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HOOQ now offers free content

AFTER a successful initial run in Indonesia last year, Asian video-on-demand service HOOQ has extended its “freemium” tier to the Philippines, promising over 1,000 pieces of content that can be viewed for free.

“HOOQ is attuned to the evolving needs of the social, convenience-driven and digital-savvy Filipino. We understand local nuances and, most importantly, we get our audience, that’s why we decided to add a free tier,” Sheila Paul, HOOQ Philippines country manager said in a statement.

Called HOOQ Free, the new feature allows users to view free content on the service alongside digital TV and internet TV channels like Buzzfeed and CNN Philippines for free without the need to sign up. The tier also lets users view bite-sized content from popular titles like The Flash.

SEX TALK AND MOVIES
A cursory view of the mobile app showed that the pilot episodes of several local series like Pangako Sa’yo and Got to Believe, and foreign series like The Mentalist, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Drop Dead Diva are offered for free.

The free movies include HOOQ’s own original, Ulan, and several movies which starred the recently deceased Eddie Garcia: Papunta Ka pa lang, Pabalik na Ako, Mano Po, and Nagalit Ang Buwan sa Haba ng Gabi.

Another of HOOQ’s original shows, Sex Talks with Dr. Holmes, is set to hit the service. The 10-episode series is said to be a “helpline for those who have questions and concerns about sex and how it figures in their daily lives.” The series is hosted by Dr. Margarita Holmes, a Filipino psychologist specializing in sex therapy.

“As someone who watches online video, you don’t want to take too many steps before we get into the content,” Vishal Dembla, chief commercial officer at HOOQ, said during a press conference on June 20 at Power Mac Spotlight in Makati City.

INTRODUCING ADS
While the content is free, there is a trade-off — Mr. Dembla announced that HOOQ will be introducing ads with the free content but promised that these will not be “intrusive to the watching experience.”

“[We] can easily tell when the audience is getting turned off by ads. We’re going to start small and grow incrementally, so it’s not a whole lot of advertising,” he explained.

The service will introduce new content from its library to the free tier every quarter.

SACHET OPTION
Last year, Ms. Paul told BusinessWorld that HOOQ was playing with the idea of having a free tier and during a roundtable following last week’s launch, she said that “they took some time to make sure the experience is right.”

“We did Indonesia [first to] see how it did there before we took the best [practices] from them and then implement it in the Philippines,” she said.

Mr. Dembla said that now that they’ve launched in Indonesia and the Philippines, they are looking at doing the same in Singapore

Aside from the free tier, HOOQ Philippines is also set to introduce more flexible “sachet” payment options within the quarter.

“When we really think about the mobile environment [in the Philippines]… it’s mostly prepaid. We always said we want to have a million stories for a billion people and we won’t get to a billion people by sticking to a postpaid environment,” Mr. Dembla said. — Zsarlene B. Chua

YouTube is considering changes to kids content

YOUTUBE is considering more changes to how content for kids shows up on the world’s largest video site as criticism mounts that it’s unsafe for children.

YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc.’s Google, is debating changes involving kids’ content, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the company was mulling moving all videos for children to its separate YouTube Kids app. Such a drastic change is unlikely, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing in-house company deliberations.

The Google unit has long positioned itself as a neutral platform that lets anyone upload and watch whatever videos they want. But now the site is struggling to convince parents and advertisers that it can protect children from violent, upsetting, and harmful content. Last week, Bloomberg reported that children who use YouTube’s main site far outnumber those who stick to the safer, vetted YouTube Kids app.

YouTube has already made tweaks to the platform as it tries to create a safer site for children. The company banned comments on thousands of videos featuring kids after predators were found to be using the comment section to flag parts of the videos showing activities that could be twisted to be construed as sexual.

“We consider lots of ideas for improving YouTube and some remain just that — ideas,” a YouTube spokeswoman said in an e-mail. “Others, we develop and launch, like our restrictions to minors live streaming or updated hate speech policy.”

YouTube only recently made “responsible growth” its core metric, after years of focusing on engagement, even after employees flagged harmful and misleading videos to executives, Bloomberg reported earlier this year.

