long term deposits offered by the central bank on Thursday.

Accepted yields settled between 4.63% and 4.76% yesterday, down slightly from last week’s 4.65%-4.775%. This resulted in an average rate of 4.7198% for the six-day papers, down a tad from the previous auctions 4.7567% average for the seven-day tenor.

The same decline in tenders was seen for the 13-day papers as total bids stood at P15.52 billion yesterday versus the P19.30 billion in tenders received for the 14-day papers last week. Still, this was above the P10 billion worth of 13-day deposits on the auction block.

Returns sought by banks for parking their funds with the BSP ranged from 4.67%-4.78%, also lower than the 4.7%-4.825% margin fetched in the previous week. This led to an average yield of 4.7524%, lower than the previous week’s 4.7789%.

The TDF stands as the central bank’s primary tool to shore up excess funds in the financial system and to better guide market interest rates. Through the weekly auctions, the BSP wants to bring loan and interbank rates within their desired 4.25-5.25% range.

The central bank is reviewing policy settings anew next Thursday. At its March meeting, the Monetary Board voted to keep key interest rates steady, citing the need to stay cautious despite easing inflation.

Some economists are calling for monetary policy easing, with inflation seen to continue its downtrend on lower rice prices following the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law.

Analysts also expect a cut in big banks’ reserve requirement ratio this quarter as liquidity growth continues to slow. Domestic liquidity or M3, considered as the broadest measure of money in an economy, grew 4.2% year-on-year to about P11.4 trillion in March, slower than the 7.1% expansion in February and 7.6% growth in January, the central bank reported earlier this week. This pace is also the slowest recorded since September 2012.

For next week’s auction, the central bank is hiking its offering of week-long term deposits to P20 billion but maintained the 14-day tenor offer volume at P10 billion. Meanwhile, it will not offer 28-day deposits. — RJNI

Pharmacists gearing up for enhanced role under UHC law

DAVAO CITY — Pharmacists are preparing for an enhanced role in the health sector following the recent passage of the Universal Health Care law, of Republic Act No. 11223, which calls for the establishment of Botika Ng Barangay (BNB) outlets nationwide.

The Philippine Pharmacists Association (PPA), which is holding its annual national convention this week in the city, said it is focusing on expanding their members’ role, in both practice and public perception, from being just dispensers of medicine.

“For a long time, that the role of pharmacists in the Philippines did not expand. Now the organization is really active in bringing back the energy among the pharmacy group to fulfill our true role in health care, especially with the opening of BNBs,” PPA Board of Trustee Maria Gilda S. Saljay, speaking in mixed Filipino and English, told the media earlier this week.

BNB is a program under the Department of Health (DoH)-Center for Health and Development that aims to provide easier access to medicines for the marginalized by setting up pharmacies in communities.

“This a DoH-funded initiative in relation to universal health care where one has access to medicines. BNB is a new model of pharmacy practice,” she said.

Each BNB is to be managed by a community organization, non-government organization, and the local government unit, with a trained operator and a supervising pharmacist.

Ms. Saljay said pharmacists can do drug and patient profiling as well as patient counselling.

“It has already started in other areas of the country. When we dispense drugs, automatically we counsel the patient, and the patient can always ask the pharmacists about the medication,” she said.

“We go beyond what you see (on the drug labels). We encourage patients to look for the pharmacists every time you want to know more about your medicines,” she added. — Maya M. Padillo

Fox renews Empire without Jussie Smollett’s character

LOS ANGELES — US television network Fox on Tuesday renewed drama series Empire for a sixth season but said there were no plans to bring back the character played by Jussie Smollett, the actor who said he was the victim of a hate crime in January.

Chicago police accused Mr. Smollett of making up an attack against him, but the actor maintained his innocence and prosecutors dismissed criminal charges against him.

Mr. Smollett played gay singer-songwriter Jamal Lyon on the show about a family in the hip-hop entertainment business. Fox did leave a door open to possibly bring Smollett back by extending an option on his contract.

“By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett’s option for season six, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to Empire,” according to a statement from 20th Century Fox TV and Fox Entertainment.

Empire airs on the Fox broadcast network, a unit of Fox Corp. The series is produced by the Fox television studio, which was recently sold to Walt Disney Co.

A spokesperson for Smollett said in a statement that the actor was “grateful to Fox and Empire leadership, cast, crew and fans for their unwavering support.”

“We’ve been told that Jussie will not be on Empire in the beginning of the season, but he appreciates they have extended his contract to keep Jamal’s future open,” the spokesperson said.

Mr. Smollett, 36, who is black and gay, ignited a firestorm by telling police on Jan. 29 that two apparent supporters of President Donald Trump struck him, put a noose around his neck and poured bleach over him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs on a Chicago street.

