Historical NAVPS of Sun Life Prosperity Funds as of June 2008

The Sun Life Prosperity Funds is a family of mutual funds managed by Sun Life Asset Management Corporation (SLAMC), which consists of equity, balanced, bond and money market mutual funds.

I have graphed here the historical net asset value per share (NAVPS) of the funds from their inception up to June 2008.

The graph shows significant decline in equity and balanced funds as their stock investment holdings are suffering from some bearish attacks. Ditto with the bond markets. However, the impact on bonds is not that huge. The level of risk is still manageable, since the Philippines is not much affected by the subprime mess. Meanwhile, it seems that to me that the money market fund has a very good prospect in this time of crisis. As shown in the graph, the fund is poised to pick up. Although, the past several months we have seen failed auctions in Treasury bills (T-bills) brought about by favorable economic conditions, especially in the last couple of years. But with this year's runaway inflation and declining stock market, we could anticipate some activities in the money market sector. Moreover, short-term bonds and credit instruments, such as retail treasury bonds (RTB) and 91-day T-bills, could also be very good bets!

SMC displays its corporate heart

The country's largest food and beverage conglomerate, San Miguel Corporation (SMC), donated around US$500,000 worth of food supplies to provinces hardest hit by Typhoon Frank. It is estimated that about 50,000 families in Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Romblon will be benefited by SMC's aid. SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang, who spearheaded the firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign, has said: "Many of our countrymen in these provinces are still struggling to survive the aftermath of Typhoon Frank... We hope our efforts will make some difference not only in their day-to-day survival, but also in their struggle to rebuild their lives." Food sources in those provinces have been scarce since the typhoon wreaked havoc on crops and vegetation. Likewise, fishing has been banned to some Visayan waters due to health risks brought about by the sinking of Sulpicio Lines' passenger ferry M/V Princess of the Stars in waters off Romblon which has toxic chemicals inside one of its compartments. The Department of Social Welfare and Development will help SMC in channeling the goods to the provinces for speedier distribution.

PSE-NYSE MOU

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Southeast Asia's oldest stock market, and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Euronext, the world's biggest bourse, signed yesterday (June 26) a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that establishes cooperation between the two exchange companies to explore new opportunities in trading system architecture and technology, exchange traded products, market participant connectivity and market data management. It also covers the PSE's intention to purchase new trading system technology from NYSE Euronext and its affiliates. The MOU was signed in New York by NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Officer Duncan L. Niederauer and PSE Chairman Jose C. Vitug.

Under the terms of the MOU, areas of possible cooperation involve the sharing of information and experience on new stock markets products and services. The MOU also embodies the common goal of both companies to provide investors worldwide protection and operating fair, orderly and efficient markets. The MOU was drafted in the spirit that international cooperation between the two exchange companies will facilitate the development and efficient operation of all securities markets operated by the exchange groups.

NASA gathering one million names to be sent to the moon

Since May 1, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has invited the public to join the excitement of the first mission in its exploration program to return humans to the moon by 2020.

According to the NASA website, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which is scheduled to launch on the last part of this year, will map the moon surface in extraordinary detail and help future human missions to the moon locate safe landing sites and vital resources on the moon.

I just sent my name this morning in support of the program, and got my electronic certificate of participation after a very short while. To join, click this link and submit your name as per instruction: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html

The names will be placed on a microchip that will be installed on the LRO spacecraft and travel to the moon. The deadline for submitting names is June 27, 2008.

So, hurry! There are only few days left.

Space tourism provider Virgin Galactic to unveil WhiteKnightTwo

The suborbital tourism company Virgin Galactic, hoping to give ultra-rich adventurer the rides of their lives, will launch its first WhiteKnightTwo mothership for its planned fleet of SpaceShipTwo spaceliners on July 28 of this year.

Virgin Galactic has ordered two WhiteKnightTwo motherships and five SpaceShipTwos. The first mothership is named “Eve” in honor of the mother of Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Galactic. It will be unveiled at a hangar of Scaled Composites located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California. WhiteKnightTwo is touted to be the the world's largest all carbon composite aircraft. With a unique dual-boom design, the mothership sports a wingspan of about 140 feet (42 meters) with each outboard cabin mounted about 25 feet (7.6 meters) from its centrally moored SpaceShipTwo payload.