Major advertisers have frozen YouTube spending at various times out of fear their ads will be shown next to harmful videos. Still, the video site remains, with Facebook Inc. and Instagram, among the most popular places to advertise online. — Bloomberg

Villar’s Starmalls to be renamed Vistamalls amid expansion

VILLAR-LED Starmalls, Inc. is changing its name to Vistamalls, Inc., aligning itself with parent Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc.’s (VLL) mall expansion.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, the mall operator said its shareholders have approved its plan to change the company’s name to Vistamalls, Inc.

The company will file the amendment with the Securities and Exchange Commission for final approval.

Incorporated in 1969, Starmalls was folded into the Villar group in 2015 when VLL agreed to buy 88.34% of the company’s shares for about P33.54 billion.

The listed firm operates malls in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan; Imus, Cavite; Balanga, Bataan; Taguig, Alabang, and along EDSA-Shaw Boulevard, among others. VLL President and Chief Executive Officer Manuel Paolo A. Villar earlier said that they have plans to renovate various Starmalls branches in the following years.

At the parent level, VLL is targeting to have 60 malls by 2020. It ended 2018 with a total of 31 malls, 52 commercial centers, and seven office buildings, covering a total of 1.4 million square meters in gross floor area.

The company also said it has commercial centers that are currently under construction in Taguig City, Las Piñas City, Pampanga, Cavite, Davao, Iloilo, Naga, Cagayan de Oro, and Iloilo, which are scheduled to be completed by 2020.

Starmalls booked a net income attributable to the parent of P651 million in the first quarter of 2019, 13% higher year on year. This came after a 15% increase in revenues to P1.77 billion in the same period.

The company attributed the positive performance to higher occupancy and rental rates of its existing malls, as well as the additional gross floor area of new commercial assets at the time.

Shares in Starmalls jumped 5.25% or 33 centavos to close at P6.62 each at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

A ‘Dam Easy’ way to prevent flooding in houses, buildings

The Dam Easy Flood Barrier is touted as the world’s first off-the-shelf flood defense system. — COMPANY HANDOUT

By Adrian Paul B. Conoza
Special Features Writer

ALL Weather Industries (AWI) in partnership with Scottsdale Corp. recently introduced the Dam Easy Flood Barrier, a revolutionary tool for preventing floods in houses and buildings, in the Philippines.

Now available in 28 countries, the Dam Easy Flood Barrier is said to be the world’s first off-the-shelf flood defense system that can be easily installed without any fixings. It prevents flood water up to 600 millimeters (mm) high from seeping through exterior openings. With its adjustability, Dam Easy can cover reveal widths from 780 mm to 1,100 mm with a single barrier.

During the launch event, AWI chief executive officer and co-founder Brian Mooney said the Dam Easy Flood Barrier was created to develop a universal product that can block flooding quicker and better than other systems.

He added that the Dam Easy Flood Barrier is a standalone system, unlike preexisting systems that can be damaged over time and thus have to be entirely replaced.

Cheriza Manalang, president of Scottsdale Corporation — the exclusive distributor of Dam Easy in the Philippines, said that Dam Easy relieves homeowners of the hassle of building pre-fixed panels.

Dam Easy’s barrier weighs 20 kilograms and is approximately two feet high. Ms. Manalang cited a study from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the United States for the reason for such design.

“In that study, they found out that if you block off floodwater beyond two feet, you are actually compromising the structure of the building,” she said.

Dam Easy features a patented pneumatic pump action seal around the barrier which creates a watertight seal around the door when installed. It also has side panels which can be extended depending on the door’s width. A ratchet handle, together with a direction switch, allows those panels to be extended. A pump handle, located at the top of the barrier, inflates the watertight seal.

At the back of the panel, a pressure gauge indicates whether the seal is sufficiently inflated. A nearby air retention valve keeps the seal inflated, while an air release button deflates that seal once the barrier is no longer in use. The flood barrier also comes with a unique storage system which preserves the barrier when not in use.

