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CCP’s wood-based art exhibit travels to Laguna

WOODEN items from the CCP's collection are on display at the Kwentong Kahoy exhibit. — BRONTË H. LACSAMANA

WHILE the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) 21st Century Art Museum Collection has been featured in many exhibitions over the years, its diverse pieces made of wood are now enjoying newfound attention in Biñan, Laguna.

Kwentong Kahoy, an exhibition that highlights art made with wood, is on display until Dec. 2 at the Sevina Park Pavilion, as part of a collaboration between the CCP and property developer Arthaland.

At a press launch of the exhibit on Nov. 7, CCP Vice-President and Artistic Director Dennis Marasigan said that their goal is “to introduce the public to the adaptability and rich cultural significance of wood.”

“The exhibit explores the relationship between wood and storytelling, how this natural material has been integrated to our culture, history, and identity. From traditional carvings to contemporary works, wood has been a vessel for narratives carrying both personal and collective histories,” he said.

The works displayed include carved furniture, paintings, prints, sculptures, wooden instruments, and ethnographic artifacts.

The Sevina Park property which houses the exhibit is set to be a mixed-use development with over 60% green and open spaces. Arthaland is the first development in Southeast Asia to achieve Platinum certification under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building program for Neighborhood Development and Homes categories.

“This is the third collaborative project between CCP and Arthaland,” said Jaime C. González, vice-chairman and president of Arthaland. “Many may not be aware that art is a vital component of sustainability. We are very excited about this partnership as it allows us to further contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”

Before Kwentong Kahoy, the Arthaland Century Pacific Tower in Cebu also hosted a CCP exhibit. For Mr. Marasigan, the ongoing rehabilitation of the CCP Main Building has given them an opportunity to showcase art collections in other places instead.

“The exhibition space is not just a physical venue. It is a place for the community, a place where people come together to appreciate the depth of our collective creativity,” he said.

Mr. González added that Sevina Park is just one example of “cultivating a space for art in a vibrant community emphasizing sustainability.”

With Kwentong Kahoy, there is also a clear connection to nature, be it carved, shaved, or painted. The exhibit is open and free to the public until Dec. 2.

Sevina Park is located along Cecilia Araneta Parkway and is right beside the De La Salle University Laguna Campus. It is approximately five minutes away from the Laguna Boulevard Exit of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

Filinvest Land income rises to P1.1B on strong sales

FILINVESTLAND.COM

FILINVEST Land, Inc. (FLI) saw its third-quarter attributable net income increase by 4.8% to P1.1 billion from P1.05 billion last year due to higher sales.

Revenue from July to September improved by 15.4% to P6.56 billion from P5.68 billion last year, FLI said in a stock exchange disclosure on Tuesday.

Real estate sales climbed by 19.8% to P4.52 billion, while revenue from rental services increased by 6.7% to P2.04 billion.

For the first nine months, FLI recorded an 8.5% increase in its attributable net income to P2.65 billion from P2.44 billion last year.

Revenue increased by 15.9% to P17.6 billion from P15.18 billion in 2023 due to the growth of the residential segment.

Real estate sales climbed by 21% to P11.89 billion, led by accelerated collections and the “construction percentage of completion achieved during the period,” the company said.

The medium-income segment, inclusive of medium-rise buildings and high-rise buildings, accounted for 74% of total real estate sales, followed by the affordable and low-affordable segment at 12%, high-end and others at 8%, and socialized housing at 6%.

Revenue from rental services also went up by 6.6% to P5.71 billion.

FLI recently launched the 2.8-hectare Futura Shores mid-rise property in Dumaguete City, as well as the 11.4-hectare Iloilo Centrale residential township in Iloilo City.

Futura Shores will consist of six mid-rise buildings. The first building of Futura Shores has a projected sales value of P1.3 billion.

Iloilo Centrale is expected to have P1.8 billion in inventory sales value for its residential component called Futura Rise Iloilo.

The township will also have commercial spaces, retail pods, child-centric spaces, and active zones with a football field.

On Tuesday, FLI shares were unchanged at 80 centavos per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Huge crime network forging Banksy, Warhol, and Picasso uncovered in Italy

MODERN and contemporary fake artworks including Banksy, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol are displayed following an Italian Carabinieri operation against a large-scale pan-European forgery network in Pisa, Italy, Nov 9, 2024. — REUTERS/CARABINIERI

ROME — Italian police have uncovered a large-scale pan-European forgery network making and selling fake artworks attributed to some of the biggest names in modern and contemporary art including Banksy, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol.

Some 38 people were placed under investigation in Italy, Spain, France, and Belgium on suspicion of conspiracy to handle stolen goods, forgery, and illegal sale of artworks, the paramilitary Carabinieri art squad and the Pisa prosecutors’ office said in a joint statement on Monday.

