In a meeting at Beijing’s Diaoyutai state guest house, where China’s leaders have traditionally received senior foreign visitors, Xi said he was very happy to see the Microsoft MSFT.O co-founder and philanthropist after three years, and that Gates was the first American friend he had met this year.

“I often say the foundation of US-China relations lies with its people. I place my hopes on the American people,” a video published by state broadcaster CCTV showed Xi as saying.

“With the current global situation, we can carry out various activities beneficial to our two countries and people, activities that benefit humanity as a whole,” he said.

Gates, who arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, June 14, said he was “honored” to have the chance to meet. “We’ve always had great conversations and we’ll have lot of important topics to discuss today…. It’s very exciting to be back.”

In a post on his personal blog, Gates said he and Xi had discussed global health and development challenges such as health inequity and climate change.

Xi stopped traveling abroad for nearly three years as China shut its borders during the coronavirus pandemic and his international meetings since the reopening have mostly been with other state leaders.

A number of CEOs have visited China since it reopened early this year, but most have met with government ministers.

Gates stepped down from Microsoft’s board in 2020 to focus on philanthropy in the fields of global health, education and climate change.

The last reported meeting between Xi and Gates was in 2015, when they met on the sidelines of the Boao forum in Hainan province. In early 2020, Xi wrote to Gates thanking him and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for pledging assistance to China, including $5 million for its fight against COVID-19.

Xi also discussed the global rise of artificial intelligence(AI) with Bill Gates and said he welcomed US firms including Microsoft bringing their AI tech to China, two sources familiar with the talks said.

One of the sources said they also discussed Microsoft’s business development in China.

Not pursuing hegemony

The mood of the foreign business community towards China has turned more cautious as Sino-US tensions intensify and Xi increases China’s focus on national security.

Gates’ visit comes ahead of a long-delayed trip to China by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken aimed at stabilizing relations between the world’s two largest economies and strategic rivals.

Blinken had a tense call with China’s foreign minister Qin Gang on Wednesday, during which Qin urged the United States to stop meddling in its affairs and harming its security.

During his meeting with Gates, Xi said China would not follow the old path of a “strong country seeking hegemony” but would work with other countries to achieve common development, according to the People’s Daily newspaper. China often accuses the United States of pursuing hegemony.

Apart from meeting Xi, Gates gave a speech at the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute about the need to use technology to solve global health challenges during his visit.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Beijing municipal government, which founded the institute with Tsinghua University, also pledged to each provide $50 million to bolster the institute’s drug discovery capacity. – Rappler.com

Meanwhile, all domestic flights of PAL will now operate from Terminal 2, alongside domestic flights of AirAsia.

The reassignments are part of the Schedule and Terminal Assignment Rationalization (STAR) program of the Manila International Airport Authority, which started on April 16. Under the program, MIAA estimates the capacity of Terminal 2 to increase from 7.5 million to 10 million passengers a year.

Terminal 2 was originally designed as a domestic terminal with continuous passenger flow. But in the 1990s, PAL began to use Terminal 2 exclusively for its international and domestic operations, an arrangement that was entered into during a time of financial distress for the flagship carrier.

Prior to this, PAL also began moving flights to and from Singapore, Ho Chi Minh, and Phnom Penh to Terminal 1.

See the full list of terminal reassignments here. – Rappler.com

Megaworld’s strategic focus will extend beyond Metro Manila as the company seeks to develop townships in new growth areas like Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Northern Luzon, and selected regions in the Visayas and Mindanao.

“This [capital expenditure] program will allow Megaworld to set its sight on various opportunities in building townships or mixed-use lifestyle communities, which is already the strength of our company. Aside from residential, office, malls, and hotels, there are more to offer to make every township more relevant and sustainable to the next generation of Filipinos,” said Kevin Tan, Megaworld’s chief strategy officer.

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Megaworld exceeds targets, nets P14.4 billion in 2022

Megaworld is set to construct additional hotels and MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) facilities, including convention centers, in key cities within the next five years to leverage the increasing tourism demand.

In response to the rising demand for workspaces, Megaworld is set to construct more “sustainable” Grade A office towers. These office towers will cater to emerging businesses and industries while also accommodating the continued demand from the business process outsourcing sector. The selected locations for these office towers include Metro Manila, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Davao.

Megaworld also plans to expand its Lifestyle Malls portfolio by constructing new malls and commercial developments in various regions. Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Cebu, Bacolod, and Davao have been identified as prime locations for these upcoming projects.

“There will be some land acquisitions during this period, and we are also preparing for that. Most of the budget will really be used to spruce up and expand the existing townships and, of course, to put up more residential, offices, malls, and hotel properties,” Tan said.