After weeks of investigation, Chicago police determined that Smollett cooked up the scheme — in which they allege he hired two brothers to pose as his attackers — because he was dissatisfied with his salary on Empire.

He was charged in February with staging the incident and filing a false police report, but Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office prosecutors dropped all charges against him in March.

Mr. Smollett admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to do community service and give up $10,000 in bond money.

In April, the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit seeking three times the damages it said it incurred in the investigation of the incident. — Reuters

AUB Q1 net income jumps

ASIA UNITED Bank Corp. (AUB) saw its net profit surge in the first quarter as its core lending businesses remained robust amid competition.

In a disclosure to the local bourse on Thursday, the Ng-led lender said it posted a P1.1-billion bottom line in the first three months of the year, 38% higher than the P797.7 million recorded in the same period last year.

AUB’s net interest income stood at P2.17 billion in the January-March period, up 29% from P1.68 billion last year. This translated to a net interest margin of 4.7%, higher than the 4.3% a year ago.

Loans and receivables grew 19% to P153.86 billion as of end-March from P129.62 billion in the comparative year-ago period as the bank and its subsidiaries continued to tap cross-selling opportunities across all product types, including car, housing and salary loans as well as credit cards, it said yesterday.

Total deposit liabilities grew 12% to P186.89 billion as of March from P166.46 billion in the same period in 2018, with the bulk coming from savings deposits, which surged 57% to P71.08 million in the first quarter.

AUB’s other operating income was at P558.12 million, up 11% from P503.66 million in the same period in 2018.

In particular, gains from trading and securities grew 78% year-on-year to P254.15 million, while foreign exchange gains declined 13% to P23.94 million.

Service charges, fees and commissions also decreased 16% to P191.8 million, dragged by increased transactions from increase in loan and deposit volume.

Including provision for losses, AUB’s total operating expenses stood at P1.42 billion in the three months ended March, 16% higher year-on-year.

“Amid the feverish competition within and outside the banking industry, AUB and its subsidiaries’ core lending businesses remained robust,” AUB President Manuel A. Gomez was quoted as saying in the statement.

He added that the first-quarter results give the bank “greater optimism about our bottom line prospects” given its reliance on its core earning assets, which are deemed more sustainable.

“Our digital strategy enables us to reach out to more customers anywhere and anytime despite our modest branch network.”

The bank has a network of 260 branches nationwide, including those of wholly-owned subsidiaries Cavite United Rural Bank and Rural Bank of Angeles. The parent bank also has a total of 215 automated teller machines.

AUB shares went up 15 centavos or 0.26% to close at P58.80 apiece on Thursday. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Registration for 1 person corporation starts May 6

ENTITIES with only one stockholder may start applying for company registration starting May 6, after the issuance of guidelines by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC en banc approved on April 25 Memorandum Circular No. 7, which contains the Guidelines for the Establishment of a One Person Corporation (OPC).

The guidelines will allow a natural person, trust, or estate to form an OPC, so long as the incorporator is a natural person of legal age.

Foreign natural persons may also establish an OPC, provided that they will still follow the constitutional and statutory restrictions on foreign participation in certain investment areas or activities.

SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said the establishment of an OPC will make doing business in the country easier.

“An OPC offers the agility and complete dominion of a sole proprietorship and the limited liability of a corporation. We encourage everyone to take advantage of this provision to pursue their entrepreneurial aspirations,” Mr. Aquino said in a statement.

However, banks, nonbank financial institutions, quasi-banks, pre-need, trust, and insurance companies, publicly listed firms, and non-chartered government-owned and/or controlled corporations are not allowed to incorporate as an OPC.

A natural person licensed to exercise a profession is also prohibited to organize as an OPC if the purpose is to exercise such profession, unless special laws allow it.

Applicants may submit their documents manually to the SEC Company Registration and Monitoring Department at the SEC head office at the Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City. — Arra B. Francia

Saudi Arabia remains top destination for OFWs

AN ESTIMATED 2.3 million Filipinos worked abroad in the middle two quarters of 2018, with Saudi Arabia still the top destination for these workers, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

I its 2018 Survey on Overseas Filipinos, the PSA said: “The number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who worked abroad at any given time during the period April to September 2018 was estimated at 2.3 million. Overseas Contract Workers (OCWs) with existing work contracts comprised 96.2% of all OFWs during the period April to September 2018.”

The survey also indicated that Saudi Arabia remains the top destination for OFWs in the period. Just under one in four OFWs worldwide work in the kingdom, or 24.3%. Other major destinations were Hong Kong (6.3%), Kuwait (5.7%), Taiwan (5.5%) and Qatar (5.2%).

Remittances from the period totaled P235.9 billion, up from P205.2 billion a year earlier.