Dam Easy Flood Barrier can be installed in three easy steps. The barrier is first positioned in the doorway. The side panels are then extended using the ratchet handle with the door switch placed upwards. The pump handle is then used to inflate the watertight seal, which is then secured by turning the air retention valve to the closed position. Returning the valve to the open position and pressing the air release button deflates the seal.

Dam Easy also offers a security cover which can be attached to the flood barrier to protect it from tampering and from being removed. With the extension pole, the barrier can cover openings from 1100 mm to about 3300 mm. Dam Easy recommends that the seal should be replaced after every 12 months.

In addition, Dam Easy provides sandless bag solutions against low-level flooding.

Its HydroPack is designed to create a free-standing barrier to stop or restrict flowing water. It absorbs up to 13 liters (L) of water. HydroSack, meanwhile, can absorb up to 20 L of water and is designed to fit into openings and door wells. HydroSnake, on the other hand, is 120 centimeters in length and can be spread across open areas to divert any flow of water.

Dam Easy also has a Toilet Dam which can block any width or shape of the toilet pan against sewage backflow during a flood.

In terms of the cost, Ms. Manalang said the Dam Easy Flood Barrier is one of the most economical ways of protecting homes.

“In the market, we are actually one of the lowest in terms of flood protection and solutions,” she said.

Guaranteeing the quality of the flood barrier, she noted that the makers of the barrier “really found the best materials and equipment to come up with such a quality product.”

Moreover, she emphasized that the Dam Easy Flood Barrier is a worthy investment for protecting homes against the costly damage in appliances and furniture as well as priceless items like photo albums.

ABS-CBN to redeem P6B in bonds early

ABS-CBN Corp. is exercising the option for the early redemption of its P6-billion bond issuance due in February 2021.

“ABS-CBN intends to exercise its option for early redemption of ABS-CBN’s seven-year bonds (due February 2021), five years and six months from issue date, at the early redemption price of 101.0%,” the Lopez-led media giant said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Monday.

It added that the company has already notified BDO Unibank, Inc., the trustee in the bond issuance, of ABS-CBN’s intention to redeem the bond ahead of schedule.

The listed broadcasting giant listed P6 billion worth of retail bonds in the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on Feb. 10, 2014 with a fixed interest rate of 5.335% per annum.

This is the first tranche of the company’s P10-billion debt securities offering that was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2014. ABS-CBN tapped BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. as joint-issue managers for the issuance.

When the company issued the first tranche of bonds in February 2014, Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) gave the company a PRS Aaa issue credit rating, which is the highest rating given by the agency.

During the first quarter of the year, ABS-CBN grew its attributable net income by 89.2% to P856.35 million, driven by a 24.4% increase in advertising revenues at P5.4 billion.

The company said it wants to focus on boosting its digital business this year, as it faces the possibility that its legislative franchise which expires in 2020 would not be renewed. President Rodrigo R. Duterte has been vocal about his opposition to the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise, which was not passed by the 17th Congress. — Denise A. Valdez

Novelist who wrote tales of sex and shopping, Judith Krantz, 91

JUDITH KRANTZ, the writer of best-selling novels such as Scruples and Princess Daisy who stoked women’s yearnings for professional success, romantic adventure, and Rodeo Drive fashion, has died. She was 91.

Krantz died at her home in California of natural causes, the Associated Press reported, citing her son, Tony Krantz, a TV and movie producer.

Krantz was among the most commercially successful female novelists, selling more than 100 million copies in dozens of languages. She became an author at age 50 after gaining inspiration from conquering her fear of flying. Ten novels later, at age 70, she retired from fiction writing, saying she had nothing more to tell her readers.

Each Krantz book usually involved a beautiful young heroine who satisfies her taste for glamorous clothing and powerful men while navigating her way through the cut-throat worlds of fashion, advertising and the Hollywood movie industry.

From the stylish heiress Billy Winthrop in Scruples (1978), her first novel, to the movie star Tessa in The Jewels of Tessa Kent (1998), her last one, Krantz presented female characters who encountered emotional dilemmas and obstacles on their path toward opportunity.