On the other hand, the reusable spaceliner fleet SpaceShipTwo, designed by aerospace veteran Burt Rutan and his company Scaled Composites, is an air-launched suborbital spacecraft derived from Rutan's US$10-million Ansari X Prize-winning SpaceShipOne design. It is also designed with the capability to haul unmanned rockets in place of a crew-carrying vehicle, and could one day be used to launch low Earth orbiting satellites or even cargo into space, according to a Virgin Galactic executive. With its 18-inch (46-cm) windows and roomy 7.5-foot (2.2-meter) wide cabin, the suborbital vehicle could be used for suborbital science experiments in addition to leisure trips. SpaceShipTwo is slated to be unveiled early next year.

A joyride to suborbital space costs around a whopping US$200,000 a seat. Nonetheless, about 254 people have already paid a total of about US$36-million in down payments to assure their SpaceShipTwo seats once the spacecraft begins operational flights.

Candid footage of Marilyn Monroe fetches US$60,000 at auction

A rare footage of Marilyn Monroe on the set of her last completed film was sold for US$60,000 at an auction of movie memorabilia held last Saturday (June 21).

The two reels of silent, 8-millimeter color film was shot on the set of "The Misfits". The 47-minute footage, which shows actors preparing for scenes and chatting with crew members on the set, was filmed by cameo actor Stanley Floyd Kilarr. It features candid moments with Monroe and co-star Clark Gable, as well as co-stars Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter and director John Huston.

"The Misfits" was the last completed film for both Monroe and Gable. The lead actor had a fourth heart attack just after filming was completed and died Nov. 16, 1960, about two months before the movie's release, while Monroe died Aug. 5, 1962.

Diamond Circle Capital announces public offering

Diamond Circle Capital Plc, a closed-ended investment company formed to invest in large high-quality polished physical diamonds, announces yesterday (June 18) the launch of its initial public offering (IPO) and its intention to seek a listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). If ever, this will be the first ever LSE-listed diamond fund public offering.

According to its prospectus, the company's investment objective is to produce long-term appreciation of its portfolio of diamonds. It intends to create a portfolio of polished high-quality diamonds, comprising of white diamonds and rare colored diamonds, with a minimum investment of around US$1 million per individual stone.

The company intends to use at least 90% of the IPO's net proceeds for diamond acquisition, while the remaining percentage of the net proceeds is intended to be invested in Sharia-compliant products and used for working capital purposes.

For a more detailed information, you may visit the following link and read the prospectus: http://www.advfn.com/news_Diamond-Circle-Capital-IPO_21066340.html

Upshot: From JFC to IPP to Open Access

I've read today an interesting article from Bernardo V. Lopez's Upshot column in the Business World. It's about his open letter to the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC).

I agree with him that, even though they are contributing immensely to our economy, it doesn't mean that these foreign investors have the right to do whatever they want. I think it is but right for us to resist on legal and moral grounds their illegal and oppressive means of doing business in our country.

Along the way, he mentioned about the lowering of the threshold of the privatization of the National Power Corporation (NPC), which is currently pegged at 70% level. In this regard, I am also for the lowering of the NPC privatization level to 50% to fast-track open access regime. Although, this amendment to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) would only maintain NPC's position in the power industry as a dominant seller of electricity; nonetheless, we still have a dominant buyer in Meralco who controls about 70% of the market. This would even out the equation.

Likewise, an EPIRA amendment regarding cross-ownership must be included. This time Congress should make a provision that will disallow distribution utilities to own generation firms or supply companies, or vice-versa. This is to prevent conflict of interest and exorbitant transfer pricing.

With regard to PIPPA (Philippine Independent Power Producers Assocition), whom Lopez pertains to its members as lesser monopolists, they too are lobbying for an early open access even on an interim basis. However, I guess competing with Meralco is not in their agenda; but rather, they are vying for NPC's customers. Perhaps, Lopez might be referring to PEPOA (Philippine Electric Plant Owners Association), whose members are the ones he mentioned in his article such as Angeles Electric, San Fernando Electric, Davao Light, VECO, et al. However, their being monopolists is but a stature granted by law via their legislative franchise to operate in certain areas. By the way, PEPOA members are not IPPs or generators, but they are distribution utilities like Meralco.