Since its incorporation in 1989, Megaworld and its affiliates have launched more than 741 residential
developments, 74 premier offices, 24 lifestyle malls and commercial centers, and 13 homegrown hotels and resorts.

Megaworld, so far, owns or has development rights to over 5,000 hectares of land located throughout the Philippines. – Rappler.com

“It seems to be arbitrary and how are they able to get away with it? How come we don’t hear anything from CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines)?… Dapat makialam na ang gobyerno dito. Dapat tignan nila ’yan, imbestigahan nila. (The government should step in. They should look into this, investigate this.),” Human Rights Watch senior researcher Carlos Conde said in a Facebook post after his family’s travel was thrown into disarray due to a flight cancelation. 

“I don’t know if this is something they take seriously,” he told Rappler on June 14. “It’s not only just the flight; there are other arrangements that one needs when traveling, the whole domino effect,” he noted. 

The Senate committees on tourism and on public services heard the distressed calls, and will start on June 21 an investigation into these complaints, philstar.com reported.

Cebu Pacific, meanwhile, told Rappler on Thursday, June 15, that weather woes, given the onset of the rainy season, are among the reasons for the flight cancelations, which in turn cause “consequential delays.”

Carmina Reyes-Romero, the airline’s director for corporate communication, said Cebu Pacific had heightened their customer care for canceled flights and refunds. 

She said that travel vouchers and hotel accommodation were offered if needed for on-the-spot and significant delays.

This contradicts the reports reaching Senator Nancy Binay’s office that “Cebu Pacific has not provided immediate assistance and support” for passengers who seek help from the airlines’ customer service hotlines and in-person help desks. Binay chairs the Senate committee on tourism. 

Delayed, boarded, deplaned

Michael Kevin Gox Goco is used to delayed flights by Cebu Pacific Air. Things came to a head, however, on May 19.

While he and his wife were already at the airport, they received an announcement that their flight to Iloilo had been moved from 7 pm to 9 pm. But when 9 pm came, airline staff said their plane needed fixing.

After waiting for some more time, the affected passengers stormed the manager’s office and demanded an explanation from Cebu Pacific.

“Majority of us refused [to rebook or cancel] because we must be in Iloilo for some urgent matters. One passenger was even bringing medicines. We told them that we would wait for our flight,” Goco said in a phone interview with Rappler on May 31.

By 2 am, they eventually were allowed to board the plane for a 3 am flight to Iloilo. But Goco noticed that the plane was understaffed and short of one pilot. At around 3:30 am, they were told to deplane because the flight had been canceled partly due to thunderstorms.

“That’s what you get if you fly on a budget. It was ‘business as usual’ for Cebu Pacific,” Goco said.

All he wanted, he said, was for the airline to deploy personnel who know crisis management, especially in dealing with irate passengers, but that didn’t happen. 

The Goco couple ended up rebooking their flights and paying the corresponding fees. 

No choice but…a class suit?

Conde, his wife, and children were also bound for Iloilo on June 1, having booked an 8 am flight through the Cebu Pacific website. 

It wasn’t a budget flight, the full fare was paid. 

The night before the flight, however, Cebu Pacific notified them that their flight had been moved earlier by four hours, to 4 am. 

Then an hour or less before 4 am, they received another notice – the airline had converted their trip into travel vouchers instead of giving them a refund.

“That would mean they already canceled our flight” without explicitly saying so, Conde said, frustrated.

“If Cebu Pacific is overbooking flights, as other passengers say on social media, then the government needs to control that,” said Conde. 

“Thousands of thousands of lives are affected by these arbitrary cancellations and delays. Maybe it’s time these affected passengers organize and file a class action suit against Cebu Pacific because there is no way you can get away with this,” he added.

“Objectively speaking, in terms of options, you don’t really have a choice. The refund will take at least a month or something. For someone who is financially distressed, you can’t wait for another month to refund your money,” Conde, who initially wanted a refund instead of vouchers, told Rappler.

“It’s just pointless to raise an argument with them, all you can do is just sigh, really. First of all, I don’t call their hotline anymore. Their travel customer service experience is really terrible. You can hardly talk to a human being. It’s infuriating because we are all looking forward to our flights. No explanations at all.”

Binay’s Senate Resolution No. 575 refers to complaints of offloading “without  any verifiable cause or reason due to the airline’s overbooking.” 

“Being offloaded without alternative flight options or compensation not only has a direct impact on someone’s travel plans, but it also reflects how airlines treat customers and tourists,” the draft resolution points out. 

Early reservation, offloaded nonetheless

Maizy Colleen Tan was scheduled to fly to Incheon, South Korea, on June 13 using a free-of-charge (FOC) ticket courtesy of Cebu Pacific. “I’m an influencer for Cebu Pacific,” said the fashion designer and influencer from Davao City.

