ADB: High-emissions scenario to cut PHL GDP
THE Philippine economy stands to lose as much as 18.1 percent of its GDP by 2070 under a “high-emissions scenario” that could worsen the impact of climate change in the country, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
In the release of its inaugural report on climate change, the AsiaPacific Climate Report, ADB said a high-emissions scenario could also see GDP losses of 3.7 percent of GDP in 2030 and 8.8 percent by 2050.
The Philippines will experience the greatest impact of climate change in terms of sea level rise which could cost anywhere
from $1.4 billion to $9.7 billion in 2035; $4.8 billion to $41.2 billion in 2050; and $29 billion to $158.3 billion in 2070.
“The dominant—about half— of losses come from sea level rise,” ADB Economic Research and Development Impact Senior Economist David Raitzer said in a virtual briefing on Thursday.
“And then a larger share than at the regional average would come from natural resource-based sectors. So agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and these sources. So it differs a little bit from the overall regional picture,” he added.
Data obtained from ADB showed
that the increase in sea level could affect around 462,000 to 1.97 million Filipinos in 2035; 736,1000 to 3.86 million Filipinos in 2050; and 1.53 million to 6.83 million Filipinos in 2070. This could also lead to additional flood damage under a high-end emissions climate scenario of $600 million to $2.1 billion for industrial losses in 2035; $1.2 billion to $5 billion in 2050; and $2.8 billion to $15.3 billion in 2070.
In terms of commercial losses, the ADB estimated that the flood damage could be around $1 billion to $3.7 billion in 2035; $2.2 billion to $8.9 billion in 2050; and $4.9
billion to $26.9 billion in 2070.
Flooding under a high-end emissions scenario could see an addition of 1.02 million to 2.77 million Filipinos affected by flooding in 2035; 1.04 million to 3.39 million in 2050; and 1.15 million to 4.76 million in 2070.
“These processes that drive loss are not all linear with respect to time. Some of them are increasing over time, like sea level rise. And that means that the future economy is extremely vulnerable. Our vulnerabilities just keep rising over time,” Raitzer said.
BSP SEES OCT INFLATION
By Cai U.
M(BSP).
It may be noted that the BSP's forecast for October inflation is the same range it initially estimated for the September inflation (See: https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2024/10/02/20-2-8-september-inflation-seen-on-cheaper-food-oil/).
“Higher prices of food commodities such as vegetables, fruits,] and fish as well as the increase in prices of domestic petroleum products and the peso depreciation are the primary sources of upward price pressures for the month,” BSP said.
Nonetheless, BSP said lower prices of rice and meat along with reduced electricity rates are expected to cushion the impact on inflation by higher prices of select food items.
“Going forward, the Monetary Board will continue to take a measured approach in ensuring price stability conducive to balanced and sustainable growth of the economy and employment,” BSP said.
Meanwhile, Bank of the Philippine Islands Senior Vice President and Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri Jr. shared the BSP outlook but said inflation may average around 2.5 percent year-on-year or 0.4 percent month-on-month.
Neri said the September inflation print may have been the lowest in four year due to base effects, which are already fading and may do little to slow inflation in October.
This, combined with the unfavorable weather conditions in October, could see an increase in the prices of some food items, especially vegetables and fruits, he added.
THE Philippines could become the world's 28th largest economy in five years, its growth driven by recent reforms and its demographic dividends, according to an economist from HSBC.
In an economic brief, HSBC Asean economist Aris Dacanay said greater liberalization as well as fiscal and institutional reforms have made the economy stable and “set for takeoff.”
Dacanay said based on the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook, the Philippine economy could grow from being the 33rd largest in the world.
“This represents many opportunities for investors to take part in this growth story, with the economy one of the least leveraged in Asean,” Dacanay said.
“This may be the case again in the next five years, with the Philippines recording the highest FDI approvals in its history. So fasten your seatbelts and get ready for takeoff,” he added.
Dacanay said the Philippines has also seen lower unemployment levels thanks to greater digitalization and the increase in the participation of women in the labor force.
The improvement in the labor market is expected to continue
leading to the share of the working age population to peak in 2035. This, Dacanay said, will also lead to an average increase in incremental saving in the economy of an average of around $17.7 billion annually.
“The Philippines has performed over and above the demographic benefits it enjoys. Employment is currently above what the demographic trend would suggest, with job creation concentrated in digitalisation and the participation of women. A more digital and inclusive economy has paved the way for better growth in the archipelago,” Dacanay said. He noted that the country found its niche in exporting 'lightasset' services thanks to greater digitalization which has made services even more tradeable across countries.
Despite concerns surrounding artificial intelligence, the export of business and computer services has increased 20 percent since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Efforts to continue to grow this export may be replicated from India which now have similar demographics and skills in terms of delivering digital services. These, he said, are crucial in building the country’s resilience. Cai U. Ordinario
Citing a bottom-up model developed by Boston Consulting Group, the Asean website noted that Asean’s digital economy is projected to triple by the end of the decade through the natural adoption of digital technologies, growing from approximately $300 billion to almost $1 trillion by 2030.
p rogressive rules in Defa would double this value contribution, unlocking $2 trillion to Asean digital economy,” said Asean.
p hilexport said Defa negotiations were launched in September 2023 and the target is to conclude this by 2025. Meanwhile, the philippine Trade and Investment Center’s Geneva representative Clariza Columna tackled the draft w TO e -Commerce JSI, which seeks to establish global digital trade rules to enhance the benefits and opportunities provided by e-commerce for businesses, consumers and workers in the global economy.
According to p hilexport, the p hilippines joined the initiative as its 83rd member in January 2020, and so far only Vietnam and Cambodia in the Asean bloc have yet to sign on.
Sherylyn Aquia, Director for DTI-Bureau of International Trade r elations, said the three target outcomes of the digital trade agreements that the philippines wants to join are: to facilitate “seamless” endto-end digital trade, enable an open digital environment, and build trust in digital systems. Andrea E. San Juan
Business, labor get new set of holidays for ’25 guidance
By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
TO allow employers and employees to make the necessary adjustments in their work schedule next year, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. issued a new proclamation declaring 21 national holidays for 2025.
Unlike previous similar proclamations under the Marcos administration, the list now includes not only non-working holidays, but also a working holiday, the e dsa people power r evolution Anniversary.
In his three-page p roclamation No. 727, the Marcos declared 10 regular holidays, namely, New Year’s Day—1 January ( wednesday); Araw ng Kagitingan—9 April ( wednesday); Maundy Thursday—17 April; Good Friday—18 April; l abor Day—1 May (Thursday); Independence Day-12 June (Thursday). Also declared as regular holidays are the National Heroes Day—25 August ( l ast Monday of August);Bonifacio Day—30 November (Sunday); Christmas Day—25 December (Thursday); r izal Day—30; December (Tuesday).
Nonetheless, Neri said inflation is expected to remain manageable in the next 12 months, barring any supply shocks.
As for special (non-working) days, the list includes Ninoy Aquino Day—21 August (Thursday); All Saints Day—1 November (Saturday); Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary—8 December (Monday); l ast Day of the Year—31 December ( wednesday).
Other special (non-working) days are Chinese New Year-- 29 January ( wednesday); Black Saturday—19 April; Christmas e ve—24 December ( wednesday); All Saints' Day eve—31 October (Friday). The e dsa people power revolution Anniversary—25 February (Tuesday) was also included in p roclamation 727 as a working holiday.
During the first year of his term, Marcos issued a proclamation which included e dsa people power r evolution among the list
“Upside risks to this outlook include the possibility of l a Niña and spread of African Swine Fever. It should also be noted that inflation remains sensitive to climate conditions and could go up easily,” Neri, however, said.
Rate cut
GIV eN this outlook, Neri said, a rate cut may be on the table in the December meeting of the Monetary Board. Nonetheless, he warned that BS p could also put on the brakes in its easing cycle given recent developments in the peso. The peso depreciated back to the p 58 level last week and continues to trade at that level this week. Neri said this could be a reaction to the market’s concerns with regard to the policy actions of the United States Federal r eserve.
“A stronger-than-expected US jobs report or a r epublican sweep in the upcoming US elections could reinforce this sentiment, potentially weakening the peso further and adding upward pressure on inflation. The BS p may consider a pause in its rate cuts if the Fed doesn’t cut as anticipated,” Neri said.
The B pI official also said the recent volatility in the market may “highlight the need for prudence” when it comes to policy rate cuts.
w hile inflation forecasts allow room for a cut, aggressive action may not be pru -
In terms of domestic sales, it declined year-onyear throughout the p OI from 2019 to 2023, except for a “remarkable” 12-percent increase in 2021.
In the first half of 2024, sales volume was less than half compared to the 2023 level.
Meanwhile, operating profit of the local industry declined during the period of investigation, recording its first operating loss in 2023, the DTI report noted.
e mployment in the local industry also declined— by 4 percent in 2022, further declining by 6 percent in 2023 and an 8-percent decline in the first half of 2024 com -
“There
of special-non working holidays for 2023.
For this year, the event was not declared a holiday since it was held on a Sunday. e dsa people power r evolution commemorates the four-day massive protests from February 22-25, 1986, which ended the two-decade authoritarian rule of Marcos's father, former p resident Ferdinand e . Marcos, Sr. p roclamation 727 declared the Muslim holidays e idul Fitr and e idul Adha as national holidays. The exact dates of both holidays will later be issued based on the recommendation of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos using the Islamic calendar (Hijra).
Marcos instructed the Department of l abor and e mployment (DO le ) to issue the necessary pay rules for the said holidays.
dent in the current climate.
Global and domestic supply shocks can alter the outlook for inflation quickly, making a cautious approach to rate cuts more suitable to maintain stability,” Neri said.
e arlier, Jonathan r avelas, senior adviser at professional services firm r eyes Tacandong & Co., said aggressive monetary policy easing could be inflationary by itself.
This could be a problem since geopolitical tensions are poised to raise prices while the plan of former p resident Trump to raise tariffs on US imports could drive up prices of goods in the international market.
r avelas also said if the BS p will maintain or keep its promise of cutting rates by 25 basis points more this year, that should still make the country’s inflation target attainable.
For next year, the BS p would be prudent and limit it to a 25-basis- point reduction in rates per quarter. This will mean the total reduction in rates next year would be 100 basis points.
Nonetheless, r avelas expects the Monetary Board to maintain policy rates this month but deal another 250-basis-point reduction in the r eserve r equirement r atio. (See: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2024/10/13/geopoliticstrump-win-not-suited-to-sharprate-cuts/).
pared to the 2023 level.
w ith this, the DTI report noted, “The above evidence shows that serious injury to the domestic injury was caused by increased imports based on the following:
1. Significant increases in the volume of imported cement from 2019 to 2023 preceded the serious injury to the industry in 2023.
2. The conditions of competition showed that the market share of local cement producers decreased during the period of investigation from 78 percent in 2019 to 68 percent in 2023, as imports in the domestic market displaced locally produced cement.”
ADB
In
climate scenario; 5.53 percent in 2050; and 8.55 percent in 2070.
ADB data also showed the climate change impact on forest productivity will see a 2.35 percent reduction in 2035 under a highemissions climate scenario; 4.65 percent in 2050; and 7.63 percent in 2070.
The report noted that the high-emissions climate scenario will also swell the country's final energy demand for electricity, gas and petroleum between 2035 and 2070. For electricity demand, the increase will be 8.2 percent in 2035; 16.5 percent in 2050; and 27.5 percent in 2070. In terms of gas demand, the ADB expects an increase of 1.6 percent in 2035; 3.2 percent in 2050; and 5.4 percent in 2070. The report noted that petroleum demand will increase by 2 percent in 2035; 4 percent in 2050; and 6.7 percent in 2070. Lower productivity
Me AN w HI le , ADB said high emissions will also lead to hotter temperatures that could reduce labor productivity.
In the p hilippines, labor productivity could decline by 4.3 percent in 2035 under a low-exposure scenario; 8.6 percent in 2050; and 14.3 percent in 2070. However, under high exposure to hotter temperatures, labor productivity could decline 8.1 percent in 2035; 16.1 percent in 2050; and 26.8 percent in 2070.
“ w ith longer and more frequent heat waves, much of Asia and the p acific will face contractions in both labor productivity and supply, especially in sectors where personal cooling is more difficult, such as agriculture and construction,” the report stated.
“ l osses to labor have been calculated via functions of laboratory performance under different humidity-adjusted temperatures as well as via empirical analysis of micro survey data,” it added.
On a regional level, ADB said the impacts of climate change could reduce GD p in developing Asia and the p acific by 17 percent by 2070 under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario, rising to 41 percent by 2100.
If the climate crisis continues to accelerate, up to 300 million people in the region could be threatened by coastal inundation, and trillions of dollars of coastal assets could be damaged annually by 2070.
“Climate change has supercharged the devastation from tropical storms, heat waves, and floods in the region, contributing to unprecedented economic challenges and human suffering,” said ADB p resident Masatsugu Asakawa.
“Urgent, well-coordinated climate action that addresses these impacts is needed before it is too late. This climate report provides insight into how to finance urgent adaptation needs and offers promising policy recommendations to governments in our developing member countries on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at lowest cost," he added.
Adaptation responses need to be accelerated to address growing climate risks, along with an imperative to greatly upscale adaptation-focused climate finance. The report values annual investment needs for regional countries to adapt to global warming at between $102 billion and $431 billion—far exceeding the $34 billion of tracked adaptation finance in the region in 2021–2022.
Marcos assures enough manpower for Leon, Kristine
By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga, Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla & Rex Anthony Naval
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos said the government still has enough resources to mitigate the impact of Typhoon Leon even as rescue, relief, and recovery operations are ongoing in response to the devastation caused by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine in Luzon.
“Our resources and personnel may be stretched due to the impact of typhoons on multiple fronts.” the Chief Executive said in a statement on Thursday.
“Nevertheless, we have sufficient assets to mitigate the worst impact, recover from the wreckage, and rebuild stronger than before,” he added.
“I assure the Filipino people that the government is ably handling all disaster management efforts. We remain in full control,” he said.
“All agencies and instrumental -
ities of government remain on full alert, and remain ready to deploy aid wherever it may be needed,” he added.
Leon weakens SUPER Typhoon Leon weakened on Thursday but even as a typhoon category weather disturbance, it continues to batter Luzon with strong winds and heavy rains as it passed close to Orchid Islands in Southern Taiwan, the state weather bureau said. Leon, the 12th severe weather disturbance to enter the Philip -
Remember EJK, hazing victims during Undas–congressman
By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
AS families gather to observe Undas or All Saints Day, a co-chairman of the House of Representatives Quad Committee that is looking into extra-judicial killings (EJKs) on Thursday called for a solemn remembrance of victims whose cases remain unresolved.
Manila Rep. Benny Abante, also the chairman of the House Committee on Human Rights, said Undas is also a time for reflection on justice, especially for those whose lives have been cut short by violence due to hazing and EJKs during the past administration.
“As a family advocate, gently remind the public during the Undas holidays to offer prayers for comfort and justice for the families of many hazing victims whose cases have not yet led to the final conviction of their murderers,” Abante, who is also a senior pastor of Metropolitan Bible Baptist Ekklesia, said.
“As chairman of the Committee on Human Rights in the House of Representatives, I also ask that the thousands of victims of tokhang or extra-judicial killings be remembered because their killers and the masterminds of the brutal war on drugs have not yet been arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and incarcerated for their heinous crimes,” he added.
According to Abante, collective national amnesia is one of the enemies of justice.
During this Undas season, Abante emphasized the importance of offering prayers for both comfort and justice for the families of victims, whose cases remain unresolved.
“The wheels of justice turn too slowly in our country. For these reasons, I ask the Supreme Court to recommend to Congress the enactment of laws that will set fair and reasonable deadlines on criminal cases to uphold the right of victims to speedy justice,” he added.
Abante urged the Supreme Court to
See “EJK,” A4
DepEd partners with Japan firm for free Tofas access for learners
THE Department of Education (DepEd) has joined forces with Japan-based Sprix, Inc. to provide free access to the Test of Fundamental Skills (Tofas) for learners nationwide, a major step to enhance math proficiency among public school students.
“Strengthening our students’ math skills is essential,” Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara said noting that the partnership aims to support thousands of students in mastering essential math skills critical for their academic success. The partnership was formalized with a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing held at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan in DepEd. Angara was joined by Hiroyuki Tsuneishi, president and representative director of Sprix Ltd.; Leo Shoji, lead development officer of Sprix Ltd.’s Global Strategy Division and Algrace Avanceña, chief representative of Sprix Co. Ltd. in the Philippines.
“With Tofas, we have a targeted tool that identifies math proficiencies and areas for growth, and we are confident this will empower students across the country. Initial feedback from our regional directors has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re eager to expand its use to more learners,”
pine Area of Responsibility (PAR) this year intensified and reached the super typhoon category on Wednesday after hovering over the Philippine Sea, dumping a huge volume of rain over Central and Northern Luzon just days after Severe Tropical Storm Kristine battered Southern Luzon.
In the latest Tropical Cyclone Bulletin issued at 10 a.m. by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the center of the eye of the storm was spotted 155 kilometers north of Itabayat, Batanes. moving at 25 kilometers per hour northwestward. It is packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kmh near the center with gustiness of up to 215 kmh.
Leon is expected to leave the PAR by Thursday evening or Friday morning.
Despite the weakening of Leon, heavy rainfall warning is up in Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro and Calamian Islands
Heavy rainfall warnings have also been issued by the state weather bureau for Palawan.
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal 3 is still up in Batanes; TCWS 2 in the Babuyan Islands and TCWS1
in mainland Cagayan, Isabela, Apayao, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, the northern portion of Benguet (Mankayan, Bakun, Buguias), Ilocos Norte, and Ilocos Sur.
Military reserve manpower sufficient THE Armed Forces said that it has a sufficient reserve of manpower that could be tapped if needed for emergencies that might be caused by Leon.
Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, Armed Forces spokesperson, assured that there are enough deployable personnel for Leon even as military units are still engaged in rescue and other missions related to the effects of Kristine.
“We will mobilize all necessary resources for Leon as we continue our recovery from Kristine. We are committed to supporting our communities,” Padilla said.
So far, the Armed Forces and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) have deployed 28 squads, around 1,409 teams, and 3,176 assets along with the Bureau of Fire Protection.
“More than 2,690 search and rescue retrieval teams and over 4,900 search, rescue, and retrieval assets are also on standby for Leon,” Padilla said. She expressed gratitude for the
influx of international aid from Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei, which has facilitated support to affected areas.
Indonesia’s aircraft is also set to arrive on Thursday.
OCD: Help on the way
THE OCD administrator, Defense Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, assured the public that the government is fully prepared to respond swiftly to ongoing disaster relief efforts.
“Help is on the way, and this is a commitment from the government,” he said.
“First and foremost, we are still attending to the victims of Kristine, and support is being provided through the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Health.”
In Batanes and Babuyan Island, he said comprehensive response programs are in place. “Our response clusters are ready to act, and our manpower is well-prepared,” he added.
The backbone of this response includes uniformed services such as the Armed Forces, the Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Fire Protection.
“We have deployed over 1,200 teams comprising more than 12,800 trained personnel throughout the
country, ready to respond wherever needed,” Nepomuceno added.
“The DSWD is pre-positioned with approximately two million food packs, and the OCD is supplying non-food items, hygiene kits, and medical supplies to prevent illness,” he explained.
Casualty count: 150 dead, 119 injured
THE casualty count attributed to Kristine and Leon continues to increase as of Thursday morning, with a total of 150 persons dead, 119 injured and 29 others still missing, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said. In its Situation Report for the combined impacts of Kristine and Leon issued at 8 a.m. on Thursday, the NDRRMC also reported an increasing number of affected families, now peaking at 1,892,226 families or 7,494,023 persons in 10,921 barangays across 972 cities and municipalities in 81 provinces nationwide, with Leon continuously battering Northern Luzon. Meanwhile, as the weather improves in other parts of Central and Southern Luzon, the number of people in evacuation centers has decreased to 760,132 displaced persons currently housed in 2,081 evacuation centers.
Marikina local govt files charges vs workers for desecration of dead
By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3
THE local government of Marikina City on Thursday filed charges against the personnel of the Barangka Cemetery for their alleged improper handling of human remains.
The complaint was filed before the Marikina City Prosecutors’ Office.
Complainants are Dr. Chritopher N. Guevara, head of the City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (Cesu), and Rolando V. Dalusong, chief of Environmental Health and Sanitation.
The complaint was been lodged against the following individuals who are cemetery administrators, administrative staff and undertakers of Barangka Public Cemetery: Renato Beltran,
Ian Lester Beltran, Irish Santos, Rowell Ogayon, Pablo Papa, and a certain “Solayao.”
The said personnel were accused of violating Presidential Decree 856 and its implementing on the code on sanitation of the Philippines, specifically Section 5, which prohibits the unauthorized disturbance or exhumation of remains without permit, and failure to inter the remains in the proper manner.
During a City Health Office investigation and inspection, it was found out that several remains inside plastic bags were discovered at open space in the Barangka Cemetery.