The chief prosecutor of Pisa, Teresa Angela Camelio, said experts from the Banksy archive who assisted with the investigation considered Monday’s operation as “the biggest act of protection of Banksy’s work.”

Pest Control, the office that represents the artist, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On its website, it says forgery is common and urges people who want to buy any Banksy pieces to watch out for “expensive fakes.”

Other allegedly forged artists included giants of 19th and 20th century art such as Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Henry Moore, Marc Chagall, Francis Bacon, Paul Klee, and Piet Mondrian.

Investigators said they had seized more than 2,100 fake pieces, with a potential market value of about €200 million ($215 million) and discovered six forgery workshops including two in Tuscany, one in Venice, and the rest elsewhere in Europe.

They said their probe started in 2023 when they seized about 200 fake pieces from the collection of a businessman in Pisa including a copy of a drawing by Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani.

That led them to forgeries sold by auction houses across Italy, and to connect them to a known group believed to specialize in forgeries of Banksy and Warhol.

To boost their credentials, the unnamed suspects organized two Banksy exhibitions with a published catalogue in prestigious locations in Mestre near Venice and Cortona in Tuscany, investigators said. — Reuters

Jollibee’s Q3 income soars to P2.81B, fueled by int’l business

JOLLIBEEGROUP.COM

JOLLIBEE Foods Corp. (JFC) recorded a 15.3% increase in third-quarter (Q3) attributable net income to P2.81 billion, driven by its international business and the recent acquisition of South Korea’s Compose Coffee.

Third-quarter revenue rose by 10.1% to P67.73 billion from P61.53 billion a year ago, JFC said in a statement to the stock exchange on Tuesday.

System-wide sales (SWS) grew by 13.2% to P98.48 billion versus P86.96 billion in 2023, driven by the 20.5% growth of the international business. Operating income also rose by 11.6% to P4.81 billion.

“Compose Coffee contributed 11.5% to the growth of the international business’ SWS and added 2,580 stores to the global store network as of the end of the quarter,” JFC Chief Executive Officer Ernesto Tanmantiong said.

According to JFC, the consolidation of Compose Coffee delivered close to P500 million worth of income from Aug. 16 to Sept. 30.

In July, JFC announced the acquisition of Compose Coffee for $340 million to bolster its coffee and tea business.

The company’s SWS growth for the quarter was led by the 5.7% increase in same-store sales growth (SSSG), the 1.8% jump in new store sales, and the 1.2% improvement in foreign currency changes.

SSSG of the domestic business surged by 6.4%, led by the Jollibee, Mang Inasal, and Chowking brands. The Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Africa (EMEAA) region recorded a 10.5% jump in SSSG, led by Jollibee Vietnam.

In North America, the SSSG of Jollibee United States and Canada rose by 19.5% and 19.7%, respectively, while Smashburger dropped by 4.5%.

In terms of SSSG for the coffee and tea segment, JFC said the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL) brand saw a 10.7% increase, while Milksha posted a 4.2% growth, and Highlands Coffee dropped by 2.5%.

The China business declined by 12.1% due to continued weak consumer spending.

“The Philippine business saw a healthy increase in SWS (+8.5%) and SSS (+6.4%) even after lapping a strong SWS and SSS growth of +16.5% and +13%, respectively, last year. Organically, the international business grew SWS by 9% and SSS by 4.5%,” Mr. Tanmantiong said.

“Our Jollibee brand, which has over 1,700 stores globally and accounts for 51.0% of JFC’s organic SWS, grew robustly by 12.6% in the third quarter. The growth was broad-based, coming from all regions: Philippines +10.3%, North America +14.4%, EMEAA +26.8%, and China (Hong Kong and Macau) +12.7%,” he added.

For the first nine months, JFC grew its attributable net income by 24.1% to P8.47 billion from P6.82 billion a year ago.

Revenue increased by 10.6% to P196.25 billion, while SWS climbed by 12% to P281.11 billion.

As of the end of September, JFC increased its store network by 42.8% to 9,598, with 3,340 domestic stores and 6,258 international branches.

Of the international stores, JFC has 568 in China, 381 in North America, 362 in EMEAA, 815 with Highlands Coffee, 1,219 with CBTL, 333 with Milksha, and 2,580 with Compose Coffee.

JFC shares went down by 0.23% or 60 centavos to P259.40 per share on Tuesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Dance program launched for patients with Parkinson’s disease

THOSE afflicted with Parkinson’s disease (PD) must contend with tremors, stiffness, and uncontrollable movements in their body as a result of the deterioration of their nervous system. Proper care is needed for diagnosed individuals to have a good quality of life.

Bereber Sayaw PD, an art-based supportive care service founded by Filipino-Australian choreographer and performer Novy Bereber, aims to fill that gap by offering dance therapy to PD patients.

