BusinessMirror August 11, 2023

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

THE economy’s latest performance may have taken the wind off the government’s sails as GDP growth reached 4.3 percent in the second quarter, the slowest in two years.

Part of the reason for the slower economic performance was the government itself, according to National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan. He said in the bidget hearing that if only the spending targets of the government were met, GDP in the second quarter could have reached 5.6 percent.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that

Government Final Consumption Expenditure [GFCE] contracted 7.1 percent, the lowest since the first quarter of 2011 when it contracted 15 percent.

Speaking partly in Filipino, in a briefing on Thursday, he traced the slow growth in the Government Final Consumption Expenditure to, “partly because of the election-related spending that I mentioned earlier,” adding: “The figure was high last year because of the election. [Also] part of the fiscal consolidation, I am sure we will address or we will make sure that the fiscal deficit, the debt, [are] at the level that we are targeting.”

Balisacan added, “Since there

was a lot of spending during the pandemic and also during the election, we now have to consolidate and that's why you see slower growth in government consumption expenditure. But that should go to its normal pace in the latter part of the year, particularly (in) the next year.”

Slowest since 2021

T HE growth in the second quarter is the slowest since the first quarter of 2021 when the economy contracted 3.8 percent.

Given this lackluster GDP growth, Balisacan said the economy needs to post growth of 6.6 percent in order to achieve the tar -

DEnr tO OrDEr ‘StOP-WOrK’ FOr Mla baY rEclaMatIOn

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga & Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

ENVIRONMENT Sec -

retary Maria Antonia

Socioeconomic Planning Secre -

tary Arsenio M. Balisacan pointed this out on Thursday, as the statistical body reported the slowing down of growth in the second quarter to 4.3 percent. According to Balisacan, the 425-basis-point increase in interest rates since last year had lagged effects.

The tight monetary policy was included by the director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) among the reasons for the lackluster performance of the Philippine economy in the second quarter of 2023.

“The lagged effects of the uptick in interest rates last year and this year, we are feeling that now, especially in investment and even in households purchases of

durable goods—those can be felt now because people postponed their spending on durable goods,” Balisacan said, partly in Filipino.

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) slowed to 5.5 percent from 8.5 percent in the second quarter last year and 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023.

Gross capital formation contracted 0.04 percent in the second quarter of 2023. Under this, construction slowed significantly to 2.1 percent from the 15.3 percent in the second quarter last year and 14.6 percent in the first three months of 2023.

Y ulo-Loyzaga said an order stopping all land reclamation activities in Manila Bay w ill be issue shortly in compliance with President Ferdinand M arcos Jr.’s suspension order.

At a press conference in Malacañang on Thursday, the chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources also clarified that all 2 2 land reclamation projects are suspended pending a cumulative review to determine t he soundness of the projects.

“We have been obligated to do [the review] by the Supreme Court. We need to do t he review of these projects,” said Loyzaga.

She said 22 land reclama -

tion projects were approved d uring the Duterte administration before she took the h elm of the DENR, which regulates the issuance of ECC for environmentally critical projects like land reclamation in environmentally-critical areas such as Manila Bay, an economically important water body and major fishing ground in Luzon.

Manila Bay straddles cities and municipalities from the provinces of Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan, and covers the entire National Capital Region (NCR).

The suspension order, which took effect upon Marcos’s verbal order and public p ronouncement during a site inspection in Bulacan, will be communicated to the project proponents, the DENR chief added.

get rate of 6-7 percent for the year. To attain this, he said the government will endeavor to “recover our growth momentum.”

This will be done by accelerating government programs and projects, including the delivery of public services, under the 2023 national budget. The Neda chief said the Economic Development Group (EDG) is now discussing ways for government to expedite these programs and projects. Fiscal stimulus programs, he added, will be rolled out to improve the productive capacities of the private and public sectors;

FDI down 34% to $488M in May ’23, BSP reports

HIGH global inflation and interest rates has cost the Philippines much-needed Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in May 2023, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Data from the BSP said FDI net inflows reached $488 million in May 2023, a 34-percent decline from the $739-million net inflows posted in May 2022.

On a cumulative basis, FDI net inflows for the period January-May 2023 contracted 20.8 percent to $3.4 billion from the $4.3 billion net inflows posted in the same period in 2022.

“ FDI remains subdued due to the effects of relatively higher price and interest rate levels globally,” BSP said.

The decline in FDI net inflows, BSP said, also reflected the 70.7- percent contraction in non-residents’ n et investments in debt instruments to $161 million from $551 m illion in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, non-residents’ net investments in equity capital other

than reinvestment of earnings increased by 158.7 percent to $235 m illion from $91 million in May 2022.

“Equity capital placements originated mostly from Germany, Japan, a nd the United States. These were invested largely in the manufacturing and real estate industries,” B SP said.

In May, the top investors came from Germany, Japan, and the United States. The top investors for the first five months of 2023 came from Japan, Germany, and Singapore.

Manufacturing accounted for 76 percent of all FDIs in May 2023 followed by Others at 14 percent and R eal Estate at 10 percent.

In the January to May 2023 period, data showed Manufacturing accounted for 54 percent of the FDIs. T his was followed by Others at 21 percent; Real Estate, 15 percent; and Financial and Insurance industry, 11 percent.

See “FDI,” A2

THE impact of the tight monetary policy of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) could last until the end of the year as the economy is already feeling the “heat” brought in by higher interest rates.

Villar, Sy siblings still top list of richest Filipinos

By VG Cabuag @villygc

TYCOON Manuel B. Villar

Jr., chairman of the Villar Group, is still the country's richest person, according to a list compiled by Forbes magazine.

Villar, who made his fortune in property development, including retail and memorial parks, has a net worth of about $9.7 billion, according to the methodology used by Forbes. h e is followed by the Sy siblings— composed of Teresita, Elizabeth, he nry Jr., h a ns, h e rbert and h a rley—who have a combined worth of $14.4 billion. They inherited their fortunes f rom their late father, h e nry Sy Sr., but most of them are still engaged in the family's businesses.

Port and gambling magnate Enrique Razon Jr. is ranked third with a n et worth of $8.1 billion. Razon is the biggest dollar gainer, thanks to the sustained improvement in supply chains t hat led International Container Terminal Services Inc.’s shares to jump 24

Continued from A1

“The DENR does not have the authority to suspend [the reclamation p rojects],” Loyzaga explained.

All 22 reclamation projects at Manila Bay will remain suspended pending t he result of the DENR review on their compliance with environmental regulations, Yulo-Loyzaga said. The agency

p ercent from a year ago, Forbes said.

The top three Filipino billionaires occupied the same positions in the previous year's edition.

“Although the economy must now deal with inflation and higher interest rates, the country’s benchmark stock index rose 6 percent from a year ago when fortunes were last measured.

As a result, the combined wealth of the country’s 50 richest increased to $80 billion from $72 billion last year,” Forbes said.

Ramon S. Ang, president and CEO of San Miguel Corp., is the biggest gainer among the local billionaires. he moved five spots to 4th after his wealth rose by nearly 40 percent to $3.4 billion following the acquisition of his majorityo wned Eagle Cement Corp., one of the country's largest cement makers, by San Miguel Corp.

The wealth of husband and wife Dennis Anthony and Maria Grace Uy, co-founders of Converge ICT Solutions Inc., dropped the most in both dollar and percentage terms. Their net

h as started sending suspension orders to contractors of the said projects.

Loyzaga said they expect to complete within August the members of t he scientific team, which will conduct the cumulative assessment on the economic, social and environmental impact of the projects.

S he said projects found to have a negative impact on the environment or violated government regulations, will be given time to implement corrective measures.

w orth almost halved to $930 million as shares in the broadband services provider continued to slide following the exit of private equity firm Warburg Pincus last year.

Dean Lao and his family, who founded chemical manufacturer D&L Industries Inc., are on the 23rd spot, followed by Betty Ang, president of Monde Nissin Corp. at 24th with $695 million, while h e nry Soesanto, the company’s CEO, is at 29th with $455 million.

The three new entrants are all inheritors, the magazine said. These are t he Gotianun family at number 22 with $850 million. They inherited stakes in conglomerate Filinvest Development from matriarch Mercedes Gotianun, who died last December.

The Yuchengco family, heirs to Alfonso Yuchengco and the biggest shareholder of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., are on the list at 33rd with $ 420 million.

Federico Lopez debuts on the list with $300 million, at the 42nd spot.

There is due process here now...

If they do not comply. It's possible for the ECCs [environmental compliance certificate] to be suspended,” Lo yzaga said.