“The said remains were exhumed without permit from the City Health Office-Sanitation Section,” it said.
It added: “The remains were
not buried in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the Section 89 of the PD 856 which requires that ‘burial interment of remains must be in a grave, tomb, or the sea’.”
The joint complaint said, “the unauthorized exhumation of remains is a direct affront to the dignity and respect to the deceased, causing emotional distress, not only to the public, but also to the affected families and community.”
Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro earlier ordered cemetery officials not to dig any grave as Barangka Cemetery undergoes rehabilitation.
May existing nga tayong ordinansa pero naglabas ako ng moratorium para huwag na muna maghukay,” Teodoro said.
Teodoro vowed: “ Papanagutin natin sila sa batas. Kinasuhan na
natin nang administratibo at kriminal lahat ng involved na personnel ng Barangka Cemetery.” Mayroon na tayong na -identify na mga tao na may kagagawan nito Wala itong authority, wala itong clearance, hinukay nila ,” he added. The personnel of Barangka, according to the mayor, took advantage of the situation to make money.
Binibenta nila ’yung puntod, ’yung lugar na pinag-alisan Kaya isang sindikato nga ito , hindi ito ordinaryong galawan ng isa o dalawang tao talagang pinagplanuhan .”
The mayor said what happened to the remains at Barangka Cemetery was wrong and unforgivable. “ Talagang kailangan natin silang papanagutin dahil kawalan ng respeto ang ginawa nila sa ating mga namayapang mahal sa buhay,” he said.
Cops, DOTr intensify security measures, provide assistance to Undas travelers
THE National Police chief, Gen. Rommel Francisco
Angara added. For his part, Tsuneishi said that they are thrilled to see Tofas support students in the Philippines.
“Our goal is to equip teachers with insights to better address the learning needs of every student,” he said. Tofas allows teachers to assess students’ calculation and problem-solving skills accurately, providing valuable data to tailor instruction according to each student’s needs.
By highlighting strengths and pinpointing areas needing improvement, Tofas also fosters better communication among teachers, students, and parents, creating a support system that encourages motivation and academic progress.
Beyond academic benefits, Tofas also promotes student well-being by offering teachers and parents clear insights into each learner’s mathematical journey, paving the way for enhanced engagement in mathematics and programming.
The initiative reflects DepEd’s commitment to elevating education quality across the Philippines, aligned with President Marcos’s vision of equal opportunities and resources for all Filipino learners, Angara said. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
Marbil on Wednesday ordered all police units nationwide to intensify security measures and provide assistance to motorists and the public in preparation for the annual observance of All Saints’ and All Souls’ days.
Marbil said that this deployment not only aims to secure communities but also to reinforce a sense of peace and safety among the people all over the country during the long weekend.
“We want the public to feel the presence of the police, to feel secure as they go about their normal activites during this time,” Marbil stressed.
Police efforts would focus on deterring crimes such as “akyatbahay” as many homes are often left unattended during this time, he said.
“We are deploying more personnel to communities, cemeteries, transport terminals, and other areas where people traditionally gather to commemorate their departed loved ones,” Marbil added.
“Our goal is twofold: to secure the community from opportunistic crimes like akyat-bahay and to assist motorists and the general public who may need help during
this period. Police visibility and vigilance will be at an all-time high to guarantee everyone’s safe and peaceful observance of Undas,” he added.
DOTr takes measures for smooth travel
AS Filipinos prepare to journey to the provinces for the annual Undas tradition, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) implemented measures to ensure a “comfortable, safe, and accessible experience” for travelers.
Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista directed all DOTr sectors to activate “Oplan Biyaheng Ayos,” a coordinated effort designed to enhance passenger comfort and safety amid an expected surge in terminal traffic.
“Every peak season, we implement Oplan Biyaheng Ayos with the goal of providing passengers with a service that is comfortable, affordable, safe, secure, and accessible or CASSA. This is our directive to the agencies under DOTr,” Bautista said.
In collaboration with government partners, including the police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (Pdea), the DOTr is actively working to secure the nation’s transportation hubs.
Enhanced security and customer service protocols are in place at major terminals, especially at terminals such as the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange, which anticipates a significant uptick in passengers due to the holiday and delays caused by Typhoon Kristine.
“Many travelers have had their plans disrupted due to the typhoon, so terminals are expected to be crowded. However, the situation is manageable,” Bautista assured.
To meet the increased demand, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has issued 298 special permits for 796 buses serving provincial routes as of mid-October.
LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz confirmed that the board will continue to issue additional permits to address passenger needs at major terminals.
“This number will increase as we monitor demand. LTFRB personnel are stationed at key terminals, ready to issue special permits for areas where more buses are needed,” Guadiz explained.
NTC provides public assistance
THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has
started public assistance operations to ensure the safety and well-being of travelers nationwide during the Undas holidays. The Commission has instructed its regional offices to coordinate with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Civic Action Groups (CAGs), and Amateur Radio Groups (ARGs) to support communication efforts during the period.
NTC’s regional offices will facilitate the issuance of temporary permits and licenses to these groups, enabling them to operate with the legal approvals as they assist with emergency communications and provide real-time updates.
In addition, the NTC has directed regional teams to collaborate with radio, television, and cable TV operators for timely dissemination of public service announcements.
These will include traffic, safety, and weather updates, essential for travelers en route to provinces and cemeteries.
To monitor operations, the NTC’s regional offices will collect key information on the locations
DSWD sees .5M households ‘graduating’ from 4Ps in ’24
By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
OME 500,000 households
Sbenefiting from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are expected to “graduate” from the program by the end of 2024, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Thursday.
Marie Grace Ponce, chief of the 4Ps Social Marketing Division, said in a statement that these households that will graduate from 4Ps were assessed to have achieved self-sufficiency, meaning they can now manage their basic
needs independently, even during challenging times.
“These families have reached a level we refer to as self-sufficiency. We expect that by yearend, about 500,000 households will have successfully graduated from 4Ps. We hope they will join us in breaking the cycle of poverty,” she said.
“They are equipped to meet their daily needs, support their children’s education, and maintain good health without further assistance,” Ponce explained.
The 4Ps program, under Republic Act 11310, provides conditional cash transfers to eligible
households for up to seven years. This period is intended to help families build resilience, supported by a tailored case management process.
“In these seven years, we work closely with families from their entry into the program up to their exit, ensuring our investment has made a meaningful impact on their lives,” Ponce emphasized.
Apart from reaching the seven-year limit and the self-sufficiency level, Rule XV Section 35 of the implementing rules of the 4Ps Law also states that the reasons for beneficiaries to exit from the program include: the
last child being monitored in the household reaching the age of 18 or completing high school; voluntary withdrawal from the program; and violation or offense in the program resulting in appropriate penalties or removal from the program.
Launched in 2008 and institutionalized by RA 11310 in 2019, the 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy and human-capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfers to poor households for a maximum period of seven years to improve their children’s health, nutrition, and education.
Bukidnon tops 2023 agri, fisheries production
BERC: 24 electric coops sustain extensive loses
By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM & Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan
THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) on Thursday said at least 24 electric cooperatives (ECs) reported extensive financial losses following the onslaught of Typhoon Kristine.
The estimated cost of damage to power infrastructure has reached over P70 million, data from NEA showed.
NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda highlighted the efforts of the affected ECs, emphasizing their ongoing work to normalize operations. Task Force Kapatid (TFK), NEA’s dedicated emergency response unit, has been mobilized to provide manpower support for the restoration.
Almeda said that repairs on damaged lines are ongoing in Albay (Aleco), Batangas (Batelec I), Camarines Sur (Casureco II and III), and Pangasinan (Panelco I).
Gatchalian to NEA: Ensure EC compliance SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian prodded the NEA to ensure that all ECs) are compliant with requirements of the Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund (ECERF) Law to mitigate the adverse impact on power supply of natural calamities such as typhoons.
Gatchalian, vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, made the call following widespread devastation brought by Typhoon Kristine that left many households in heavily affected areas still reeling from lack of power.
By Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
UKIDNON recorded the highest value of agriculture and fisheries production in 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
PSA data indicate that among the top 10 provinces with the highest value of production at current prices in 2023, Bukidnon emerged as leader with P155.28 billion.
Pampanga and Pangasinan trailed with P93.73 billion and P88.30 billion, respectively. They
were followed by Negros Occidental at P87.48 billion, Batangas at P78.71 billion, and South Cotabato at P76.57 billion. Nueva Ecija recorded P76.46 billion; Davao del Sur, P69.65 billion; Isabela, P69.38 billion and Iloilo, P65.40 billion. The PSA said the total value of production in agriculture and fisheries was around P2.31 trillion in 2023 at current prices. Bukidnon also topped in terms of crop production, generating P104.52 billion at current prices. This was followed by Isabela and
Nueva Ecija with corresponding values of production of P59.50 billion and P59.06 billion.
The total crop production was valued at P1.23 trillion at current prices last year, the PSA said.
For livestock, Bukidnon was also the leading province as it recorded P30.43 billion. Batangas followed with P30.33 billion and Cebu with P26.68 billion. The sector registered P0.38 trillion in 2023 at current prices.
The PSA said that among provinces, Batangas led in terms of poultry production at P33.84
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recommend legislative changes that would set fair deadlines on criminal cases, aiming to fulfill the victims’ right to swift justice.
“The right to due process is being abused at the expense of the victims. This is why we seek the guidance of the Supreme Court on this matter. We seek fairness and balance,” he said.
Blood-soaked legacy
MENAWHILE , Tingog Rep. Jude Acidre has called on former president Rodrigo Duterte to face the QuadCom following his recent Senate testimony regarding his bloody anti-drug campaign.
Acidre denounced Duterte’s defiant
billion. Bulacan and Pampanga trailed with P26.07 billion and P25.33 billion, respectively. The poultry sector recorded P0.36 trillion last year at current prices.
For fisheries production, Pampanga recorded the biggest value at P41.84 billion, while Pangasinan and South Cotabato had corresponding values of production of P22.68 billion and P22.46 billion.
The PSA said the total value of fisheries production at current prices was recorded at P0.33 trillion last year.
stance, insisting he answer for the consequences of his actions and urged Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to recuse himself from the Senate inquiry, given his deep involvement in Duterte’s policies.
“Duterte’s admissions about his ‘death squad’ and his chilling willingness to command extra-judicial killings reveal a leader who has absolutely no regard for human life,” Acidre said. “It’s appalling that he continues to hide behind the facade of a tough-on-crime persona while leaving a trail of bloodshed in his wake.”
During a recent Senate hearing, Duterte, who became president in 2016 on a promise to replicate his Davao City anti-crime tactics on a national scale, admitted to directing a group of gangsters to eliminate perceived threats. He callously instructed police to provoke suspects into confrontations to
“So far, we are already almost fully energized on most of the areas aside from these areas that I mentioned earlier. One thing that we made sure are the critical services, which means the hospitals and the evacuation centers are energized,” he said.
Key ports in Allen, Samar, and Matnog, Sorsogon, have also been reconnected to facilitate the movement of goods and services.
The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca) reported that several ECs faced severe flooding and obstructed lines, adding to the restoration challenges.
Issues with generation and transmission networks have also complicated the recovery process. Almeda underscored that damage assessment is still ongoing, especially in areas where flooding persists.
justify their killings, defiantly declaring, “Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do.”
The government estimates that over 6,252 people have been killed in the drug war, although human-rights organizations argue the actual toll could be in the tens of thousands.
For many families, Duterte’s reckless approach has left an indelible mark of grief and loss.
Acidre emphasized that the QuadCom inquiry is critical in seeking the truth and dismantling Duterte’s dangerous bravado.
“We must hold Duterte and his enablers accountable for the senseless violence they unleashed on this nation,” Acidre concluded.
“The Filipino people deserve justice, not hollow excuses and justifications from a leader who has caused nothing but chaos and suffering.”
“The goal of ECERF is not just to provide funds that ECs can tap for the restoration and rehabilitation of ECs’ damaged infrastructures following a fortuitous event such as typhoon but to ensure that the distribution utilities are resilient to withstand calamities,” Gatchalian added. In addition, he clarified that ECERF was put in place as “a ready fund“that can be tapped by ECs for faster restoration of electricity and power facilities damaged by natural calamities,” adding that “the fund is administered and managed by NEA.” Gatchalian, the principal author of the ECERF law, clarified that “ECs are required to submit on an annual basis vulnerability and risk assessment [VRA], emergency response plan [ERP], mitigation plan [MP], and resiliency compliance plan to NEA.”
“Given that the Philippines is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change risks and natural disasters, ECs need to develop their resilience to prevent power interruption or at least shorten the period of such incidents during and after calamities, the senator pointed out. NEA has requested a budget of P200 million for the implementation of ECERF for next year.
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and contact numbers of personnel from CAGs and ARGs, along with radio frequencies and base station locations, to ensure effective coordination and immediate response capability.
For the duration of the Undas period, the NTC will also be open to public requests for assistance, underscoring its commitment to maintaining secure and efficient communication support for a safe and solemn observance of this national occasion. Lorenz Marasigan, Rex Anthony Naval
Comelec faces integrity test as Vico Sotto writes letter
By Justine Xyrah Garcia
THE Commission on Elections is now facing a critical integrity test after incumbent Pasig City Mayor Victor “Vico” Sotto raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest in the 2025 midterm polls.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said on Wednesday that the commission will study Sotto’s letter to determine how “best to address” the issues raised by the latter, particularly on the alleged connection of his mayoral rival to Comelec’s election system provider.
“Tinanong ko siya mismo (Sotto) nung nagkausapkamikunganobangpurposengletter… sabiniya [I asked him straight up when we spoke why he sent the letter...he told me...] they are not filing a disqualification case, they are just
informing the commission of this fact and reality,” the poll chief said.
In the letter, Sotto expressed concern that some candidates appear ready to “put to test” the poll body’s commitment to transparency and impartiality.
He named his mayoral rival Discaya, who also owns the St. Gerrard Construction General Contractor and Development Corporation—the number one contractor firm during the Duterte administration. It was blacklisted once for submitting a fake tax clearance.
“There is overwhelming evidence that St. Gerrard is an alter-ego of St. Timothy construction corporation, which is among the Joint Venture Partners of Miru Systems Co. that contracted with the Comelec to provide the automated election system for the 2025 elections,” Sotto wrote.
Highest satisfaction rating for DSWD’s Rex Gatchalian
SECRETARY Rex Gatchalian of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, who is now probably the busiest member of the Cabinet as a string of severe tropical storms lash the country, got the highest satisfaction rating among the members of the Marcos Jr. Cabinet, according to the latest survey conducted by Tangere.
The survey, released earlier this week, had him with a 61.07 percent rating, with notable support from Class D and E respondents, who also happen to be his main constituency as DSWD chief. The survey done October 23-25 also reported
the high satisfaction ratings of four other Cabinet men. The Cabinet secretaries following Gatchalian are: Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara with 60.73 percent rating; Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro with 55.87 percent rating; Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla with 53.73 percent; and Finance Secretary Ralph Recto with 52.87 percent. Notably, Angara and Remulla are new faces in the Cabinet. Tangere said the ratings for the Top 5 secretaries indicate that the issues in social welfare, education, defense and local government are close to people’s hearts.
Red Cross helps 31K people in areas ravaged by Kristine
ALWAYS READY, ALWAYS THERE—Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman and CEO Richard Gordon talks with beneficiaries in Albay before a distribution activity in Albay on October 30. He assured the people that the Red Cross can be relied upon when disasters strike, and their doors are always open for anyone who needs assistance. “Katulad ng nangyari sa bagyong ‘Kristine,’ ang aming mga Red Cross volunteers are laging handang tumulong, sumagip, magligtas, at magserbisyo sa publiko.” PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIPPINE RED CROSS
By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3
OVER 31,000 people in 49 provinces affected by Severe Tropical Storm (STS) Kristine were served by the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) as of October 30.
Chairman and CEO Richard Gordon and Secretary-General Dr. Gwen Pang personally went to vulnerable communities in Camarines Sur and Albay as part of the PRC’s intensified relief efforts.
“We deployed assets like water tankers, food trucks, amphibian, 6x6 rescue trucks, among others to extend help and services of the PRC. Difficult though it may have been, we are here to give hope and be with you as you strive to recover,” Gordon said on Wednesday.
In Naga City, the PRC distributed hygiene kits, sleeping kits, and jerry cans to 399 families or 1,995 individuals. Additionally, the PRC also provided hot meals and clean water for the affected residents.
A health caravan was also conducted where beneficiaries were given medicines and Doxycycline capsules for leptospirosis prevention.
After Naga, the PRC went straight to Brgy.
Last month, the poll body announced that St. Timothy had withdrawn from the Comelec-Miru joint venture after the commission issued an ultimatum to either exit the partnership or face disqualification (Related: https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2024/10/04/st-timothybreaks-off-from-miru-comelec-poll-venture/) Garcia has since assured the public that this
separation will not compromise the integrity of the elections, explaining that St. Timothy’s role in the joint venture was limited to providing financial backing to help Miru meet its net financial contracting capacity (NFCC) requirements. Following St. Timothy’s exit, the remaining local partners in the joint venture include Integrated Comput -
er Systems and Centerpoint Solutions Technologies, Inc.
The Comelec en banc on Wednesday accepted the new NFCC submitted by these two companies, confirming their compliance with the agency’s requirements. “The NFCC submitted by the two remaining joint venture partners is sufficient and in compliance with our requirements,” Garcia declared.
Malitbog, Minalabac, Camarines Sur and dispensed packed meals, kitchen sets, and jerry cans to 400 families or 2,500 individuals.
It then traveled to the Brgy. Zone 4, Libon, Albay to continue its relief efforts. A total of 487 families or 2,420 individuals were provided food packs and jerry cans. Moreover, the PRC supplied hot meals and organized a health caravan, with residents availing of free medicines, health promotion sessions, and IEC materials. Still in Albay, the PRC went to Brgy. Buga, Libon, and distributed kitchen sets and jerry cans to 681 households. Potable water was also provided for the affected residents.
“We are continuously appealing to our donors and sponsors because our work is not yet over.
The PRC has been there for our kababayans since day one. We thank our tireless volunteers across the nation who are with us in this struggle,” Dr. Pang added.
The PRC’s Typhoon Kristine relief and recovery efforts in Camarines Sur and Albay were made possible through the support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the Australian Embassy, the Canadian Red Cross, and New Zealand Aid.
SECRETARY Rex Gatchalian PNA
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and stakeholders. Follow all state and safety requirements to implement good safety conditions at work site.
Basic Qualification: Knowledge of elementary physical, mechanical and earth science principles. Knowledge of methods and techniques used in the construction and building trades fields. Knowledge of the occupational hazards and safety precautions applicable to the work. Knowledge
52.
BusinessMirror
related to inquiry from clients and/or customers through Mandarin to English language translation.
53. KUO, MING-HSUAN Customer Service Representative (Mandarin Speaking)
Brief Job Description: Handle service support calls, emails and chats related to inquiry from clients and/or customers through Mandarin to English language translation.
54. CHANG, HSIN-WEI Mandarin Speaking Technical Support Analyst
Brief Job Description: Responsible for maintaining and troubleshooting IT systems, end user hardware, software, and networks.
55. WU, HSIN-CHENG Mandarin Speaking Technical Support Analyst
Brief Job Description: Responsible for maintaining and troubleshooting IT systems, end user hardware, software, and networks. Basic Qualification: Thorough and extensive fluency in Mandarin language and characters.
56. LIN, I-CHIA Mandarin Speaking Trend Risk Analyst
Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Brief Job Description: Analyzing past financial data to uncover pattern and trends that may indicate future risks through Mandarin to English language translation. Basic Qualification: Thorough and extensive fluency in Mandarin language and characters.
57. LIN, WEI-HSIN Mandarin Speaking Trend Risk Analyst
Brief Job Description: Analyzing past financial data to uncover pattern and trends that may indicate future risks through Mandarin to English language translation.
MOBI SOLAR PHILIPPINES INC. Dmg Center, D.m. Guevarra, Mauway, City Of Mandaluyong
58. MIAO, HONGLING Senior Technical Manager
Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing technical expertise in various areas of the company.
Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: Thorough and extensive fluency in Mandarin language and characters.
Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: College graduate, with previous work experience in a similar role and with excellent technical and communication skills.
Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
NEW COAST LEISURE INC. 5/f, New Coast Hotel Manila, 1588 M.h Del Pilar Cor. Pedro Gil St., Barangay 699, Malate, City Of Manila
59. STEPHEN THAM TEIK SEONG Multilingual Consultant, Electronic Gaming
Brief Job Description: Focuses on improvements to floor layout, equipment and procedures based upon observations and data.
60. WALKER, RODNEY JOSEPH Multilingual Consultant, Security & Surveillance
Brief Job Description: Responsible for collecting and disseminating real-time information and provide situational awareness to operators and security analysts.
OROMARINE SHIPPING CORPORATION
8399 Mayapis St., Cor., Catmon St., San Antonio, City Of Makati
61. CHEN, QINGYU Mandarin Chief Supervisor
Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Chief Supervisor will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long-term goals.