“We believe in helping everyone, especially the underserved individuals with PD. We strongly believe in the power of love and joy in the art of dance,” said Mr. Bereber at the launch of his initiative on Nov. 5.

“Some parts of their body may be diseased, but no one is immune to music and dance — on the contrary, they are fully attuned to it.”

With the goal of uplifting individuals with the illness, the therapy-based dance program involves lessons in an easygoing social setting. All principles, approaches, and concepts taught in the classes are selected to benefit those with the condition.

HOW IT STARTED
Mr. Bereber told BusinessWorld that his love for dancing and teaching, which saw him choreographing for many Philippine dance companies over the years, found its greater purpose upon discovering what PD was.

“It started when I saw a job advertisement for a Parkinson’s teacher for dance. I had no idea what it was at the time, but I later took workshops in Australia as well as additional classes in New York,” he said.

In 2019, Bereber Sayaw PD was born. Combining Mr. Bereber’s experience as a performer and choreographer plus his additional training on PD, the program’s chair-based dance movements target parts of the body that need more attention.

The description of the program reads: “It consists of exercises that target the spine, upper limbs and hands while providing a stable, safe base to engage the lower extremities. These movements are effective means to stimulate the participant’s creativity, imagination, cognitive skills, and emotions through movements.”

“Because of increased movement and coordination through dance, participants get to exercise more and chase away the horrendous issues like loss of balance and muscle control,” he added.

FURTHER GOALS
For Mr. Bereber, aside from providing dance therapy, the awareness about the disease raised by the organization’s campaigns can “break the misconception that there is nothing much we can do once an individual is affected by Parkinson’s.”

“We can help these individuals turn their lives around, finding joy and hope in staying active, expressing themselves, or reaching their full potential no matter their age or circumstance,” he explained. The advocacy campaign will be led by partner creative agency Brand Worx.

Bereber Sayaw PD hopes to be a nationally recognized foundation with a vision to help the underserved PD community in the Philippines and in Asia through supportive care.

“By creating a hub, a center, where they can gather and share their experiences through the art of dance and music, we allow them to see that there is no right or wrong in how they choose to express,” Mr. Bereber said.

The Parkinson’s Disease Care Ecosystem of Patients-Carers-Benefactors-Medical Community-LGUs is now connected under the dance programs.

For more information on Bereber Sayaw PD, visit its social media pages. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

Treasury bonds fetch higher rates

BW FILE PHOTO

THE GOVERNMENT made a full award of the Treasury bonds (T-bonds) it offered on Monday at a higher average rate, tracking the increase in local yields following the US election.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P15 billion as planned via the reissued 20-year bonds it auctioned off on Tuesday as total bids reached P27.017 billion, or almost double the amount on offer.

This brought the outstanding volume for the series to P142.7 billion, the Treasury said in a statement.

The bonds, which have a remaining life of 19 years and six months, were awarded at an average rate of 6.095%. Accepted yields ranged from 6.048% to 6.12%.

The average rate of the reissued papers rose by 23.4 basis points (bps) from the 5.861% fetched for the series’ last award on Sept. 24. However, this was 78 bps lower than the 6.875% coupon for the issue.

This was likewise 5.8 bps above the 6.037% seen for the same bond series and 4 bps higher than the 6.055% quoted for the 20-year bond at the secondary market before Tuesday’s auction, based on PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service (BVAL) Reference Rates data provided by the BTr.

“The full award today and the slightly higher rate from secondary BVAL rates indicate strong investor demand for longer-term issuances following the recent spike in bond yields,” a trader said in an e-mail on Tuesday.

Rates of local bonds tracked the recent rise in US Treasury yields after Donald J. Trump won the US presidential election, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“The comparable 20-year US Treasury yield hovered among 3.5-month highs at 4.57% lately as a Trump presidency could lead to fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts due to possible protectionist policies such as higher US import tariffs or tighter immigration rules could lead to higher US inflation, and pro-US economic growth policies such as tax cuts and economic stimulus could lead to wider US budget deficits and higher supply of US debt that could lead to higher bond yields,” Mr. Ricafort said.

Tuesday’s auction was the government’s last T-bond offering for November. It raised the planned P30 billion via long-term papers this month as it made full awards at its two offerings.

The BTr is looking to borrow P90 billion from the domestic market this month, or P60 billion via Treasury bills and P30 billion through T-bonds.

The government borrows from local and foreign sources to help fund its budget deficit, which is capped at P1.48 trillion or 5.6% of gross domestic product this year.

Prospects of a near-term rebound in the $28-trillion US government bond market are faltering, as Mr. Trump’s return to the White House is expected to usher in fiscally expansive policies that could temper the extent of the Federal Reserve’s future rate cuts, Reuters reported.