PERSONAL HARDSHIPS
“I strongly suspect that the difficulties I lived through are the elements in my life that finally made me a storyteller,” she wrote in her autobiography Sex and Shopping: The Confessions of a Nice Jewish Girl (2000). “Looked at as a stream in which one thing led to another, the events of my life, and how I coped with them, tell me who I am. And a woman should have a clear idea of who she is.”

The circumstances of her main protagonists were sometimes drawn from Krantz’s own life, from the young woman living in Paris, reflected in the Scruples storyline, to a distant relationship with her mother, a relative who often disappeared early from the lives of her main characters. In the novel Princess Daisy (1980), Krantz also recreated the sexual abuse she endured as a teenager.

Seven of Krantz’s books were adapted for television in the form of a mini-series or TV movie. Some of them, including Mistral’s Daughter (1982) and Dazzle (1990), were produced or co-produced by her husband, Stephen Krantz. She didn’t publish any books after her autobiography in 2000.

QUITTING TIME
“Imagination, she said, was like champagne,” the novelist Dora Levy Mossanen wrote in 2010 after dining with Krantz. “Once one gets to the bottom of the bottle and the last dying bubble, it’s time to quit.”

Judith Tarcher was born on Jan. 9, 1928, in New York. The eldest of three children, she had a sister, Mimi, and a brother, Jeremy.

Her father, Jack Tarcher, ran an advertising agency and her mother, Mary “Mickey” Brager, was a Legal Aid Society lawyer born in present-day Lithuania. Krantz, who said both parents paid her little attention, attributed her passion for fashion to her mother’s habit of dressing the children in cheap clothing.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College, in Massachusetts, in 1948, she moved to Paris, where she worked as a fashion publicist.

She returned to New York and worked as a fashion editor at Good Housekeeping magazine before meeting television producer Stephen Krantz at a party in 1953 through pioneering TV journalist Barbara Walters, a school friend. Judith and Steve Krantz married in 1954.

Judith Krantz contributed to McCall’s magazine and Ladies’ Home Journal, and during the 1970s was a contributing editor for Cosmopolitan, where she rose to prominence with her article “The Myth of the Multiple Orgasm.” She then turned her attention to fiction, combining her knowledge of fashion and Hollywood to produce detailed descriptions of sensual characters and glamour industries in her narratives.

“The experience of reading a Judith Krantz novel is not unlike that of watching Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous while simultaneously flicking through glossy advertisements in Vogue,” Rita Felski wrote in the book Doing Time: Feminist Theory and Postmodern Culture (2000).

Scruples was on the New York Times best-seller list for more than a year. In 1979, the paperback rights to Princess Daisy fetched a then-record $3.2 million, the New York Times reported.

Krantz had two sons, Nicholas and Tony, and lived in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles. Her husband died in 2007 at age 83. — Bloomberg

Seda BGC adds tower to keep pace with demand

A SECOND tower is being added to the Seda hotel in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) to cater to the growing demand for premier accommodations in the business district.

The Seda BGC, which first opened in 2012, will have a ballroom that accommodate up to 420, a restaurant with 220 seats, and a chic lobby.

Once completed within the next few months, the hotel will have 521 rooms, consisting of guest rooms, suites and serviced residences.

“Seda BGC was expanded to keep pace with the surging demand for premier accommodations and facilities in the area,” Andrea Mastellone, senior group general manager at Ayala Hotels and Resorts, said in a statement.

The two towers are connected through an expansive ground floor lobby. Seda BGC retained its contemporary design theme, with a burst of greenery to exude a welcoming ambience.

Contemporary art pieces by Filipino artists such as Ayala Corp. chairman emeritus and photographer Jaime Zobel de Ayala and Ann Pamintuan can be found in the lobby.

Misto, the hotel’s restaurant, offers daily breakfast and lunch buffets. It has a show kitchen, a private dining room for 10 persons and a semi-private area for up to 30 persons.

“Misto is one of the new building’s highlights,” said Mr. Mastellone, who noted the new restaurant’s capacity is six times more than the original one.

Seda BGC’s ballroom can now accommodate up to 420 persons, theater-style, with a spacious pre-function area, and is divisible into three smaller function rooms. It also has four meeting rooms that can accommodate from 12 up to 50 persons.