She paid for her trip to from Davao City to Cebu City, where she was to take the connecting flight to Incheon. She was traveling with her mother and aunt, whose tickets were paid for. 

She had booked their flights as early as December 2022.

“What happened was my mom and my auntie’s flight [from Davao to Cebu] was rebooked. We bought the tickets at the full price of P45,000 plus a rebooking fee of P4,000,” Tan told Rappler on Wednesday, June 14. 

When Tan asked Cebu Pacific how they could catch the June 13 Cebu-Incheon flight, she was told the three of them would have to travel a day earlier, June 12, but with an added stop in Siargao. So it would be Davao-Siargao-Cebu, then Incheon.

Tan said they agreed to take the Davao-Siargao-Cebu flight.

However, while Tan eating breakfast at the airport in front of the gate where boarding for the Siaorgao flight had already started, she “received another Viber message that the June 13 Korean flight will be moved to June 18 instead.”

She asked the Cebu Pacific staff at the boarding gate what their group should do. She was told they should proceed to Siargao, then Cebu, and then inquire about the status of the Incheon flight there. 

She said the instruction made no sense if the flight to Korea had been moved back by a few days.

“It was just odd for them to abruptly offload those who booked early,” Tan said. 

Her original post said she sadly wheeled her bag home.

But when her Facebook lament received 9,000 reactions, 1,100 comments, and 6,900 shares, Tan said Romero reached out and rebooked their canceled local flights and also booked them on the earliest flight to Korea.

She stressed that aside from her FOC Cebu-Icheon flight, they did not get free flights. Instead, the airlines got their old reference codes for the paid canceled flights and regenerated new schedules at the original prices.

Her post update states she and her companions are now in Korea. While thanking the airlines for making the trip happen, Tan said she still wanted compensation “for the damage Cebu Pacific’s glitches have caused.”

Rainy season woes

When Rappler asked Romero on Thursday about passengers’ complaints on social media, she said: “We encourage our passengers to send their requests for assistance in our social media channels, via Facebook messenger or Twitter, or in our Guest Feedback form. We have agents who will answer passenger concerns and solve their issues.”

“The rainy season has officially started and it is [a] period that may dampen plans for many air travelers,” Romero explained. “If a Lightning Red Alert is imposed at the airport, all flight and ground operations are suspended until the alert is lowered to a Lightning Yellow Alert, indicating the resumption of flight operations.”

Romero acknowledged that flight suspension “may lead to consequential delays and sometimes, cancellations.”

Their foremost consideration is everyone’s safety, she stressed. “We will always prioritize the safety of the passengers, crew, and airport workers. Nevertheless, Cebu Pacific remains committed to hearing from our passengers and to flying them safely to their destinations.” 

Romero said the chain consequences of bad weather conditions include delays and cancellations.

“It impacts on crew limitation. Also, there are sunset-limited airports. ’Pag nag-cascade ang delay and sunset, limited ang airport, paano pa lilipad? (Once the delay cascades and sunset limits operations at airports, how can we fly?) – with reports from Francis Allan Angelo/Rappler.com 

The results of the studies all came to the conclusion that entry or market timing is not critically as important as exit. Success and failure of one’s trade depended more on when to sell. Those who made the studies also claimed that taking a position in the market can be as good as anytime, like by random entry. This was possible due to the mean-revertive character of the market.

Mean reversion, as they say, isa financial theory which postulates “that asset prices and historical returns eventually revert to their long-term mean or average level.”  

One of those who made a good deal of study on the matter is Van K. Tharp, whose story was that he lost all his account twice when he was starting to trade and who subsequently became the author of four acclaimed books, one of which is Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom. Tharp strongly attested that “Entry only plays a small part of the game of making money in the market.” 

Begging the question

Yet, efforts in finding ways to improve entry techniques cannot be neglected. Investors still have to watch out for the need “to minimize investment risk and remove the play of emotions” in the act of entry. Thus, while entry may not be essentially as important as exit, it remains to have a good role to make in the trading equation. Tharp has a nice term to it.  He calls it as “trading to beat random entry.”

For example, even experienced investors are stopped out of a good trading idea just because they entered early. The way the market has been moving in the last two months, I’m sure this has happened and continues to happen to many of us. We may have abandoned or thinking of abandoning a good stock pick because the direction of its market price is just unclear as of late.

We are also stopped out sometimes in our eagerness to enter too soon because of the “fear of missing out” or what is called FOMO in the market. This is a classic example of allowing emotional decisions to play in one’s entry.  

These are the common problems faced by beginners. However, these are also situations that are not uncommon to hound experienced investors.  

Just on these two examples, I believe they are good enough to serve as a sufficient basis to assume why a good entry still matters.  