Afraid of influential people?

I N a S enate hearing earlier this week, Senator Cynthia Villar claimed Loyzaga was "afraid" of the influential people behind the ongoing reclamation p rojects.

Loyzaga, however, said she is “not

GDP…

Continued from A1

h i s fortune was shared with his family, after taking over the media, property and power empire from his father Oscar, who died in April a t age 93.

Dennis Uy, who is known to have ties with the Duterte administration, is still on the list with $440 million, lower than the previous year’s $810 million.

Tony Tan Caktiong, who founded fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp., is at 5th s pot, with $3.2 billion.

Other Filipino billionaires in the Forbes list are t he Aboitiz family (6th) with $3.15 billion, Lance Gokongwei and siblings (7th) with $ 3 billion, Isidro Consunji and siblings (8th) with $2.9 billion, Jaime Zobel de Ayala and family (9th) with $2.8 billion and Lucio Tan (10th) with $2.6 billion.

easily scared” by such influential people and she is ready t o implement the mandate of DENR, especially on the reclamation projects.

“I’m very grateful to Senator Villar for her concern. B ut we are here to do our job. And we will do it slowly but deliberately because we want to make sure that we stay within the bounds of the law,” the DENR chief said.

FDI…

Continued from A1

BSP said FDI includes

(a) investment by a nonresident direct investor in a resident enterprise, whose equity capital in the latter is at least 10 percent, and (b) investment made by a non-resident subsidiary/ associate in its resident direct investor. FDI can be in the form of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, and borrowings.

It added that the FDI data it presents covers actual investment inflows and are in net terms (i.e., equity capital placements less withdrawals). Cai U. Ordinario

Interest…

Continued from A1

Durable equipment, however, posted a growth of 10.8 percent in the second quarter of 2023. This is faster than the 10.1 percent in the second quarter of 2022 and 8.1 percent in the first quarter of this year.

“Empirically, we see the effects. I think the brunt [of the impact] is now but we expect that it will taper, so probably [we will] see it until the end of the year, [that’s] 12 months usually. But again, it will taper and so long as no major increases follow them, we can offset those with other interventions like, if inflation will continue to decrease,” Balisacan said.

Oxford: Likely lingering Th E s ame expectation was shared by Oxford Economics which said the impact of the rapid monetary tightening on the economy “will not be contained to one quarter but will likely linger for some time.”

Given this, Oxford Economics said the latest GDP

government will also make use of the Quick Response Fund to counter the adverse impact of the recent typhoons and monsoon rains.

"Government agencies, including local and regional government entities, are encouraged, if not instructed, to formulate catch-up plans, accelerate, and even frontload the implementation of said programs and projects. Line agencies already have their catch-up plans and are enjoined to implement these urgently," Balisacan said.

Ateneo de Manila University economist Leonardo Lanzona Jr. noted that base effects stemmed from the waning of pandemic-induced spending. But, he said, this also shows the clear weakness of the Philippine economy.

Lanzona said the government also failed to address structural issues, particularly in the agriculture sector. As a result, agriculture again became the laggard in the production sectors.

Based on the PSA data, the Agriculture, Fishery, and Forestry (AFF) posted a growth of 0.2 percent in the second quarter and contributed 0.01 percentage points to the GDP growth.

Industry posted a growth of 2.1 percent and contributed 0.6 percentage points to the second-quarter GDP growth. Services, meanwhile, posted a growth of 6 percent with a share of 3.7 percentage points to GDP.

Under Services, accommodation and food service activities grew the fastest at 28.33 percent, followed by Other services at 22.25 percent and transportation and storage, 17.3 percent.

Notably, Public administration and defense; compulsory social activities contracted 2.4 percent in the second quarter. This is the lowest under the services sector.

Global Source Partners said the anemic economic growth in the second quarter was also due to government underspending “by close to 10 percent... pulling down Q2 GDP growth by 1.3 percentage points.”

"The failure of the government to implement any aggressive structural program that addresses weaknesses exposed by the pandemic is now manifested by this limited growth rate," Lanzona said.

“I had expected this because base effects are now gone. In addition to the lack of government activity, the overreaction to inflation through higher interest rates contributed significantly to the low growth,” he added.

Global Sources noted investments were flat in the second quarter, which reflected “inventories drawdown with the run-up in interest rates probably biting as well, particularly in the interestsensitive construction sector.”

It added: “We expect investment

data may prevent the BSP from raising interest rates anew in its next policy meeting slated for August 17.

Oxford Economics even said “the central bank may start cutting rates sooner than our Q1 [first quarter] 2024 expectation.”

h o wever, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said at the official start of the budget deliberations in Congress that they are still unsure about how the Monetary Board will decide next week.

“In the last two meetings we have paused, we have not moved, we have reconsidered, we have reassessed, [but] the data is still mixed. So we’re not sure. We haven't been sure whether to raise or even to cut. But for now we are at a pause and we are reassessing the situation. So that's where we stand,” Remolona said.

Remolona also believes that the monetary tightening policy implemented has not stifled economic growth, as GDP in 2022, when the rates started climbing, still averaged 7.6 percent in the full year.

By the end of the year, Remolona said growth could still average 6 percent, consistent with the targets of the national government, despite the rise in interest rates. Growth could be even better, he said, in 2025.

Remolona, nonetheless, said the government has implemented nonmonetary measures to contain inflation thus reducing the need to raise interest rates.

performance ahead to still reflect investor caution given the weaker global economic environment and with modest progress in public-private partnership infrastructure projects.”

Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior adviser at professional services firm Reyes Tacandong & Co., agreed, tracing the low growth to the combined impact of the absence of election-related spending, rising prices, higher interest rates and lower-than-expected government spending.

“Factors like higher prices and interest rates have slowed down spending and investments, making it a bit tougher for the economy,” he told BusinessMirror

De La Salle University economist Maria Ella Oplas also pointed to the absence of election spending as a major factor in the slowdown from April to June this year.

Elections have a high multiplier effect on GDP and its absence will have a significant impact on the country's economic performance, Oplas said.

Still, Oplas thinks the 6 percent economic growth target for this year may still be achieved because of the local elections slated in October as well as the reopening of classes.

The reopening of classes, she said, increases household consumption and also raises spending of the education sector, as face-to-face classes are now allowed.

“Education-related inflation, through tuition and miscellaneous fees, is a major factor because of full face to face classes,” Oplas told BusinessMirror.

Ravelas, for his part, said the removal of the Covid health emergency declaration is a positive sign for the economy. This will spur economic activity, particularly those involving the country's large working-age population. h o wever, given the robust economic performance expected in the second semester, Ravelas said this could prompt the Monetary Board to raise interest rates by 25 basis points next week.

This will also match the recent tightening of the US Federal Reserve. This effort to match the stance of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will help keep the peso competitive against the US dollar.

“This is to keep the difference in interest rates between the Philippines and the US healthy, which can help stabilize the value of the Philippine peso compared to the US dollar and control inflation,” Ravelas told this newspaper.

Meanwhile, PSA said the main contributors to the second-quarter 2023 growth were: Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 5.3 percent; Financial and insurance activities, 5 percent; and Transportation and storage, 17.3 percent.

The PSA also said Gross National Income (GNI) grew by 8.6 percent in the second quarter of 2023. Further, Net Primary Income (NPl) from the Rest of the World grew by 90.6 percent during the period. Cai U. Ordinario

h e cited the rice buffer stocks, provision of drought-tolerant seeds, and improved water and irrigation systems which are crucial in an El Niño year. Remolona listed among other shortand long-term measures: the enhanced Kadiwa program and the importation of key commodities, hog repopulation program, and the improvement of digital and physical infrastructure. h e adline inflation has fallen over the last five months. In July it was 4.7 percent. h o wever, core inflation has remained high at 6.7 percent. Although it has started to decline and that decline is largely due to tighter monetary policy, the good news is that expectations are still well anchored,” Remolona said.

Earlier, BSP said it now expects inflation to reach below 4 percent by the end of the year. (Full story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/08/10/bsp-sees-inflationreaching-below-4-in-2023/)

In a panel at the Philippine Economic Briefing in Davao, BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said average inflation could settle at 5.4 percent for this year. While this remains above the 2 to 4 percent target this year, this reflects the recent slowdown in prices.

Earlier, Remolona said the country may overshoot the inflation target this year. ho wever, he said with various measures to address supply chain issues, the country may still be able to “stick the landing” when it comes to the government’s inflation targets. (Full story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/08/07/ phl-may-overshoot-inflation-target-bsp/).