On the other hand, I guess it would be bad timing to implement interim open access this year. I'm afraid that electricity prices would only shoot up, instead of going down, as supplier's rate will reflect the true cost of fuel, foreign exchange and inflation in the power bill.

As early as now, there are already few suppliers who are approaching distribution utilities and contestable markets to offer their services to them. However, the benchmark that they are using are not reflective of WESM, but rather international indices like US consumer price index (CPI), peso-dollar exchange rates, imported coal prices, among others. Therefore, the beta coefficient is way off the mark. Thus, there's a need to put up a forward price benchmark or a mixed generation index so that buyers must have a good reference point and comparative figure.

However, if more hydro and geothermal power suppliers will join the interim open access, then for all intents and purposes, we must push for its early implementation this year. So far, the petitioners for interim open access are mostly coal and natural gas power generators and suppliers.

Nonetheless, I'm still looking forward to the liberalization of the power industry in the near future.

By the way, in case you want to read the full article, here's the link to Bernardo V. Lopez's column: http://www.bworldonline.com/BW061908/content.php?id=144

WESM registers lowest price at Php1,800 per MWh

According to a media report released by the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC), the operator of the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) in the Philippines, the spot price of Php1,800 per megawatt-hour (MWh) recorded in May of this year is so far the lowest since the spot market began its commercial operations in June 2006.

The variables behind the sudden drop in electricity prices were said to be because of reduced demand due to cooler weather condition, early monsoon rains and typhoons which increased the dispatch of hydro power plants, and lower generation capacity outages.

Despite of a general expectation of a higher demand in May by most industries, the average power demand recorded was down by 4.07% to 5,035 megawatts (MW) for the said period. May temperatures, on the other hand, posted a lower 28.2 degrees Celsius as compared to April's 29.2 degrees Celcius, which further led to decreased power demand to cool households and establishments.

Plans to improve the Philippine capital market

In a bid to make investments in capital markets more attractive to Filipinos, the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is currently spearheading some “capital market-friendly” projects and schemes.

The Personal Equity Retirement Account (PERA), which allows tax-free pension plans, has already been approved by a bicameral committee in Congress last June 10. It is widely expected to boost efforts to further enhance the Philippine capital markets as it will create a market for issuers of corporate debts and other investment instruments. The PERA Fund functions like a trust fund where the consolidated amount contributed by fund members will be invested in a portfolio of secured investments, wherein each contributor is entitled to a maximum of Php100,000 in contributions annually.

Another Congress-approved bill lobbied for by the PSE is the Credit Information System Act, which aims to establish an efficient, comprehensive and centralized credit information system.

The PSE also works on the approval by Congress of the Corporate Recovery and Insolvency Act (CRIA), which will replace the country's antiquated Insolvency Law. This proposed bill aims to provide a new lease on life for listed companies and brokers with financial difficulties.

The Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is also another proposed measure that aims to accelerate the development of capital markets. The scheme works like a mutual funds whereby a large portion of a pool of capital would be invested in income-generating real estate properties and investments.

Another similar proposal is the Collective Investment Schemes Law which aims to further promote collective investments schemes, like unit investment trust funds (UITF), by streamlining regulation.

NPC to re-tender for 130,000 tons of coal

State-owned power generation firm National Power Corporation (NPC) of the Philippines would be re-tendering on July 3 for two lots of panamax coal cargoes for the 1,294-MW Sual power plant after declaring a bidding failure on the previous bid. The tender is for 130,000 tons of coal with a gross calorific value of 5,960 to 6,750 kcal/kg.

The budget for the tender will be based on latest published market reference rates, such as Platts, Barlow Jonker and Global Coal. It will be announced two days before the submission of bids.

The coal for the Pangasinan-based Sual power plant is slated for delivery between September 30 and October 9 and then December 21 to 30 of this year.

After going around-the-world wide web, Google co-founder will now attempt going to outer space

New York Times reported last Wednesday (June 11) that Google co-founder Sergey Brin has booked a flight to space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket for 2011.

The space journey was arranged by Virginia-based Space Adventures, and Brin had made a staggering US$5-million deposit for the future flight, the report said. Space Adventures has already sent five ultra-rich tourists into space.