“These remittances included cash sent home (P169.4 billion), cash brought home (P55.2 billion) and remittances in kind (P11.2 billion). The majority of OFWs sent their remittances through banks (52.8%) while the rest used money transfer services (45.0%), agencies or local offices (2.0%),” PSA said.

The PSA added that the largest segment filled by Filipino labor overseas is elementary occupations (37.1%) or unskilled work. Other segments are service and sales (18.8%); plant and machinery operators and assembly (13.8%); craft and related trades (9.2%); professionals (9.0%); technicians and associate professionals (7.0%); clerical support workers (3.8%); managers (1.1%); and skilled agricultural forestry and fishery workers (0.2%).

PSA also said women make up 55.8% of OFWs, noting that “more than half of the female OFWs were in elementary occupations (58.7%). Among the male OFWs, the largest groups were plant and machinery operators and assembly workers (27.8%).” — Gillian M. Cortez

Drake breaks record for most Billboard Music Awards wins

DRAKE broke the record for most Billboard Music Awards (BBMA) wins, taking home 12 awards including Top Artist. This brings his total number of Billboard wins to 27.

Aside from Top Artist, he took home the awards for: Top Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Streaming Songs Artist, Top Song Sales Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist, Top Rap Artist, Top Rap Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Rap Album for Scorpion, and Top Streaming Song (Video) for “In My Feelings.”

Cardi B followed Drake for most wins of the night, including Top Rap Female Artist, Top Hot 100 Song, Top Selling Song, Top Radio Song, Top Collaboration and Top Rap Song. Her “Girls Like You” collaborators, Maroon 5, took home four awards including Top Hot 100 Song, Top Selling Song, Top Radio Song, and Top Collaboration.

Other multi-category winners include: Ella Mai (Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Female Artist, Top R&B Song), Ozuna (Top Latin Artist, Top Latin Album, Top Latin Song), Luke Combs (Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist, Top Country Album), Bad Bunny (Top Rap Song, Top Latin Song), Panic! At the Disco (Top Rock Album, Top Rock Song), Beyoncé (Top R&B Tour, Top Rap Tour), Jay-Z (Top R&B Tour, Top Rap Tour), BTS (Top Duo/Group, Top Social Artist), and The Chainsmokers (Top Dance/Electronic Artist, Top Dance/Electronic Album).

Lauren Daigle was the only artist to sweep every category she was nominated for, which included Top Christian Artist, Top Christian Album and Top Christian Song.

The two fan-voted award winners were BTS for Top Social Artist and Ariana Grande for Billboard Chart Achievement Award.

Aside from the awards, the show is known for its performances, and this year’s highlights included the world premiere of Taylor Swift’s “ME!” with Brendon Urie, Madonna’s augmented reality performance with Maluma for “Medellín,” and BTS’ “Boy With Luv” featuring Halsey

2019 BBMA Icon Award recipient Mariah Carey and BBMA Throwback Performer Paula Abdul both performed medley of their greatest hits — this was Abdul’s first performance at an awards show in 29 years.

Host Kelly Clarkson took the stage to sing her latest song “Broken and Beautiful” from the new family movie Ugly Dolls.

Additional performances throughout the night included K-Pop sensation BTS with Halsey, Ariana Grande, Ciara, and The Jonas Brothers, and soulful songs from Khalid Dan + Shay with Tori Kelly and Lauren Daigle.

Both Halsey and Panic! At the Disco took the stage twice in the night, performing solo and in collaborations with BTS and Taylor Swift, respectively.

Billboard Music Awards nominees and winners are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement, tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the chart period of March 23, 2018 through March 7, 2019. Since 1940, the Billboard charts have been the go-to guide for ranking the popularity of artists, songs and albums.

The 2019 Billboard Music Awards aired live on Blue Ant Entertainment on Thursday morning. There will be a rerun tonight at 10:35 p.m., tomorrow, May 4, at 8:50 p.m., and on May 5 at 1:30 p.m.

Blue Ant is available on SKYcable channels 53 (SD) and 196 (HD), SKYdirect channel 35, Destiny Cable channel 53, and Cablelink channel 37.

Amazon dismisses that automation will eliminate all its warehouse jobs

BALTIMORE — Amazon.com Inc dismissed the idea of running a fully automated warehouse in the near future, citing the superior cognitive ability of humans and limitations of current technology.

Scott Anderson, director of Amazon Robotics Fulfillment, said technology is at least 10 years away from fully automating the processing of a single order picked by a worker inside a warehouse.

There is a misperception that Amazon will run fully automated warehouses soon, Anderson said during a tour of Amazon’s Baltimore warehouse for reporters on Tuesday.