DND chief lauds US support after Ayungin Shoal incident

DEPARTMENT o f National Defense (DND)

Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. has lauded the “strong statement of support” issued by his US counterpart, Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, regarding the August 5 Chinese harassment of Filipino vessels out to resupply a detachment in Ayungin Shoal. “Welcoming the strong statement of support of the US on a recent incident involving the harassment and disruption of Philippine vessels conducting a resupply mission in the Second

Thomas Shoal [Ayungin Shoal] Secretary Teodoro firmly restated that no country has the right to question the Philippines’ capability build-up to address its immediate and evolving security concerns,” DND spokesperson Arsenio “Popong” Andolong said in a statement released late Wednesday. Teodoro also commended America’s unwavering support in preserving the rules-based international order.

The United States’ statement of support came following Austin’s second phone meeting with Teodoro last Tuesday.

“Secretary Austin condemned the China Coast Guard’s use of water cannons and other dangerous maneuvers, which put the safety of Philippine vessels and crew at risk. He joined numerous countries in expressing concern about these unsafe operational activities, which undermine the status quo and directly threaten regional peace and stability,” the US DOD statement said.

Austin, in the same phone call, also reaffirmed that the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) extends to Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces—to include those of its Coast Guard—in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea.

In their talks, both defense chiefs reaffirmed the two countries’ “ironclad defense alliance.”

“On defense relations, Secretary Austin reaffirmed the US’ commitment to provide intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance

support. Moving forward, both officials pledged to fast track pending defense initiatives, such as the conclusion of the General Security of Military Information Agreement [GSOMIA] and the implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement [EDCA] sites. Moreover, Secretary Austin highlighted the importance of GSOMIA for the transfer of technology in support of the modernization program of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines],” Andolong stressed.

During the phone meeting, Teodoro expressed his appreciation for the relief efforts and airlift assistance extended by the US in typhoon “Egay’s” wake.

He emphasized that these “synergistic efforts” are a hallmark of the enduring alliance between the Philippines and the US.

“Secretary Austin expressed condolences for the damages and casualties of typhoon Egay.

The two Secretaries explored ways to enhance cooperation in the field of HADR [humanitarian assistance and disaster relief] particularly through EDCA [Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement] Agreed Locations,” Andolong noted.

The meeting between Austin and Teodoro concluded with the two defense officials committing to uphold the maintenance of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

As this developed, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and the US Air Force (USAF) will be hosting the Pacific Airlift Rally 2023 (PAR-23) from August 14 to 18 to further enhance humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) capabilities of participating nations.

The biennial event, PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo, said would provide participating Air Forces with airborne training exercises, airlift operations, logistical planning table-top exercises, and subject matter expert exchanges (SMEE) that will focus on HADR operations.

“Participants will practice mission planning, cargo handling and loading, multinational airland and airdrop operations, as well as medical

transport operations, among others.

The event will be held in the Philippines with different activities happening at Clark Air Base, Mabalacat, Pampanga; Col. Jesus Villamor Air Base, Pasay City; and Brig. Gen. Benito N. Ebuen Air Base, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

“The PAR-23 will bring together participants from the Philippines, United States, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste,” Castillo said.

She added that PAF C-130s from the 220th Airlift Wing at Brig. Gen. Benito N Ebuen Air Base, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, will take part in the exercise together with C-130s from the USAF, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Royal Malaysian Air Force, and Indonesian Air Force for the flight training portion of the PAR-23 Field Training Exercise (FTX).

“They will practice airlift techniques that would be essential in the conduct of future HADR operations,” Castillo said.

The PAF, together with multinational military operations and logistics planners, will also conduct the PAR-23 Multinational Table-Top Exercise (TTX) that will center on HADR airlift operations and logistical planning for aircraft deployment staging, cargo and movement mission planning, and multinational airlift capability analysis for airlift mission schedule prioritization.

These are all vital components in airlift mission planning essential not only for local operations but also during multinational HADR operations.

“Various SMEEs will also take place as part of PAR-23. These include SMEEs on C-130 aircraft maintenance, austere and expeditionary medicine, advance patient movement and evacuation, air force defense and force protection, building resiliency through military bands, and chaplain service-related topics,” Castillo said.

The Indo-Asia-Pacific region is home to 60 percent of the world’s population in 45 nations spread across 53 percent of the Earth’s surface, and the majority of the world’s natural disasters occur in this area.

Experience has demonstrated that to effectively provide support to civilian disaster response agencies, it is extremely important that nations cooperate and improve joint capabilities. Rex Anthony Naval

SC clears Resorts World gunman of ‘dishonesty’ in filing of SALN

By Joel R. San Juan  @jrsanjuan1573

THE Supreme Court (SC) has found

Jessie Javier Carlos, the lone gunman in the 2017 Resorts World tragedy that left 30 persons dead and several others injured not guilty of “dishonesty” in connection with his alleged mistakes in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) when he was still working as a government employee.

In a 16-page ruling made public on Tuesday, August 8, the Court en banc reversed and set aside the ruling issued by the Court of Appeals on October 27, 2015, which found Carlos guilty of dishonesty and imposing the penalty of dismissal from the service and other accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and perpetual disqualification for reemployment in the government service.

Carlos was hired as a Tax Specialist II at the Department of Finance’s One-Stop Shop Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center on a contractual basis on September 1, 2000 with an annual gross salary of P152,004.

His contract was subject to renewal every six months until he received a permanent appointment as Tax Specialist I on September 27, 2005.

On November 25, 2011, his annual gross salary was increased from P126,420 to P210,480.

But in 2012, the DOF-Revenue Integrity Protection Service (DOF-RIPS) investigated Carlos’s lifestyle and assets compared to his SALNs from 2000 to 2010.

The DOF-RIPS filed a complaint against Carlos before the Office of the

Ombudsman for his failure to disclose his ownership of the his assets, such as house and lot, farm lots, personal loans amounting to P9 million, auto loans amounting to P2.5 million and credit card debts worth P600,000.

In his defense, Carlos alleged that he completed his SALNs in good faith and that he should have been given an opportunity to correct his alleged omissions or mistakes.

The Ombudsman eventually found Carlos guilty of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty and ordered his dismissal from the service.

It also ordered the cancellation of his civil service eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification for reemployment in government service.

Acting on his appeal, the CA declared that Carlos’ failure to file true and detailed SALNs did not amount to grave misconduct or gross neglect of duty, rather, a case of dishonesty.

However, the SC said the government failed to comply with procedures under Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

“The government must comply with it for public officials or employees to be held liable for errors or omissions in, or non-submission of their Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth,” the Court stressed.

It noted that Carlos was not given the opportunity to correct the mistakes and omissions in his SALNs in accordance with Section 10 of Republic Act No. 6713.

“Without abiding with this review and compliance procedure, liability will not

attach to the petitioner. Thus, the Court of Appeals erred in finding petitioner guilty of dishonesty,” the SC said in a decision penned by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen.

“Republic Act No. 6713 and its implementing rules are straightforward and mandatory. Without compliance with them, a violation cannot arise. If there is no violation, there is no liability for the Ombudsman to act on,” the SC added.

The SC further explained that while the duty to conduct the review and compliance procedure does not fall on the Ombudsman, it nevertheless cannot prosecute the official or employee for errors or omissions in, or non-submission of their SALN if the official or employee was not informed of them, or afforded the opportunity to comply.

However, the SC, however, clarified that it is not tolerating the concealment of ill-gotten wealth in issuing the ruling.

On the contrary, the SC stressed, it is putting the focus on the real evil, which is the accumulation of ill-gotten wealth.

“Strict compliance with Section 10 of Republic Act No. 6713 precisely allows the government to weed out simple, correctable errors from actually deliberate, sinister attempts to conceal ill-gotten wealth. If, after being given an opportunity to correct, complete, and submit SALNs, government employees fail to comply, then they may be held liable for errors or omissions in, or nonsubmission of, their SALNs,” the SC added.

Carlos took his own life following his rampage at the Resorts World in 2017.

A month prior to this tragic incident, he was banned by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) from all its casinos upon the request of his family due to his gambling addiction.

DTI and BARMM’s MTIT ink pact for Halal industry devt

By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has inked an agreement with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Ministry of Trade, Investments, and Tourism (MTIT) as the agency aims to promote Halal industry development to foster economic growth in the region.

In a news statement released on Thursday, DTI said the memorandum of agreement (MOA) aims to promote business development in targeted BARMM areas.