The Fed lowered rates by 25 bps at its monetary policy meeting on Thursday, following a jumbo-sized, 50-bp reduction that kicked off its current easing cycle in September.

But the outlook for further rate cuts has been clouded by expectations that key elements of Mr. Trump’s economic platform such as tax cuts and tariffs will lead to faster growth and higher consumer prices. That could make the Fed wary of risking an inflationary rebound by cutting rates too deeply next year, denting expectations that falling borrowing costs could spur a rebound in bonds after a weeks-long selloff.

Treasury yields — which move inversely to government bond prices and tend to follow interest rate expectations — have surged by over 70 bps since mid-September and recently notched their biggest one-month rise since the 2008 global financial crisis, according to UBS Global Wealth Management. The move coincided with Mr. Trump’s improving standing in polls and betting markets throughout October.

Fed funds futures show investors are now expecting rates to decline to about 3.7% by the end of next year from the current 4.5%-4.75% range. That is about 100 bps higher than what was priced in September.

Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell on Thursday declined to speculate on the impact the new US administration will have on monetary policy. He said higher yields were likely more reflective of an improved economic outlook rather than higher inflation expectations. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters

Citicore, Chinese firm Trina sign solar panel deal

“THE PROCUREMENT… is part of our efforts to secure high-quality and efficient technology for our projects,” said Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Oliver Y. Tan.

SAAVEDRA-LED Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) has signed a two-gigawatt (GW) supply contract with Chinese company Trina Solar Co., Ltd.

Trina Solar will supply solar panels to CREC to be used for the latter’s rollout of the two-GW capacity, aiming to achieve five GW of renewable energy capacity within five years, the local renewable energy company said in a statement on Tuesday.

“With our first gigawatt nearing completion, we are now paving the way for our next two gigawatts of solar projects through this newest supply contract with Trina Solar,” CREC President and Chief Executive Officer Oliver Y. Tan said.

Mr. Tan said that CREC’s partnership with Trina Solar has totaled three GW.

“This two-GW supply contract, our largest in the Philippines to date, highlights the deep trust and shared vision between Trina Solar and Citicore,” Trina Solar Executive President Helena Li said.

CREC said that Trina Solar’s panels are high power and low voltage, which provide better leverage cost of energy — maximizing energy efficiency and yield, and ensuring long-term reliability.

“By combining Trina Solar’s innovative solar technology with CREC’s extensive expertise in the Philippine solar generation landscape, the continued partnership aims to accelerate the development of solar power and contribute to powering a greener and more sustainable Philippines,” the company said.

In October last year, the Citicore group signed a master services agreement with Trina Solar to purchase 700 megawatts (MW) worth of panels for 2024 delivery.

CREC, directly and through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, manages a diversified portfolio of renewable energy generation projects, power project development operations, and retail electricity supply services.

Currently, it has a combined gross installed capacity of 285 MW from its 10 solar power facilities in the Philippines. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Philippine banking sector’s net income climbs by 6.4% as of September

BW FILE PHOTO

By Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINE banking system’s net profit jumped by 6.4% at end-September as both net interest and non-interest income grew, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

The combined net income of the banking industry rose to P290 billion in the first nine months of 2024 from P272.6 billion in the same period a year ago.

Banks’ net interest income climbed by 14% year on year to P767 billion as of September  from P672.5 billion. Broken down, interest income increased by 18% to P1.11 trillion from P940.6 billion, while interest expense jumped by 28.1% to P343 billion from P267.6 billion.

Meanwhile, the sector’s non-interest income went up by 2.3% to P171.9 billion in the period from P168 billion.

This came as earnings from fees and commissions rose by 12.6% to P118.6 billion from P105.3 billion. Trading income stood at P18.9 billion, higher by 9.5% from P17.2 billion in the year-ago period.

Lenders’ non-interest expenses jumped by 10.8% to P521.5 billion from P470.8 billion.

Meanwhile, the industry’s losses on financial assets widened by 27.7% to P76.2 billion in the nine-month period from the P59.7-billion shortfall a year prior.

Provisions for credit losses grew by 27.8% to P85.7 billion from P67.1 billion, while bad debts written off surged by 395% to P2.29 billion from P462.7 million.

“The banks generally met our expectations for earnings in the first nine months. We’re still seeing some tailwinds from the high interest rate environment, which kept net interest margins for banks at a robust level,” AP Securities, Inc. Research Head Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia said.

However, Mr. Garcia noted that the decline in borrowing costs may make it difficult for banks to keep margins at current levels.

Since August, the central bank has so far reduced the target reverse repurchase rate by a total of 50 basis points to 6%.

The Monetary Board is scheduled to have its final policy review this year on Dec. 19.

“We might see some positive effects from the BSP’s RRR (reserve requirement ratio) cut, but this is still subject to the presence of demand for loans, otherwise it will just be excess liquidity for the banks,” Mr. Garcia said.