62. LIN, QUMEI Mandarin Chief Supervisor
Brief Job
Brief
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Basic Qualification: College graduate, with previous work experience in a similar role and with excellent technical and communication skills.
Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999
Basic Qualification: College graduate, with previous work experience in a similar role and with excellent technical and communication skills.
Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999
Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Chief Supervisor. Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills.
Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
US races against time to broker cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza
By Bassem Mroue, Julia Frankel & Samy Magdy The Associated Press
BEIRUT—The United States and other mediators are ramping up efforts to halt the wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, circulating new proposals to wind down the regional conflict during the Biden administration’s final months.
Negotiations on both fronts have been stalled for months and none of the warring parties have shown any sign of backing down from their demands.
Senior White House officials Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein are scheduled to visit Israel on Thursday for talks on possible cease-fires in both Lebanon and Gaza, and the release of hostages held by Hamas. CIA Director Bill Burns will go to Egypt to discuss those efforts.
A proposal to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah calls for a two-month cease-fire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon, and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the country’s southern border, two other officials familiar with the talks said.
But Israel is unlikely to trust UN peacekeepers and Lebanese troops to keep Hezbollah out of a reestablished buffer zone in Lebanon. It wants the freedom to strike the militants if needed. Lebanese officials want a complete withdrawal. Separately, the US, Egypt and Qatar have proposed a four-week cease-fire in Gaza during which Hamas would release up to 10 hostages, according to an Egyptian official and a Western diplomat.
But Hamas still appears unwilling to release scores of hostages without securing a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, even after the killing of its top leader, Yahya Sinwar. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted on lasting Israeli control over parts of the territory.
In Lebanon, a push to revive the UN resolution that ended the last war DURING his visit to Beirut last week, Hochstein met with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. They agreed on a roadmap on how to implement UN Security Council resolution 1701, which
ended the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006, according to a Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.
The resolution stipulates a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Lebanese territory, and withdrawal of all armed forces except for UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army from the area south of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah’s newly chosen leader, Naim Kassem, said the group will not “beg” for a cease-fire. “If the Israelis decide to stop the aggression, we say that we accept, but according to the conditions that we see as suitable,” he said during a televised address.
Israel has not publicly commented on the proposal to end the fighting in Lebanon, which started more than a year ago and dramatically intensified in midSeptember. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, told a Lebanese TV station that he spoke with Hochstein ahead of his trip to Israel and was “cautiously optimistic.”
US officials say there are competing proposals being discussed for a cease-fire in Lebanon, including one idea calling for an immediate truce followed by two months to fully implement the resolution.
The Lebanese official said that once a cease-fire is reached, a 60day period will start in which the Lebanese army and the peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL would deploy in the border area as Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters withdraw.
The Lebanese official said the roadmap includes increasing the number of UN peacekeepers from 10,000 to 15,000 and boosting the number of Lebanese troops south of the Litani from 4,000 to 15,000.
Resolution 1701 also called for “the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon,” including Hezbollah, but that is not part of the initial implementation phase under the current proposal.
Another official familiar with the talks said Israel has requested that any deal include measures to prevent Hezbollah from rearming and guarantees that Israel would be able to act in the buffer zone to combat threats from the militant group.
It is unclear if Lebanon would agree to a deal that allows Israel to continue military operations on Lebanese territory. Lebanese officials have insisted there should be no alteration to Resolution 1701, which stipulates a full Israeli withdrawal.
Hezbollah has said it will not halt its rocket fire on Israel unless there is a cease-fire in Gaza. It is not clear whether that stance has changed after the killing of Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several other top commanders in Israeli airstrikes last month.
The US hopes the cease-fire initiatives can prevent the war in Lebanon from becoming as destructive as the war in Gaza, even as it supports Israel’s efforts to clear out Hezbollah infrastructure along the country’s southern border, said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Mediators propose a limited cease-fire in Gaza
The US, Egypt and Qatar have proposed a four-week cease-fire in Gaza in which eight to 10 hostages would be released, according to a senior Egyptian official.
Under the plan, humanitarian aid to Gaza would be scaled up, but there would be no guarantees
of future talks on a permanent cease-fire, the official said.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted around 250 in the October 7 attack that triggered the war. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were combatants but say more than half were women and children.
Around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.
The latest proposal is based on an initiative by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who proposed a two-day cease-fire in exchange for the release of four hostages last week.
Netanyahu, who has always said he is open to temporary truces for the release of hostages, said in a statement that he had not received a formal proposal based on the Egyptian initiative but “would have accepted it immediately.”
Hamas has said it is open to discussing alternative proposals but has stood by its demands for a lasting cease-fire, an Israeli withdrawal and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The Egyptian official said the mediators were not optimistic.
A Western diplomat in Cairo confirmed that their government had been briefed on the proposal, saying it was being pursued in parallel to the efforts for a cease-fire in Lebanon. Both officials in Egypt spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the talks.
Frankel reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.
Spain searches for bodies after flood of the century claims at least 95 lives
By Alberto Saiz & Joseph Wilson The Associated Press
BARRIO DE LA TORRE, Spain—Survivors of the worst natural disaster to hit
Spain this century awoke to scenes of devastation on Thursday after villages were wiped out by monstrous flash floods that claimed at least 95 lives. The death toll could rise as search efforts continue with an unknown number of people still missing.
The aftermath looked eerily similar to the damage left by a strong hurricane or tsunami.
Wrecked vehicles, tree branches, downed power lines and household items all mired in a layer of mud covered the streets of Barrio de la Torre, just one of dozens of towns in the hard-hit region of Valencia, where 92 people died between late Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Walls of rushing water turned narrow streets into death traps and spawned rivers that ripped into the ground floors of homes and swept away cars, people and anything else in its path.
“The neighborhood is destroyed, all the cars are on top of each other, it’s literally smashed up,” said Christian Viena, a bar owner in Barrio de la Torre.
Regional authorities said late Wednesday it appeared there was no one left stranded on rooftops or in cars in need of rescue after helicopters had saved some 70 people. But ground crews and citizens continued to inspect vehicles and homes that were damaged by the onslaught of water.
Over a thousand soldiers from Spain’s emergency rescue units joined regional and local emergency workers in the search for bodies and survivors. The defense minister said that soldiers alone had recovered 22 bodies and rescued
110 people by Wednesday night.
“We are searching house by house,” Ángel Martínez, official of a military emergency unit, told Spain’s national radio broadcaster RNE on Thursday from the town of Utiel, where at least six people died.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is heading to the region to witness the destruction firsthand as the nation starts a three-day period of official mourning.
Thousands of people were left without water and electricity and hundreds were stranded after their cars were wrecked or roads were blocked. The region remained partly isolated with several roads cut off and train lines interrupted, including the high-speed service to Madrid, which officials say won’t be repaired for several days.
While Valencia took the brunt of the storm, another two casualties were reported in the neighboring Castilla La Mancha region. Southern Andalusia reported one death.
The relative calm of the day after has also given time to reflect and question if authorities could have done more to save lives. The regional government is being criticized for not sending out flood warnings to people’s mobile phones until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, when the flooding had already started in some parts.
Spain’s Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding. But this was the most powerful flash flood event in recent memory. Scientists link it to climate change, which is also behind increasingly high temperatures and droughts in Spain and the heating up of the Mediterranean Sea.
Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.
North Korea’s long-range missile test signals capability to attack US
SBy Hyung-Jin Kim, Kim TongHyung And Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press
EOUL, South Korea—North Korea testfired an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in almost a year Thursday, demonstrating a potential advancement in its ability to launch long-range nuclear attacks on the mainland US.
The launch was likely meant to grab American attention days ahead of the US election and respond to condemnation over the North’s reported troop dispatch to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. Some experts speculated Russia might have provided technological assistance to North Korea over the launch.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the launch, calling it “an appropriate military action” to show North Korea’s resolve to respond to its enemies’ moves that have threatened the North’s safety, according to the North’s state media.
Kim said the enemies’ “various adventuristic military maneuvers” highlighted the importance of North Korea’s nuclear capability. He reaffirmed that North Korea will never abandon its policy of bolstering its nuclear forces.
North Korea has steadfastly argued that advancing its nuclear capabilities is its only option to cope with the expansion of US-South Korean military training, though Washington and Seoul have repeatedly said they have no intention of attacking North Korea. Experts say North Korea uses its rivals’ drills as a pretext to enlarge its nuclear arsenal to wrest concessions when diplomacy resumes.
The North Korean statement came hours after its neighbors said they had detected the North’s first ICBM test since December 2023 and condemned it as a provocation that undermines international peace.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea could have tested a new, solidfueled long-range ballistic missile on a steep
angle, an attempt to avoid neighboring countries. Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and hide and can be launched quicker than liquid-propellant weapons.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters the missile’s flight duration of 86 minutes and its maximum altitude of more than 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) exceeded corresponding data from previous North Korean missile tests.
Having a missile fly higher and for a longer duration than before means its engine thrust has improved. Given that previous ICBM tests by North Korea have already proved they can theoretically reach the US mainland, the latest launch was likely related to an effort to examine whether a missile can carry a bigger warhead, experts say. Jung Chang Wook, head of the Korea Defense Study Forum
RESIDENTS look at cars piled up after being swept away by flash floods in Valencia, Spain on Wednesday, October 30,
www.businessmirror.com.ph
The dark truth about Singapore: Founder’s son lifts lid on corruption and repression
By Sylvia Hui
The Associated Press
LONDON—Singapore has become much more repressive, and corruption in the Asian financial hub has worsened in the decade since the death of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, according to his youngest son who fled to Britain to seek asylum from what he described as a campaign of persecution to silence him.
Lee Hsien Yang, who has been granted political refugee status in the UK, told The Associated Press that Singaporean authorities have “weaponized” the country’s laws against critics and that he is just the most prominent example of a growing number of Singaporeans fleeing abroad to
seek protection from their own government.
Lee cited a tightening of laws on security and rights of assembly and a sharp increase in the number of asylum-seekers from the citystate over the past decade under the rule of his estranged brother, Lee Hsien Loong, who was prime minister until he stepped down earlier this year.
“Singapore has this veneer that purports to be a sort of affluent, democratic, free country. The veneer is quite thin,” he said in an interview in London on Monday.
“Beneath that there is a repressive nature to that regime and there are people fleeing from it.”
The Singapore government reacted strongly Thursday, accusing Lee of turning a “personal ven -
detta into an international smear campaign against his father, his family and his country.”
It said Lee had alleged in his
asylum application that he and his family were being persecuted by the Singapore government to prevent his son, Li Shengwu, from
becoming prime minister.
“That he would go so far as to allege this—though his son has repeatedly said he has no such ambition—shows his campaign against Singapore is not based on principles,” it said. Lee announced last week that he was forced to seek asylum from what he called unfounded criminal proceedings, defamation and surveillance against him and his wife by Singaporean authorities led by his brother.
Human Rights Watch says Singapore silenced dissenting voices in its recent elections and voiced concern over aggressive enforcement of a sweeping “online falsehoods” law that it said allows officials to censor online content.
Accusations of state persecution
THE Lee brothers have been at odds since they fell out over the will of their late father.
Lee Kuan Yew, who died in 2015, was both feared for his authoritarian tactics and admired worldwide for turning the city-state into one of the world’s richest nations. He stepped aside from power in 1990 but remained influential behind the scenes for many years afterward.
Officials have accused Lee Hsien Yang and his wife of lying under oath and providing false evidence regarding his father’s will. Lee said his son was prosecuted for criticizing the judiciary in a Facebook post. Lee himself lost a
LEE HSIEN YANG , who has been granted political asylum in the UK from what he called persecution in Singapore, as he is interviewed by Associated Press in London on Monday, October 28, 2024. AP/KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH
UN General Assembly demands end to ‘cruel’ American economic embargo on Cuba, 187 countries stand united
By Edith M. Lederer The Associated Press
UNITED Nations—The
UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to condemn the American economic embargo of Cuba for a 32nd year after its foreign minister strongly criticized the Biden administration and expressed hope a new president would end it.
The vote in the 193-member world body was 187-2, with only the United States and Israel against the resolution, and one abstention. It tied the record for support for the Caribbean nation first reached in 2019 and again last year.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez blamed the US government’s “maximum pressure policy” aimed at depriving Cuba of the imported fuel it relies on for a widespread blackout this month,
including when Hurricane Oscar lashed the island.
“President Joseph Biden’s administration usually claims that its policy is intended to ‘help and support the Cuban people,’” he said. “Who would believe such an assertion?”
General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they reflect world opinion, and the vote has given Cuba an annual stage to demonstrate that the US stands apart in its decades-old efforts to
isolate the Caribbean nation.
Cuba has struggled with one of the worst economic and energy crises in its history. Besides waves of blackouts, citizens are frustrated over food shortages and inflation. Hundreds of thousands have migrated, many headed to the United States.
The embargo was imposed in 1960 following the revolution led by Fidel Castro and the nationalization of properties belonging to US citizens and corporations. Two years later, it was strengthened.
In July 2016, then-Cuban President Raul Castro and thenPresident Barack Obama officially restored relations, and that year the US abstained on the resolution calling for an end to the embargo for the first time. But Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, sharply criticized Cuba’s human rights record, and in 2017 the US again voted against the resolution, and it has ever since.
US deputy ambassador, Paul Folmsbee, told the assembly that the United States strongly supports the Cuban people’s pursuit of a future that respects human
rights and fundamental freedoms.
“Sanctions are one element of our broader effort to advance democracy and promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba,” he said.
He noted that about 1,000 political prisoners have been unjustly detained in Cuba, more than at any point in Cuba’s recent history.
Folmsbee said US sanctions
Uganda grapples with feeding over 1.7 million refugees amid declining international support
RBy Patrick Onen
The Associated Press
WAMWANJA, Uganda—
For months, Agnes Bulaba, a Congolese refugee in Uganda, has had to get by without the food rations she once depended on. Her children scavenge among local communities for whatever they can find to eat.
“As a woman who’s not married, life is hard,” Bulaba told The Associated Press. Some locals “keep throwing stones at us, but we just want to feed our kids and buy them some clothes,” said the mother of six, who often works as a prostitute to fend for her family.
Uganda is home to more than 1.7 million refugees, the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Despite being renowned for welcoming those fleeing neighboring violence, Ugandan officials and humanitarians say dwindling international support coupled with high numbers of refugees have put much pressure on host communities.
Approximately 10,000 new arrivals enter Uganda each month, according to UN figures. Some
The dark
Continued from A11
have recently fled the war in Sudan, but most are from neighboring South Sudan and Congo.
Bulaba is among tens of thousands in Rwamwanja, a refugee settlement in southwestern Uganda. As in other settlements across the east African country, refugees there are given small plots of land to cultivate as they are slowly weaned off total dependence on humanitarian food rations.
Since 2021, as funding consistently declined, the UN’s World Food Program has prioritized the most vulnerable groups for food assistance, in food items or cash, which can be as little as $3. After spending three months in Uganda, refugees are eligible to get 60 percent rations, and the number falls by half after six months. Only new arrivals get 100 percent food assistance, leaving the vast majority of some 99,000 refugees in Bulaba’s settlement vulnerable to hunger and other impoverishment.
In 2017, the Ugandan government and the UN held a summit in Kampala, the capital, and appealed for $8 billion to deal with the sharp influx of refugees from South Sudan at the time. Only $350 million was pledged.
Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, visited Uganda last week in a trip partly aimed to underscore the funding shortage.
The international community “should not take Uganda’s generosity and the global public good it provides for granted,” Grandi said in a statement at the end of his visit. “Services here are overstretched. Natural resources are limited, and financial support is not keeping pace with the needs.”
He also said international support “is urgently needed to sustain Uganda’s commitment to refugees,” urging donors and humanitarian partners to “come together with the government to address the needs of refugees and the generous communities hosting them.”
Refugees in Uganda have access to the same hospitals as locals, and their children can attend school. While this helps integrate them into the Ugandan community, sometimes the competition for limited resources sparks tension. However, violence is rarely reported.
Hillary Onek, the Ugandan government minister in charge of refugees, said during Grandi’s visit that local officials need sup -
truth about Singapore: Founder’s
defamation suit last year and was ordered to pay damages to two government ministers whom he indicated were corrupt over their rental of state-owned properties.
He said last month he has paid the amount, so that the family home under his name will not be seized.
Lee called the actions against him “bogus, abusive and unwarranted,” and said the campaign of persecution escalated after he joined Singapore’s opposition party in 2020. Lee said he and his wife left hurriedly in June 2022 and decided to apply for political asylum in the UK because they believed they needed protection.
“Many people claim this is a
family feud. Well, the actions taken against me were taken by the organs of the state,” he said.
“In a tightly controlled country like Singapore, where my brother was the prime minister and holds the levers of power, there’s no way these things happen without his knowledge, his consent and his agreement,” he added.
Financial scandals with international connections
LEE further alleged that Singapore’s banks and companies have been linked to growing numbers of international money laundering and corruption scandals in recent years.
Last year Singaporean authorities seized $1.75 billion in assets
including gold bars, bottles of alcohol, luxury cars and properties and arrested nine Chinese nationals in a massive money laundering case involving funds raised by illegal means abroad.
Lee cited other examples including the involvement of Singaporean banks in the Malaysian state development fund 1MDB corruption scandal, and two Singapore government-linked companies operating in Brazil’s oil and gas industry that were allegedly implicated in Brazil’s sweeping “Operation Car Wash” anti-corruption investigation.
Lee said the cases and growing repression showed that his city has deteriorated—though he also acknowledged the lack of political
port to help refugees become more self-reliant. Though he said the country was “overloaded” with refugees, he cited several training options to help refugees become self-sufficient, including carpentry, bricklaying and metal welding.
“We are trying to be innovative,” he said. “Given the fact that funding for refugee programs dwindled over the years, there is not enough money to meet their demands, not even giving them enough food to eat.”
Onek said the alternative is “to survive on your own, using your skills, using whatever capacity you have.”
But Bulaba, the Congolese refugee who has been in Uganda since 2014 after fleeing violence in her home country with her two children, said she can’t find a job. She has since had four other children who often go barefoot and without appropriate clothing. She misses the cash-for-food stipend she used to get.
“For us to eat, we look for work, but there’s no work,” she said.
The Associated Press writer Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.
exempt food, medicine and other basic goods and that the US exported nearly $336 million in agricultural products and authorized additional humanitarian exports last year.
In May, the US lifted some financial restrictions against Cuba in an effort to boost private businesses on the island. That included allowing independent entrepre -
neurs to open and access US bank accounts online to support their businesses as well as steps to open up more Internet-based services and expand private companies’ ability to make certain financial transactions.
Rodriguez said that under Biden’s presidency, Cuba has lost more than $16 billion and that measures announced in the last year “as alleged palliatives” to the embargo are not effective.
Noting next week’s US presidential election, the Cuban minister said the winner will have the opportunity to decide whether to continue “the inhumane siege measures of the last six decades” or heed an increasing number of Americans and an overwhelming majority of nations “and allow our country to develop its true potential and capabilities.”
Rodriguez said Cuba will defend its “right to build an independent, socialist future.”
But he also said Cuba is willing “to hold a serious and responsible dialogue and move on towards a constructive and civilized relationship” with the new US administration.
Haiti faces escalating violence: UN reports increase in killings, police executions, with children targeted
By Dánica Coto & Evens Sanon
The Associated Press
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—More than 1,740 people were reported killed or injured in Haiti from July to September, a nearly 30 percent increase over the previous trimester, according to the latest numbers released Wednesday by UN officials.
The surge in violence comes as gangs seize control of 85 percent of the capital of Port-au-Prince—up from 80 percent— while a UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police to quell gang violence struggles with a lack of funding and personnel, prompting calls for a UN peacekeeping mission.
“In the absence of state representatives, gangs increasingly claim roles typically assigned to the police and the judiciary while imposing their own rules,” warned the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, known as BINUH.
The 1,223 killings reported in the third trimester are largely blamed on gang violence, although law enforcement officials carried out at least 106 extrajudicial killings, with victims including six children as young as 10 years old who were accused of passing information to gang members, BINUH said.
Of the 106 extrajudicial killings, 96 were carried out by police officers and 10 others by Jean Ernest Muscadin, public prosecutor for the southern coastal city of Miragoâne. Overall, Muscadin is accused of killing at least 36 people since 2022 who were
suspected of being gang members or of committing “common crimes,” BINUH said.
A spokesperson for Haiti’s National Police did not respond to requests for comment, while Muscadin declined comment and hung up when reached by phone.
Extreme brutality GANGS now have an estimated 5,500 members after recruiting mainly children who work as scouts, carry weapons and ammunition and even participate in combat, according to a UN Security Council report released Monday. It noted that children may represent up to 50 percent of all gang members.
“The dire situation in Haiti makes children more vulnerable to recruitment by gangs,” the report stated. “A lack of access to education, employment and basic necessities creates a situation where joining gangs is seen as the only viable means of survival.” Among those killed this trimester are at least 669 people during police operations against gangs, with three-fourths of the victims suspected gang members and one-fourth of them civilians, the BINUH report stated.