In particular, DTI noted the projects and activities seek provide services to project beneficiaries relating to livelihood, entrepreneurship, investment, financial literacy, marketing access, and other services necessary for the establishment of a business, efficiency, and sustain -

ability of business operations, effective business management, and improvement of products or services.

For his part, BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim expressed optimism that the agreement will advance economic development in the region and generate higher income and higher quality employment for the people of Mindanao.

DTI said the partnership is targeted to assist over 100 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which shall be empowered through capacity building, business counseling, and mentorship leading as Halal practitioners.

Halal is considered a “sunrise” industry, with a current value of $2.3 trillion in the global market, and is seen to grow by almost 50 percent to $3.4 trillion next year, DTI noted.  Republic Act No.9997 mandates the promotion and development of the Philippine Halal

industry, considering the huge potential market of an estimated 1.9 billion in 2020 globally and is projected to grow up to 2 billion by 2030.

Rebuilding Marawi City

FOR his part, Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said a partnership between DTI and MTIT would be established to enable the DTI to create a “positive and lasting” impact in the community as they work together to rebuild the city of Marawi.

Pascual recounted the Marawi siege, which he said “resulted in the loss of lives, displacement of thousands of families, destruction of homes and infrastructure facilities and disruption of businesses and economic activities.”

With this, the trade chief noted that DTI is taking part in the rebuilding and rehabilitation initiative of the devastated Marawi City by bringing back the robust economy of the community.

deadline for House passage of ₧5.768-trillion national budget

SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday

gave the lower chamber five weeks to review and approve the proposed P5.768-trillion national budget, even as the House leader vowed to ensure transparency and respect for the minority’s voice in forthcoming budget deliberations.

He also assured that every peso in the budget would be used wisely.

In his message during the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefing, Romualdez reiterated that the House would ensure every centavo of the proposed P5.768-trillion budget would be judiciously spent.

Compared to the current year’s P5.268 trillion in appropriations, the projected budget of P5.768 trillion for the next year is 9.5 percent higher.

Romualdez also expressed confidence the House will be able to

Amid rise in online transactions, Senate firms up creation of E-Commerce Bureau

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

THE Senate has begun

the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry, particularly in resolving consumer complaints arising from e-commerce transactions.

“As the focal agency for entrepreneurship, business, and livelihood assistance, the DTI is supporting the implementation of Task Force Bangon Marawi Phase 1 project by providing livelihood starter kits, establishing Shared Service Facilities [SSFs], and facilitating retail spaces for Maranao products that have benefited Internally Displaced Persons [IDPs],” Pascual said in his speech during the signing of the MOA between DTI and BARMM-MTIT.

Meanwhile, in implementing the Task Force Bangon Marawi Phase 2 project solely dedicated to carrying out comprehensive programs for the continuous revival of Marawi City economy, Pascual said, “Our primary goals under the Phase 2 project are to create jobs through social entrepreneurship and local tourism, train entrepreneurs, promote halal local products and services of MSMEs, and restore the creative sector.”

2024 national budget would be spent wisely.

threshing out the finer details of a proposal to expand the government unit handling e-commerce into a fullblown E-Commerce Bureau, amid a push to better equip regulators to handle the explosive rise in digital transactions since the pandemic.

As one of the interpellators of chief sponsor Senator Mark Villar of Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1846 or the Internet Transaction Bill, Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III suggested that the proposed E-Commerce Bureau be granted powers similar to those of

“If the sponsor agrees with me, then at the proper time, we can make this very explicit, Mr. President, and pattern it after the Consumer Act of the Philippines,” Pimentel said on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

Villar, sponsor of SBN 1846, said he is open to any suggestion that might clarify the language of the proposed measure.

Pimentel noted that he is focusing on consumer protection due to numerous complaints against unscrupulous e-market vendors.

Panel orders LTFRB to submit findings on MC-TWG pilot study

THE House Committee on Transportation on Thursday directed the technical working group (TWG) of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to submit its findings on the MC-TWG pilot study on motorcycle taxis that was supposed to have been completed in 2021.

pass the proposed 2024 budget on time, noting the Department of Budget and Management managed to submit it 20 days earlier than the constitutional deadline.

“We will ensure that we can pass the 2024 general appropriations bill in just five weeks: four weeks in committees, and one week in plenary,” Romualdez said.

“I am confident that the House of Representatives will be able to deliberate and pass the national budget on time and transmit the same to the Senate. I can assure everyone that the House of Representatives will not take a break [in September] until and unless we have passed this very important legislation,” he added.

Given the 5-week deadline, Romualdez exhorted all House members to actively participate in the budget deliberations.

“I call upon the members of this august body to actively participate

in the budget deliberation, listen and respect everyone’s view, particularly the concerns of our colleagues from the minority, and reach a consensus that is beneficial to the country, especially the poor and marginalized among our people,” he said.

Exercising the power of the purse, Romualdez said that it is the duty of the House to completely scrutinize the proposed 2024 national budget to ensure it would sustain the gains of the past year and support the priorities identified under the eightpoint socioeconomic agenda and the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.

“The budget deliberations are a meticulous exercise that requires accuracy, objectivity, and most of all, transparency,” he pointed out.

Romualdez said the chamber would make sure that every peso of the proposed P5.768-trillion

“With utmost diligence, we will ensure that every centavo of the proposed P5.768-trillion budget will be judiciously spent,” he said.

Romualdez also assured the DBCC and the public that the House would observe transparency in tackling the budget.

He said the House would have to closely examine the budget proposals of every department and agency and analyze every program, activity, and project to ensure that resources are allocated and optimized for the right priorities that address economic and social challenges.

“With an unyielding commitment to unity and accountability, let me assure you that the House of the People will diligently, swiftly, and resolutely take action on the proposed budget as outlined in the National Expenditure Program. We are completely mindful of the weight of this obligation, and we recognize the trust and faith reposed in us by our citizens,” he said.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

House Committee on Transportation chairman and Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop said the committee needs the findings of the pilot study so that Congress can act on pending legislation intended to finally legalize and regulate the growing motorcycle taxi industry.

Acop pointed out that the MCTWG should already have “all the data and information needed pursuant to House Resolution 2449.”

“Make a report to the House that your study has already been terminated and you are coming to a recommendation,” added Acop.

LTFRB chairman Teofilo Guadiz III replied that the MC-TWG would submit its report to the House panel “within 30 days.”

For his part, Atty. Ariel Inton, representative of Lawyers for

Commuter Safety and Protection, questioned before the House Committee on Transportation the legality of the TWG, which oversees the operation of the two-wheeled taxis under a pilot study put in place in 2019 during the resumption of a public hearing last August 8 aimed at determining the status of the program that has dragged on for four years.

“The TWG has no legal personality. And when there is a complaint there, they cannot decide. And if they decide, can they implement it?” asked Inton.

“In other words, that’s the problem now because the TWG that was created was so limited as to its scope. We could recommend to Congress, the bigger House, that we look into the creation of this TWG,” he said.

Three motorcycle taxi platform providers, Angkas, Joyride, and Movelt, were granted accreditation to participate in the pilot study, each assigned a number of riders, and to operate in Metro Manila, Cebu City, and Cagayan de Oro City as the pilot areas of implementation since June 2019.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

DENR affirms proposal to transfer Mati City turtle hatchery ‘to a better location’

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has found no reason to object to the decision of a local government unit (LGU) to transfer a two-decade-old marine turtle hatchery in Barangay Dahican, Mati City “to a better location.”

The transfer, however, comes with the assurance that the DENR and LGU partnership with its operator, a communitybased group that has sustained conservation and ecotourism activities that provides income and livelihood to the communities will be sustained.

In a telephone interview, Anson Tagtag, chief of the DENR’s Wildlife Resource Division (WRD) of the Biodiversity Management Bureau, said initial findings from the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) based in Mati City revealed the proposed transfer of the hatchery from its current location is “appropriate” to pave the way for the development plans of the of Mati City LGU. (See https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/08/02/conservation-advocates-hit-maticity-lgu-order-to-shut-downmarine-turtle-hatchery/)

“For sound management of the marine hatchery, the transfer of the said facility from the Amihan sa Dahican to Menzi

Visitor’s Information Center in Dahican is deemed appropriate,” a report from CENRO Mati, which was forwarded to the DENR Central Office stated.

However, Tagtag said the DENR Regional Office in Davao and CENRO Mati has formed a local task force to conduct a deeper investigation to look into the concerns raised by the Amihan sa Dahican-Balod sa Paglaon Inc. (ASDBPI) that the proposed transfer will the pave the way for the LGU-Mati City’s takeover of the conservation activities that will eventually lead to the economic dislocation of members of the group.