When asked for statements, Brin was quoted as saying: "I am a big believer in the exploration and commercial development of the space frontier, and am looking forward to the posibility of going into space”.

Powerlines: Words that Sell Brands, Grip Fans, and Sometimes Change History

Here's an interesting stuff published by Bloomberg Press in June 2008 entitled Powerlines. The hard-bound book tackles some of the most memorable slogans or tag lines of recent years, such as De Beer's “Diamonds are forever” and “Just do it” by Nike. Its author, Steve Cone, has been a marketing professional for more than 35 years, who has worked with global top brands like Apple, Citigroup and American Express. He is currently the Chief Marketing Officer for leading marketing technology provider Epsilon. In the book, Cone identifies the factors behind the slogans or tag lines that work. He explains how they can be made to stick in the minds of consumers and affect their purchasing behavior. If I have to give one tagline or slogan that creates an impact for me, I would say that Lexus' advertising slogan "Whoever said money can't buy happiness isn't spending it right" sticks to my mind the most. The tagline provides me another perspective about money and investment. The tagline further change my perception when it comes to car. Before, my top-of-mind brand for luxury car models was Mercedes Benz; but nowadays, it's already Lexus. On a personal note, I think there are some local brands that I think must be mentioned in the book. San Miguel Beer's (SMB) "Iba ang may pinagsamahan", which was first delivered by no other than the King of Philippine Cinema, the late Fernando Poe, Jr., in several SMB's TV commercials that he did during the '80s, is one tagline that embodies a Filipino spirit -- the bayanihan. No wonder, it became the leading and most well-loved beer in the Philippines, not even the best global competitors have succeeded to dislodge SMB on its No. 1 slot. Even today, after 20 years, the tagline is still associated with the Philippines' best beer. Another 100% Filipino brand that weathers foreign competition is Jollibee, whose "Langhap-sarap" slogan captures the heart of many Filipinos. To date, it is still the leading food and beverage firm in the country, and still growing. In the political arena, former Philippine president Joseph Estrada's "Erap para sa mahirap" proved to be a winning vehicle that landed his JEEP (Joseph Ejercito Estrada for President) campaign into Malacanang, the country's seat of power, in 2001. There are still many more successful taglines and slogans out there in the local industry that I won't mention anymore due to space constraints. But on a final note, it only shows that an effective powerline will outshine the competition every time.

InBev's US$46.3-billion takeover price for Anheuser-Busch could create a milestone

InBev N.V., whose famous brands include Stella Artois and Beck's, has offered to purchase one of America's leading beer brewer Anheuser-Busch Co. Inc., maker of the popular Budweiser and Michelob brands, for a cool US$46.3-billion. If the deal pushes through, it would create the world's largest beer manufacturer. Anheuser-Busch, by the way, has counts Warren Buffet holding firm, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., as its second largest shareholder with a 5% stake.

Last Wednesday (June 11), Anheuser-Busch's shares jumped more than 7% to US$62.73 per share in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) brought about by the merger talks. Nonetheless, the current market price of the target firm is still below the offer price of InBev which is pegged aroung US$65 per share. And this offer price represents a 24% premium to Anheuser-Busch's share price on May 22 of this year.

But with the way things are going, I could foresee that the final deal price might reach around US$75 per share.

After three-and-a-half centuries later, Prince Charles pays off royal debt sans interest

Heir to the throne Prince Charles paid off on Tuesday (June 10) a family debt incurred more than 350 years ago, which King Charles II failed to pay to the Clothiers Company in Worcester, central England, in 1651. He handed over ₤453.15, equivalent to about €572.20 or US$885.04 at today's exchange rate, while on a visit to the former headquarters of the royalist troops in the Faithful City, so-called because it remained loyal to his ancestor during the English Civil War.

The high commissioner of the Clothiers Company, Philip Sawyer, accepted the payment even without interest and gave the future king a receipt. If interest was taken into account, the debt amount would have been worth approximately ₤47,500 pounds in 2007 according to the Institute for the Measurement of Worth.