“Information gathered…points to a possible disproportionate use of lethal force and a lack of precautionary measures to protect the population during police operations,” BINUH said.
The number of people killed or injured from July to September increased by 27
See “Haiti,” A13
son lifts lid on corruption and repression
freedoms was a holdover from his father’s decadeslong leadership, during which the resource-poor former British colony transformed into a prosperous financial hub with low crime and almost zero corruption.
“Singapore has retained legislation and punishments which come from a different day and age,” he said. “My father was a product of that day and age, but I think if he were alive today some of those things could well have changed.”
Human Rights Watch said last year that Singapore carried out the highest number of executions for drug-related offenses in over a decade.
The Singapore government said
all of the examples of alleged corruption cited by Lee have been thoroughly addressed, either through the courts or in Parliament. It said Singapore hasn’t wavered in its anti-corruption stance, pointing to the country’s high standing in international perceptions of corruption and its recent indictment of a former Cabinet minister on graft charges and robust controls to detect, deter and prosecute financial crimes. It called Lee “a major beneficiary of the Singapore system” and noted he had freely participated in politics by joining an opposition party during the 2020 elections.
Lee “is not a victim of persecution. He and his wife remain citizens. They are and have always
been free to return to Singapore,” the government said. Lee declined comment on whether he saw a role for himself as an opposition leader. But he said he intended to continue to “speak his mind” on Singaporean politics despite his concerns over further attempts to silence him.
“I have no doubt that every time I do so, I risk further attacks from the Singaporean authorities,” he said. “I think the day will come when things will change. I hope it will come in my lifetime and that one day I’ll be able to return to my home.”
The Associated Press writer Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
BRUNO EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA , Cuba’s foreign minister, speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question at UN headquarters on Tuesday, October 29, 2024. AP/KENA BETACUR
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Ukraine builds bomb-proof, radiation-proof underground schools amid Russian invasion
ZBy Lori Hinnant The Associated Press
APORIZHZHIA, Ukraine—
To be a parent in the Ukrainian front-line city of Zaporizhzhia means weighing your child’s life against the Russian weapons within striking distance. Most rain death in an instant: the drones, the ballistic missiles, the glide bombs, the artillery shells. But Russian soldiers control another weapon they have never deployed, with the potential to be just as deadly: The nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The NPP, as it’s known, once produced more electricity than any other nuclear power plant in Europe. It fell to Russian forces in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion, and Russia has held its six reactors ever since. The plant has come under repeated attacks that both sides blame on the other.
These twin dangers—bombs and radiation—shadow families in Zaporizhzhia. Most of the youngest residents of the city have never seen the inside of a classroom. Schools that had suspended inperson classes during the Covid-19 pandemic more than four years ago continued online classes after the war started in February 2022. So with missiles and bombs still striking daily, Zaporizhzhia is going on a building binge for its future, creating an underground school system.
Construction has begun on a dozen subterranean schools designed to be radiation- and bomb-proof and capable of educating 12,000 students. Then, officials say, they will start on the hospital system.
The daily bombs are a more tangible fear than radiation, said Kateryna Ryzhko, a mother whose children are the third generation in her family to attend School No. 88. The main building, dating to the Soviet era of the children’s grandmother, is immaculate but the classrooms are empty. The underground version is nearly complete, and Ryzhko said she wouldn’t hesitate to send her kids to class there. Nearly four years of online learning have taken their toll on kids and parents alike.
“Even classmates don’t recognize each other,” she said. “It’s the only safe way to have an education and not be on screens.”
Nuclear shadow
WITHIN days of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Zaporizhzhia’s 300,000 residents found themselves on the front lines. Unlike larger Ukrainian cities, like Kyiv or Kharkiv, there is no subway system that could do double-duty as a bomb shelter and few schools had basements where students could more safely attend classes. Many residents left—though some have returned. But the sin -
gle-family homes and Soviet-style apartment blocks of Zaporizhzhia, the capital of the region that shares its name, filled nearly as quickly with Ukrainians fleeing areas seized by Russian forces, like the cities of Mariupol, Melitopol and Berdyansk.
By the start of the school year in September 2022, which was supposed to mark the post-pandemic return to classrooms, schools were empty. Windows were boarded up to protect against bomb shockwaves, the lawns left unkempt. Fifty kilometers (31 miles) away, the nuclear reactor went into cold shutdown after intense negotiations between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Russian government.
The IAEA has rotated a handful of staff on site ever since. There are risks even in cold shutdown, when the reactor is operating but not generating power. The main danger is that its external electrical supply, which comes from Ukrainian-controlled territory under constant Russian bombardment, will be cut off for a longer period than generators can handle.
The nuclear plant needs electricity to keep crucial backups functioning, including water pumps that prevent meltdowns, radiation monitors and other essential safety systems.
During a recent Associated Press trip to the Ukrainian-controlled zone closest to the nuclear plant, two airborne bombs struck electrical infrastructure in a matter of minutes as night fell. Russia has repeatedly struck at Ukraine’s grid, attacks that have intensified this year. Highlighting the constant danger, electricity to the NPP was cut yet again for three days as emergency workers struggled to put out the fire. It was at least the seventh time this year that the plant was down to either a single electrical line or generator power, according to the global Nuclear Energy Agency.
“Nuclear power plants are not meant to be disconnected from the grid. It’s not designed for that. It’s also not designed to be operating in cold shutdown for that long,” said Darya Dolzikova, a researcher on nuclear policy at the Royal United Services Institute in London.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accuses Russia of targeting nuclear plants deliberately. The 1986 meltdown in Ukraine’s Chornobyl, on the northern border nearly 900 kilometers (550 miles) from Zaporizhzhia, increased the country’s rates of thyroid disease among Ukrainian children far from the accident site and radiation contaminated the immediate surroundings before drifting over much of the Northern Hemisphere. To this day, the area around the plant, known in Russian as Chernobyl, is an “exclu -
In one case, a plainclothes policeman was stopped by gang members in midAugust: “He was mutilated, then forced to eat parts of his body, before being burned alive.”
sion zone” off-limits except to the technical staff needed to keep the decommissioned site safe.
Russian forces seized control of Chornobyl in the first days of the invasion, only to be driven back by Ukrainian forces.
The Zaporizhzhia plant has a safer, more modern design than Chernobyl and there’s not the same danger of a large-scale meltdown, experts say. But that doesn’t reduce the risk to zero, and Russia will remain a threatening neighbor even after the war ends.
An investment that might seem extreme elsewhere is more understandable in Ukraine, said Sam Lair, a researcher at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
“They are there under a conventional air and missile attack from the Russians, and they have experience with the fact that those attacks aren’t being targeted only at military targets,” Lair said. “If I were in their position, I would be building them too.”
In addition, the Zaporizhzhia region received a European Union donation of 5.5 million iodine pills, which help block the thyroid’s absorption of some radiation.
Since the start of the war, Russia has repeatedly alluded to its nuclear weapons stockpile without leveling direct threats. In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would consider any attack by a country supported
by a nuclear-armed nation to be a joint attack and stressed that Russia could respond with nuclear weapons to any attack that posed a “critical threat to our sovereignty.”
Ukrainian officials fear that the Russian attacks on Chornobyl and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plants may be just a start. During his speech in late September to the U.N. General Assembly, Zelenskyy warned that Russia was preparing strikes on more nuclear plants, which generate a large portion of Ukraine’s electricity.
“If, God forbid, Russia causes a nuclear disaster at one of our nuclear power plants, radiation won’t respect state borders,” Zelenskyy said.
Underground for the future
THE cost to build a subterranean school system is enormous—the budget for the underground version of Gymnasium No. 71 alone stands at more than 112 million hryvnias ($2.7 million). International donors are covering most of it, and the national and local governments have made it a priority on par with funding the army.
“Everybody understands that fortification and aid for the army, it’s priority No. 1,” said Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia region. “But if we lose the new generation of our Ukrainians, for whom (do) we fight?”
Daria Oncheva, a 15-year-old student at Gymnasium 71, looks
An optimistic timeline has the school ready for children by December. It has three layers of rebar totaling 400 tons of metal, plus 3,100 cubic meters of reinforced concrete. The building will be topped by nearly a meter of earth, concealed by a soccer field and playground.
January to July.
‘I think it’s the end of my life’
percent compared with the second trimester, although there was a 32 percent drop compared with the first trimester.
The majority of killings and injuries—234—occurred in La Saline slum of Port-au-Prince, most of them inside residents’ makeshift homes as gangs vie for control of Haiti’s main port and its container terminal, according to the report.
Gangs also recently occupied the communities of Carrefour and Gressier in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, using “extreme brutality to bring residents under their control,” BINUH said.
At least 122 killings were blamed on self-defense groups that formed last year and have targeted suspected gang members or people accused of crimes including stealing animals or cell phones.
“Victims were mutilated with machetes, stoned, decapitated, burned alive or buried alive,” the report said. “Children were not spared.”
Overall, at least 59 children were killed or injured in the third trimester.
The UN noted that the number of selfdefense groups doubled to around 60 from
MOST of the violence remains centered in the capital of Port-au-Prince and the central region of Artibonite, where dozens of people were killed in a massacre earlier this month.
In one bright spot, the number of kidnappings plummeted to 170 during the third trimester compared with earlier this year, with more than 60 percent of cases occurring in Artibonite, according to the report.
In the second trimester, at least 428 people were kidnapped.
Sexual violence remains pervasive, with at least 55 victims reporting gang rape, including girls and women ages 10 to 70, according to the report, which noted that
such cases are largely under-reported.
Women and girls are attacked inside their homes or while walking on streets or using public transportation, with some sexually exploited for months by gang members, BINUH said.
Gang violence has left more than 700,000 people homeless in recent years, and it has surged this month, with gunmen trying to take over Solino, one of the last communities in Port-au-Prince that is not under their control.
“There’s a complete destruction of people’s lives,” said Jean Renel Volma, a 55-year-old unemployed security guard who recently fled Solino with his wife and two children after living there for more than two decades.
forward to the underground classes, and not just because she’ll finally be in the same place as her schoolmates.
“It’s safer than sitting at home remotely,” she said.
School No. 88, across town, is further along, with rooms carved out and fully lined with concrete thick enough to block an initial onslaught of radiation. The contractor leading the project is also digging trenches for Ukraine’s military. When done, it will also be the primary bomb shelter for the neighborhood, whose singlefamily homes tend to have small orchards and trellised gardens— but no basements.
An optimistic timeline has the school ready for children by December. It has three layers of rebar totaling 400 tons of metal, plus 3,100 cubic meters of reinforced concrete. The building will be topped by nearly a meter (yard) of earth, concealed by a soccer field and playground.
The school will have an air filtration system, two distinct electrical lines and the ability to operate autonomously for three days, including with extra food and water supplies.
Michael Dillon, a scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who studies how people can survive nuclear fallout, said being underground improves survival by a factor of 10.
But Alicia Sanders-Zakre at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons said ultimately people can do more— “which is eliminating these weapons instead of … building, really not even a Band-Aid, for the actual problem.”
Lyudmila Zlatova, who has been the principal at School No. 88 for 30 years, hopes it will be a structure designed for the dangers Zaporizhzhia will face in the future. But she and the parents who gathered on a recent day were most
“It was dark, there was tremendous shooting, everybody was yelling. It’s the worst I’ve ever seen in Solino,” he said as he recalled how they were only able to flee with the clothes they had on.
Originally from the southern coastal town of Les Cayes, Volma said he can’t take refuge there because gangs control the main roads leading out of Port-au-Prince: “I don’t know what I’m going to do. There is no exit.” Volma is one of hundreds of people who crowded into a church in nearby Nazon after being left homeless as gunfire echoed nearby on Wednesday. The UN report noted that gangs are targeting Solino and Delmas 24 to gain access to middle-class neighborhoods, including Nazon.
“The aim is to bring in more income from
concerned with the present, speaking at the edge of the construction pit as air raid sirens sounded. It takes 10 seconds for a bomb to reach the neighborhood from the front line, far too short a time to evacuate, and they land with unnerving frequency. The subterranean school’s sunless rooms and concrete corridors will only make children more comfortable, given what they’re already enduring, she said.
“They will feel better studying without windows,” Zlatova said, peering across at the construction site.
Zlatova believes it will bring back at least some of the families who’ve left Zaporizhzhia for other cities in Ukraine or elsewhere in Europe. The city remains fully functional, with public transit operating and grocery stores, markets and restaurants operating, and repairs ongoing for structures damaged by shelling—albeit in limited fashion. Around 150 of the school’s 650 prewar students have left the city, but she said she’s in touch with absent families and many promise to return home once there is a safe place to study.
Gymnasium No. 6, which runs from first grade through high school, already has one. Its main building sits on the city’s easternmost edge, closer than any other school to the front 40 kilometers (25 miles) away.
Little wonder that its principal, Kostyantyn Lypskyi, seems a little frayed at the beginning of the academic year. But at least his students can attend because parents chipped in money last year to renovate the basement shelter about 50 meters from the main school building into a series of classrooms.
His underground school, whose concrete walls and relatively thin metal doors are not radiation proof but protect against explosions, hold around 500 people—the same number as the new designs. The school has double that number, so students will alternate weeks. The youngest children study fulltime just upstairs from the shelter, and the older ones are in the main building.
“Of course it will work,” he said. “We prepared everything for the start of the new school year.” In the earliest days of the school year, an air raid alarm meant he could test that confidence. It took five minutes from the moment the sirens sounded until the last children took their seats and spread out their books, awaiting instruction.
It was morning, and they were ready for the day ahead.
The Associated Press reporter Mar -
kidnappings and extortion of businesses in this wealthy area,” it stated. Among those temporarily living at the church is Alicia Joseph, a 60-year-old mother of three children. While her children live with a friend who took them in, there was no space for her.
“I think it’s the end of my life. I
tha Mendoza contributed from Santa Cruz, California. Alex Babenko contributed from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.
CHILDREN from Gymnasium No. 6 head to a basement set up with classrooms during an air alert in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on September 3, 2024. The city is building a dozen subterranean schools designed to be radiation- and bomb-proof. AP/EVGENIY MALOLETKA
High out-of-pocket costs and unequal access hinder PHL healthcare progress
DesPite recent strides in expanding the country’s health insurance coverage, many Filipinos still face significant obstacles in accessing high-quality and affordable healthcare. A new report from the World Bank highlights the persistent challenges of high out-of-pocket costs and regional disparities that continue to impede equitable access to essential medical services. (Read the BusinessMirror story: “High health costs, access gaps mar UHC goals,” October 29, 2024).
The data is sobering. While the Philippines has made important policy advancements, such as the expanded Konsulta Package and No Balance Billing policy under the universal healthcare program, progress on the ground has fallen short. The country scores below the global average on the UHC service coverage index, and over four percent of Filipinos face catastrophic out-ofpocket health expenses—a figure that may understate the true scale of unmet needs, especially in poverty-stricken regions.
Information gathered from the World Health Organization and the World Bank revealed that the Philippines attained a modest score of 58 on the UHC service coverage index, falling behind the worldwide average of 68.This shortfall is further underscored by the 4.3 percent of Filipinos facing catastrophic out-of-pocket health spending—exceeding 10 percent of their household income. Although lower than the global average, this figure masks a critical reality: unmet healthcare needs, particularly in underserved areas like Mindanao.
The Philippine Statistics Authority’s data, while showing a decrease in out-of-pocket health spending from 52 percent in 2014 to 44 percent in 2023, still places the Philippines significantly above the 34 percent to 35 percent average among middle-income countries. This persistent reliance on personal funds highlights a critical failure in the system’s ability to adequately support its citizens. The ideal, as noted by World Bank Senior Economist Wei Han, is for out-of-pocket costs to remain below 15 percent to 20 percent of total health expenditures—a benchmark achieved by only a handful of middle-income nations.
Regional disparities further complicate the issue. Data from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies reveals lower catastrophic health spending in Mindanao, but this is attributed to limited access rather than affordability. Conversely, regions in Luzon outside Metro Manila report higher levels of catastrophic spending, indicating a complex interplay of access and affordability challenges across the country.
The solution, as emphasized by Han, lies not just in policy but also in robust implementation and monitoring. Expanding primary healthcare services, strictly enforcing the No Balance Billing policy, broadening the Konsulta Package, regulating medicine prices, and improving public awareness of healthcare entitlements are crucial steps. However, perhaps the most critical element is the urgent need for improved data collection and utilization. Evidence-based decision-making requires a comprehensive understanding of the challenges, and the current lack of data analysis hinders effective policy adjustments.
The government’s commitment to UHC is commendable, but the current reality falls short of its promise. The focus must shift from policy creation to effective implementation and rigorous monitoring. Only then can the Philippines truly realize its goal of providing equitable and accessible healthcare for all its citizens—a fundamental right that underpins a healthy, prosperous, and equitable society. Now is the time for decisive action to protect the health and well-being of the Filipino people.
BusinessMirror
Focus on intellectual property rights on APAA 2024 Manila
tH e holding of conferences like the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA) is an opportunity for lively discussion and collaboration on varied aspects of intellectual property rights and their enforcement in different jurisdictions.
The Philippines will be the venue of the 76th APAA Council Meeting this year at the SMX Convention Center and Conrad Hotel in Pasay City, Metro Manila from November 18 to 21, 2024.
The term “intellectual property rights” consists of (a) copyright and related rights; (b) trademarks and service marks; (c) patents (d) geographic indications; (e) industrial designs; (f) layout-designs (topographies) of integrated circuits; and (g) protection of undisclosed information.
IP laws lay down the remedies available to the IP owner in case of a violation of his rights through administrative, civil and criminal sanctions against violators.
The IP laws aim to protect and secure the exclusive rights of scientists, inventors, artists and other gifted citizens to their intellectual property and creations, particularly when beneficial to the people, for such periods as provided in the law. Nobody else can copy or reuse that creation without
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T. Anthony C. Cabangon
Lourdes M. Fernandez
Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug
Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos
Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso
Ruben M. Cruz Jr.
Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes
D. Edgard A. Cabangon
Benjamin V. Ramos Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan
to 36. E-mail: news.businessmirror@gmail.com www.news.businessmirror@gmail.com
FrencH
the broken window fallacy.
As the story goes, a boy breaks a window, and the townspeople looking on decide that he has actually done the community a service because his father will have to pay the town’s glazier to replace the broken pane. The glazier will then spend the extra money on something else, and such spending jumpstarts the local economy. So, the onlookers come to believe, foolishly, that breaking windows is good because it stimulates the local economy. Although repairing broken win-
the owner’s permission.
A trademark is a word, a group of words, sign, symbol, logo or a combination thereof that identifies and differentiates the source of the goods or services of one entity from those of others.
Copyright is the legal protection extended to the owner of the rights in an original work. “Original work” refers to intellectual creation in the literary, scientific and artistic domain.
An invention patent is a government-issued grant, bestowing an exclusive right to an inventor over a product or process that provides any technical solution to a problem in any field of human activity which is new, inventive, and industrially applicable.
A geographical indication (GI) is any indication that identifies a good as originating in a territory, region or locality, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin and/or human factors.
An industrial design is the orna-
mental or aesthetic aspect of an article. Design, in this sense, may be three-dimensional features (shape or surface of an article), or the twodimensional features (patterns or lines of color).
Layout designs (topographies) of integrated circuits are a threedimensional arrangement of elements forming an integrated circuit intended for manufacturing. This arrangement and ordering of elements follows from the electronic function that the integrated circuit is to perform.
For Undisclosed information or trade secret, the information needs to be: a secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question; has commercial value because it is secret; and has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, by the person lawfully in control of the information, to keep it secret.
In Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (FILSCAP) v. Anrey (GR 233918-August 9, 2022), Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said the “salutary goal of intellectual property protection is the promise to creators that, should they disclose their creations to the world, they will, for a term provided by law, exclusively benefit from their creations. And, when that term expires, the public may then freely enjoy those creation.”
Established in December 1969,
have been put to better use. After spending money to fix the broken window, the father will have a functional window. However, if the window were never broken in the first place, then the father still would have had a functional window, and he would have had a new pair of shoes as well. So, the broken window actually makes the community a little poorer—poorer by the value of a new pair of shoes, or poorer by the value of the broken window, which would amount to the same thing. In sum, Bastiat’s parable suggests that destruction does not pay in an economic sense.
dows does create jobs for glaziers, there is an unseen cost in doing so. By forcing his father to pay for the window, the boy has reduced his father’s disposable income. The money spent to fix the window could have been spent on, say, a new pair of shoes. That spending could have, instead, created a job for a shoemaker who, in turn, could have created jobs for bakers, wine merchants, and all the rest. Productivity has also decreased, as the time the father has spent to deal with the broken window could
In relation to recent events, natural disasters involve a lot of destruction. Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, for instance, dumped two months’ worth of rain in several provinces; and 2.3 million Filipinos were affected. Over 100 were reported dead, and about 250,000 were reported displaced. The government reported that damage to farms and schools reached a staggering P4.36 billion.