“They might be able to deploy this excess liquidity in the following quarters as rates decline further thus boosting demand for loans,” he added.

Effective Oct. 25, the BSP reduced the RRR for universal and commercial banks and nonbank financial institutions with quasi-banking functions by 250 bps to 7% from 9.5%.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. has said the BSP is eyeing to slash big banks’ reserve requirements to as low as zero before his term ends in 2029.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the continued growth in the industry’s earnings may be driven by the double-digit expansion in lending.

Earlier data from the BSP showed bank lending jumped by 11% year on year to P12.4 trillion in September from P11.17 trillion a year ago. This was also the fastest growth since the 13.7% posted in December 2022.

“Thus, continued growth in net income led to higher capitalization of banks that enabled banks to increase lending and other investment activities, thereby leading to continued growth in banks’ resources,” Mr. Ricafort added.

TOTAL ASSETS
Meanwhile, the banking industry’s total assets climbed by 11.4% year on year to P26.7 trillion at end-September from P24 trillion a year ago, separate data from the BSP showed.

Banks’ assets are mainly supported by deposits, loans, and investments. These include cash and due from banks as well as interbank loans receivable (IBL) and reverse repurchase (RRP), net of allowances for credit losses.

The banking sector’s total loan portfolio inclusive of IBL and RRP jumped by 14.4% to P14.4 trillion as of end-September from P12.6 trillion in the previous year.

Net investments, or financial assets and equity investments in subsidiaries, increased by 11.9% to P7.7 trillion from P6.9 trillion a year ago.

Cash and due from banks stood at P2.4 trillion, lower by 13.6% from P2.8 trillion a year earlier.

Net real and other properties acquired rose by 6.9% to P112 billion from P104.8 billion a year ago.

Banks’ other assets surged by 30% to P2 trillion from P1.56 trillion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the total liabilities of the banking system grew by 11.3% to P23.4 trillion from P21 trillion in the year-ago period.

Arts & Culture (11/13/24)

Book sale to rehab Naga art hub

RESURRECTION FURNITURE will be holding a book sale at 10a Alabama, Quezon City for the benefit of typhoon-damaged Savage Mind: Arts, Books, and Cinema in Naga City, Bicol, with all proceeds going to the Savage Mind Bookshop. The sale will be held on Nov. 30, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to buy books or donate books, or both.

National Theater Live’s Hamlet at Vertis Norte

FOR Season 2 of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Ayala Mall Cinema’s National Theater Live, a performance of Hamlet, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch will be screened at Ayala Malls’ Vertis North on Nov. 26. Tickets can be booked in advance through 7759-8000 loc. 6371.

Philippine-Korean friendship celebrated through music

THE concert, Harmony at 75: A Celebration of Philippine-Korean Friendship Through Music, will see Korea’s all-female percussion ensemble Groove performing at the Leandro Locsin Auditorium at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in Intramuros, Manila, on Nov. 15, at 5 p.m. They will be joined by two of the Philippines’ top traditional music groups, the University of the Philippines Tugtugang Musika Asyatika (UP TUGMA) and the Padayon Rondalla, who will perform classic Filipino tunes. This musical collaboration is a follow-up to last year’s successful Cultural Crescendo concert, which also celebrated cultural exchange through music. The free event is co-presented by the NCCA. Seats can be reserved via bit.ly/Harmony75RegistrationLink.

Exploding Galaxies brings titles to US, launches one on Kindle

INDEPENDENT press Exploding Galaxies is presenting its two titles — Wilfrido D. Nolledo’s But for the Lovers and Linda Ty-Casper’s The Three-Cornered Sun — on Nov. 16, 2-4 p.m. (California time) in an event called An Afternoon with Exploding Galaxies at the Echo Park Library in Los Angeles, California. The event will be streamed online via Zoom. More details plus the registration link can be found on their social media pages. Meanwhile, their first title, Wilfrido D. Nolledo’s But for the Lovers, is now available on Kindle.

Tutti Trombone all set at FEU Auditorium

FOLLOWING previous Tutti concerts in the past, (Flutti, Guitarri, Celli, and Harpi) the Far Eastern University  (FEU) Center for the Arts presents the latest concert in the series, Tutti Trombone: A Collaborative Concert, featuring the Thomasian Trombone Choir and the FEU Drum and Bugle Corps. (DBC). It is presented with the special participation of Thanapoom Sriwiset, assistant principal trombonist of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra; New Orleans-based performer, educator, arranger and band leader Ethan Santos; and Koowie Relevo, FEU DBC’s assistant artistic director, IABF Class of 2017. It is set for Nov. 18, 6 p.m., at the FEU Auditorium, which is currently celebrating its 75th anniversary. Admission is free. Registration is available via this link: https://forms.office.com/r/eWHud2uEAS.