The hotel’s guest rooms have also been updated, as the usual rectangular desk has been replaced by a more functional glass-topped round table with an executive chair.

There are also new room categories such as the Executive Suite and the top-of-the-line Seda Suite, as well as studios and one-bedroom serviced residences which will open within the next few months.

Mr. Mastellone said some facilities and amenities will be soon be transferred to the new tower. These include the Club Rooms and Club Lounge, Straight Up roof deck bar, the gym and pool.

“All will be bigger than the original,” he said.

Seda Hotels owned by Ayala Land, Inc. now has nine properties in key cities around the country.

SEC junks JMVC’s motion for reconsideration

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Josefina Multi-Ventures Corp. (JMVC) on the dismissal of its petition that sought to nullify the share swap transaction of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and its subsidiaries.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. (SMFB) said it has received a copy of the SEC Special Hearing Panel’s decision to junk JMVC’s motion for reconsideration, which was dismissed due to lack of merit.

JMVC — a minority shareholder of Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (GSMI) — in 2018 filed a petition against the San Miguel group saying that SMC should have conducted a tender offer to all minority owners of the company before proceeding with the share swap.

The share swap transaction valued at P336.35 billion was conducted to consolidate SMC’s traditional businesses, namely San Miguel Pure Foods, Inc., San Miguel Brewery, Inc., and GSMI under one entity, SMFB.

JMVC argued that SMC should have conducted a tender offer after it acquired a 75% stake in SMFB, citing the Securities Regulation Code which states that a person or group of persons acting in concert, acquiring at least a 35% stake in a listed firm must conduct a tender offer.

The shareholder said that minority owners had no choice but to accept the share swap transaction without the tender offer.

The SEC, however, dismissed the petition last February for lack of merit, saying that the tender offer rules do not apply to the transaction since it involves a de facto merger or consolidation.

SMFB completed the share swap in September 2018, ending in a 51.16% and 78.26% stake in SMB and GSMI, respectively. Meanwhile, SMC’s ownership in SMFB rose to 95.87% from 85.37% before.

Shares in SMFB dropped 3.52% or P4 to close at P109.50 each at the stock exchange on Monday, while shares in SMC climbed 1.14% or P2 to close at P178 apiece. — Arra B. Francia

Developer Pueblo de Oro profit jumps 15% in 2018

PUEBLO DE ORO Development Corporation (PDO), the residential development arm of the ICCP Group, said its net income jumped 15% in 2018, thanks to strong sales of its residential projects.

In a statement, PDO said its profit stood at P234.7 million in 2018, from P204.4 million in the year prior. This was driven by a 23% rise in sales revenue to P1.6 billion from P1.3 billion in 2017.

“The growth validates our strategy to focus on residential property,” PDO president Prim Nolido said in a statement. “We are expanding and improving our portfolio to meet the very strong demand for affordable homes, particularly outside Metro Manila.”

Aside from its high-end projects, PDO also has affordable economic housing projects covering over 500 hectares in Cebu, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, and Cagayan de Oro.

In Cebu, PDO has consistently been among the top 5 developers recognized by the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund), in terms of takeout housing loan deliveries in the Visayas since 2014.

PDO’s residential projects in Cebu include La Aldea Buena and La Aldea del Rio. Two of its subdivisions, La Aldea del Mar and Park Place, can be availed of through Pag-IBIG financing.

“In Cebu, 90 percent of our takeouts are actually Pag-IBIG. Overall, HDMF-financed houses represented 82% of the company’s total sales in 2018, amounting to over P1 billion in loan takeouts,” Mr. Nolido said.

“With the increase in Pag-IBIG accounts in our Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao projects, 2019 promises to be an even better year. We will continue to strive to achieve our goal of making Pueblo de Oro a formidable brand in the real estate industry.”

Spanish songs, zarzuela with María Bayo

SPANISH soprano María Bayo performs tonight at Areté.

ACCLAIMED Spanish soprano María Bayo will be having a concert tonight, June 25, 7:30 p.m. at the Hyundai Hall in Areté, Ateneo de Manila University.