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[ANALYSIS] How much ‘entry plays’ you need to succeed in your trade

Before we leave the subject, however, let me reiterate that even the proponents of good entry admit that the following are more contributory to a successful trade. These are exit strategy, risk management, and position sizing, to mention the three most critical factors.

We are told that there are only two reasons you should get out or exit a trade. These are when you take a loss or when you take a profit.  

There are many books available on these two subject matters. But let me add that in taking a loss, you may just go back to the recovery risk table I presented in my article on March 10. The said table shows the exponential return you need to recover.  It also shows you the level of loss you can reasonably play before you need to fold.  

Based on the table, you should not incur a loss of more than 20%. Otherwise, you’ll be like Tharp when he first started to trade.  

In taking a profit, there are qualitative and quantitative methods recommended. We’ll explore them sometime.   

Position sizing

Risk management is about “minimizing potential losses without sacrificing upside potential.” The principle behind it is based on analyzing the expected returns of an investment compared to the amount of risk taken on to earn those returns. This is a subject Tharp sufficiently addressed in his book in what he calls the R Multiple – a form of measurement of risk versus reward. To illustrate, if you buy a stock for P10 (risk) and sell it for P15 (reward) your R would be (P15 – P10) divided by P10] is equal to 0.5 or 50%.  Thus, enter a trade only where the R is high.

Position sizing is referred to as the method of determining the size of the shareholdings to be held by an investor. It is also referred to as the amount of money being traded in a given stock or asset.  Its application will help investors earn maximum returns and at minimal risk.

For proper position sizing, there are three factors to be properly weighed.  First is the account risk.  Typically, account risk is expressed as a percentage of the investor’s total capital.  As a rule of thumb, individual investors should not risk more than 2% of their investment capital on any given trade.  (Fund managers risk less than this amount.) With a P500k total capital, the investor is limited to risk P10k per trade only. The rationale behind this is that even if the investor loses 10 consecutive trades in a row, the impact is equivalent to only 20% of investment capital.  

Next is the trade risk. This involves determining where to place the stop-loss order for the specific trade.  For example, if an investor intends to buy SMC at P105 and place a stop-loss order at P185, the trade risk is P20 per share.

To derive the proper position size of the above information, divide the account risk of P10k per trade and the trade risk of P20 per share. This means the investor should only buy 500 shares (P10k/ P20) of SMC to achieve maximum returns at minimal risk.

So, what is a good entry point? We’ll take up this question next time as we analyze what is happening in the market as we usually do.  We devoted the whole article today just to raise the point that entry is an important part of the trading cycle, too.

Don’t miss the discussion on the different methods and/or techniques for finding good entry points. It will be next. – Rappler.com

(The article has been prepared for general circulation for the reading public and must not be construed as an offer, or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments whether referred to herein or otherwise.  Moreover, the public should be aware that the writer or any investing parties mentioned in the column may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of their reported or mentioned investment activity.  You may reach “Thin Slicing” at densomera@yahoo.com.) 

This violation was related to BPI’s disposal of its treasury shares, which it acquired after its merger with BPI Family Savings Bank. A treasury share is a share of the company issued and sold to the public, which was later acquired or repurchased by the same company.

The Ayala-led bank originally intended to decrease its authorized capital stock by retiring the acquired treasury shares, but the BSP did not approve of this, stating that the retirement of treasury shares does not count as a sale or disposition of shares in accordance with Section 10 of the General Banking Law.

Section 10 allows a bank to purchase or acquire its own capital stock after obtaining the approval of the BSP’s Monetary Board. In any case, the bank must sell or dispose of the treasury stocks within six months from the time of their purchase or acquisition. 

After the BSP’s initial disapproval, in March 2023, the BPI’s board of directors then approved the declaration of property dividends to act as the bank’s mode of disposal for the treasury shares. Under it, 406,179,276 common shares being held in treasury would be distributed to all eligible stockholders as of March 29. BPI also obtained the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 13.

BPI said it would announce the payment date and details of the distribution of the dividend “in due course.” The bank also said that the dividend declaration as a mode of disposal for the treasury shares would “only be completed after obtaining regulatory approvals.”

In a letter also dated June 13, the BSP imposed the P1-million penalty for BPI’s failure to comply with Section 10 on the disposal of treasury shares.

BPI sees boost from Gokongwei network with Robinsons Bank merger

– Rappler.com

MIAA set a timeline of 24 to 36 months to complete upgrades to the facilities and passenger processing systems of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). These projects include:

• Replacing the passenger boarding bridges
• Replacing chillers
• Upgrading taxiways
• Expanding the coverage of its CCTV system
• Digitizing airport operations and passenger systems

The agency also announced the “immediate construction” of six immigration counters in NAIA Terminal 3, increasing the total counters to 36.