Volunteers of Amihan sa Dahican earn a living through ecotourism—serving as tourist guides on Amihan Beach, the main attraction of which include water sports like surfing and surfboarding.

According to CENRO-Mati, the LGU of Mati City has the management jurisdiction over the Dahican Beach, particularly the area where it owns some 3,000 square meters of land. Being its owner, it also has the authority or jurisdiction over the allocation of such property taking into consideration environmental and, or conservation concerns, which the LGU Mati observed with due diligence, the report added.

Jonathan L. Mayuga

Romualdez sets 5-week

Power stakeholders support Senate proposal for creation of natgas devt framework

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

During the Senate Committee on Energy hearing on Thursday, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian stressed the importance of LNG (liquefied natural gas) importation amid the declining gas volume from the Malampaya natural gas field.

Gatchalian has filed Senate Bill 152, which provides for the National Energy Policy and Framework for the Development and Regulation of the Philippine Midstream Natural Gas Industry. The bill allows private sector participation across the entire value chain, provides flexibility for the government to adapt to evolving market conditions, and ensures the protection of consumers’ interests through a framework that encourages transparency and competition.

L NG is considered a transition fuel as economies ramp up investments for intermittent renewable energy (RE) technologies given the current prohibitive cost of energy storage.

“ The establishment of LNG facilities addresses the expected shortfall in the country’s power

supply at least in the near and medium terms. Certainly, this is one of the intervention projects that we desperately need to address the loss of thousands of megawatts of power,” Gatchalian said.

T he depleting supply from Malampaya is expected to leave a huge dent in the country’s power supply as Malampaya fuels close to 25 percent of Luzon’s electricity requirements and close to 18 percent of the entire country’s power.

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco), which sources around 50 to 60 percent of its supply requirements from power plants using Malampaya gas, is also supportive of the proposed bill. “ We support the objectives of the bills for an orderly development of the LNG industry, with policies to facilitate investments in the sector while allowing the recovery of just and reasonable costs that will allow participants to operate viably,” said Meralco utility economics head Lawrence Fernandez.

The members of the Philippine

Independent Power Producers (PIPPA) said they fully support the proposed measure. H owever, they urged agencies to share with the industry their plans moving forward. “It’s Malampaya plus LNG. We would like to know the DOE’s [Department of Energy] plans so we can also plan and act accordingly because at the end of the day if there are power supply constraints it’s the power generators that are being blamed,” said PIPPA President Anne Estorco Montelibano.

M eanwhile, the Power for People Coalition (P4P) disagreed with DOE Undersecretary Sharon Garin for saying that RE is a “premium” energy source and is more expensive than other fuel sources.

According to P4P, DOE data show that RE-sourced electricity is far more affordable. Awarded bids, it cited, were as low as P3.40 per kilowatthour (kWh), compared to the P8.5479 charged by the gas-powered Ilijan power plant to Meralco customers earlier this year. Even in Meralco’s breakdown of generation charges for July, coal plant operator Quezon Power Philippines’ charge of P10.0551 per kWh was the most expensive, while the cheapest was Solar Philippines Tarlac’s P3.1318 per kWh rate.

“ We appreciate Undersecretary Garin’s concession that renewable energy is the premium electricity, and we agree with her. If it is indeed premium and more affordable, the question to DOE is why are we denying Filipino consumers the very best?” P4P asked.

PRA pushes VAT on digital selling, tax refund for non-resident tourists

THE Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) said key reforms such as the measure imposing value-added tax (VAT) on digital transactions and the proposed bill on VAT refunds for non-resident tourists in the Philippines will pave the way for a “more equitable” business landscape in the Philippine Retail Industry, benefiting both local and international online players.

A s the PRA aims to keep the local retail industry competitive and “conducive” to growth, Roberto S. Claudio, president of PRA said, “Our primary focus lies in creating an equitable playing field for both online and brick-and-mortar stores, while positioning the Philippines as a top tourist destination in Asia.”

C laudio said one “significant” challenge that the retail industry is facing is the “unlevel playing field” created by online foreign merchants.

He said it is crucial to ensure that online retailers adhere to the same laws and ordinances that traditional stores abide by.

Matters such as taxation, duties, product standards, intellectual property, price tags, official receipts, and truth in advertising

among others, must be upheld consistently across all online marketplaces,” Claudio said in his speech during the 29th National Retail Conference and Expo (NRCE), adding that addressing this concern is of “paramount importance” to the retail community.

In relation to addressing this concern, Claudio noted that the PRA stands firmly behind the proposed Senate Bill No. (SBN) 250 or an act imposing value-added tax on digital transactions in the Philippines.

SBN 2 50 states, “The bill, which was based on the measure transmitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate in the 18th Congress, aims to level the playing field between traditional and digital businesses by clarifying the imposition and collection of value-added tax from digital service providers, which are required to help the government monitor and collect VAT from persons engaging businesses on their digital platforms.”

T he head of PRA said this bill will “pave the way for a more equitable business landscape in the Philippine Retail Industry, benefiting both local and inter -

national online players.”

M oreover, Claudio said the PRA has been “actively championing” the proposed bill on VAT refunds for non-resident tourists in the Philippines.

“ This crucial legislation seeks to establish a mechanism for refunding VAT to non-resident tourists, thereby enhancing our country’s overall shopping and tourism experience,” the PRA chief said.  C laudio said the PRA recognizes the “immense potential” this bill holds in attracting more tourists, stimulating retail businesses, and fostering overall economic growth.

The PRA chief added that the bill is set to undergo floor deliberation in the Senate within the coming weeks, with plans for industrywide implementation slated for the first quarter of 2024.

Moving forward, he said the biggest event that will transpire in the retail industry worldwide will be the transition of the GS1 Barcoding system.

The whole world will transition from the 1 dimension black & white vertical lines to QR Code Matrix 2-dimensional barcodes,” Claudio said. Andrea E. San Juan

DOT’s Ho-Ho buses told to stay away from Naia

Continued from A20

A s this developed, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said the Philippines received 3.6 million international travelers as of August 9, “very near our target of 4.8 million international arrivals by the end of this year.

Philippine tourism is back with a vengeance.”

S peaking at the general membership meeting of the Philippine Tour Operators Association (Philtoa) on Thursday, she cited the enhancement of Naia2 with the use of Filipino-made furniture, solihiya panels, and plants

in the area “that readily reflects the warmth of the Filipino welcome, that aims to improve the experience of coming into the Philippines.

S he also thanked Philtoa for helping DOT in the launch of the Ho-Ho bus project, and for helping promote emerging tourism destinations.

INDUSTRY players threw their support behind a legislative proposal to create a legal and regulatory framework for the development of the natural gas industry in the country.

36 people have died in fires burning through Hawaii–Maui county report

By Audrey Mcavoy, Jennifer Sinco Kelleher & Nick Perry The Associated Press

Wildfires, whipped by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south, took the island of Maui by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had stood. Flames roared throughout the night, forcing adults and children to dive into the ocean for safety.

Officials said earlier that 271 structures were damaged or destroyed, and dozens of people injured.

On Wednesday, crews were

continuing to battle blazes in several places on the island. Authorities urged visitors to stay away.

Lahaina residents Kamuela Kawaakoa and Iiulia Yasso described a harrowing escape from under smoke-filled skies Tuesday afternoon. The couple and their 6-year-old son grabbed a change of clothes and ran as the bushes around them caught fire.

“We barely made it out in time,” Kawaakoa said at an evacuation shelter on Wednesday, still unsure if anything was left of their

apartment.

As Kawaakoa and Yasso fled, a senior center erupted in flames. They called 911, but didn’t know if the people got out. Fire alarms blared. As they drove away, downed utility poles and fleeing cars slowed their progress.

Kawaakoa, 34, grew up in the apartment building, called Lahaina Surf, where his dad and grandmother also lived. Lahaina Town dates back to the 1700s and has long been a favorite destination for tourists.

“It was so hard to sit there and just watch my town burn to ashes and not be able to do anything,” Kawaakoa said. “I was helpless.”

The fires were the latest in a series of problems caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.

As winds eased somewhat on Maui, some flights resumed Wednesday, allowing pilots to view the full scope of the devastation. Aerial video from Lahaina showed dozens of homes and businesses razed, including

on Front Street, where tourists once gathered to shop and dine. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbor were scorched, and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.

“It’s horrifying. I’ve flown here 52 years and I’ve never seen anything come close to that,” said Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot for a tour company. “We had tears in our eyes.”

State Department of Education

Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a statement Wednesday that a team is working on contingency plans and preparing for the possible loss of an elementary school that had been in Lahaina for more than a century.