Many areas, including Cavite, Quezon, Samar, and Bicol, were placed under a state of calamity.
membership of APAA is open to individuals practicing the profession of patent attorney in the Asian region as well as organizations that comprise such individuals and are constituted in the Asian region.
The association now has more than 2,500 members from 21 recognized groups in Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as from Bhutan, Brunei, Laos and Mongolia.
The 76th APAA Council Meeting is organized by the Intellectual Property Association of the Philippines (IPAP) that was founded on March 31, 1977 with the aim of professionalizing the steadily growing practice of IP law in the Philippines. IPAP is the sole Philippine national group recognized by the APAA, the ASEAN Intellectual Property Association (AIPA), and the Association Internationale pour la Protection dela Propriete Industrielle (AIPPI). IPAP’s founding member Atty. Alonzo Ancheta is the 2006-2009 president of APAA, the first Filipino to hold this position. The Philippines hosted the APAA council meetings in 1990 (Manila Hotel), 2000 (Cebu), and 2011 (Shangri-La Makati).
Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho is a Junior Partner who heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0917-5025808 or 0908-8665786.
It might be tempting to think that there is a silver lining in all of this. After all, whenever there is a natural disaster, people will have to spend money to replace all the stuff that gets destroyed. Nevertheless, as Bastiat’s parable teaches, having to replace the stuff that should have remained intact in the first place —had precautionary mechanisms been functioning properly—leaves a country unequivocally worse off or poorer. And, of course, who can readily ascribe a monetary value to the human lives lost? Broken lives and property are the obvious consequences of broken institutions, as students can learn from Nobel laureates Daron Acemoglu, James Robinson, and Simon Johnson. It should be noted that under the 2023 national budget, P291.2 billion out of the P1.46 trillion total infrastructure outlay (19.86 percent) went to flood control projects. This year, it went up to P353 billion out of the P1.5 trillion spending for infrastructure (23.36 percent). Bulk of the funding went to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) See “Eagle Watch,” A15
economist Frederic Bastiat is credited for the parable of the broken window, which illustrates how opportunity costs affect economic activity in ways that are unseen or ignored. the belief that destruction is good for the economy is consequently known as
Cabangon Chua
Since 2005
Amicus Curiae
Dennis Gorecho
EAGLE WATCH
Dr. Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes
Monica Lewinsky’s guide to surviving a scandal
TWEn T y-n In E years ago, on november 15, 1995, the US government was in a shutdown, and a 22-year-old White House intern found herself alone with a 49-year-old married man. young and daring, she lifted the back of her jacket to show her thong underwear to Bill Clinton, the president of the United States. Her name is Monica Lewinsky, and her message was: “I’m interested too. I’ll play.”
It’s one of the biggest sex scandals in history that nearly unseated a US president and almost caused Lewinsky to end her life. Unlike Clinton, who was acquitted of all impeachable charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, Lewinsky was branded a whore and a tart-face. Her public image was smeared and defamed beyond repair, at least in the immediate years after the scandal broke. Lewinsky and Clinton had an 18-month affair during which she claimed she had a total of nine sexual encounters with the president. The sordid details of such encounters were part of her testimony before the grand jury and were promptly included in media reports.
The Guardian, a British newspaper, published: “According to Ms. Lewinsky, she performed oral sex on the president on nine occasions. On all nine of those occasions, the president fondled and kissed her bare breasts. He touched her genitals, both through her underwear and directly, bringing her to orgasm on two occasions. On one occasion, the president inserted a cigar into her vagina. On another occasion, she and the president had brief genitalto-genital contact.”
How does one survive such a cataclysmic sex scandal and global notoriety? Everybody knew her name and what she looked like because the media couldn’t get enough of her. Her private life, past and present, became an open book. Lewinsky was fair game for the press, and it wasn’t pretty.
For one, acceptance. Lewinsky realized she couldn’t undo the sex scandal. There was no way the public would ever forget it. Thus, she had the gumption to move on and forward by giving interviews on her side of the story. The most popular was the Barbara Walters interview on ABC in 1999, watched by 70 million Americans. Lewinsky was almost 26 at the time, but you could still see the naiveté in how she answered the questions. It must have been cathartic for her to be interviewed by a noncombative media outlet, and not by prosecu-
Eagle
Watch. . . continued from A14
at P282 billion and P351 billion for 2023 and 2024, respectively. For 2025, the proposed budget for flood control under the DPWH amounts to P303 billion, representing close to 34 percent of total appropriations. Nevertheless, an Oxfam report has found that 70 percent of funds meant for mitigating disasters are almost untouched. The Senate has promised, yet again, to demand accountability from government officials on the allocation and effectiveness of the multibillion-peso funding appropriated for flood control projects during the upcoming budget deliberations.
Reflecting more deeply on this idea of brokenness, one can ask why Filipinos still elect and reelect leaders who seem to prefer grandstand-
What does the deluge
allow us to keep?
Wtors out to tear her apart and crucify Clinton. She also cooperated with Andrew Morton for her biography, “Monica’s Story,” published in 1999. This was her form of shedding, being able to tell her side of the story without fear or favor.
Second, she kept herself occupied. In 1999, she ventured into the handbag business bearing her name, and the bags were sold at Henri Bendel and Fred Segal. As she was already a household name then, Lewinsky also accepted an endorsement project with Jenny Craig, a diet and weightloss company.
Third, she invested in herself. In 2005, she moved to the U.K. to study at the London School of Economics, where she graduated with a Master of Science degree in social psychology after a year. This step was a masterstroke as she emerged from the sex scandal with battered self-worth. It wasn’t just Clinton who dismissed her at the height of the scandal; even her previous lover (who was also married) threw her under the bus. Fourth, silence. Lewinsky avoided publicity for the next 10 years. Out of sight, out of mind is an adage well worth remembering. As a friend said, you cannot be misquoted if you are silent.
Fifth, she decided to have a purpose. In 2014, Lewinsky went on a mission to tackle cyberbullying when she read about Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide after his roommate, Dharun Ravi, recorded him kissing another man. She continues to work for a “more compassionate Internet,” including giving a TED Talk about the issue.
While I don’t agree with the “sexcapades” of Lewinsky and her apparent lack of consideration for the consequences of her actions, I find her survival instincts admirable. She has been shamed, denied and dismissed by the man she fell madly in love with, harassed and ridiculed by the media and the public—but she still rose from the ashes.
You don’t have to be wealthy like Lewinsky to fight or overcome a scandal, but the five steps she took is an excellent guide on how to survive it.
ing on political issues over preparing proactively for natural disasters that are happening more frequently and forcefully. Perhaps, this can all be traced back to the damaged (broken) culture that James Fallows unflatteringly described back in 1987: “The tradition of political corruption and cronyism, the extremes of wealth and poverty, the tribal fragmentation, the local elite’s willingness to make a separate profitable peace with colonial powers—all reflect a feeble sense of nationalism and a contempt for the public good. Practically everything that is public in the Philippines seems neglected or abused.” Indeed, what is scary is when Filipinos can no longer recognize what is broken, when they passively accept brokenness as normal.
Tito Genova Valiente annoTaTions
E have gone through rehearsals many times about these: if there’s a fire and you are to choose three precious objects to carry, what would these be? In recollections and retreats, at campsites, in the warmth of a good conversation among friends on an easy, rainy day—we had been smart and sophisticated, human and forgiving with our choices.
There is another side to this mental exercise: in the middle of a storm at sea, before your boat capsizes, you only have one person to save, who would it be? We all remember the difficult, impossible choices given. Wife or mother? Your own parent or your own child? Or just yourself?
The permutations would go on and on, each candidate for another lease in life triggering your own valuation about self and selflessness, each response embedded in a guilt that, for all the artifice of the selection, can mark you with the scars of responsibility, duty, and love.
Then it happens.
As the rains went on for 24 hours in my city, I knew of the losses. I accepted how all of the objects on the ground floor had all but vanished. Acceptance, this was easy. So long as no lives are lost. Those are mere objects. Things. In the short span of the destructive and quick force of the flood, I managed to be smart-alecky. We can always buy books but can I buy another life please? The waters had subsided. Time to account for the many things that, with utmost cruelty, I can now remember.
There is a tiny antique table that has traveled in one of the many balikbayan boxes sent by my brother from London. I knew where it stood, right below the stairwell.
In my own way of arranging furniture (which may not be an arrangement at all to those with a clear sense of symmetry), it served as a boundary between the living room and the non-functional kitchen. On top of it I placed a small, wooden statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola, his sword offered to Mary. By now, I am certain the flood had carried that stick of an offering. But I remember some more. The Jesuit founder was kneeling on a stack of Carlos Castaneda books. The Journey to Ixtlan The Teachings of Don Juan. A Separate Reality. Old books. I read them when I was in university. At first I did not want to remember anything anymore. I am good with resignation, consigning materials however precious to memories. But there is such a moment for floodgates—once they are unlocked, you can never command the mind to cease from remembering, ac -
counting, counting.
The books on birds. They are so numerous one would think an ornithologist or one who fancies himself to be one lived in that home. I have written about these books; they have served me well.
The birds sing for a reason, for their territories. Good lessons.
At the center of the living room is a shelf, full of books and brica-brac. Goods of no consequence before. Coins kept through travels. A ticket when the Bicol train resumed its trips. Another ticket for the first RoRo I took to cross the Ticao Pass. Tucked protected by two small Japanese horses made of straw is
they are good signs. Each day, I recall looking at them, making sure they were there. Did the flood spare them? Gods of the Upper Air. The invention of sexuality and race. Or how anthropologists made sense of the differences among us. There were more. More antique crockery. Did they float above the mud?
a white envelope, which contains feathers. Birds’ feathers, which drifted right onto the living room at midnight, or early morning. I have also written about them and we—my siblings—are assured
Did Tennessee Williams, Marlon Brando and Laurence Olivier live through the muck? There were just too many books about them. But the flood is not the only reason why we lose our home, parts of childhood and youth. Every time we move from one place to another, we misplace elements of our abode, we neglect to keep all that was about us and others from that site we are leaving. We gradually diminish ourselves. And it’s too late to go back and search. Or futile. I have not even talked about photographs. They are all there in the dark water. There are only two options: one is to try to etch them in our mind; the other is to forget about those images. They are gone and they have served their time. But there is the mind that remembers and it seizes objects, matters, debris and holds them up there in an imagined air. To dry and to stay intact. As Eva Hoffman assures us: loss is a magical preservative.
I am assured. Till the next deluge.
E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com
Indonesia’s new president faces $186 billion debt dilemma
By Harry Suhartono & Faris Mokhtar
DayS after taking charge of Southeast asia’s biggest economy, Indonesia’s president needs a plan to deal with rising borrowing costs for key state-owned enterprises carrying $186 billion of debt.
Former general Prabowo
Subianto needs to fix the balance sheets at companies including the national carrier and biggest steelmaker, after his predecessor spent $800 billion on an infrastructure push that sent many state builders’ debt to record levels. The challenge is heightened by a government grappling with a decades-old question of just how involved it should be in an economy where it still operates hotels and drug stores.
“We have to dedicate our focus to the basic problems,” Burhanuddin Abdullah, a former central bank governor and adviser to Prabowo’s campaign team, said last month, referring to the fiscal capacity the new government has. He estimates there is as little as 1,100 trillion rupiah ($70 billion) in government coffers after debt servicing and the required fund transfers to regional governments. “That’s not much. The President can’t do much with that.”
That could prompt the Prabowo government to keep relying on state firms to execute priority programs— a similar tactic used by his predecessor. State-owned builders PT Waskita Karya and PT Wijaya Karya built up liabilities to over $9 billion collectively under former President Joko Widodo and had to restructure the unsustainable amount of debt since 2023. At least two other major SOEs also revamped their debt in recent years, while state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Indofarma went into distress this year and failed to pay salaries to its workers amid fraud allegations.
Other state firms are paying the price for growing investor concerns as a result. State builder PT PP had to pay 211 basis points more in spreads over government debt for a rupiah bond sale this year compared with its issuance two years ago. That’s despite the spreads on other firms’ notes with similar tenor and ratings tightening by about 51 basis points in the same period. Similarly, builder PT Adhi Karya paid 220 basis points more in spreads for a note sale compared to its 2022 issuance, while similar bonds’ spreads were largely unchanged.
At least two local fund managers who spoke with Bloomberg News and who have invested in the local-currency bonds of construction companies that restructured debt have since avoided other state-owned builders, even those that never restructured or defaulted on their debt, they said.
The proportion of rupiah-denominated bonds issued by stateowned companies dwindled to just 25 percent of the total localcurrency issuance in the country so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. When President Jokowi started his second term in 2019, state firms accounted for more than half of the local primary market.
“The deteriorating confidence in SOEs will put a strain on their ability to source funds from public markets and investors, growing their dependence of SOE banks,” said Alessandro Gazzini, head of
While Prabowo’s cabinet hasn’t commented on the debt issue since taking office last week, the state-owned enterprises ministry has been working on a plan that the new administration may implement to restore confidence in its firms.
Indonesia at corporate restructuring adviser Alvarez & Marsal Inc.
That comes as the new president is eying a world-beating 8 percent economic growth target, an ambitious goal that’s reliant on state firms’ help. The government needs the state-owned companies to keep building more roads connecting the island as well as to execute a plan to build a new capital city.
“The government’s dependency on state-owned companies to help push through strategic programs such as infrastructure will grow,” according to John Teja, president director at local brokerage PT Ciptadana Sekuritas Asia. “It is critical for the government to improve the balance sheet of these companies and the quickest way to do that would be through additional capital injections.”
While Prabowo’s cabinet hasn’t commented on the debt issue since taking office last week, the stateowned enterprises ministry has been working on a plan that the new administration may implement to restore confidence in its firms. The plan, which is part of the ministry’s restructuring work since 2023, includes options such as providing additional capital to some of these companies, merging the troubled ones into a healthier parent and forcing them to specialize their work instead of competing with each other and causing a price war, according to a person
familiar with the plan. The discussions are ongoing and the plan isn’t final, the person added. Representatives for Waskita Karya, Wijaya Karya and Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises ministry didn’t respond to Bloomberg News’ requests for comment. When responding to Bloomberg News’ requests for comment, state builder PP’s finance director Agus Purbianto said the firm’s wider spreads on its latest bond offering were due to low demand from investors, partly due to a lack of confidence in the construction sector. He said the company will try to shore up investor confidence by improving its finances, selling some assets and teaming up with strategic investors to lower the company’s leverage.
Adhi Karya’s corporate secretary Rozi Sparta said negative sentiment from investors toward state-owned construction companies has affected the company’s access to the bond market, forcing it to offer wider spreads. Not fixing SOEs’ debt issue in a timely manner also risks hindering the nation’s private sector. State firms’ funding restraints will lead them to grow reliant on state-owned banks, potentially crowding out the funding access of private firms and indirectly dampen global investors’ appetite to enter Indonesia, according to A&M’s Gazzini.
“The long-term implication on Indonesia’s economic development model is substantial,” said Gazzini. “Essentially, the most unproductive companies are growing their presence in the economy. This will create a negative impact in actual new job creation and incremental value-add economic development.” With assistance from Grace Sihombing and Prima Wirayani / Bloomberg
Dr. Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes is the Director of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development.
Friday, November 1, 2024
Increased cement imports spur DTI safeguards probe
By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
INCREASED imports of cement have prompted the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to conduct a preliminary safeguards investigation to determine whether the volume of cement being imported into the Philippines is causing “serious injury” to the local industry.
“Based on the above findings, there are indications that increased imports of cement are the substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry in terms of declining market share, production, sales, capacity utilization, profitability, price depression, suppression and undercutting,” the DTI’s report on the Safeguard measure case noted.
“Wherefore, premises considered, the Department finds prima facie evidence to motu proprio initiate and conduct a preliminary safeguards investigation to
determine wheter cement is being imported into the Philippines in increased quantities and is causing serious injury to the domestic industry,” the report added. Signed by DTI Acting Secretary Cristina A. Roque on October 28,2024 and published on the DTI website on October 31,2024, the report said that the volume of imported cement increased during the period of investigation or from 2019 to June 2024 except in 2022. Citing data from the Bureau of Customs-Single Administrative Document (BOC-SAD), DTI noted
DTI wants industry views on pending FTA with EU, 2 other key trade accords
THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is seeking industry inputs on trade deals and digital trade initiatives including the Philippines-European Union Free Trade Agreement (PH-EU FTA), World Trade Organization (WTO) ECommerce Joint Statement Initiative (JSI), and Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement (Defa), among others.
The Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) noted in a statement that Allan B. Gepty, Undersecretary for International Trade Group of DTI, made the appeal repeatedly in a recent online trade policy consultation.
Gepty called on businesses and trade groups to submit their position papers as the DTI, along with other relevant government bodies, goes to the negotiating table in pursuit of the Philippines’s economic and trade interests.
“The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is strongly urging industry stakeholders to make their sentiments and wishes known regarding important trade deals and digital trade initiatives currently being negotiated by the Philippines, including the Philippines-European Union Free Trade Agreement (PH-EU FTA), Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement (Defa), World Trade Organization ECommerce Joint Statement Initiative (JSI), and digital trade agreements,” Philexport noted.
Gepty said the Philippine negotiating team aims to conclude the PH-EU FTA talks by 2026 to avoid any gaps should the Philippines soon lose its eligibility for the EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (EU GSP+), the progam that enables the Philippines to have an export advantage through a unilateral preferential trade arrangement granted by the 27-member EU bloc.
The proposed elements of the PH-EU FTA are the following:
trade in goods; rules of origin; customs and trade facilitation; trade remedies; technical barriers to trade; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; services and investment; digital trade; government procurement; intellectual property; competition, subsidies, and state-owned enterprises; micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); energy and raw materials; trade and sustainable development; sustainable food systems; transparency and good regulatory practices; dispute settlement; initial, general, final and institutional provisions; and exceptions.
Gepty expects the EU to negotiate for maximum access to the Philippine market for almost all of its products, particularly meat and other agricultural products, as well as industrial products like electronic and automotive products, “so they [EU] will aim for a higher level of trade liberalization.”
In turn, the Philippines will push for maximum access to the EU market of its agricultural exports, among others.
Meanwhile, Philexport said comments and recommendations were also “solicited” for digital trade deals which are the Asean Defa and the E-Commerce Joint Statement Initiative (JSI).
According to the website of Asean, the Defa “seeks to offer a comprehensive roadmap to empower businesses and stakeholders across Asean, through accelerating trade growth, enhancing interoperability, creating a safe online environment, and increasing participation of MSMEs.”
Key topics included in this Asean digital trade deal are digital trade, cross-border e-commerce, cybersecurity, digital ID and digital payments, along with emerging topics such as artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure a future-proof Defa.
that the increases compared with the previous years are: 10 percent in 2020; 17 percent in 2021 and 5 percent in 2023.
From January to June 2024, imported cement was recorded at 3.7 million metric tons (MT) which is 52 percent of the 2023 level of imports. The projected 2024 cement level of imports, however, shows an increase of 5 percent over the 2023 level, according to the DTI report.
“The increase in imports of cement during the POI was both sharp and significant up to the most recent period,” the Trade department underscored.
As to the import volume of cement by country of origin from 2019 to the June 2024, Vietnam accounted for the largest share of the country’s cement importation.
“Vietnam’s share recorded at 4.23 million MT in 2019 or 79 percent of the country’s cement imports. Vietnam further increased its share to total imports at 91 percent in 2020, 93 percent in 2021, 95 percent in 2022 and remained to be the dominant supplier in 2023 with 6.88 million MT or 98 percent share. In January to
June 2024, cement imports from Vietnam accounted for 93 percent of total Philippine imports,” the report revealed.
Other countries of origin for imported cement are Japan, with 5-percent share in the Philippine market in the six-month period in 2024, followed by Indonesia, with 2-percent share and People’s Republic of China (PROC), with close to zero percent share, among others.
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the share of cement imports outweighed that of domestic production in the Philippine market within the five-year timeframe.
“During the POI (2019 to June 2024), relative to domestic production, the volume of imports of cement increased from approximately 30 percent in 2019 to 35 percent in 2020 and 36 percent in 2021 to 41 percent in 2022,” the DTI report pointed out.
“Thus, cement imports relative to domestic production significantly increased during the period of investigation,” said DTI.
See “Increased,” A2
By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
MALACAÑANG has ordered the reinstatement of Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chairperson and chief executive officer Monalisa C. Dimalanta after her two-month preventive suspension for alleged negligence.
In a Viber message, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cesar B. Chavez confirmed to Palace reporters that Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin issued a memorandum affirming the Office of the Ombudsman decision to lift Dimalanta's suspension last Wednesday. Under the memorandum, the reinstatement will take effect once Dimalanta receives a copy of the issuance.
The Ombudsman issued an order on 22 October 2024, lifting the preventive suspension issued against Dimalanta after it completed its evaluation on case records related to the complaint against her.
“In the interest of justice
and fair play, the Order of preventive suspension dated 20 August 2024 is hereby lifted and respondent Monalisa C. Dimalanta, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of the Energy Regulatory Commission, is ordered reinstated effective immediately,” Ombudsman Officer-in-charge Dante F. Vargas said in the order. The suspension, which was supposed to last for six months, stemmed from the complaint filed by the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms, Inc. (Nasecore).