Counter-proposals on the Philippine government's proposed measures to mitigate high power costs

In a Cabinet meeting held yesterday at the Malacaňang Palace, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves made the following proposals which aim to mitigate the impact of rising power costs:

• asking the distribution utilities to absorb the value-added tax (VAT) on system losses;
• reviewing the cap on system losses to lessen the burden for consumers;
• requiring the state-owned National Power Corp. (NPC) to offer flat rates of Php4.11 per kilowatt-hour to Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO); and
• ensuring that local government units (LGU) allocate part of their tax share for lifeline subsidies.

On the other hand, the former military general-turned defense chief-turned energy secretary, Angelo Reyes, who is barely less than a year in his post, presented proposals with a broader perspective:

• implementing “open access”, or a regime where end-users can choose their electricity supplier, in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) by mid-July;
• renegotiating existing government contracts with independent power producers (IPP); and
• implementing a nationwide energy conservation plan.

The proposed plans by the two cabinet secretaries are well and good. But, being an industry insider for over three years, I have these following proposals which in my opinion would be more viable and beneficial for the industry players:

First, instead of asking distribution utilities to absorb the VAT on system losses, why not scrap the VAT on system losses since they cannot be categorized as power sales in the true sense of the word. System losses involve electricity lost either from pilferage or technical inefficiencies.

Second, instead of lowering the cap on system losses from the current 9.5% for private distribution utilities and 14% for electric cooperatives to about 7.5% or 8% as proposed by the finance secretary, perhaps it would be better to leave the current 9.5% level and implement the same to electric cooperatives as well.

The current system loss cap was calculated and referenced on the customer node of the National Power Corporation (NPC) when the regulator approved the cap. Now with the operations of the WESM, the reference point of both buyers and sellers in the spot market is the trading node which is about some few kilowatt-hours away from NPC and TRANSCO's reference point for billing. In short, technical system losses have actually increased due to Site Specific Loss Adjustment (SSLA) in the WESM. Therefore, lowering the cap would only put distribution utilities and electric cooperatives who are actively buying from the spot market in an unfair situation vis-a-vis distribution utilities who are sourcing 100% of their power requirements from the NPC.

Maybe, a more viable solution is for the regulator to disallow the 1% cap on administrative system losses, or those electricity consumed by the power distributors themselves that are being passed through to the power rates of consumers. These should be treated as part of operational expenses.

Speaking of WESM, the regulator must consider drafting a general rule on bilateral contract quantity (BCQ) declaration protocol. Such procedures could encourage efficient buying in the WESM and avoid disputes between buyers and sellers. Likewise, allow WESM buyers to directly nominate their BCQs in the market, not through generators or suppliers.

On the proposal of offering MERALCO a flat rate of Php4.11 per kilowatt-hour, the proposal would be fine for as long as the said rate includes deferred accounting adjustments (DAA) on fuel costs and foreign exchange. If the proposed rate is only meant to be the basic charge, then the time-of-use (TOU) rate would still be better since it gives some flexibility for demand-side management.

With regard to allocating some of LGUs' tax shares for lifeline subsidies, well, I support this idea. At least, people will be benefited by the tax they pay to their local government.

The implementation of open access in PEZA as proposed by the energy secretary is long overdue. Currently, a proposed implementation of interim open access in Luzon and Visayas grids is pending before the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). This is a good news for bulk-users of electricity since the broader the scope of open access, not just in economic zones, the better since it fosters competition which may lead to cheaper rates. The only worry is that NPC and MERALCO are still the dominant players. Also, an open access at this early point in time might just lead to higher power costs, initially, since generators and power suppliers will surely reflect the high costs of fuel and foreign exchange in their rates.

Meanwhile, the proposed renegotiation of existing IPP contracts is being opposed by the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association (PIPPA), saying it would give a feeling of uncertainty to investors. Thus, I see that this proposal would not move any farther.

Lastly, I find the proposed implementation of a nationwide energy conservation plan as moot and academic. There's no need for it to be proposed for it should be part of the government's annual agenda whether be there an energy crisis or none.

Probable effects of continuously rising oil prices

The unabated rise in crude prices made me rekindled an event where I first heard of US$200-per-barrel oil. In a Bloomberg seminar that I've attended last Jan. 2008 in Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City, Seaoil Phils. president Francis Glenn Yu revealed during the breakout session that there were already some oil-guzzling firms who have availed themselves of US$200-per-barrel forward contracts.