Bayo, who won the Spanish National Award for Music in 2009, will be accompanied on the piano by Maciej Pikulski, from France, and will offer the audience a rare opportunity to listen to songs by Spanish contemporary composers inspired by traditional music, as well as some zarzuela.

The program of the concert will include so-called “cultured songs,” i.e. songs from folk music that have been arranged with new, rich harmonies in line with the style of different 20th century composers. Two zarzuela pieces will complete the concert: one by Cuban composer Gonzalo Roig and another by one of the best known zarzuela composers, Francisco Asenjo Barbieri.

Tickets to the concert cost P350 (Balcony) and P500 (Orchestra) can be bought directly from Areté or on-line through www.ticket2me.net.

Amaia North Luzon projects to benefit from gov’t infrastructure projects

AMAIA Land Inc. said its projects in Northern Luzon stand to benefit once the government’s infrastructure projects such as the Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) and the Capas-Botolan Road are completed.

In a statement, Amaia Land said accessibility and location are important for prospective homeowners who want to live near schools, hospitals, malls and major roads.

“With (the government’s) Build, Build, Build projects, convenience and ease will forever define life in an Amaia North Luzon home,” the property developer said.

On-going expressway and road projects are expected to benefit homeowners in three Amaia Scapes properties which are located in Capas, Tarlac; Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija; and Bulacan.

Amaia Land identified these infrastructure projects as the CLLEX, a 30-kilometer stretch that is expected to reduce travel time between Tarlac and Cabanatuan City from 70 minutes to 20 minutes. The Capas-Botolan Road is a 81.63-kilometer east-west road connecting Capas in Tarlac to Botolan in Zambales, expected to reduce travel time from three hours to one hour and 20 minutes.

Once the CLLEX is completed by 2020, the Department of Public Works and Highways will start work on CLLEX Phase II and Plaridel By-Pass Phase II, which will cut travel time between Balagtas and San Rafael, Bulacan, from 69 to 24 minutes.

Amaia Scapes Capas sits on a 21.5-hectare property in Barangay Estrada, and offers six house designs.

“Amaia Scapes Capas also offers proximity to key establishments such as SM Tarlac, Robinsons Luisita, and the Luisita Industrial Park,” the company said.

Amaia Scapes Cabanatuan, located in Barangay Bangad, features contemporary house designs — Bungalow Pod, Carriage Pod, Multi-Pod, Single Home, Twin Homes and Twin Pods. It can be found near NE Pacific Mall, Robinsons, Microtel, and NE Doctor’s Hospital.

Located in Sta. Maria, Amaia Scapes Bulacan also has an array of house models and recreational facilities.

“Also conveniently located, the community is six kilometers away from the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Bocaue exit, and is close to Waltermart, Puregold Sta. Maria, and Sacred Heart Academy,” the company said.

PAL OK’s Bautista’s retirement

JAIME J. BAUTISTA — BW FILE PHOTO/ LS DAVAL JR.

THE retirement of Jaime J. Bautista as president and chief operating officer of Philippine Airlines (PAL) has been approved by its board of directors yesterday, and will be effective by the end of the month.

In a statement Monday, the flag carrier said its board has granted the request of Mr. Bautista to retire from his positions in PAL. He is set to leave by June 30.

“In a resolution initiated by Directors Atty. Estelito Mendoza and former BSP governor Amando Tetangco, the PAL Board expressed their gratitude and appreciation for Mr. Bautista’s dedication and commitment to the national flag carrier which he has been serving for more than 26 years,” the company said.

“The PAL Board cited his efforts to steer PAL to greater heights through initiatives anchored on fleet modernization, flight route network expansion and service innovation,” it added.

PAL Executive Vice-President Vivienne K. Tan, daughter of PAL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lucio C. Tan, is set to assume Mr. Bautista’s post.

“My family and I express our gratitude and only wish for the best for Jimmy Bautista as he gears up for the next chapter of his life. As we transition to new management, I urge all of you — my Philippine Airlines family — to continue your primary focus: your work, your mandate in the company,” Ms. Tan was quoted as saying.

The listed airline announced Mr. Bautista’s retirement last week, saying the outgoing PAL president wanted to “spend more time with his family.” — Denise A. Valdez