During Dimalanta’s suspension, Jesse Hermogenes T. Andres served as the officer-incharge of the ERC.
Nasecore alleged that ERC, under Dimalanta’s leadership, failed to recalculate the rate of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) in a timely manner, which has detrimental effects for consumers.
In a statement, ERC said it welcomes the Palace decision reinstating Dimalanta since it would “ensure the stability within the agency and the energy industry as a whole.”
DBy Manuel T. Cayon
AVAO CITY—A team of researchers at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) announced a breakthrough in the research on rice that could benefit countries relying heavily on rice as staple food, but which also have to reckon with rising incidence of diabetes and severe protein deficiency. IRRI researchers said they have identified the genes and markers responsible for low glycemic index (GI) and high protein content in rice, using genetics and artificial intelligence classification methods, the IRRI said in a story posted in August.
The IRRI said the study, which was also recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), “revealed a superior set of lines that exhibited ultra-low GI (below 45 percent) with an unprecedented protein level (15.99), which is twice the content usually
found in conventional milled rice”.
“Rice varieties with higher protein content may contribute to slower digestion and absorption rates, potentially helping control blood glucose levels, further enhancing its ultra-low GI characteristics,” it added.
Dr. Nese Sreenivasulu, corresponding author of the paper and principal scientist at the IRRI Grain Quality and Nutrition Center, said the findings “underscore the stacked potential and benefits of low-GI and high-protein rice to offer a substantial source of protein and essential amino acids such as lysine for consumers, particularly in regions where rice is a dietary staple”.
The lines included in the study also generated yields comparable to existing high-yielding rice varieties, he added.
He said healthier rice lines were developed by intercrossing an inbred variety from Samba Mahsuri and the amylose extender of IR36. “The results could help
address the growing incidence of diabetes and the need for adequate protein intake for hundreds of millions of people at risk”.
Tidal wave of diabetes
T H e IRRI said that about 537 million adults suffer from diabetes globally and the number is expected to grow to 783 million by 2045. The low- and middle-income countries account for more than threequarters of diabetes incidences, with Asia accounting for 60 percent of the global diabetic population.
“Considering that rice is a staple food for a substantial portion of the global population, it is crucial to deploy high-yielding rice cultivars with milled rice samples possessing high-quality protein and ultralow glycemic index to address the triple burden of nutritional challenges among low- and middle-income communities,” said Dr. Gurdev S. Khush of the University of California, Davis, and co-corresponding
author of the paper.
High-protein rice may help boost the diets and health of half a billion proteindeficient consumers, many of whom live in South Asia and Central Africa. Dr. Sreenivasulu’s team and partners now seek to incorporate these genes into future breeding programs and popular varieties grown across Asia and Africa, the IRRI said.
“With its remarkably low GI and protein content surpassing traditional rice varieties, these high-yielding nutritious rice varieties will pave the way to addressing critical food and nutritional security targets,” said IRRI Director General Dr. Yvonne Pinto. The study was conducted in collaboration with the University of California, Davis, the United States of America, the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Germany, and the Center of Plant Systems Biology in Bulgaria.
CRUSHING UNSAFE GOODS FOR CONSUMER GOOD The Department of
Editor: Jennifer A. Ng
PXP Energy trims net loss on higher output of Galoc
By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan
PXP Energy Corp. narrowed its core net loss in January to September, citing slightly higher crude oil prices, improved production volumes from its Galoc operations, and reduced overhead costs as primary drivers.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, PXP reported that its net loss during the period reached P17.8 million, lower than the P23.9 million the year prior. Consolidated net loss attributable to equity holders of the parent company also fell to P16.7 million from
P22.9 million in 2023.
The company’s petroleum revenues edged up by 2.8 percent to P64.8 million, compared to P63.0 million in 2023, fueled by an average crude price increase to $81.2 per barrel from last year’s $80.5 per barrel. Production levels also rose slight-
ly, with 478,999 barrels lifted in the Galoc oil field under Service Contract (SC) 14C-1, up from 475,183 barrels in 2023.
PXP’s consolidated costs and expenses were reduced to P78.2 million, down from P82.1 million last year, primarily due to streamlined recurring overhead costs, which dropped to P37.0 million from P41.0 million.
The company also recorded a lower net interest expense at P2.3 million, down from P3 million, though petroleum production costs grew slightly to P41.2 million.
Looking ahead, PXP expressed optimism about its potential award for the exploration blocks whose auctions it participated in.
In August, PXP, together with its partners Philodrill Corp., Sunda e nergy Plc, and Triangle e nergy (Global) Ltd., submitted bid docu -
ments for two Pre-Determined Area Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Petroleum (PDA-BP) blocks, previously under SC 56 and SC 41 licenses with e xxonMobil and Tap Oil, respectively.
As the sole bidder for these blocks, the joint venture’s application has qualified for further evaluation by the Department of energy and the Ministry of e nvironment, Natural Resources, and energy of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
It also reaffirmed its commitment to other ongoing projects, including SC 72 and SC 75, despite extended force majeure, as well as feasibility studies on SC 40’s Dalingding-2 prospect.
“PXP will continue to assess and study other oil and gas projects within the Philippines,” it said.
Ayala to redeem preferred shares
ABy VG Cabuag @villygc
yALA Corp. has requested the Philippine Stock e xchange (PS e ) to suspend the trading of its preferred B series 2 shares (APB2R shares) starting November 14, as it will redeem the shares.
The company said it will exercise of the call option on the said shares on November 29, the fifth-year anniversary from the issue date of the shares.
“The shares shall be redeemed at
SM teams assist local communities
The SM Group on Thursday said recently mobilized 100 volunteer teams from across its retail network for their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Day.
This initiative underscores the company’s commitment to volunteerism and community support, engaging employees to make a meaningful impact in the lives of those in need, the company said.
A total of 75 teams from the SM Store, the department store brand, and 25 teams from different retail affiliates participated in a variety of activities aimed at assisting local communities.
The initiative reached over 100 beneficiaries, including public schools supported by the SM Foundation, UNIC e F Philippines, World Vision, Good Neighbors Philippines and other local organizations.
Volunteers distributed essential items such as school kits, shoes, hygiene kits, and food packs.
SM Retail has actively engaged its employees in meaningful social responsibility programs, with a focus on supporting underprivileged Filipino students. These initiatives, include reading sessions, classroom repainting, and community outreach. The company remains committed to empowering communities and supporting Filipino youth through employee volunteerism, it said. VG Cabuag
project is 73% done
Sthe redemption price equal to the issue price of P500 per share plus all accrued and unpaid dividends up until November 29, 2024 based on the dividend rate of 4.8214 percent per annum.”
The company said the registrar for its APB2R shares needs to prepare a certified redemption entitlement report and deliver it to them and its paying agent no later than 9 a.m. on November 19, or eight banking days immediately prior to the redemption date.
“In view of the foregoing, the record date for the full redemption of
the shares is set for November 15, 2024, and the trading suspension on our APB2R shares is intended to start on November 14, until the reissuance of the shares.”
Ayala said those entitled to the APBR redemption payment are the shareholders who acquired the shares prior to the dividend ex-date.
They will receive the full redemption amount equal to the issue price plus the accrued and unpaid dividend for the period beginning August 29 to November 29.
The redemption amount com-
prising of the final dividend and/ or redemption price will be paid in a manner similar to the quarterly dividend payments.
“Depending on the payment mode specified by the shareholders as appearing on the record of the registrar, the final dividend and equity redemption shall be paid by electronic transfer to stockholders with enrolled accounts,” the company said. For stockholders with no enrolled accounts, both the dividend checks and the redemption checks will be available for pick-up at the Stock Transfer Service Inc.’s office.
NNIC: Naia-3 water taps will not run dry
The New Naia Infra Corp. (NNIC) said on Thursday it has implemented measures to ensure continuous water supply at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3, amid the planned water service interruption by Maynilad Water Services Inc. The company said in a statement that it has activated a contingency plan, assuring passengers and airport stakeholders of uninterrupted water access throughout the 16-hour service halt.
The interruption, set for November 1, from 2:00 p.m. to November 2 at 6:00 a.m., will allow Maynilad to conduct necessary maintenance and repair work at its Putatan Treatment Plant.
NNIC’s plan includes tapping into Terminal 3’s 3.2-million-liter water tank reserves, with Maynilad water trucks standing by to replenish these reserves if needed.
The company will also deploy water containers in restrooms and position water trucks to refill these containers if the situation demands.
“NNIC reminds all passengers and stakeholders to conserve water during this period. Simple steps like using water sparingly in restrooms and reporting any leaks can help ensure adequate water supply for all,” the San Miguel Corp.-led company said.
Just last week, Naia’s oldest terminal also faced water interruption after its main water pipe was damaged, affecting services within the airport.
NNIC took over the operations of Naia in September, months after it signed a concession agreement with the Department of Transportation.
The company said it plans to make immediate improvements to Naia’s facilities. Within the next three to six months, travelers can expect to
see functional escalators and toilets, stable power and water supplies, better air conditioning, upgraded baggage handling systems, faster passenger processing, more seating, and enhanced WiFi connectivity.
NNIC a comprehensive three-year plan that includes runway improvements, expanded terminal capacity, enhanced commercial spaces, and a direct link from Naia Terminal 3 to the Skyway system.
Long-term goals include building a new terminal to accommodate an additional 35 million passengers annually, improving flood mitigation in surrounding areas, and linking Naia to the Metro Manila Subway.
The government stands to gain approximately P1 trillion in revenues over the 25-year public-private partnership concession period.
This includes an 82.16-percent revenue share that will be remitted yearly. Lorenz S. Marasigan
P New energy Corp. (SPNeC) has reached 73-percent completion in the development of its flagship Terra Solar Project, a solar initiative set to become one of the world’s largest integrated renewable energy and storage power plants.
emmanuel Rubio, the company’s president, attributed the milestone to the company’s “steady progress and strategic initiatives,” including its partnerships and permitting achievements.
“In terms of completion, Terra Solar Project achieved project development, 73 percent overall development,” he said. “[It] refers to the project development phase. We have yet to break ground although we have already issued early works contracts.”
Rubio noted that while Terra Solar is “slightly ahead of schedule,” SPNeC is still in negotiations over engineering, procurement, and construction (ePC) contracts.
early works have been contracted to energy China, and the first phase has been divided into east and west, with energy China overseeing one of these sections.
In terms of specific project advancements, he said Terra Solar’s progress includes 62 percent completion of photovoltaic (PV) land and transmission line right-of-way requirements, while major equipment procurement has reached 95 percent.
Permitting and solar farm development are nearing completion, with solar farm development at 96 percent
and interconnection development at 90 percent. PV site clearing, which is critical for subsequent construction phases, stands at 23 percent.
“We still have a number of transmission land to secure. We’re close to actually finalizing, acquiring all the lots for phase one. Phase two is still ongoing. Phase two is the one that we’re working on now, given that on phase one we’re close to securing, converting, and then we will be reclassifying the lots for the PV sites.”
The P213-billion Terra Solar project spans approximately 3,500 hectares and will feature 3,500 megawatts of solar panels alongside 4,000 megawatt-hours of battery energy storage.
The project is slated for phased completion, with the first phase scheduled for 2026 and the second phase expected to follow in 2027. In July, the Department of energy certified TerraSolar as an energy project of national significance. Additionally, the Board of Investments granted TerraSolar the Green Lane Certification on July 23, enabling streamlined and expedited processing of permits critical to the project’s timely execution.
SPN e C has also partnered with Meralco Industrial e ngineering Services Corp. (Miescor) to build the necessary infrastructure to connect Terra Solar to the national grid, including a main collector substation, two solar collector substations, and a 230 kV transmission line. Lorenz S. Marasigan
Photo from www.sPnec.Ph
Businessmirror file Photo
DOF sees opportunities in talks with UK traders
By Andrea San Juan
MANILA is pinning hopes on British investors who
can provide more opportunities for the Philippines to cut poverty rate to single digit.
“We are very confident that our meetings left British investors with no doubt about the predictability, stability, profitability and sustainability of doing business in the Philippines,” Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said.
“And I trust that our dialogues here will open the floodgates of more opportunities for mutually beneficial partnerships—ventures that will not only help them make more money but also enable the Philippines to reduce poverty to single digits and secure a brighter future for every Filipino,” Recto added.
In a statement issued last Thursday, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Recto led the Philippine delegation to London, United Kingdom, to woo British investors to choose the Philippines to grow their businesses.
According to the DOF, members of the Philippine delegation engaged with executives of “top-tier” British firms that fall under the sectors of talent acquisition, financial technology (fintech) and energy, among others. The firms include the following: Actis LLP; BP Plc; Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) Ltd.; InvestCorp Investments LLC; Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS) Ltd.; Revolut Group Holdings Ltd.; and, the British International Investment Plc.
According to the Finance department, Actis is a global investment firm focused on the private equity, energy, infrastructure and real estate asset classes. The firm invested $600 million last September for a 40-percent stake in Solar Philippines New Energy Corp.
The investment would go to the building of Terra Solar, which is set to become the world’s largest integrated renewable energy and storage project. It is, thus far, the largest foreign direct investment ever in a greenfield infrastructure project in the Philippines, read the DOF’s statement.
BP Plc, a global energy giant operating in over 70 countries, has
a “foothold” in the Philippines through Castrol, which markets and distributes high-performance automotive lubricants, the DOF noted.
Banking&Finance Investments in securities boost hot money inflow
Meanwhile, GIP is an infrastructure investment fund focused on the energy, transport and water sectors. The firm has approximately $170 billion in assets under management, comprising 300 active investments in over 100 countries.
Investcorp is described by the DOF as “a leading global manager of alternative investment products for private and institutional clients.” Its six asset classes include private equity, real estate, absolute return investments, infrastructure, credit management and strategic capital.
AMS is a leading global provider of talent acquisition services, including recruitment process outsourcing, total talent acquisition, managed services programs and consulting services, according to the DOF.
According to DOF, the firm’s Philippine operations are its secondlargest offshore delivery center after Poland.
The delegation led by Recto also had talks with Revolut, the largest fintech firm in the UK. DOF said this fintech company is a “full-fledged” digital bank in Europe. It also operates across key markets in Asia, including Japan, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand.
Also one of the groups that the Philippine delegation engaged with is the British International Investment which is the UK’s Development Finance Institution with nearly 75 years of experience supporting emerging markets.
“Focused on building productive and sustainable businesses, it invests long-term, flexible capital to drive private sector growth and innovation in regions like South Asia, the Indo-Pacific and Africa,” DOF said.
The Philippine delegation also had discussions with members of the UK-Asean Business Council, which is an independent partner of the UK and governments of member-states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The Council links the UK public and private sectors to their counterparts in the Asean to facilitate dialogue and grow two-way trade and investment.
‘Ghost’ receipts traders face arrest on DOJ nod
THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) disclosed that the Department of Justice found probable cause in two ghost receipt cases filed against corporate officers accused of violating the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC).
According to BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr., the two cases were part of the 26 that were filed under the BIR’s “Run After Fake Transactions,” or “Raft,” program. The BIR said the cases are now filed before the Regional Trial Court and the Metropolitan Trial Court. Warrants of arrest will also be issued against the responsible corporate officers, read a statement the BIR issued last Thursday. “They will be arrested,” Lumagui said through the statement. He expressed gratitude “to this favorable ruling of the DOJ, our ally in
this war against ‘ghost’ receipts.” “Ghost” receipts are official documents containing fictitious transactions, which are then bought and used by businesses to evade proper payment of taxes.
The BIR was alerted on this trade after it raided shops in 2022 trading in “ghost” receipts. Hence, the agency created its Raft program to audit and file criminal cases against buyers, sellers and users of “ghost” receipts.
Last August, the BIR partnered with the Ateneo de Manila University-Department of Mathematics to develop an algorithm that will detect companies possibly using such receipts.
The Raft program will be a continuing project of the BIR because it can address the decades-old proliferation of “ghost” receipts in the country, according to the agency.
Cai U. Ordinario
HBy Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
OT money inflows nearly doubled in September on the back of increased investments in peso government securities and stocks, bonds and derivatives listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), revealed the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Net inflows from foreign investments registered with the BSP through authorized agent banks reached $1.03. billion in September, a 92.1-percent ($491.82 million) increase from the $533.95 million posted in August.
BSP said the net inflows resulted from the $2.53-billion gross inflows and $1.51 billion in gross outflows in September.
“During the month, 57.5 percent of registered investments were in peso government securities ($1.455 billion) with the remaining 42.5 percent in PSE-listed securities ($1.077 billion),” the central bank said.
BSP data showed that year-onyear, the registered investments in September amounting to $2.53 billion are higher by $1.644 billion or by 185.2 percent than the $887.61
million recorded in September 2023. Meanwhile, the gross outflows of $1.51 billion are lower by $79.55 million or 5 percent compared to the gross outflows recorded at $1.59 billion in September last year.
The $1.03 billion net inflows for September 2024 are a reversal from the $698.01 million net outflows recorded for the same period a year ago, according to the BSP.
The data also showed that the registered gross investments for the month are higher by $1.16 billion or by 84.7 percent compared to the gross inflows recorded at $1.37 billion in August 2024.
The BSP said most of the investments in PSE securities were made in banks, holding firms, property developers, transportation services operators and companies engaged in the food, beverage and tobacco sector.
The central bank added that investments for the month of September mostly came from Luxembourg, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, with combined share to total at
Utsunomiya: MICE City and More
AS a hosted association representative at the recent Japan MICE Expo 2024 in Osaka, Japan, I participated in the Utsunomiya-Nikko familiarization tour. It was my first time to hear about Utsunomiya and was curious about the city’s capability to host MICE (meetings, incentive travels, conventions and exhibitions) events. It turned out to be a great choice and was pleasantly surprised!
Utsunomiya City is the capital of Tochigi Prefecture, which is approximately 100 kilometers north of Tokyo and reachable from Tokyo by train in just 50 minutes. It is known for several key cultural and historical attributes as well as its strategic location.
Utsunomiya is famously known as the “Gyoza Capital” of Japan as it has a long history of making the Japanese pan-fried dumpling and has many specialized gyoza restaurants. The Utsunomiya Gyoza Festival is an annual event that attracts visitors from across the country.
Utsunomiya is also home to several important cultural sites such as the
THE Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) has lifted its “Single Period of Confinement” policy and now allows members to be readmitted for the same illness when it recurs.
“After extensive evaluation, we have lifted the rule of ‘Single Period of Confinement’ (SPC) to ensure continuous coverage for patients with recurring conditions,” PhilHealth Chief Emmanuel R. Ledesma Jr. was quoted in a statement as saying.
The SPC rule provides that admissions and readmissions due to the same illness or procedure within a 90-calendar day period shall only be compensated once. According to the staterun health insurer, rescinding the rule applies to medical con -
Utsunomiya Castle, the Futarasan Shrine and the Oya Quarry and Museum, and its Oya stone (unique volcanic rock) used in architecture. The city is also a gateway to the famous Nikko region, known for its historical temples, natural beauty and the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Toshogu Shrine. Due to its proximity, many visitors pass through Utsunomiya on their way to Nikko.
The city is undergoing a fastpaced urban redevelopment and undertaking several initiatives:
1. Super Smart City. Being part of Japan’s broader efforts to integrate smart city technologies, Utsunomiya has shown interest in adopting more sustainable urban practices, improving transportation, and implementing advanced digital infrastructure.
2. Transportation and infra-
ditions and surgical procedures under the “All Case Rate” payment scheme.
With this, members were forced to pay for the entire hospitalization and caused denial of claims on the side of health facilities.
“This move also shows our strong commitment to fulfill our mandate—to provide health insurance coverage and ensure affordable, acceptable, available, and accessible health care services for all Filipinos,” Ledesma said.
PhilHealth also reminded members and qualified dependents that they are entitled to a maximum of 45-days coverage for room and board per year. However, this does not apply to
structure. The city has been upgrading its public transport systems, including the development of a light rail transit (LRT) network. The new Utsunomiya LRT is designed to reduce traffic congestion, provide easier access around the city, and create a greener carbon neutral transport option. Its LRT system has been seen as a model for other regional cities in Japan.
3. Tourism and MICE promotion. Utsunomiya has been focusing on enhancing its tourism profile, not only as a hub for gyoza lovers, but also by promoting its cultural and historical landmarks like Oya stone-related sites as key attractions. The city is also gearing up for MICE events locally and internationally, and has a spanking new convention center called “Light Cube” with 17 rooms of different sizes and which can accommodate 10 to 2,000 people across a wide range of needs, including academic and business conferences, exhibitions, and various events.
4. Sustainability actions. Utsunomiya is transforming itself into
the Hemodialysis benefits package as it has a separate 156 sessions allocated per year.
Ledesma, however, assures all members that PhilHealth continues to move forward with benefits enhancements to provide better financial coverage to all Filipinos.