“Unofficial aerial photos show the King Kamehameha III Elementary campus—on Front Street in Lahaina—sustained extensive fire and structural damage,” he said. “The Department is striving to maintain regular school schedules to provide a sense of normalcy but will keep most Maui schools closed for the remainder of this week,” he said.

The Coast Guard said it rescued 14 people who jumped into the water to escape flames and smoke, including two children.

Among those injured were three people with critical burns that were flown to Straub Medical Center’s burn unit on the island of Oahu, officials said. At least 20 patients were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, officials said, and a firefighter was hospitalized in stable condition after inhaling smoke.

Richard Bissen Jr., the mayor of Maui County, said at a Wednesday morning news conference that he didn’t have details on how or where on the island the six deaths occurred. He said officials hadn’t yet begun investigating the immediate cause of the fires, but officials did point to the combination of dry conditions, low humidity and high winds.

More than 2,100 people spent Tuesday night in evacuation centers. Another 2,000 travelers sheltered at Kahului Airport after many flights were canceled. Of -

ficials were preparing the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to take in thousands of displaced tourists and locals.

Mauro Farinelli, of Lahaina, said the winds had started blowing hard on Tuesday, and then somehow a fire had started up on a hillside.

“It just ripped through everything with amazing speed,” he said, adding it was “like a blowtorch.”

The winds were so strong they blew his garage door off its hinges and trapped his car in the garage, Farinelli said. So a friend drove him, along with his wife Judit and dog Susi, to an evacuation shelter. He had no idea what had happened to their home.

“We’re hoping for the best,” he said, “but we’re pretty sure it’s gone.”

President Joe Biden said he’d ordered all available federal assets to help with the response. He said the Hawaii National Guard had mobilized Chinook helicopters to help with fire suppression as well as search and rescue efforts on Maui.

“Our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses, and communities destroyed,” Biden said in a statement.

Former President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, said on social media that it’s tough to see some of the images coming out of a place that is so special to many.

Alan Dickar, who owns a poster gallery and three houses in Lahaina, said tourists who come to Maui all tend to visit Front Street.

“The central two blocks is the economic heart of this island, and I don’t know what’s left,” he said.

Dickar took a video of flames engulfing the main strip before escaping with three friends and two cats.

“Every significant thing I owned burned down today,” he said. “I’ll be OK. I got out safely.”

Wildfires were also burning on Hawaii’s Big Island, Mayor Mitch Roth said, although there had been no reports of injuries or destroyed homes there. Roth said firefighters had needed to

extinguish some roof fires and there were continuing flareups of one fire near the Mauna Kea Resorts.

The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which was passing to the south of the island chain, was partly to blame for the strong winds.

About 14,500 customers in Maui were without power early Wednesday. With cell service and phone lines down in some areas, many people were struggling to check in with friends and family members living near the wildfires. Some were posting messages on social media.

Tiare Lawrence was frantically trying to reach her siblings who live near where a gas station exploded in Lahaina.

“There’s no service so we can’t get ahold of anyone,” she said from the Maui community of Pukalani. Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said the flames had wiped out communities and urged travelers to stay away.

“This is not a safe place to be,” she said.

Luke issued an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov. Josh Green, who was traveling. Green’s office said he’d cut short his trip and was returning Wednesday evening.

Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of those burning in the US West. They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires. A major fire on the Big Island in 2021 burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

Yasso, who fled her home with boyfriend Kawaakoa, said residents are going to need time to regroup and that people shouldn’t plan to visit right now.

“It’s everybody losing their memories of growing up,” she said. “It’s the memories for everybody. We all lost our homes with this.”

Sinco Kelleher reported from Honolulu and Perry from Wellington, New Zealand. Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles and Beatrice Dupuy in New York contributed to this report.

Khanun slams into South Korea, toppling trees, ripping off roofs

By Kim Tong-Hyung, Yong Jun Chang & Ahn Young-Joon

Associated Press

The

BUSAN, South Korea—A strong tropical storm slammed into South Korea’s southern coastal regions Thursday, bringing intense rains and winds that toppled trees, ripped off roofs and turned roads into chocolate-colored rivers as it slowly plowed north toward major urban centers near the capital.

There were no immediate reports of storm-related deaths or injuries as of 11 a.m., according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. More than 10,000 people, mostly in southern coastal areas, were forced to evacuate from their homes and the number was expected to grow.

Officials shut down hundreds of motorways, streets and public parks, and broadcast text alerts warning about the perils posed by the storm, Khanun, which came just weeks after torrential rains caused flash floods and landslides that killed at least 47 people.

More than 30 centimeters (12 inches) of rain has fallen already in southern parts of the mainland and emergency workers were responding to a growing number of floods

and landslides as of Thursday afternoon.

After making landfall around 9:30 a.m. near the southeastern port city of Geoje, Khanun headed toward the southeastern inland city of Daegu as of 12:30 p.m., showing slightly diminished strength, with its with maximum winds blowing at 104 kph (64 mph) while moving at 38 kph (23 mph).

Forecasters say Khanun will pound the country with intense rains and winds while slowly plowing through the Korean Peninsula for hours, with its eye brushing the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area where half of South Korea’s 51 million people live. The storm’s strength is expected to be diminished when it moves on to North Korea early Friday, but forecasters said the greater Seoul area would still feel its force until Friday afternoon.

Since Wednesday, the storm dumped nearly 35 centimeters (14 inches) of rain in the southern mainland cities of Changwon and Yangsan.

In Changwon, emergency workers used ropes to rescue pedestrians trapped in huge zones of flooded roads, and responded to landslides that spilled dirt and other debris over motorways. Residents and shop owners blocked their doors with sandbags

while workers established flood shields to protect a major seafood market. In Geoje, emergency workers in helmets examined a parking lot where vehicles were smashed or damaged by bricks and other debris apparently flown by forceful winds.

In coastal Busan, South Korea’s secondlargest city, winds were blowing at 126 kph (78 mph) and several motorways were closed because of flooding. Emergency workers dressed in orange rain gear cleared uprooted trees that collapsed over roads and responding to destroyed walls and fences, broken windows, and other damage. A low-lying public park in the city’s Yeonje district was entirely submerged in water.

The neighboring cities of Ulsan, Pohang and Gimcheon issued flood warnings for areas near rivers and streams that flow through its urban districts.

More than 350 flights were grounded and nearly 500 motorways were shut. Ferry services were halted while more than 60,000 fishing vessels evacuated to port. Authorities advised schools to take the day off or delay their opening hours, and warned of potential flooding, landslides, and huge waves.

Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea.

WAILUKU, Hawaii—At least 36 people have died in the Lahaina fire in Hawaii, Maui County wrote in a statement posted to the county website Wednesday evening.

The World

Russian attack kills 2 in Ukraine while a blast near Moscow kills 1

By Dasha Litvinova & Emma Burrows

The Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia—A Russian rocket attack on Wednesday killed two people and wounded at least seven others in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, which is near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukrainian officials said.

Although regional governor Yuriy Malashko initially said three people died in the attack on a residential area, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko later said two people died and one other person had been resuscitated.

The city lies about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since the early weeks of the war. Shelling in the plant’s surroundings has raised persistent fears of a nuclear accident.

In Russia, an explosion on the grounds of a factory that makes optical equipment for Russia’s security forces north of Moscow killed one person, wounded 60 others and left at least eight people unaccounted for, officials said.

Russian officials did not provide a suspected cause of the explosion in the city of Sergiev Posad, which produced a tall plume of black smoke and added to jitters over recent nighttime drone attacks on Moscow. Earlier, officials said Russian air defenses shot down two drones aimed at the capital overnight, and they accused Ukraine of an attempted attack.

The blast occurred at a warehouse storing fireworks but was on the grounds of the Zagorsk optics manufacturing plant, said Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the region surrounding the Russian capital. The explosion damaged 38 apartment buildings and prompted an evacuation of nearby areas, he said.

Vorobyov said the company rented out the warehouse for storage, but he later claimed the plant itself was mostly producing pyrotechnics. He said the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant “has had nothing to do with optics or mechanics for a long time.”

The company’s website says it still manufactures those products, as well as medical equipment. A 1995 report by the US Department of Commerce described the factory as “a producer of precision optical equipment for the military.”

Russian investigative news outlet Agentstvo reported Wednesday that state procurement data from recent years showed the plant supplied binoculars and dosimeters to Russia’s National Guard, produced equipment for military aircraft and was involved in the development of a new fighter-bomber.