A separate immigration annex in NAIA Terminal 3, set to open in December, is also being constructed to serve overseas Filipino workers, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, and diplomats. It will have six four-man counters with 24 immigration officers.

Electrical audit underway

Following another power outage that hit NAIA Terminal 3 last June 9, MIAA gave assurances that it would complete the electrical audit of the terminal with the aid of Meralco and MServ, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meralco.

Filipino tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Meralco, earlier offered to conduct the electrical audit for free as a way to help the government map out projects to modernize and upgrade the terminal.

But although the electrical audit was pitched as a solution after the Labor Day fiasco, it also ended up being the cause of the next outage on June 9.

In an incident report, MServ clarified that its personnel “accidentally left grounding conductors attached to an electrical equipment during a testing activity,” which caused an electrical fault that eventually led to the 37-minute power interruption.

Besides the outages on May 1 and June 9, the entire Philippine airspace was also shut down on New Year’s Day after several components of the air traffic management system broke down. (READ: What caused the January 1 air traffic mess and what should be done about it?)

“Times are very challenging for us now; but be that as it may, we are taking steps and exploring all ways possible to achieve our deliverables based on our established priorities,” MIAA officer-in-charge Bryan Co said in a statement on Wednesday, June 14. – Rappler.com

Rather than a sign of disrespect for the billionaire who made his fortune in commercial television before going into politics, the buoyancy of the shares reflects the options that could open for the company as its founder exits the scene.

MFE, 48% owned by the Berlusconi family’s Fininvest holding, runs commercial TV channels in Italy and Spain, and has built a substantial stake in Germany’s ProSieben.

Led by the former PM’s son Pier Silvio Berlusconi, it has pursued European expansion from its Italian roots to try to hold its own against the US streaming giants that take a growing chunk of viewers.

In a fast-changing media landscape, some investors bet that his heirs may be more open to seeking a partner for MFE, or selling to a larger rival.

MFE’s second biggest shareholder, French media group Vivendi, is widely seen in the industry as the main candidate. But a standstill accord the two companies reached in 2021 to settle a years-long legal war prevents Vivendi from raising its 23% stake until 2026.

B-shares in MFE rose as much as 10.3% on Monday and were up 3.7% at 1330 GMT, giving it a market capitalization of 1.6 billion euros.

“When the ownership of a company is in question, investors will first buy and then see what happens,” said Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffè, strategy professor at Milan’s SDA Bocconi management school.

‘Pneumatic drill’

The 86-year-old tycoon never publicly named an heir, but people familiar with the matter told Reuters his eldest child, Marina, who already chairs Fininvest, is the most likely to take the reins.

Marina, 56, has led Fininvest’s board since 2005. In addition to MFE, the family holding company also controls publishing house Mondadori and has a big stake in asset manager Mediolanum.

Shares in Mondadori rose 1.7%.

“Berlusconi may not have laid out succession plans for his party, but he certainly did for his businesses,” Carnevale Maffè said.

Fininvest said in a note on Monday that there would be no changes in the way its businesses are run and a person close to the matter said Berlusconi’s children were united on this.

Prior to 2005, Marina served as deputy chairperson at Fininvest for nine years.

Described by people who work with her as a tough and demanding boss, Marina was catapulted by her father into corporate life in her early 20s and her influence grew when he was forced to take a hands-off role following his entry into politics in 1994.

Fedele Confalonieri, a lifelong friend of her father and chairman of MediaForEurope, once likened her tough business drive to a “pneumatic drill.”

A mother of two and married to a former La Scala ballet dancer, she has seen her leadership at Fininvest grow in importance over the past decade as her father’s health faded.

In a 2018 television interview, Berlusconi said Marina was the child closest to him and that he consulted daily with her before taking any decision, which he also used to do with his mother before she passed away.

“Silvio put her down to work when she was barely more than a child,” Vittorio Giovanelli, a former director of Berlusconi’s Rete4 TV channel, wrote in a 2003 book, adding he started bringing Marina to business meetings in 1985.

“She listened and took notes for hours, she would never stop.”

Inheritance

Berlusconi has a total of five children from his two ex-wives. Marina and Pier Silvio, born from his first marriage, both have executive roles at the family’s businesses, unlike the remaining three heirs.

He was not legally married to his partner Marta Fascina, though on his deathbed he would call her his wife.

Under Italian law, his children have a right to inherit two-thirds of his wealth in equal parts, while the deceased is free to dispose of the remaining one-third how he pleases.

The way Berlusconi decided to divide up his assets among his heirs will only be known once any will is opened.

The one-third of assets which can be assigned freely can be used to pick a leader for the Fininvest companies provided other assets are sufficient to compensate the others, law professor Emanuele Lucchini Guastalla said. – Rappler.com

Many of their loyal viewers in remote areas, from Aparri in Cagayan, northern Philippines to Jolo in Sulu in southern Philippines, will not be able to watch the show on free TV due to poor transmission signals.