The technology for a robot to pick a single product from a bin without damaging other products or picking multiple products at the same time in a way that could benefit the e-commerce retailer is years away.

Amazon is exploring a variety of technologies to automate the various steps needed to get a package to shoppers, Anderson said.

“In the current form, the technology is very limited. The technology is very far from the fully automated workstation that we would need,” Anderson said.

The tour came at a time when the company has come under fire from labor groups and other Amazon critics for allegedly poor working conditions in its warehouses and for increasingly automating jobs and reducing its dependence on human labor.

The largest online retailer is also not employing robots in its warehouses that handle fresh food, said Derek Jones, global director of environment, health and safety, who oversees Amazon’s fresh food offerings like Amazon Fresh and Amazon Pantry.

“Just imagine if you want bananas. I want my bananas to be firm, others like their bananas to be ripe. How do you get a robot to choose that?,” he said.

Amazon runs 110 warehouses in the United States, 45 sorting centers and about 50 delivery stations. It employs 125,000 full-time warehouse workers in the country.

The warehouses that employ robots mostly handle general merchandise, which includes everything from lamps and clothing to kayaks and bikes.

The company said it is not changing the level of productivity at its warehouses to catch up with its recent one-day shipping announcement. It is instead making changes to the transportation and delivery process.

Last month, Amazon said it plans to deliver packages to members of its loyalty club, Prime, in just one day instead of two. Anderson said Amazon’s current target is four hours from the time a product is ordered to the time it leaves the warehouse, and the company is sticking with that. — Reuters

AIA to invest P3B in Philam Life

Philam Life

AIA GROUP Ltd. is investing P3 billion in its local subsidiary Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. Inc. (Philam Life) over the next three years to boost agency distribution, officials said on Thursday.

Philam Life Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Ang said in a press briefing on Thursday that the funding will be used to hire and train 5,000 full-time financial advisers that can help bridge the huge protection gap in the Philippines.

“We will invest P3 billion over the next three years in building the agency distribution. This is a significant amount — P3 billion in terms of our investment — because in the past we have done investment in terms of building the agency more than what we want… This time we are making it bigger. We feel that the market opportunity is enormous,” Mr. Ang said.

The official said the company needs the P3-billion investment to hire, nurture, and teach from zero knowledge future full-time financial advisers. Currently, the company has a total of 8,000 full-time and part-time advisers.

Mr. Ang noted that AIA has made similar investments in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Philam Life Chief Financial Officer Gary James Ogilvie said the local market for insurance is huge as the protection gap in the Philippines currently stands at P1.5 trillion and is expected to grow in the next few years.

“People just do not have protection insurance cover. We have a huge insurance market,” Mr. Ogilvie said.

Mr. Ang added that insurance protection in the Philippines is at less than 2%, which calls for a push for financial literacy among Filipinos.

He noted how Filipinos normally depend on family, friends, and relatives in times of sicknesses rather than having their own health insurance coverage.

“We’re concerned about the huge protection gap. Last year, we only paid P2.9 billion in protection benefits. We want to focus more on this given the huge opportunity. It is the focus we believe Philam Life should be looking at,” Mr. Ang said.

“The other parts of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) are slowly moving away from FFR (family, friends, relatives) to private insurance schemes,” Mr. Ang said.

Meanwhile, the company on Thursday also launched a product called AIA Critical Protect 100 aimed to cover 100 critical illnesses of people from age zero to 100.

“Normally, this type of product would terminate at the age of 75,” Philam Life Chief Marketing Officer Leonardo D. Tan, Jr. said.

Mr. Tan said the product would cost less than P100 a day for P1-million coverage. — R.J.N. Ignacio

SMPC unit inks contract with Japanese firms

SEMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) said on Thursday that its subsidiary Sem-Calaca Power Corp. (SCPC) had signed a technical consultancy contract with two Japanese firms.

“Drawing on years of expertise in developing and manufacturing power generation equipment, our new partners can provide services that shall improve the value of our power plants,” Maria Cristina C. Gotianun, SMPC president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the company said the unit signed the contract with Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corp. (Toshiba ESS) and Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. in Osaka, Japan.

Under the 14-month contract, Toshiba ESS and Kansai will look into and provide technical services to the two power plants of SCPC, and propose technical solutions to improve the availability, operations, and maintenance of the said facilities.

“The strong growth of the Philippine economy has been driving domestic electricity demand, which highlights the need for stable power plant operations and power supply,” SMPC said.

SMPC is the only vertically integrated energy company in the Philippines that mines its own fuel source, which is coal. It supplies electricity to the Luzon grid, which usually experiences thin reserves during the summer season because of higher demand and forced outages of multiple plants.

On Thursday, shares in SMPC slipped by 0.63% to close at P23.70 each. — Victor V. Saulon

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