Benilde Alumni Get FAMAS Nods

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Two short films made by graduates of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Digital Filmmaking program (BenildeFilm) are nominated in the 66th FAMAS Gabi ng Parangal to be held on June 10, Sunday, at the Theatre at Solaire.

This is the first time that the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences is honoring the year’s best works in the short film and documentary categories.

Carl Chavez‘s Sorry for the Inconvenience and Carlo Fajarda‘s Suerte will vie for the “historic” Best Short Film award along with fellow nominees Aliens Ata by Glenn Barit, Babylon by Keith Deligero, Dory by Beverly Ramos, Engkwento by Ryan Machado, Gikan sa Ngitngit Nga Kinailadman by Kiri Dalena, Hilom by P. R. Patindol, Link by Mike Esteves and Si Astri Maka Si Tambulah by Xeph Suarez.

In Sorry for the Inconvenience, a timid teenager named Joshua (Ronwaldo Martin) comes home one night after beaten up by the school’s bully. With revenge on his mind, the teenager decides to take matters into his own hands. When things don’t go as planned, he is left with no choice but to seek help from his policeman father (Simon Ibarra). Cherry Malvar and Luis Ruiz also provide support.

The film bagged the Best Short Film award at the Cinema One Originals 2017 last November. It also competed at the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival last August.

On the other hand, Suerte follows two amateur filmmakers (played by Fajarda himself and the film’s director of photography and editor Phillipe Quintos) shooting a documentary about the drug trade. While they go along with their subjects, brothers Betong (Karl Medina) and Roel (Dan Medrana), their dangerous obsession with their project forces them to cross the line between observer and creator.

Fajarda’s thesis film competed in the Wide Angle category of the Busan International Film Festival and in the Southeast Asian short film competition of the 28th Singapore International Film Festival last year.

Meanwhile, Nawruz Bernardo Paguidopon‘s God Bliss Our Home, Jewel Maranan‘s Sa Palad ng Dantaong Kulang and Victor Delotavo Tagaro‘s Yield also made FAMAS history as the award-giving body’s first-ever nominees for Best Documentary Film.

Cinemalaya winner Respeto leads all films this year with 15 nominations, followed by QCinema Best Film Balanginga, Howling Wilderness with 11 and Metro Manila Film Festival Best Picture Ang Larawan, Philippine entry to the Oscars Birdshot and the documentary Yield, with six nods each. Love You to the Stars and Back, Changing Partners, Nervous Translation and Historiographika Errata have five nominations each.

FAMAS is undergoing a major facelift this year. An independent jury, which is headed by award-winning writer Ricardo “Ricky” Lee and composed of film practitioners, critics and educators as members, selected the nominees and will vote for the winners.

Piolo Pascual, Kim Chiu and Robi Domingo will host this year’s awards night with Megavision’s Madonna Sanchez serving as the program’s executive producer.

DOE to Donate E-trikes to 4 NCR Cities

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THEY'RE BETTER: Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi (far right) talks about the features of the e-trike with (from left) Pateros Mayor Miguel “Ike” Ponce III, Valenzuela Mayor Rexlon T. Gatchalian, Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi, and Las Piñas Mayor Imelda Aguilar. The four mayors signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Energy Chief on 1 June 2018 as recipients of the electric vehicles under the DOE’s E-Trike Program.

Department of Energy (DOE), thru Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, will donate e-trike units to the cities of Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Pateros and Valenzuela. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed by the DOE Secretary with the City Mayors at the DOE headquarters on Friday (June 1). 

“The DOE E-Trike is a project that encourages the transition from oil to cleaner sources of energy,” Cusi said.

“The 900 units to be given to the four cities will benefit many communities, in terms of livelihood and the services that it can provide to the people,” Cusi emphasized.

The DOE will provide Las Piñas 100 e-trike units, Muntinlupa,  150 units; Pateros, 400 units; 

and Valenzuela, 250 units. 

Under the MOA, the LGUs must comply with the documentary requirements,  among other prerequisites, such as their proposal for the utilization of the e-trikes in their LGUs.

In January, the DOE donated e-trike units to the Marawi LGU as part of the national government’s rebuilding efforts in the city after the siege.

The first 10 of the 200 units will arrive in Cagayan De Oro on Sunday, while the Philippine Navy is scheduling the rest for shipment.

In line with the E-Power Mo campaign, the DOE promotes the revolutionary concept of modernizing the transport sector by providing an efficient, safe, ergonomic and environment-friendly alternative mode of transport for  local and foreign tourists via the Market Transformation Through the Introduction of Energy Efficient Vehicles (E-trike) Project.

The DOE aims to facilitate transport sector modernization through the use of energy-efficient and alternative technology vehicles to complement the government’s objective of sustainable and inclusive growth. 

OTHER PHOTO

GREEN TRIKE: Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi (center) led the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Agreement with four LGUs in Metro Manila for the donation of e-trikes. Las Piñas, Valenzuela, Muntinlupa, and Pateros will be using the e-trikes as an alternative public transportation for the people and a means of livelihood for tricycle drivers. (From left): Asec Redentor Delola, Dir. Angelina Manga, Asec. Leonido Pulido III, Asec. Caron Aicitel Lascano, Senior Undersecretary Jesus Posadas, Usec. Donato Marcos, Las Pinas Mayor Imelda Aguilar, Valenzuela Mayor Rexlon Gatchalian, Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi and Pateros Mayor Miguel “Ike” Ponce III.

DOE Eyes to Establish Strategic Oil Reserve

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In its effort to shield consumers from volatile international oil prices and ensure supply security, the Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing its efforts to engage the country's downstream oil industry within this month.

Earlier, DOE has announced that it has directed its attached agency, PNOC-EC (Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation), to engage in the selling of petroleum products sourced from non-OPEC members to independent petroleum dealers and to vulnerable sectors, such as public utility transport groups.

Cusi, who is the ex-officio Chairman of the PNOC-EC, said the move was meant to enhance competition among existing oil industry players and stabilize domestic oil prices.

“We are looking at other countries. Russia is just an option. PNOC-EC expects to receive the first shipment by end of June,” Cusi said.  

According to Cusi, PNOC-EC is looking at the different areas for the reserve’s storage and among the areas being considered are Subic, Phividec Complex and Quezon.

At present, oil companies are required to maintain a Minimum lnventory Requirement (MlR) of in-country stocks equivalent to 30 days of crude and products for refiners, 15 days of products for importers/bulk suppliers and seven days of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stocks for LPG players.

Meanwhile, aside from ensuring the country’s supply, the DOE will also come out with a policy on unbundling petroleum product prices.

“We need to unbundle the prices. It has to happen,” the Energy Chief stressed, adding that this will provide the consumers more information about the petroleum products that they buy.

The DOE is currently conducting consultations with the stakeholders on the mechanism for unbundling.

International geopolitical developments, which include US sanctions on Iran, the drop in OPEC production levels and the political changes unfolding in Venezuela have resulted in the recent uptrend in oil prices for the past weeks.

With the volatility of oil prices, the DOE is encouraging consumers to be smart and judicious in the use of petroleum products, such as driving efficiently and managing trips properly to save on fuel costs, among others.