“It’s a function of the reach of the transmitters,” Jose Maria Bartolome, a senior lecturer at the UP College of Mass Communication where he teaches broadcast communication, told Rappler. “TV5 didn’t upgrade its transmitters the same way as GMA did.”

As netizen Jeric Busa Polangco said following the transfer of the Dabarkads (Eat Bulaga! mainstays) to the Kapatid network, “That’s good. Kaya lang po mahina ang signal ng TV5 sa ibang probinsya, lalo na d2 sa Sorsogon.” 

(That’s good. But the thing is, TV5 has a weak signal in some provinces, especially here in Sorsogon.) 

“Question is, does TV5 have enough range in certain places where only antenna/local channels exists?” another netizen asked.

Defeated 2022 vice-presidential candidate Tito Sotto, who led the talks with Manny V. Pangilinan’s MediaQuest Holdings Incorporated, parent of TV5, said in an Inquirer interview that TV5 was already setting up new transmitters to improve its signals.

But the dilemma here is that the audience on analog television is declining, and it may not be worth spending a lot of capital for this equipment, Bartolome, a retired GMA executive and also a former TV5 consultant, also said.

“Will TV5 still invest in free TV if it’s already a sunset medium?” he said. “Young people these days don’t watch free TV anymore.” 

One indication of this is the declining reach of TV news, which fell from 66% in 2020 to 60% in 2022, according to the Reuters Institute’s 2022 Digital News Report . Instead of TV, more people are now getting their news from social media and traditional media’s websites via their smartphones, which reached 80% in 2022. 

In addition, the government had ordered all networks to shift from analog TV to digital TV, and the deadline was supposed to be this year, 2023. However, the slow rollout of digital TV has delayed the shutting down of analog TV transmission. Digital penetration has yet to reach 50% of households, according to National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Ella Blanca Lopez.

“Mahirap naman na i-shutdown mo tapos hindi pa digital-ready lahat. (It will be hard to shut it down when not everyone is digital-ready),” Lopez was quoted as saying.

“Mataas-taas na ang penetration sa Metro Manila, pero sa ibang region hindi pa. Malabo pa po ‘yung sa provinces.”

(The digital penetration in Metro Manila is high, but not in the regions. It’s not clear yet in the provinces.) 

GMA Network Incorporated president and CEO Felipe Gozon had predicted this already years ago. He said in 2022 that people just can’t afford the set-top box needed to have digital channels on analog TV sets.

He estimated then that less than a third of Filipinos had digital boxes, and that “maybe 70% [of the country] is still analog.” 

“That [digital shift] is just a wish. What will you do with our millions of people who only have analog TV sets? You just cannot deprive them of the ability to receive transmission,” he told the news website, Bilyonaryo.com.

No longer free

In the short term, at least, if Eat Bulaga! viewers are truly loyal, they will now have to spend to get entertained by the Dabarkads; it’s no longer going to be free.

Excluding the more expensive option of subscribing to cable TV, viewers now have three options, depending on whether these are available in their local area:

• buy a digital TV receiver, also called a digital box
• get a Direct-to-Home (DTH) service provider
• watch the show via streaming platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.

Digital boxes

The cheapest option is to buy a digital TV receiver, the device that allows an analog television to receive digital transmission, also called digital terrestrial television (DTT).

When it still had its franchise, ABS-CBN was the most successful network in selling digital boxes, the TVPlus “black box.” These boxes still receive digital transmission although now, it no longer has ABS-CBN’s popular digital channels such as CineMo and Yey!. Second-hand TVPlus boxes are still being sold via e-commerce sites such as Shopee for P300. 

The Kapamilya network sold over 8 million digital TV receivers. For those who bought the TVPlus, it significantly improved ABS-CBN’s channels on analog TV sets vis-a-vis GMA’s. 

ABS-CBN’s digital box covered Metro Manila, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Rizal, Laguna, Pampanga, Tarlac, Benguet, Cavite, Metro Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao and Batangas.

Another option is to buy new, but more expensive, digital boxes on the market.