Art Fair Philippines leaves the car park for 2025 edition

ART Fair Philippines, which exhibits and sells modern and contemporary Philippine visual art, has announced that for the 2025 edition it will be moving to the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati City, leaving the carpark at the Ayala Center where it has been held since its founding. The fair will take place from Feb. 21 to 23. Updates on Art Fair Philippines 2025, including the full roster of participating galleries, featured artists, and a comprehensive program of events, will be posted on Art Fair Philippines’ social media pages.

Part 2 of Project Belonging exhibit now open

THE two-part exhibit Project Belonging: From There to Here recently launched its second part. Titled The Familiar in the Foreign, and featuring works by Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan and Enrique Marty, the second half of the exhibition was curated by Spain-based Filipino curator Kristine Guzmán. It is the comeback exhibition of the Aquilizan couple since their return to the Philippines. It is based on a dual approach of self-representation, considering the self as a product of society and emerging from social and symbolic interaction. The exhibit is on view until April 16, 2025, at the Wilson L. Sy Prints & Drawings Gallery of the Ateneo Art Gallery.

The M unites works of Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Nena Saguil

IN THE exhibit Material Inspirations, the works of Anita Magsaysay-Ho and Nena Saguil, two groundbreaking Filipino artists who transformed modern art in the Philippines, come together. Both born in 1914 and classmates at the University of the Philippines, the two women pursued distinctive paths that broke barriers in a male-dominated art world. Curated by Patrick Flores, the exhibition highlights each artist’s signature technique — egg tempera for Ms. Magsaysay-Ho and pen-and-ink for Ms. Saguil — bringing their expressive styles to life. The exhibition is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila’s (The M) 3/F South Gallery, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Art exhibit supports healthcare initiatives

HEALTH Care Without Harm Southeast Asia (HCWH SEA) has announced a fundraising exhibit, Beyond the Canvas: Art for Sustainable Healthcare, organized in partnership with Wanderwall Art Gallery and Exhibitions. Also sponsored by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the exhibit showcases a diverse collection of art celebrating health, life, the environment, and climate action all in support of HCWH SEA’s mission to transform healthcare worldwide. On view are works by Cesar Legaspi, Juvenal Sanso, Onib Olmedo, Araceli Dans, Romulo Galicano, Tam Austria, and Lydia Velasco, among others. Donations will fund HCWH SEA’s advocacy. The exhibit runs until Nov. 27 at the South Wing Lobby of the House of Representatives in Batasan, Quezon City, with an online showcase of the catalog available at https://wanderwall.ph/artworks/.

Cebu Landmasters targets to launch 2 more projects before yearend

FOR THE FIRST nine months, Cebu Landmasters, Inc. recorded a 7% increase in its net income to P2.3 billion from P2.2 billion last year. — NORTHGROVEATPRISTINATOWN.COM

CEBU Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) targets to unveil two more projects before the end of the year, its chairman said on Tuesday.

“We are set to launch two more projects in the remaining months of the year: The North Grove at Pristina Town, a two-tower upper mid-market project in Cebu with over 1,000 units, and the first three towers in Manresa Town in Cagayan de Oro, which is CLI’s second township,” CLI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jose R. Soberano III said in a statement to the stock exchange.

CLI Chief Operating Officer Jose Franco B. Soberano said in a separate virtual briefing that the company will soon start receiving reservations for the upper mid-market project in Pristina Town.

“That’s over P2 billion potentially of revenue from the initial launch there,” he said.

He added that CLI is eyeing to launch the maiden residential offering in its Manresa Town project by December.

For the first nine months, CLI recorded a 7% increase in its net income to P2.3 billion from P2.2 billion last year, led by the core business and recurring income streams.

Revenue improved by 9.2% to P14.1 billion as property sales grew by 8.7% to P13.8 billion on strong demand across residential, mid-market, and economic housing segments, along with commercial lot sales.

From January to September, CLI launched P8.2 billion worth of projects with 1,664 residential units, of which 57% is for the mid-market segment while 32% is for the economic segment.

Hospitality revenue rose 52% to P149 million, led by the opening of new properties, while leasing revenue surged by 47% to P144 million, with 9,219 square meters of new leasable space offered.

“With strong nine-month results and a growing portfolio driven by regional demand, CLI is well-positioned to continue its momentum heading into the yearend,” it said.

“Its focus on regional expansion, diverse housing solutions, and a solid project pipeline solidify its leadership in Visayas and Mindanao’s real estate market, with potential for growth in Luzon,” it added.

On Tuesday, CLI stocks dropped by 1.08% or three centavos to P2.75 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Can Philippine manufacturing ever recover? A Plan B

FREEPIK

(Part 7)

As we have seen in the previous columns in this series, manufacturing employment is a better predictor of economic development than manufacturing output. In fact, even today as much as 24% of the labor force in Germany is still accounted for by manufacturing (although it is less than 10% in the US). It has become, however, more difficult for emerging markets like the Philippines to sustain manufacturing employment shares as their incomes rise.