“We are really working very hard 24/7. Talagang nagpapakahirap po kami because we understand that health is not just a privilege but an essential right for every Filipino. In these challenging times, we stand with them, and always make sure to deliver all the benefits they deserve,” Ledesma added.
Earlier, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed out-of-pocket spending of Fili -
88.4 percent.
Year-to-date hot money transactions yielded net inflows of $3.02 billion in 2024, a rebound from the $387.24 million net outflows recorded in the January to September period last year.
Foreign investments registered with authorized agent banks include PSE-listed stocks, bonds and derivatives, peso-denominated government securities, peso time deposits with banks with a minimum tenor of 90 days and other peso debt instruments.
These also include unit investment trust funds and other instruments such as Exchange Traded Funds and Philippine Depositary Receipts. In addition, registration of said investments with the BSP, through authorized agent banks, may not necessarily coincide with either trade or settlement date of the underlying transaction, and thus, such registration may be effected even after the actual foreign investment transaction has long been completed.
an “SDG City” (SDG for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals) emphasizing on environmental sustainability which includes efforts to promote green energy, reduce the carbon footprint of urban areas, and protect local natural resources.
Utsunomiya is a growing regional hub, balancing its historical significance with future-oriented urban and economic developments. The city is trying to maintain its cultural heritage while modernizing infrastructure and promoting ecofriendly initiatives.
If you are organizing a MICE event in Japan and if you’re looking outside its big cities, consider Utsunomiya and you’ll be pleasantly surprised like I did!
Octavio Peralta is founder and volunteer CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE), the “association of associations.” The PCAAE and SustainablePH will hold a joint summit on sustainability at the PICC on November 27, 2024. The views he expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the BusinessMirror E-mail: bobby@pcaae.org.
pino households nationwide posted a double-digit increase in 2023 (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/08/15/ pinoys-out-of-pocket-healthspending-now-17/ ). The PSA data showed out of pocket health expenses of Filipinos grew 17 percent, the fastest growth since 2014. The estimated total out-of- pocket house expenses are at P593.087 billion in 2023. The growth of out-of-pocket expenses was faster than the 11.3 percent growth of Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE) in current prices last year while the level of outof-pocket expenses accounted for 3.2 percent of the P18.61trillion HFCE. Cai U. Ordinario
Octavio Peralta Association World
IRelationships BusinessMirror
Eugenia Last
BY ALBE�T STUMM The Associated Press
T’S often said there is a thin line between love and hate, but is it OK to sometimes hate your long-term partner? If you ask actress Jamie Lee Curtis, it’s practically necessary.
Asked about the secret to her 40-year marriage to actor Christopher Guest, she recently said the key includes patience, perseverance and “a really good dose of hatred.”
“All of a sudden you literally want to hate each other. And then the next day, it’s a pretty, sunny day, and the dog does something cute or your child does something cute, and you look at each other and you’re like, ‘Aw, gosh,’” Curtis told Entertainment Tonight after picking up an Emmy Award for her role in The Bear. “And you’re on another track.”
Relationship experts say it’s normal for couples to experience moments of what feels like genuine hatred. The difference between couples who last and those who don’t can lie in how they handle their emotions in those moments.
“Hating the person you love is the most common thing in the world,” said Jane Greer, a marriage and family therapist and author of Am I Lying to Myself? How to Overcome Denial and See the Truth. “We think we’re supposed to love our partner all the time unconditionally, but that’s not the way it works.”
YES, YOU SHOULD
‘SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF’
STEREOTYPICAL annoyances, like leaving the toilet seat up or cluttering the floor with shoes, accumulate when left unaddressed, said Terri Orbuch, a sociology professor at Oakland University and author of Five Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage from Good to Great.
To prevent pet peeves from growing into a bigger problem, it’s important to “sweat the small stuff,” said Orbuch, who in her research has followed hundreds of couples over the course of 36 years.
“What starts out as a small, irritating habit becomes, ‘You’re not listening to me. You don’t love me. Maybe we’re not right for one another, and I hate you,’” she said.
Criticizing an issue in the moment, however, isn’t the best approach, Orbuch said. Find a good time and situation to discuss it: away from kids and not right
after work, just before leaving for the day or while tired in bed.
BE SPECIFIC ORBUCH recommended opening the discussion with positives, then using what she called an XYZ statement. For instance, give examples that show you know they are a great partner overall, such as being a wonderful friend or being good to your mother. Then, follow with: when you do X (throw your clothes on the floor) in situation Y (instead of in the hamper), I feel Z (frustrated).
Then follow with: “Can we talk about that?”
Calling out a specific behavior helps your spouse or partner process the issue better than if you had accused them of having a character flaw, such as,
“You’re such a slob.”
“We box that person in where they don’t know
Guide to the metro’s arts and culture hub
OCTOBER is Museums & Galleries Month and there’s no better way to mark that than to explore and discover all the best spots at one of the city’s arts and culture hubs, Shangri-La Plaza.
Start an art hop inspired by Shang at the top— that’s Level 6 of the mall’s East Wing with Galerie Stephanie. Known for being one of the leading artistcentered galleries in the Philippines, their latest home is a collaborative space with local art dealer and art digest Cartellino
With a capacity for four exhibition rooms, and a room dedicated to Cartellino itself (it’s a gallery within a gallery), the art space is looking forward to showcasing more established and up-and-coming artists from around the world.
Next, walk over to the Main Wing of Level 6 for The Artologist, which features some of the brightest art stars on the scene. Considered the home of emerging and mid-career contemporary artists, the gallery
just wrapped up the successful solo exhibition of printmaking master Pandy Aviado.
Make your way down to Level 4 for a haven of galleries and charming vintage finds. Shang’s Art Plaza houses the Art Circle Gallery, which has dedicated itself to promoting and developing Philippine visual arts by inspiring our sense of national pride with pieces from Filipino masters. Art Venue, also by Art Circle, showcases highly technical works, including Raul Patindol’s intricate still life of lace fans and local flora, and Henry Ordoña’s vivid local landscapes.
Contemporary art fans should check out Artistree Fine Art and The New Gallery, curating works from the 1980s to the present day. With mixed media works by the renowned Impy Pilapil, geometric compositions from Paulina Luz Sotto, and vibrant floral pieces by Rhea Dela Rosa, these galleries highlight modern and enduring techniques.
what to say or what to change to alleviate the frustration,” Orbuch said.
WHEN YOU CAN, HIGHLIGHT THE LOVING MOMENTS
GREER said a great way to help hateful moments dissipate faster is to build up a reservoir of positive emotions. Take note not only of aspects of your partner that you adore, but also why they make you feel good. If your partner gives you flowers, for example, instead of simply thanking them, let them know how you felt when you received them. Saying you appreciate the flowers because it showed they had listened to something you needed helps to reinforce those positive emotions, she said.
“When you’re feeling the love, it’s important to label it,” Greer said. “It’s important to say, ‘You know what, I’m having a love-you moment.’” ■
Gallerie Raphael treats visitors to everything from the spirited Japanese-inspired pieces of Vincent del Pio to the bold abstract expressions of Karina Baluyut; while Galeria Andres presents a sensory experience of fine art, sculptures, and antiques from the country’s finest including acclaimed sculptor Eduardo Castrillo, National Artists Anastacio Caedo, and Jose Joya.
Perfect for art collectors, Gallery 928’s auctions are a treasure trove where one can obtain pieces by modernist legend Malang and National Artist Cesar Legaspi. They also offer art lessons for those looking to deepen their understanding and appreciation of art.
Summit Art Gallery is a great stop to browse framed works, including paintings that look great in any art lover’s home.
There’s also Gallery BiG, which is known for specializing in large-scale works of art, including pieces created by masters such as Federico AguilarAlcuaz, Fernando Amorsolo, and Ang Kiukok.
A change of plans will play in your favor. Feel free to initiate what you want and to take control of situations that help you advance. Learn as you go and pay attention to detail, and you’ll gain ground and impress someone who can contribute something unique. Partnerships look promising. ★★★★
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Engage in learning something new. It will spark your imagination and help diversify your skills while differentiating yourself from any competition. Don’t let what others do make you lose sight of how talented you are. ★★★
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Dig in, direct your energy and be proud of your accomplishments. Don’t let uncertainty get the better of you when dealing with domestic problems, contracts or financial matters. Gather the facts, ask an expert, verify information and put whatever is causing stress behind you. ★★★
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Consider updating your appearance or how you approach people or do things. Staying in sync with the world around you will help you attract positive attention and give you the edge you need to surpass your expectations. ★★★
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t stop; what you can offer will give others a reason to notice. Keep your feet on the ground, have a positive attitude while pressing forward and share your thoughts profoundly. A dynamic approach will captivate the right people if you stick to a narrative you can deliver. ★★★★
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Check out groups or organizations with something of interest that can help you expand or improve your skills, knowledge or experience. Networking functions will offer ideas and connections to help you excel, but refrain from signing up for something prematurely. Not all offers will be a good fit. 2 stars
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Refrain from scattering your energy when you have much to gain if you focus on what’s tangible. Consider emotional, financial and contractual matters carefully to ensure you get the
Deceitful love and diplomacy in two series
HERE are two exciting series on Netflix.
Sanya Lopez captivates
audiences
with gripping role in ‘Pulang Araw’
THE fight for love, family and country is about to get more heart pounding as Sanya Lopez captivates audiences with her powerful portrayal of Teresita Borromeo in the historical drama series Pulang Araw Her character’s journey as a comfort woman during World War II is intense and moving. As Teresita, Sanya embodies the resilience and strength of the countless women who suffered during this dark chapter in Philippine history. The gripping moments in which Teresita hears the cries of fellow Filipinos show not only her character’s dilemma but also the sacrifice that the program aims to show.
In an earlier interview, Sanya shares what she loved about her character: “Ako, pinakagusto ko talaga sa character ko dito, siya ’yung pinaka nagsasakripisyo. Pagdating sa pagmamahal sa pamilya, sa kapatid, sa nobyo, sa talento niya, at pagmamahal sa ama. Ang dami niyang sinasakripisyo dito. Kaya ’yon ’yung isa mga nagustuhan ko, parang siya ’yung laging willing na ‘Ako na lang. Okay lang basta okay kayo.’ Ganon.” “Maraming salamat po talaga dahil maganda ’yung komento nila sa mga eksenang ginawa namin,” she added. Pulang Araw is more than just a historical drama; it is a tribute to the unsung heroes of the Philippines, shedding light on the enduring spirit of families who faced the horrors of war. Sanya’s performance is a powerful reminder of the struggles endured by many Filipinos, bringing depth and authenticity to the series.
Pulang Araw can be seen Mondays to Fridays at 8 pm on GMA Prime, Kapuso Stream, and GTV. Global Pinoys can also catch it via GMA Pinoy TV. Viewers can also stream it on Netflix Philippines.
TBoth offer guilty pleasures. One is about love and deception, and stars two gloriously sensual actors; the other is a thriller that is fun if you happen to be on the side of the UK and US, which we all are ideologically. Unless you are of the enlightened kind.
The passionate tale is narrated by the Italian film Inggano (Italian for “deceit”), which presently carries the English title Deceitful Love. The story is a cliche: an older albeit glamorous and wealthy woman is attracted to a man half her age. It is in the execution and performance that the age-old tale is burnished by rawness and candor. There is, for example, almost equal flesh exposure between the young actor (Giacomo Gianniotti) and the woman (Monica Guerritore). This is significant because while a taut flesh marks the young male lover’s body, Elia, that of Gabriella is wrinkled and aged. Instead of diminishing the allure of the woman, it seems to hold aloft a new politics of the female body and marshalls the power of a seemingly independent woman whose source of strength is money.
As with any relationship where age is marked as a gap, conflicts arise and disturbances occur in between bouts of sex and commitment. Characters materialize from nowhere only to be discovered as having a twisted role in the life of Elia. A voluptuous woman turns out to be the man’s girlfriend. Spied upon, the family of Gabriella sees Elia meeting up with an older woman. Another lover? Gabriella confronts Elia and she discovers who she is. Gabriella believes the story of Elia.
Twist after twist in the love-plot of Gabriella and Elia threaten to ruin the two but, for some reason, something happens where she navigates the treachery of the moment and turns it into a spicier aspect of their affair.
If the complications are not enough between the star-crossed lovers, then there are the materials that compose the family of Gabriella: a vlogger-daughter who is emotionally unstable; a son who meets on the sly a detective for some other reason; and another son, the youngest, who is is sexually drawn to Elia.
‘WICKED’ CASTING A SPELL IN PHL CINEMAS ON NOVEMBER 20
“OZ represents a place of magic, so to be able to invite an audience into this beautiful world is exciting.” In the newest featurette, Jon M. Chu welcomes fans and moviegoers to the wonderful world of Oz, in the highly anticipated adaptation of the hit musical Wicked Cynthia Erivo, who stars as Elphaba, feels that Oz is the land of endless possibilities. “The things you think are impossible, the things you are dreaming about, aren’t impossible at all,” she says. In the world of Oz, nothing is as straightforward as reality. “Nothing is just one dimension in the world of Oz,” Erivo explains.
“That special magic is palpable,” Jonathan Bailey, who plays Fiyero, adds.
Alongside Erivo is Ariana Grande, who stars as Glinda, and she talks about how their characters both search for their inner magic within this world.
“Glinda, just like Elphaba, just wants to find her magic,” she says. Erivo also talks about the power within Elphaba. “It isn’t about relying on someone else. It really is about harnessing the power she has, and figuring out how to use that to do good the way she needs to,” she says.
“That’s the most magical part of the whole thing,” Grande adds.
Tickets are now available and seats can be reserved at ticketing sites. Distributed by Universal Pictures, Wicked opens in Philippine cinemas on November 20.
Witness to all this—muted and perhaps less judgmental—is the setting at the Amalfi Coast where everyone is fashionably wintering. Here in this land, everyone is simply appassionata
The film is an adaptation of the UK TV series called Gold Digger. Call it high melodrama. Call it camp. Was it the British press that dubbed this a “toyboy” thriller? Pappi Corsicato, who is said to have been Almodovar’s assistant, directed Deceitful Love. This could perhaps explain the lush aura of the film.
A different kind of deception happens in another Netflix series, Season 2 of The Diplomat. In Season 1, there was an explosion and at the finale, there was another explosion. Who caused them?
Those who monitored the first season would know. But the series that has been called “propulsive” is back. Hal Wyler is fine. Kate Wyler is home. They are talking about assignments: Will Kate go to Kabul? Where will Hal be?
Somewhere out in the sea, a British aircraft carrier gets bombed. The phone rings in the Wylers’ home. Kate answers it and gives the phone to her husband, the ambassador. But he gives back the phone to Kate. A call from the White House summons Wyler and Kate assumes it is her husband, the ambassador. But it is for her and she is being asked to see the president because she will eventually be sent to London as ambassador. Hal, her husband, seems not surprised. Kate is flabbergasted. The next scene brings them to London, the seat of decision-making in the light of the bombing. Who is the culprit? Shall the UK retaliate?
Will the US back the Brit’s warmongering?
In the meantime, with Hal around, there are two ambassadors in London. The problem for Kate Wyler is that Hal is the more charismatic and also the incendiary political instrument. He, being the veteran in world affairs, feels freer to comment and to intervene. Kate, who should really be in command as the new ambassador (remember, Hal is the husband of the ambassador), feels undermined. Her only hope is for the other “Ambassador Wyler” to go.
Things get more gendered as Kate is expected to provide glam and manners, as well. On the first day in London, for example, the pressure is to dress up for Vogue and other media, even as the conflict in the Middle East begins to simmer. Then Hal disappears.
Like in Season 1, action in The Diplomat is highflying and fast. Events overtake other events; responses are not fast enough. In the politics bred by the US and UK, two countries, it appears, determine the affairs of the world. And we are mere pawns in this complex game of geopolitics.
Keri Russell is an engaging “diplomat” in the series. A reluctant diplomat, Russell’s Kate Wyler is a female presence in a gentleman’s foreign affairs club. Rufus Sewell is an engaging foil, slightly and annoyingly chauvinist at a point. Debora Cahn, Janice Williams and Keri Russell are back as a team for Season 2. n
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. SAYS HE ‘INTENDS TO SUE’ ALL FUTURE EXECUTIVES WHO USE HIS AI REPLICA
By Sarah Parvini The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES—Robert Downey Jr. doesn’t think Marvel executives would ever recreate his portrayal of Tony Stark using artificial intelligence. But if they did, he would lawyer up—even posthumously.
On a recent episode of the On With Kara Swisher podcast, the Oscar-winning actor said he intends to “sue all future executives” who allow an AI-created version of him. Speaking about his role as Iron Man, Downey said he does not want his likeness recreated by AI technology.
“I am not worried about them hijacking my character’s soul because there’s like three or four guys and gals who make all the decisions there anyway and they would never do that to me, with or without me,” Downey said.
Swisher noted that those executives would eventually be replaced.
“Well, you’re right,” Downey said. “I would like to here state that I intend to sue all future executives just on spec.”
“You’ll be dead,” Swisher said. Downey replied: “But my law firm will still be very active.”
Representatives for Marvel Studios and for Downey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The discussion comes amid the Hollywood video game performers’ strike, which began in July after more than 18 months of negotiations over a new interactive media agreement with game industry giants broke down over artificial
intelligence protections.
Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have billed the issues behind the labor dispute—and AI in
particular—as an existential crisis for performers.
Concerns about how movie studios will use AI helped fuel last year’s film and television strikes by the union, which lasted four months. SAG-AFTRA ultimately signed a deal requiring productions to get the informed consent of actors whose digital replicas are used.
A spokesperson for SAG-AFTRA said that Downey has the right to deny any digital replica uses in film because of California’s new law prohibiting the unauthorized replication of a dead performer’s likenesses without prior consent. That law, signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, was sponsored by the union.
Downey made his Broadway debut this month in McNeal, a one-act play by Ayad Akhtar that delves into themes of artificial intelligence, artistic integrity, plagiarism and copyright infringement. The 59-yearold actor plays the titular character, Jacob McNeal, an acclaimed novelist whose battles with alcoholism and mental illness culminate at a crucial juncture in his career.
“I don’t envy anyone who has been over-identified with the advent of this new phase of the information age,” Downey said. “The idea that somehow it belongs to them because they have these super huge start-ups is a fallacy.”
The podcast episode explored questions the play raises about truth and power in the age of AI, and whether there is a “social contract” related to the use of AI.
Downey’s upcoming role as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday will bring him back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2026.
GIACOMO GIANNIOTTI and Monica Guerritore star in Netflix’s smash hit series
Deceitful Love, which tells an ageold tale burnished by rawness and candor.
MELORA HARDIN (left) and Robert Downey Jr. appear during a performance of McNeal, in New York. AP
PHL companies win in ASEAN Business Awards
THREE companies from the Philippines emerged as winners at the ASEAN Business Awards 2024. The awards were given at a gala dinner during the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit held in Vientiane, Laos PDR last October 9, 2024. The news was shared by ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Philippines Chair and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion.
“The abundance of excellent examples among ASEAN companies just shows how much we can learn from each other in the region,” said Concepcion. He said that the Philippines is already preparing for the ASEAN in 2026 with a legacy project called the ASEAN Food Security Alliance to mark its upcoming chairmanship. “When we cooperate and share best practices within the ASEAN, we can be self-sufficient, food-secure and achieve scale,” he said.
The ASEAN Business Awards is given out by the ABAC to give recognition to ASEAN business enterprises and individuals who drive growth through
connectivity and resilience, as well as those who prioritize sustainability in their operations.
The three Philippine companies, Coolaire Consolidated Inc., Lionheart Farms Phils., and MELTS Corp., were among the 24 winners from across the ASEAN, besting 164 entries from the region. Coolaire supplies refrigerated vans and cold storage solutions, Lionheart Farms is a pioneering agricultural enterprise dedicated to sustainable and innovative coconut farming, while MELTS is a small company that makes premium cassava cakes. Coolaire won in the Family
Business category, Lionheart in the SME Priority Integration (Agriculture/AgriFood Based) category, while MELTS won in the SME Outstanding Excellence (Growth) category.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. congratulated Coolaire President Joel
Mondelēz International Opens Global People Services Office
MONDELĒZ International’s Global People Services recently inaugurated its new and bigger facility in Pasig City, Metro Manila. This modern facility marks the expansion of its Philippine office, which supports the operations of snacks company Mondelēz International globally, further cementing the site’s commitment to growth and innovation. Mondelēz International is the maker of globally loved and locally grown snack products such as Oreo, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Toblerone, Eden, Cheez Whiz, and Tang respectively.
Inaugurated in October 2024, the event was witnessed by Barangay Captain Thomas Raymond Lising and Architect Restituto T. Sistoso Jr. of Barangay San Antonio of Pasig City. The site currently employs 200 people, for morning, mid and night shifts.
Keith Mendez, Senior Vice President for Mondelēz International’s Global People Services shared his thoughts on the opening: “This office is a key part of our journey toward innovation and transformation. By creating spaces
that celebrate Filipino heritage and prioritize employee well-being, we aim to foster a culture of collaboration and creativity.”