Russian authorities feared five people were missing in the aftermath of the explosion. Emergency crews with sniffer dogs walked over the rubble of low brick buildings, video from the scene showed. Firefighters hosed down the mangled industrial wreckage.

Some Russian media reported that a drone attack caused the blast

at the manufacturing plant site. Multiple Russian authorities, including Vorobyov and Russia’s Investigative Committee, denied that.

The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top criminal investigations agency, said in a statement it has launched a criminal inquiry on charges of violating industrial safety requirements at hazardous production facilities.

Russian officials described the downed drones as Ukraine’s latest attempt to strike the Russian capital in an alleged campaign to unnerve Muscovites and take the war in Ukraine to Russia.

The drones were intercepted on their approach to Moscow and there were no casualties, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. The Russian Defense Ministry described the incident as a “terrorist attack.”

One of the drones came down in the Domodedovo district south of Moscow, and the other fell near the Minsk highway west of the city, according to Sobyanin. Moscow Domodedovo Airport is one of the Russian capital’s busiest airports.

It wasn’t clear where the drones were launched, and Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment. Ukraine usually neither confirms nor denies such attacks.

Flights were briefly halted at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on July 30 and Aug. 1, when drones smashed into Moscow’s business district after being jammed by air defenses in two separate incidents.

In May, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of attempting to attack the Kremlin with two drones in an effort to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. Recent drone attacks have aimed at targets from the Russian capital to the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

In another incident that caused alarm, Ukrainian media reported social media blogs as saying that a thick plume of smoke billowed over Sevastopol, the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

The governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said the smoke came from a “fleet training exercise” and urged local residents not to worry.

“Yes, the smell is unpleasant, but it is absolutely safe,” he said on Telegram. “Everything is calm in the city.”

Those incidents occurred against the backdrop of Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive, which Ukrainian and Western officials have warned will be a long slog against the Kremlin’s deeply entrenched forces.

Russia is pushing back against the Ukrainians in eastern areas, where tough battles are taking place, Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, said Wednesday on her official Telegram channel.

“In some parts of the front-line multiple changes in position take place within a day,” she said. She claimed that Ukraine’s efforts had achieved “partial success” in the south. She gave no details.

It wasn’t possible to independently verify either side’s claims.

China allows group tours to US, UK in test for travel demand

By Shirley Zhao & Kari Lindberg

CHINA lifted a ban on group tours to a slew of countries including the US, UK, Australia, South Korea, and Japan, in a major test of demand for overseas travel from what was once the world’s biggest source of tourists.

Group tours will start immediately on Thursday and the easing applies to all travel agencies and online platforms across the country, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement. The move sparked a rush to buy Japanese and Korean tourism stocks, with package tour operator Lotte Tour Development Co. jumping 29 percent in Seoul and Japan Airport Terminal Co. up as much as 12 percent.

The relaxation may set the stage for acceleration in the global tourism industry’s rebound from Covid, which has been sluggish amid a slow rebound in flight capacity to and from China. But a full return to the pre-pandemic heyday is likely to take time—if it can be achieved at all—amid a weakening economy, a strong desire from Chinese holidaymakers to travel domestically and the enduring damage of geopolitical tensions.

“There will be someone going, you’ll probably still have someone, but the size of overseas travel won’t be as large as you saw before pre-Covid or the pre-economic slowdown,” said Dongshu Liu, an assistant professor specializing in Chinese politics at the City University of Hong Kong. “A lot of Chinese people will be hesitant to go to Western countries, worried that they’ll face discrimination. They may also simply not have the funds.”

Covid changes

CHINA’S pandemic-era shift inward effectively turned off the flow of outbound travel for three years, leaving many tourism-dependent countries struggling to find alternative sources of visitors. Chinese travelers spent $277 billion overseas in 2018 and another $255 billion in 2019, accounting for almost 20 percent of all international tourism spending, data from the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization show.

Even months after the country’s dismantling of virus curbs, outbound tourism is muted. In the first half of this year, Chinese tourists made about 40.4 million trips overseas—mostly to Asia—representing 26 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to the China Tourism Academy. Domestic flight capacity has reached 17 percent above prepandemic level in July, but international capacity is still about half of 2019 level, data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows.

Those constraints are likely to linger. Koji Shibata, chief executive officer of Japanese airline ANA Holdings Inc. said that while the easing of the group ban will give momentum to travelers visiting Japan and the carrier plans to increase the number of flights, it faces challenges due to lack of staff. As of July,

it operated 62 weekly round trips to and from China, 35 percent of prepandemic levels.

In 2019, Chinese tourists accounted for about one third of Japan’s international visitors, spending more than $12 billion in the country—the highest among all overseas markets, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization. In the first half of this year, the number of Chinese travelers in Japan only returned to 13 percent of the pre-pandemic levels.

Challenges ahead

IN a further sign of the difficulty ahead, Southeast Asian countries that were already accepting group tours haven’t seen a rush of visitors. The number of Chinese arrivals in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines varied between 14 percent and 39 percent in May compared to the 2019 numbers, and summer tour bookings have also disappointed.

Some of the world’s top consumer brands are already ramping up their presence in China on bets the shift to spending more money at home will last. Luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE is still seeing about 70 percent of its sales from Chinese customers happening within the country and few group tours have been seen in Europe, chief financial officer JeanJacques Guiony said last month.

China’s economy is also a major headwind to overseas travel. Consumer spending growth remains subdued, a prolonged property slump has dented confidence and the country slid into deflation in July, ramping up pressure on officials to stimulate domestic growth this year.

Tensions linger

SINCE China’s reopening, the country has resumed group tours to dozens of countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. But bans on places like the US, UK, Australia, South Korea, and Japan have been maintained until now amid geopolitical tensions.

Still, it’s unclear how far the easing on group tours goes in thawing those relations. In addition to sluggish demand for Chinese to travel abroad, China is seeing a dearth of inbound travelers.

After welcoming a stream of high-profile foreign visitors in recent months, some overseas investors and business people traveling to the nation for the first time since the lifting of pandemic restrictions said the environment has grown more hostile to foreigners, Bloomberg News has previously reported.

That’s given rise to concerns among some Chinese about how they’ll be treated abroad. A recent poll by Pew Research Center recorded negative views of China reaching record highs in 10 of the 24 nations where it conducted its survey.

“It might be well the case that Chinese policymakers realized how detrimental isolation might be in terms of relations with the rest of

China mpox cases surge amid govt outreach to at-risk groups

By Bloomberg News

CHINA’S confirmed cases of mpox rose nearly five-fold in July to a new high, even as government efforts to contain the infectious disease’s spread ramp up. Last month’s case count was 491, versus 106 in June, according to a statement from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

All patients were male and 96 percent of them had had sexual activity with another man, according to the Chinese CDC. There were no severe

cases or deaths from mpox, the virus that was until recently known as monkeypox.

Though no longer a global health emergency after the World Health Organization lowered the global alert level for mpox in May, though it cautioned that more should be done to eradicate the sometimes-deadly virus. The Chinese CDC in late July asked its local branches to mobilize volunteers and social organizations to reach out to “priority groups,” including men who have sex with men, to educate them about mpox and improve access

to tests and treatment.   The virus’s spread in China appears to have accelerated after the mainland reopened its borders as part of its abrupt pivot away from its strict Covid Zero policies. It also comes as a government campaign to raise awareness about the disease prompts more people from at-risk groups to seek medical help— and as there’s continued detection of new cases among people coming from abroad—according to a statement from Chinese CDC experts.

It’s difficult to contain mpox’s spread given the virus’s covert trans -

the world and China’s soft power,” said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis.

“It is surprising since this is happening at a time when exports are plummeting, so opening up

to group tourism will also worsen the trade balance and reduce the contribution of external demand to China’s growth.” With assistance from Rebecca Choong Wilkins, Supriya Singh, Danny Lee and Jinshan Hong/Bloomberg

mission among men sleeping with other men, the statement added.

Market reaction in China was muted in early trading Thursday, with small gains by some diagnostic technology shares. Some healthcare firms dipped.

Guangdong province and Beijing in July remained the two locales with the largest concentration of cases, but areas including Shanghai and western Sichuan province each confirmed at least 25 mpox patients during the month. With assistance from Zhu Lin and Kevin Kingsbury/Bloomberg

Emma Burrows reported from London.

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Island Cove II, Covelandia Road, Pulvorista, Kawit, Cavite

Malaysia govt makes owning an LGBTQ+ Swatch punishable by up to 3 years in jail

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Malaysia’s government said Thursday that all Swatch products that contain lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer elements—including watches, wrappers and boxes—were banned, warning that anyone found with one could be jailed for up to three years. The ban has been published in the Federal Gazette—which makes it official—as part of a printing law that includes distribution and possession, citing concerns that such products were detrimental to the nation’s morality.