The price of oil today has not even reached the US$150-per-barrel level, and yet as early as now some people are already expecting that oil will reach the US$200 per barrel level. In fact, another ominous remark lately from the head of Russian energy giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, predicting that oil is likely to hit US$250 a barrel.

Oil producers are always putting the blame to speculators as the reason why oil prices are surging up, which causes runaway inflation worldwide. But never they blame themselves for the messianic statements they are giving to media outfits as if encouraging those people to speculate all the more.

While speculation is indeed playing a role in commodity prices; however, its influence is not that decisive. It is still strong global demand, particularly from emerging economies like China and India, that causes escalating oil and energy prices. In addition to that, the trade embargo imposed by the American to some large oil-producing firms, like Iraq (4th largest oil producer), Venezuela (biggest oil supplier in America), Iran and Afghanistan, constraints supply in the world market.

Currently, several economies had experienced a runaway inflation last month, and analysts are predicting a much higher inflation rate in June. A galloping inflation rate could lead to social unrest, a warning given by the World Bank in the Global Development Finance 2008 study.

But what I am worried about is that when the situation persists, this may create a hyperinflation scenario, or a scenario where inflation continuous to increase despite economic growth declines. And hyperinflation usually happens during times of war!

PSE selling 100,000 shares

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is currently selling 100,000 shares held by two defunct brokerage firms, Asian Capital Equities Inc. and Marino Olondriz y Cia, worth about Php60-million.

Last Tuesday (June 3), the PSE held a public auction, but it is also thinking of using other alternative modes to dispose the shares. Among the options is to course at least three block sales in the open market or enter into a negotiated sale or directly allocate the shares to the brokerages' clients as a payment in kind.

Meanwhile, PSE share prices closed unchanged yesterday (June 4) at Php595 per share.

PGMA does a la Clinton in solving energy crisis

The recent Php2-billion worth of subsidy given by Philippine Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to indigent people, Php500 each for those lifeline power users (consuming below 100 kWh per month), has some semblance to what U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton had done during the California power crisis in 2000.

The U.S. president, then, ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to release US$2.6-million to help pay the electricity bills of low-income families, senior citizens, and people with disabilities. On the other hand, the Philippine president directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development to implement the distribution of the one-time subsidy to each qualified individual, with Land Bank of the Philippines serves as the main releasing facility.

China's debt of gratitude to the Philippines

In this time of increasing rice prices, Filipinos tend to use alternative crops like corn, potato, among others to make up for their carbohydrate-loaded diet. Sweet potato, or locally known as "kamote", is the top-of-mind alternative to rice especially for those Filipinos living in rural areas.

But do you know that this rice-kamote relationship goes beyond economic boundary. There is, in fact, some history into it that went as far back as many centuries.

It was during the Ming Dynasty under the reign of then Emperor Wan Li that the local crop was brought to China to feed millions of starving Chinese. Since, kamote is easy to grow even in barren and unfertile land as it needs only a little soil and water to survive, it became instrumental in solving China's problem during those times in dealing with famine and severe droughts.

Then, hundreds of years later circa 1970s, a Chinese agriculturist named Yuan Long Ping, now known as "The Father of Hybrid Rice", introduced the technology of hybrid rice to the Philippines. According to Prof. Yuan, he agreed to bring his technology to the Philippines in order to repay the nation for having introduced sweet potato or "kamote" to China hundreds of years ago.

Many of us might think that hybrid rice had originated from Vietnam or Thailand; but now we know that it actually came from China. The Filipinos had just taught Vietnamese and Thai farmers of rice farming methodologies, which included growing hybrid varieties, building rice terraces, irrigation, among others. These two nations are now the two top rice exporting countries and the Philippines is their biggest customer.

Going back to kamote, there were tributes written for the lowly crop by some Chinese historians and poets. The most famous of which is He Qiao Yuan's history of kamote that appeared in his popular book Min Shu (Book on Fujian), and his poem entitled "Fan Shu Song" (Ode to the Kamote). So this is how the Chinese people give high regard to kamote.

Not unlike in the Philippines, the local crop is being associated with farting and "dull moments". If a person has a hard time doing a certain task, he is said to be "nangangamote". Whenever someone farts, he is thought to have eaten a lot of kamote. But of course, these are just but a local butt of joke. (He-heh-heh!)