As was empirically shown by the ADB study of Dr. Jesus Felipe et al, the scope for the growth of employment in manufacturing is being limited by certain structural forces in global trade and investment as well as by the increasing awareness of the carbon footprint of many industries, and the possible restrictions on carbon emission to avoid the negative effects of climate change.

Thus, we need to consider whether economies like the Philippines today can get rich by shifting to services without achieving high employment shares in manufacturing.

The verdict is still that there have not been examples of economies that have accomplished this feat.  In fact, many Latin American economies have gotten stuck in the so-called “middle-income trap” because of their failure to truly industrialize. The Philippines must do everything possible to raise its manufacturing employment share at least to double its present level of 8% of total labor force.

We must, however, have a Plan B if all our best efforts fail.

There is still hope that because of our demographic dividend in a world of shrinking and aging populations we may aspire to be the first exception. There is a growing array of new services and service delivery modes, some of which have high economies of scale, that could possibly help us to attain high-income status even if our manufacturing share of employment continues to be below our target.

With all of its serious social costs, there is the phenomenon of our more than 10 million Overseas Filipino Workers who contribute to the GDP through their remittances of almost $40 billion annually. These are predominantly service workers.

Then another 10% of our GDP can be attributed to the very resilient IT-BPM sector. Our close exposure to this sector makes it possible for us to be a pacesetter in the so-called Industry 4.0 or IR 4.0.

Continuing to quote from the blog of Eric Howard (“The Evolution of the Industrial Ages: Industry 1.0 to 4.0”), the boom in the internet and telecommunications industry in the 1990s revolutionized the way people connected and exchanged information. It also resulted in paradigm changes in the manufacturing sector and traditional operations merging the boundaries of the physical and virtual worlds. Cyber Physical Systems (CPSs) have further blurred this boundary, resulting in numerous rapid technological disruptions in the industry. CPSs allow the machines to communicate more intelligently with each other with almost no physical or geographical barriers. Many of the new technologies that make possible the advent of the so-called smart machines, such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotization, and Data Analytics are really part of the service sector. Thus, those applying these new technologies can be considered as service workers and not part of the manufacturing labor force.

According to Wikipedia, the phrase “Fourth Industrial Revolution” was first introduced by a team of scientists developing a high-tech strategy for the German government. Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF) introduced the phrase to a wider audience in a 2015 article published by Foreign Affairs. Schwab includes in this fourth era IR 4.0 technologies that combine hardware, software, and biology (cyber-physical systems) and gives the highest importance to advances in communication and connectivity. Among the emerging technologies that characterize IR 4.0 are robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, the Internet of Things, decentralized consensus, data analytics, fifth generation wireless technologies, 3D printing, and fully autonomous vehicles.

There is no question that the manufacturing sector is already a major beneficiary of IR 4.0. CPSs are used to share, analyze, and guide intelligent actions for various processes in industry to make machines smarter. These smart machines are enabled to continuously monitor, detect, and predict faults to suggest preventive measures and remedial action. This allows better preparedness and lower downtime for industries. The same dynamic approach can also be applied to other aspects of the industrial process such as logistics, production scheduling, optimization of throughput times, quality control, capacity utilization and efficiency boosting. CPSs also allow an industry to be completely virtually visualized, monitored, and managed from a remote location, thus adding a new dimension to the manufacturing process. It puts machines, people, processes, and infrastructure into a single networked loop making the overall management highly efficient. It must be pointed out that strictly speaking, the visualization, monitoring and management of the processes from a remote location (done by BPO-IT) are already part of the service sector. That is where the Philippines has a significant competitive advantage as long as we address our serious crisis in the quality education of our youth.

In the recent BusinessWorld Anniversary Report (Sept. 9), Dominic Vincent Ligot, founder of Cirrolytix and research consultant for the IT-BPM Association of the Philippines, remarked that the Philippines has to significantly increase its talent pool of cybersecurity experts to help boost the country’s resilience against cyberattacks in order to attract more foreign investors. This risk is faced by all major countries that are quite advanced in their adoption of IR 4.0. Secretary Frederick Go of the Presidential Office for Investment Affairs is actually targeting the upskilling, reskilling, and retooling of workers so that we can produce 300,000 additional experts in cybersecurity in the next three years or so. Mr. Ligot said this is possible if we promote closer links between the academe and industry. These experts can be trained in non-degree programs which can target as participants some of those among the 1.7 million working for the IT-BPM sector who are most at risk of being made redundant by Artificial Intelligence and Robotization (e.g., contact center workers). 