There’s GMA’s digital TV receiver, Affordabox, which sells for P799. At least 2.5 million of these digital boxes have been sold by the Kapuso network since it was launched in 2020. As of March 2022, the following areas could be reached by GMA’s DTT signal:

• LUZON: Metro Manila, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, Abra, La Union, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal, Camarines Sur (including Naga City)
• VISAYAS: Bohol, Guimaras, Cebu, Leyte (including Tacloban City), Bacolod (and adjacent areas), Samar
• MINDANAO: Davao de Oro, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Misamis Oriental (including Cagayan de Oro), Camiguin, General Santos City (and nearby Polomolok), Sarangani (Alabel, Glan, and Malapatan only) 

TV5’s digibox is Sulit TV, which sells for P780 (one-time only, with no monthly fees). According to Sult TV’s Facebook page, their digital channels are available in the following areas: 

• LUZON: Pangasinan, La Union, Baguio, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal 
• VISAYAS: Cebu, Bacolod, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Guimaras
• MINDANAO: Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao City

There’s also Baron Antenna Digital TV Receiver, which costs P799. The following are among its supported locations: 

• LUZON: Metro Manila, Benguet, Pangasinan, La Union, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Lucena 
• VISAYAS: Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Iloilo, Tacloban
• MINDANAO:  Davao, Cagayan de Oro

Consumers, however, will have to first check whether digital channels are available in their local area, as well as the strength of the digital transmission.

Direct to Home (DTH)

For areas that can’t be reached by DTT, viewers can subscribe to providers that offer Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite service. Consumers who will buy a DTH package will get a receiver and a satellite dish that has to be installed in a household.

Among the companies that offer these are companies such as Cignal TV and Global Satellite (GSat). ABS-CBN used to have a DTH service, Sky Direct, until the Duterte administration and the House of Representatives killed its franchise.

Cignal TV is the Philippines’ largest DTH satellite provider with around 4 million DTH subscribers. Many Sky Direct subscribers shifted to Cignal TV after ABS-CBN’s free-to-air operation was ordered shut down by the National Telecommunications Commission.

Cignal TV’s pre-paid HD Box costs P1,490 plus a minimum installation fee. Its prepaid Lite Loads now go as low as P30 valid for 2 days, where they can watch 73 SD channels, and 13 HD channels. 

Another major DTH provider is Global Satellite (GSat). GSat’s pre-paid unit costs P1,999 plus an installation fee. Its cheapest package has 42 TV channels and 14 radio channels with a monthly rate of P99.

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Whether viewers will shell out this amount, especially if they are from the lower-income classes, remains to be seen.

Many Kapamilya viewers, especially in Mindanao, subscribed to GSat after ABS-CBN lost its frequencies.

Streaming platforms

The easiest option for Eat Bulaga! viewers is to watch the Dabarkads via streaming platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. Sotto has said they will continue streaming Eat Bulaga! on its Facebook page, which has 20 million followers.

But the question is whether there’s internet in their local area, and whether they’re willing to use up their data for two-and-a-half hours to watch the show. So far, thousands have said they will, at least, based on netizens’ comments.

“Sa youtube nalng po kayo mag ere ng Eat bulaga susunod po oami lahat ng tagahana nyu kahit sanang channelpa yan, #SolidDabarkadsForeever!” netizen Jehb Cosca Sarabillo said on Eat Bulaga!‘s Facebook page after TVJ announced they would leave producer-blocktimer TAPE Incorporated.

(Air Eat Bulaga! on YouTube. All of us, your fans, will follow you to whatever channel, #SolidDabarkadsForeever!”)

TV5/MediaQuest can also get significant advertising revenues from digital media as more companies go for digital ads, given the expanding reach of internet in the Philippines.  

Internet penetration in the Philippines has gradually risen in the past decade. According to digital consulting agency, DataReportal.com, at the start of 2023, there were 85.16 million internet users in the Philippines, a penetration rate of 73% or nearly 3 out of 4 persons. There were 84.4 million social media users, equivalent to 72.5% of the population. Reuters Institute’s 2022 Digitial News Report puts the figure higher at 82% in 2022. 

Eight years ago, in 2015, there were 44.2 million active internet users in the Philippines for an internet penetration of 44%. There were 40 million active social media accounts in 2015, a penetration rate of 40%, DataReportal.com said.

Similarly, polling firm Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan series of surveys found that Filipinos who rely on TV as a source of news declined from 94% in November 2020 to 91% in September 2021. On the other hand, reliance on the internet as source of news went up from 40% in November 2020 to 48% in September 2021, of which Facebook was the main source of news on digital media.  

Fighting Goliath

While TV5 works on these technical issues, it will also have to confront the Kapuso network’s steps in response to the loss of the Dabarkads. Being a publicly-listed company, GMA Network Inc. isn’t just going to just watch and see GMA’s noontime ratings take a hit. 

Already, GMA’s Sparkle Artists Center is lending blocktimer TAPE Inc. a hand, as it has been doing in the past, with the entry of its exclusive talents such as Paolo Contis, Buboy Villar, Betong Sumaya, and Cassy and Mavy Legaspi now acting as hosts of the noontime variety show. 

Defeated 2022 presidential candidate Isko Moreno was the latest addition to TAPE Inc.’s show after appearing on June 10, Saturday.