The Global People Services team plays a vital role within Mondelēz International’s broader global strategy. The team provides essential support to the Company’s global operations, ensuring that Mondelēz International can deliver world-class human resources functions and services across multiple regions. The Philippines has long been recognized for its dynamic talent pool, and the opening of this new office signifies the Company’s confidence in the country’s capability to serve its worldwide network.
Mondelēz International’s Vice President for Global People Services Operations, Sandeep Abraham, remarked on the strategic importance of the new office: “The new office represents our commitment to driving change in our organization. By investing in an environment that supports our employees’ well-being, we can cultivate
innovative ideas that enhance our global operations.”
The GLAS building itself aligns with Mondelēz International’s Sustainable Snacking advocacy. Its design integrates green technologies and ecological features, while leveraging its strategic location within Ortigas Center in Pasig City to provide a convenient and accessible location for talents to thrive. The new Global People Services office, with its uniquely local touches, serves as a space that facilitates global collaboration, innovation, and progress.
Located in one of the country’s prime business districts, the new office embodies the organization’s approach to embracing its local roots while fostering a global working environment. Subtle yet thoughtful Philippine-inspired themes are woven into the workspace, with rooms and common areas named after iconic Philippine regions and landmarks. The meeting rooms, for example, bear names like Elyu and Palawan, creating a blend of local culture with a global-minded workspace. In addition to its culturally rich design, the new office prioritizes employee well-being. A multi-purpose room offers team members a space to unwind and foster camaraderie in a variety of ways, such as games, karaoke, and exercises, promoting a balanced work-life dynamic. The incorporation of lush greenery throughout the office not only enhances the aesthetic appeal but also contributes to a healthier work environment. Standing desks are also available to encourage movement and reduce prolonged sedentary working conditions, further supporting employee wellness.
“As we open the doors to our new home, we are not merely establishing a workspace but creating a vibrant community,” stated Srijit Vijayan, Regional People Lead for Mondelēz International. “By cultivating an environment that promotes well-being and collaboration, we continue to empower our team to make a positive impact and advance our purpose of empowering people to snack right.”
Original Cheesebread from Pampanga is a Culinary Icon
TThis golden-brown, melt-in-your-mouth treat instantly captivated locals, turning the bakery into a must-visit spot in Pampanga and beyond. For over two decades, Angelita Lim led the bakery with a focus on mastering the craft of baking. She devoted herself to perfecting her products, attending classes, and personally overseeing the quality of every loaf and roll.
Her rigorous standards, combined with her passion for delivering the best to her customers, have been integral to the bakery’s sustained success over nearly four decades. In 2008, the bakery transitioned to full family ownership, with Angelita’s daughter, Debbie, playing a key role in ensuring the business’s future. With the addition of her third child, Bunny Lim, the bakery embraced modern practices, streamlining operations and opening a second branch by 2011.
Tugade, Lionheart Farms founders Christian Moeller and Cecilia Chang, and MELTS President Lennard Jan Ponce when he met them during his speaking engagement at the Summit. The ASEAN Business Awards was launched in 2007 on the ASEAN’s
40th anniversary and recognizes both enterprises as well as individuals. Special awards in the Women Entrepreneur, Young Entrepreneur, Friends of ASEAN, Green Enterprise, Sustainable Social Enterprise Family Business, and Skills Development categories.
TOY Kingdom’s Toy Warehouse Sale is back, with over 25,000 toys at incredible discounts. It’s happening from November 7, 2024 from 12 noon to 10 pm, November 8 to 10, from 10:00am to 10:00pm at SM Megamall’s Megatrade Hall. Score up to 70 percent off on a huge selection of toys, gadgets, collectibles and games that kids and kids-at-heart will love. Looking for a hassle-free way to get ahead on holiday shopping? The Toy Warehouse Sale offers you flexible payment options with 0% interest on credit card installment plans for three to six months, making it easier to shop for your loved ones without straining your budget.
Exclusive Metrobank Cardholder Perks: Straight transactions: Get five percent off, capped at P1,000.00 with a minimum singlereceipt spend of P3,000 Installment purchases: Score five percent off, capped at P2,000.00 when you spend at least P10,000.00 with 0% installment and Shop Now, Pay Later! Admission is free, for all toy enthusiasts. Whether you’re a parent looking to snag the best deals for your kids or a collector hunting for rare deal finds, this event is for you. Check out the event group for a sneak peek. Don’t miss your chance to complete your holiday shopping early! For more details, head over to Toy Kingdom’s
In the photo are, from left, Lennard Jan Ponce of MELTS Corp.; George Barcelon of the Asean Business Advisory Council; ABAC Chair Joey Concepcion, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.; Christian Moller of Lionheart Farms Phils; Joel and Patrick Tugade of Coolaire Consolidated and Mike Tan of ABAC.
www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Tet Andolong
BYD BRINGS IN THE SEAGULL
Story & photos by Randy S. Peregrino
BYD Cars Philippines and ACMobility are on a roll in introducing EV models. Recently, the subcompact Seagull debuted in the local market. BYD claims that as the automotive industry shifts towards electrified mobility, the Seagull stands out as an exceptional choice for firsttime EV buyers, combining sleek aesthetics, cutting-edge technology, and remarkable affordability.
“We are excited to introduce the BYD Seagull to the Philippines. It represents our
connectivity for on-the-go internet access, and over-the-air updates, ensuring the vehicle remains upto-date with the latest software enhancements.
Head of BYD Philippines.
Urban explorer THE Seagull features a compact yet spacious design, measuring 3,780mm long, 1,715mm wide, and 1,580mm tall. This dimension veers toward an ideal urban vehicle for ease of maneuverability. It has a tight 4.95m turn radius. Its exterior is enhanced with striking LED headlights and LED bar tail lamps, power-adjustable heated side mirrors, and dark-toned 16-inch alloy wheels.
Comfy and techy
INSIDE , the BYD Seagull features a thoughtfully designed interior that prioritizes comfort and convenience. The cabin features two-tone seats with plush leather accents. The center dash features a 10.1-inch rotating infotainment system that supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Additionally, a seveninch LCD cluster provides essential information at a glance. Further, there is a wireless charger conveniently located within reach. Cargo-wise, the rear truck offers up to 930 liters (rear seats folded). Advanced technology features include a high-quality 2+2 tweeter sound system, 4G
Electric power MOTIVATION comes from a single permanent magnet synchronous motor generating 74 hp and an impressive 135 N-m of torque for its size. Of course, the motor is powered by a state-of-the-art BYD Blade Battery Pack, providing a fantastic range of up to 300 kilometers on a single charge. The vehicle supports both DC and AC charging, with a maximum charging rate of 30kW DC and 6.6kW AC, making it convenient for various charging scenarios.
Performance-wise, the Seagull accelerates from 0 to 50 km/h in just 4.9 seconds, achieving a top speed of 130 km/h. To further maximize its range and capabilities, the new Seagull also features vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality, allowing users to power external devices. Additionally, it offers three driving modes, Eco, Normal, and Sport, to liven up your driving experience.
Peace of mind
SAFETY is a top priority for BYD, and the Seagull has a comprehensive suite of safety features. These include a reverse camera, three rear parking sensors, four airbags, and cruise control, which are part of the DiPilot suite of features that enhance the driving experience through intelligent assistance. Other standard features are Traction Control System, Electronic Stability Control, Hydraulic Brake
Comfortable Stop, Coordinated Regenerative Braking System, Hill Start Hold Control, and a Tire Pressure Monitoring System.
Pricing and color
THE Seagull retails at P898,000 and includes a solid 6-year or 160,000 km bumper-to-bumper warranty package and an
Honda’s Sporty DNA; Tamaraw in
HONDA has attracted so much attention in the just-ended 9th Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) for its catchy theme, Sporty DNA: Redefined. The company also used the occasion to launch the New Civic under the new variant RS e:HEV.
Andie Vitug also said the show featured limited editions of the CR-V V Turbo and the Civic Type R, along with two motorcycles, the All-New EM1 e: and CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. Previewed during the Transform the Future – One Honda
Electrification event is the All-New EM1 e: at PIMS 2024. The All-New CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP was also displayed at PIMS. This light and powerful super sports bike embodies the true spirit of its MotoGP racing DNA. Also unveiled is the most exclusive Civic Type R in the country to date. Premiering globally at the Tokyo Auto Salon last January, Filipinos now have a chance of getting their hands on this version of the Civic Type R. Only five units will be available locally. The MUGEN team also graciously gave their time and effort to be present at the exhibit for the reveal. The New Civic now joins the CR-V as part of Honda’s full hybrid lineup with the addition of the RS e:HEV variant.
With the “Sporty DNA,” Honda aims to redefine electrification of this iconic and timeless nameplate. It now comes in a sportier design and a more
fun-to-drive experience, thanks to Honda’s e:HEV full hybrid system.
The New Civic comes with new features such as parking sensors, Type C USB ports, and a new 9” Audio Display unit across all variants (whereas the previous model only had this available on RS variants).
Vitug said the New Civic RS e:HEV E-CVT costs P1,990,000, New Civic RS CVT PHP 1,790,000 and New Civic V CVT P1,600,000. Said Honda president Rie Miyake: “We at Honda have two global goals to reach by 2050: First, carbon-neutrality for all products and corporate activities. Second, zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda vehicles.”
Tamaraw in Malacanang
THE following is from Allana Faith Rufo, Mixie Flavier’s topnotch writer: “Toyota Motor Philippines
Corporation (TMP) recently presented its Next Generation Tamaraw and a hydrogenpowered concept vehicle to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Malacañan Palace, as TMP’s commitment to the development of local automotive manufacturing industry, sustainable mobility solutions and economic growth.
“Mr. Marcos expressed his appreciation for Toyota’s continued investment in the Philippines, particularly the recent P5.5 billioninvestment in the production of the Tamaraw, also known regionally as the Toyota Innovative International Multi-Purpose Vehicle (IMV) 0 (Zero).
“This investment encompasses vehicle production, parts localization and the establishment of a new in-house vehicle conversion capability, further solidifying TMP’s contributions to sustaining the viability of automotive and parts
manufacturing industries in the country and furthermore enabling Mobility for All through the easily convertible, Tamaraw.
“During the courtesy call of Toyota Motor Asia and TMP’s top officials at the Palace, the mobility leader displayed prototype conversion units of the Tamaraw, demonstrating its versatility and adaptability to the needs of Filipinos. Returning as a light commercial vehicle, TMP presented its aim to revive this iconic model into the next ‘national car’ by catering to specialized conversion needs of various Philippine Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and individuals.
“At the same event, President Marcos received a letter of intent from TMP for its planned donation of five Tamaraws, plus five ambulances for the “Lab For All” health program of the First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos.
“TMP also presented the Corolla Cross H2 Concept developed by Toyota GAZOO Racing (TGR) in Japan. This Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle (HICEV) utilized hydrogen gas
“Matching
THE eye-catching all-electric BYD Seagull in bright Sprout Green color
THE equally stunning rear end with LED bar tail lights
THE cabin’s highlight is the 10.1-inch rotating touchscreen infotainment
Dodgers just keep on going!
NEW YORK—You gotta hand it to Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
And not just because the Yankees certainly did. When New York let LA back into World Series Game 5, the Dodgers did what they’ve done all year—kept on going.
After taking advantage of three miscues to erase a five-run, fifthinning deficit during one of the most memorable midgame meltdowns in baseball history, the Dodgers used eighth-inning sacrifice flies from Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts to beat New York, 7-6, on Wednesday night.
“In spring training this is what we said we were going to do and we did it,” Betts said, champagne stinging his eyes. Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning for New York. Alex Verdugo’s RBI single chased Jack Flaherty in the second, and Giancarlo Stanton’s thirdinning homer against Ryan Brasier built a 5-0 Yankees lead.
In the dugout, the Dodgers remained focused.
“We were like just get one, chip away, chip away,” Freeman said. Errors by Judge in center and Anthony Volpe at shortstop, combined with pitcher Gerrit Cole failing to cover first on Betts’s grounder, helped Los Angeles score five unearned runs in the fifth.
Of the 234 teams to trail by five or more runs in a Series game, the Dodgers became just the seventh to win.
“This is going to sting forever,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I’m heartbroken.”
After Stanton’s sixth-inning sacrifice fly put the Yankees back ahead 6-5, the Dodgers loaded the bases against loser Tommy Kahnle in the eighth before the sacrifice flies off Luke Weaver.
Judge doubled off winner Blake Treinen with one out in the bottom half and Chisholm walked. Manager Dave Roberts walked to the mound with Treinen at 37 pitches.
“I looked in his eyes. I said how you feeling? How much more you got?” Roberts recalled. “He said: ‘I want it.’ I trust him.”
Treinen retired Stanton on a flyout and struck out Anthony Rizzo. Walker Buehler, making his first relief appearance since his rookie season in 2018, pitched a perfect ninth for his first major league save.
When Buehler struck out Verdugo to end the game, the Dodgers poured onto the field to celebrate between the mound and first base, capping a season in which they won 98 games.
With several thousand Dodgers fans remaining in a mostly empty stadium, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred presented the trophy on a platform quickly erected over second base.
Ohtani, the Dodgers’ record-setting $700 million signing and baseball’s first 50-homer, 50-steal player, went 2 for 19
with no RBIs and had one single after separating his left shoulder during a stolen base attempt in Game 2.
Ohtani went through the clubhouse pouring champagne on teammates and having it sprayed on him
“We were able to get through the regular season, I think, because of the strength of this team, this organization,” Ohtani said through a translator.
“The success of the postseason is very similar.”
Freeman hit a two-run single to tie the Series record of 12 RBIs, set by Bobby Richardson over seven games in 1960, and was voted Series MVP. With the Dodgers one out from losing Friday’s opener, Freeman hit a game-ending grand slam reminiscent of Kirk Gibson’s
homer off Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley in 1988’s Game 1 that sparked Los Angeles to the title.
The Dodgers earned their eighth championship and seventh since leaving Brooklyn for Los Angeles—their first in a non-shortened season since 1988.
They won a neutral-site World Series against Tampa Bay in 2020 after a 60game regular season and couldn’t have a parade because of the coronavirus pandemic.
These Dodgers of Ohtani, Freeman and Betts joined the 1955 Duke Snider and Roy Campanella Boys of Summer, the Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale era that spanned the three titles from 1959-65, the Tommy Lasorda-led groups 1981 and ’88, and the Betts and Clayton
Tropang Giga moving ball around just perfectly–Coach Chot
TBy Josef Ramos
NT Tropang Giga is up 2-0 over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Tropang Giga head coach Chot Reyes is all praises about his wards’ selflessness.
“Credit the players, they are really patient in moving the ball and finding the open man,” Reyes said. “But there’s no secret to our game, it’s just the willingness of our players to move the ball, and the most important thing is their selflessness.”
TNT dominated Ginebra, 96-84, in Game 2 on Sunday night in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Just like in Game 1 which TNT won also by a mile, 104-88, chemistry, defense and import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made life difficult for Ginebra all night long.
Just how unstoppable HollisJefferson Gin Kings coach Tim Cone had the answer.
“Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was amazing,” said Cone, admitting they were embarrassed and outclassed by their opponents. “We’ll figure it out, figure out what’s going on, but right now I am just being totally outcoached.”
Hollis-Jefferson played the entire 48 minutes and finished with 37 points including six three-pointers, grabbed 13 rebounds and issued seven assists.
Justine Brownlee, meanwhile, had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Gin Kings, who’ll try to go deeper into a hole in Game 3 set at 7:30 p.m. on All Saints Day Friday also at the Big Dome.
A victory in Game 3 will put TNT on the cusp of clinching a 10th PBA crown.
Reyes heaped praises to his players
moving the ball so well.
“It’s within the flow of offense and just making sure we are working patiently and finding the best open shot,” he said.
TNT was a cohesive squad with 27 assists to Ginebra’s 17 and remained brick wall-like in defense even from the outside where they limited their rivals to seven three-pointers made out of 27 attempts.
“That is our game, we take what opportunity is what in front of us,” Reyes said.
The Tropang Giga shot 14 of 37 attempts from the three-point zone.
Calvin Oftana scored 13 points and hauled down 14 rebounds, Glenn Khobuntin added 13 points, 10 in the second quarter, Jasyon Castro had nine points and seven assists and Roger Pogoy contributed nine points for the
boat event in 10 minutes and 15.51 seconds in the competition backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Tingog party-list and Lacoste watches.
Tropang Giga.
Scottie Thompson, who had 18 points and nine rebounds on Wednesday night, stood firm heading into Game 3.
“The series is still far from over. They need to win four times to win the championship,” he said. “We will not give up.”
Kershaw champions of 2020. Ending a season that started with a gambling scandal involving Ohtani’s interpreter during the opening series in South Korea, Roberts won his second championship in nine years as Dodgers manager, matching Lasorda and trailing the four of Walter Alston. The Dodgers won for the fourth time in 12 Series meetings with the Yankees.
“This is a good showing for them considering they trained together for the time in August,” said national coach Duchess Co of the squad composed of Fiona Reign Minsing, Carla Joy Cabugon, Maria Kristina Mane, Chanal Maglasang, Ronen Estoque, Ivan Ercilla, Dirk Quinones, Jordan Jurado, Doree Rill Blanco, Angelo Osin, John Rex Senora,Jessa Mery Divine Dinampo and John Brix Caasi.
The hosts also placed second in the women’s masters 2,000 meters small boat event with a time of 14:04.67 in the championships also backed by the Puerto Princesa City government led by Mayor Lucilo Bayron.
The Filipinos clinched bronze medals in the junior men’s, women’s open, 40+ Open and 50+ Open of the 2,000 meters small boat events of the tournament also serving as major highlight of the ICF’s centennial anniversary. Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. graced the start of competitions representing President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
“We recognize that sports carry a profound power: the power to move people, nurture communities and uplift nations,” said Brawner of President Marcos’s message to the delegates from 27 countries. “This moment echoes the United Nations’ call to use sports to foster peaceful and inclusive communities.
New York remained without a title since its record 27th in 2009. The Yankees acquired Juan Soto from San Diego in December knowing he would be eligible for free agency after the 2024 Series. AP
ABy Aldrin Quinto
PAIR of Southeast Asian Games medalists and several collegiate stars banner Alas Pilipinas as action in the Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships gets going on Wednesday in the City of Santa Rosa.
Ran Abdilla and James Buytrago, two from the four-man Philippine team that claimed bronze in the SEA Games in Cambodia last year, head Alas Pilipinas Beach Volleyball in the five-day tournament at the Nuvali Sand Courts with 35 teams in the men’s competition and 31 in the women’s side.
Two-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines MVP Rancel Varga, who earned silver with Buytrago in the 2024 FIVB Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures in April, seeks another podium spot as he teams up with Alas Pilipinas new guy Lerry John Francisco of the Philippine Coast Guard. Varga’s fellow University of Santo Tomas stalwarts Khylem Progella and Sofiah Pagara are among the players to watch in the women’s competition at Nuvali after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2024 FIVB Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures Qingdao.
“Again, the Philippines and Nuvali become the epicenter of beach volleyball with some of the continent’s, if not the world’s best showcasing their elite skills before Filipino fans,” AVC and PNVF president Ramon “Tats” Suzara said.
Twenty pairs have been seeded to the main draw of each side. Four more spots will be disputed by 15 teams in the men’s qualifying event, while seven teams battle for the remaining four
the 206 countriesstrong ANOC delegates to seize the opportunities offered by new technology and particularly artificial intelligence and he thanked the NOCs for their support.
“You have a special place in his heart,” he said.
Tolentino also praised Bach for his outstanding 12-year tenure.
“The Olympic Movement was well under the care of Mr. Bach,” Tolentino said.
Bach is stepping down after a 12-year tenure as IOC president with Lappartient having filed his candidacy to replace the German as leader in the elections in March.
Ran-James duo head campaign in Nuvali srs tilt
spots in the women’s qualifying rounds of the competition backed by Nuvali, Ayala Land, Rebisco, Smart, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, City of Santa Rosa, Mikasa, Senoh, Asics, Akari, Sip, Cignal, One Sports, One Sports Plus, Pilipinas Live, Asian Volleyball Confederation and the Philippine National Volleyball Federation. Progella and Pagara went 2-1 in the Qingdao
young Argentine pair, and now the Air Force duo seeks to deliver in front of the home crowd. The Army’s Alexa Polidario and the Coast Guard’s Jenny Gaviola, who also saw action at Nuvali in April, try to make a return as they go through the qualifying tournament. A third men’s Philippine tandem, former Perpetual Help star Ronniel Rosales and former National University stalwart Edwin Tolentino, looks to make it through the qualifying event. Iran’s Abbas Pourasgari and Alireza Aghajanighasab seek
IT’S import vs import between TNT Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee.
F
ILIPINO paddlers made an auspiciously impression by claiming two silver and one bronze medals at the start Thursday of the International Canoe Federation (ICF) Dragon Boat World Championships off the Puerto Princesa City Baywalk.
In their international debut while performing in near ideal conditions, the national junior bets took silver in the 2,000-meter small
THE national junior paddlers in action off the Puerto Princesa City Baywalk.