Another big increase in demand in the IR 4.0 sector will be for data analysts and data scientists. These are the types of knowledge intensive workers who can be as productive or even more productive than manufacturing workers and thus enable the Philippines to attain high-income status even if we fail to raise our manufacturing labor force to the desired 16-18%. I must point out, however, that with the present composition of the IT-BPM sector, 60% of the revenues still come from the less knowledge-intensive contact centers, and thus results in lower labor productivity than manufacturing. A quick calculation I made using the IT-BPM revenue of $35 billion, an average exchange rate of P57 to one US dollar, and a labor force of 1.7 million resulted in a labor productivity figure for the IT-BPM sector 38.4 times that of the agricultural sector — still below the 50.8 times of manufacturing. This could change if we employ the workers in the IT-BPM sector, less and less in contact centers but more and more in knowledge-intensive work like cybersecurity, data science, business analytics, telemedicine, animation, game development, legal documentation, etc. In fact, Domnic Ligot of the IT-BPM Industry Association actually reported that the Philippines could emerge as a beneficiary of job cuts due to AI in developed countries like the US. It is highly probable that outsourcing might actually accelerate hand-in-hand with the AI trend.

Obviously, this Plan B will not work if we fail to address the existing crisis in the quality of education that o ur public schools impart to the Filipino youth. It is of the utmost importance that the leaders of the business and academic communities work very closely with Secretary of Education Sonny Angara in coming out with the solutions to this problem, as they are already doing through the Philippine Business for Education Foundation.

It is also important that the government increase the budget for public education closer to 6% of GDP, comparable to what our ASEAN neighbors are spending. Recently, on Sept. 11, Mr. Angara, in a budget hearing at the House of Representatives, declared that some P500 billion is needed in the 2025 budget to give public school teachers a salary hike of P15,000 monthly.

 

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is professor emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a visiting professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

BSP amends rules on trust account reviews

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) has amended its rules on the periodic review of trust, investment management and other fiduciary accounts.

In a circular posted on its website, the BSP said the Monetary Board approved amendments to the Manuals of Regulations for Banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions.

These amendments seek “to set the supervisory expectations on the conduct of periodic review of trust, investment management and other fiduciary accounts,” it said.

“A trust entity (TE) shall conduct periodic reviews of its trust, investment management, and other fiduciary accounts, hereinafter referred to as ‘accounts review,’ to ensure that the TE performs its fiduciary duties and responsibilities,” according to the circular.

The accounts review will include two types, namely the administrative and investment reviews.

The administrative review, which must be conducted once every three years, shall “ensure that accounts are being managed in accordance with their governing agreements; relevant laws, rules, and regulations; and applicable internal policies and procedures of the TE.”

Meanwhile, the investment review is conducted to ensure a client’s investment risks are properly managed and aligned with their risk profile, investment objectives, risk tolerance and liquidity needs, the BSP said. 

“Upon the conduct of an investment review, the TE should be able to determine whether certain portfolios/assets are no longer appropriate for an account and/or a change in the structure(s) or composition of the portfolio(s) is required, consistent with prudent investment practice.”

The investment review must also be set at least annually or more frequently depending on the nature of the account, it added.

The central bank said all accounts are required to undergo a review. However, there are alternative approaches in select cases.

“The review of trust and other fiduciary accounts where a TE exercises investment discretion and accounts that possess unique, unusual characteristics, are the subject of pending litigation, or contain a complex portfolio shall be conducted at the account level.”

“The account level review shall apply for both administrative and investment reviews,” it added.

Investment reviews of multiple accounts under a single client may be done at an aggregate level to account for the totality of the contractual relationships of the client with the TE, regardless of the mandate of the TE over accounts, the circular said, but noted that accounts vested with public interest may be subject to account level review.

“Homogeneous accounts or those that possess common characteristics based on the type of product or service, or the type of investment outlet… may be subject to collective administrative and/or investment review/s.”

Meanwhile, accounts of direct participants in unit investment trust funds may be excluded from the administrative and investment reviews.

“Regardless of the approach taken for an account, the TE shall ensure that its exercise of fiduciary duties is not undermined. The exclusion of an account from a review shall be done with proper bases,” the BSP said.

“In this regard, the TE shall implement effective operational procedures and controls to ensure that an account excluded from reviews is properly administered and invested in assets that are aligned with the client’s risk profile and investment objective.”

The circular also details the guidelines for the accounts review process, which requires a statement of purpose, approaches adopted for the conduct of the review and the scope of the administrative and investment reviews.

Under the administrative review, TEs will be assessed for the existence of an accurate, complete and current governing instrument as well as the extent and timeliness of their performance of the duties and responsibilities set out in the governing agreements and as required by regulatory bodies.

Meanwhile, the investment review will evaluate the suitability of the investment portfolio, propriety of asset allocation and promptness of deployment of funds, among other indicators. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

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