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GMA can experiment with its noon programming on its free TV station, Good TV (formerly GMA News TV), such as putting soap operas or movies to get not-so-loyal Eat Bulaga! viewers to watch their other shows.

“Maraming laro sa programming (There are many strategies in programming),” Bartolome said.

Comedian Joey de Leon, however, isn’t too worried about the problems they may face when their new show airs on TV5. When asked, for instance, about not being able to use the trademark, Eat Bulaga! on the Kapatid network, he said last week, “Hindi naman yun ang importante e, importante yung content. Pwede naman, Eat lang, Let’s eat! Importante yung laman.” 

(That’s not what’s important, what’s important is content. We can call it, Eat only, Let’s Eat! What’s important is content.) – Rappler.com

From Kapuso to Kapatid: Tito, Vic, Joey move ‘Eat Bulaga’ to TV5

The settlement on Monday, June 12, follows months of embarrassing disclosures that JPMorgan ignored internal warnings and overlooked red flags about Epstein because he had been a valuable client.

Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 1998 to 2013 and was kept on even after being arrested in 2006 on prostitution-related charges and pleading guilty two years later.

Monday’s accord would resolve claims against the largest US bank by potentially more than 100 victims, led by a former ballet dancer known as Jane Doe 1, who said Epstein abused them when they were young women and teenage girls.

Epstein killed himself at age 66 in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

“It could be that the bank doesn’t want this to stay in the press,” said Carliss Chatman, a professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Virginia. “At a time Americans are questioning the banking system, associating Chase with human trafficking is not good for business.”

Davia Temin, chief executive of crisis management firm Temin and Co., said settling rather than fighting to the end sends “the right message across Wall Street.”

The settlement of the civil case requires approval by US District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan.

“Any association with [Epstein] was a mistake and we regret it,” JPMorgan said in a statement. “We would never have continued to do business with him if we believed he was using our bank in any way to help commit heinous crimes.”

Monday’s settlement came three and a half weeks after Deutsche Bank, where Epstein was a client from 2013 to 2018, agreed to pay $75 million to end a similar lawsuit by Epstein victims.

“Deutsche Bank’s settlement…likely created momentum,” said Adam Zimmerman, a law professor who recently accepted a position at the University of Southern California. “A settlement with Epstein’s victims frees JPMorgan to begin to turn the page and change the narrative.”

The $290-million settlement amount was confirmed by David Boies, a lawyer for Epstein’s victims.

JPMorgan did not admit wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The settlements signal that financial institutions have an important role to play in spotting and shutting down sex trafficking,” Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for victims in both lawsuits, said in a statement.

Pointing the finger

JPMorgan still faces a lawsuit by the government of the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned two neighboring islands and was suspected of abusing victims in his mansion.

It is also suing former executive Jes Staley for shepherding Epstein’s relationship with the bank and concealing what he knew about his former friend.

JPMorgan wants Staley to cover its losses in both lawsuits and forfeit eight years of pay.

Last month, Rakoff said JPMorgan could be liable to Epstein’s victims if they could show Staley had firsthand knowledge that Epstein ran a sex-trafficking venture.

Staley left JPMorgan in 2013 and was later Barclays’ chief executive for six years.

He testified under oath on Saturday, June 10, two weeks after JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon, in his own deposition, denied discussing Epstein’s accounts.

In a statement, the US Virgin Islands said it “will continue to proceed with its enforcement action to ensure full accountability for JPMorgan’s violations of law.”

The territory’s case is the largest remaining over Epstein, following civil lawsuits against his estate and the conviction of former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell for aiding his abuses. Maxwell is appealing her conviction and 20-year prison sentence.

Lawyers for Staley did not respond to requests for comment.

Staley has said he regretted befriending Epstein but denied knowing about his sex trafficking. It wasn’t clear whether his June 10 deposition was a factor in Monday’s settlement.

“Chase’s defense has been that Staley was a lone wolf and this wasn’t Chase’s culture, but more evidence had been coming out that may make it harder for Chase to point the finger at him,” Chatman said.

Another key JPMorgan executive who has been a focus of the litigation is Mary Erdoes, its asset and wealth management chief.

Epstein’s victims have portrayed her in court filings as a key defender of keeping Epstein as a client, including after former general counsel Stephen Cutler told her and Staley in 2011 the bank should terminate the relationship.

Dimon said in his deposition that Cutler had authority to override Erdoes and Staley and fire Epstein. Cutler was not immediately available for comment on Monday.

“While we regret any association with Jeffrey Epstein, we would never have continued to do business with him if we believed he was using our bank to commit heinous crimes,” a JPMorgan spokesperson said when asked about Erdoes’ involvement. “In fact, Mary Erdoes and others exited him as a client six years before he was charged with human trafficking.” – Rappler.com