Malaysia, which is predominantly Muslim, already criminalizes same-sex relationships, with punishments ranging from caning under Islamic laws to 20

years in prison for sodomy under colonial-era civil laws.

In May, authorities raided Swatch stores and confiscated more than 160 watches from its Pride Collection. Some of the watches have rainbow colors while others are in a choice of six single colors that correlate to the gay pride flag, with two rainbow loops on their straps.

Swatch contested allegations that the watches were harmful, saying they carried a message of peace and love. The Swiss watchmaking company has sued the government for damages and for the return of the watches.

The Home Ministry statement said the products are “detrimental, or possibly detrimental, to morality, public interest and national interest

by promoting, supporting and normalizing the LGBTQ movement which is not accepted by the general public.”

Anyone found in possession of such Swatch products face up to three years in jail or a fine of up to 20,000 ringgit ($4,375), it warned.

In July, the government cut short a music festival in Kuala Lumpur after the lead singer of British band “The 1975” kissed a male bandmate during their performance in protest of the country’s anti-gay laws. Footage of the kiss was posted on social media and sparked a backlash in the country. Malaysia also blacklisted the group from the country. The band later canceled its shows in Jakarta and Taipei. AP

Israeli forces kill Palestinian militant in the West Bank

TEL AVIV, Israel—Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian militant in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the latest death in an unabating wave of violence to grip the region.

THE

in

on Wednesday,

parts of Scandinavia and the Baltics for several days, causing rivers to overflow, damaging roads and injuring people with falling branches.

SCANPIX VIA AP

BYRDE/NTB

ANNIKA

Norwegians prepare for more flooding, destruction after days of heavy rain

By Jan M. Olsen

The Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark—People in Norway prepared Thursday for more flooding and destruction Thursday as rivers swollen by days of heavy rain carried large amounts of water through the country’s mountainous southeast, where vast areas were either inundated or hit by landslides.

Thousands of people living near waterways were evacuated, their houses emptied and cars moved to higher ground. There had been fears that a train bridge over the Lågen River would collapse because of the large volume of water, but railway officials said Thursday that it was now stable. All traffic across the bridge was halted Monday.

On Wednesday, a nearby dam partially burst after Norway’s largest river spilled over and broke through the structure. Downstream communities had been evacuated and no casualties were reported. Police said the situation at the dam was being continuously assessed.

Residents of the town of Hønefossen, through which the Begna River runs, were evacuated as large amounts of water filled its downtown. Authorities did not provide a nationwide count of evacuees, but Norwegian broadcaster NRK said it was up to 4,000.

Helicopters were on standby to help move people out of remote areas. Authorities said the flooding could last until Friday and major roads were likely to be closed for days.

“The water level will rise,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said of the flooding late Wednesday. “It is a serious warning for the next few days.”

Storm Hans battered northern Europe starting Monday, causing damage and disruptions in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Ferries were canceled, flights were delayed, roads and streets were flooded, people were injured by falling branches and thousands remained without electricity. Southeastern Norway was particularly badly affected.

“The extreme weather has had major consequences in several places in the country, the situation is serious and constantly developing,” acting Norwegian police chief Håkon Skulstad said.

On Thursday, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate raised its warning for floods and landslides from orange to red for parts of southern Norway.

“This is a very serious situation that can lead to extensive consequences and damage,” it said in a statement.

Norwegian meteorologists also issued a red warning for extremely heavy rain.

In neighboring Sweden,

The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute issued orange warnings—the second highest level— because of a risk of flooding in parts of the country along the border with Norway.

The death brings the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank this year to 168, according to a tally by The Associated Press. It happened amid soaring tensions surrounding Israel’s continuing raids into Palestinian areas in the territory and after the release to house arrest of a Jewish settler accused of involvement in the killing last week of a 19-year-old Palestinian man.

In the latest violence, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Thursday that Israeli troops killed Amir Ahmed Khalifa, 27, in the West Bank town of Zawata, north of the city Nablus. The area has been a flashpoint for fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinians.

The Israeli military said a gunman opened fire at soldiers operating in the Nablus area and they shot back. At least 27 people have died in Palestinian attacks against Israelis this year.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed offshoot of the secular Fatah party, later Thursday claimed Khalifa as a member.

Israel has staged near-nightly incursions in Palestinian areas in what it says is a bid to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. The raids have sparked some of the worst fighting between the sides in the West Bank in about two decades and driven up the death toll.

Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting the raids and others not involved in confrontations have also been killed.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state. AP

Niger’s ousted president running low on food under house arrest

By Sam Mednick The

Associated Press

NIAMEY, Niger—Niger’s deposed president is running out of food and under increasingly dire conditions two weeks after he was ousted in a military coup and put under house arrest, an adviser said Wednesday. The US State Department expressed deep concern about the “deteriorating conditions”of his detention.

President Mohamed Bazoum, the West African nation’s democratically elected leader, has been held at the presidential palace in Niamey with his wife and son since mutinous soldiers moved against him on July 26.

The family is living without electricity and only has rice and canned goods left to eat, the adviser said. Bazoum remains in good health for now and will never resign, according to the adviser, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the sensitive situation with the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Bazoum’s political party issued a statement confirming the president’s living conditions and said the family also was without running water.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Bazoum on Tuesday about recent diplomatic efforts, a statement said, and Blinken “emphasized that the safety and security of President Bazoum

and his family are paramount.” The State Department statement on Wednesday called for their immediate release.

This week, Niger’s new military junta took steps to entrench itself in power and rejected international efforts to mediate.

On Wednesday, it accused former colonizer France of trying to destabilize the country, violate its closed airspace and discredit the junta leaders. France’s foreign and defense ministries in a joint statement called the allegations unfounded.

T he Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington and Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed to this report.

parts of the harbor in the second-largest city, Goteborg, remained flooded. Roads and train lines in the area were closed due to the water.

Storelva River flows through Hoenefoss Center

Norway

August 9, 2023. Storm Hans has battered

Uranium hunters in US West face partial ban and pollution concerns

By Bobby Magill

The Geiger counter didn’t detect any dangerous radiation that day from the Pinyon Plain mine, about two miles from the spot where Biden would sign the monument proclamation. But Riggs wasn’t convinced.

The activist grew up on the Navajo

Nation near Tuba City, Arizona, where a uranium mill operated until 1966. It took another 24 years to clean up the site, and yet uranium was still found later in groundwater beneath the town dump. If uranium prices keep rising,

Pinyon Plain’s owners, Energy Fuels Inc., intend to begin mining there and truck the radioactive ore 265 miles through the Navajo Nation, where uranium mining is banned, to Blanding, Utah, where it operates the nation’s only active conventional uranium mill.

At least nine other companies are exploring or planning to prospect for uranium at more than 25 sites across the Colorado Plateau, a region that touches Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. Energy Fuels envisions the White Mesa Mill processing most of the uranium.

Mining companies say they’re buoyed by uranium prices that have risen above $55 per pound from around $25 five years ago, a proposed US ban on Russian uranium imports over its attack on Ukraine, and a bullish outlook on nuclear energy amid the climate crisis.

“Uranium is essentially the only option we see to help move away from that reliance on fossil fuels,” said Matthew Schwab, chief executive officer of Kraken Energy Corp., which in July began drilling 20 uranium exploration wells on federal land near Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

The prospect of a modest comeback for an industry that has been nearly dormant in the US for more than a decade has also rekindled arguments and opinions that span generations—and led to Biden’s announcement Tuesday.

Supporters in Congress say more domestic uranium production will ease the dependence on Russian sources, an energy-related stance the Biden administration has generally encouraged.

Skeptics point to the controversial legacy of uranium mining on the Colorado Plateau, and the radioactive waste left behind. This year, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed adding a long-derelict uranium mining district on the Navajo Nation to its list of Superfund cleanup sites and awarded $65 million to help clean up other abandoned uranium mines on the reservation.

Pinyon Plain, about 15 miles from the rim of the Grand Canyon, is at the center of the national monument that Biden created on Tuesday. Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument will be three times the size of Los Angeles and protect sites sacred to the Havasupai, Hopi and other tribes mainly by blocking new uranium and other mining in the region.

The monument won’t stop Energy Fuels from digging up uranium, radium and copper at Pinyon Plain, where its right to mine will be preserved. But it could limit the company’s expansion in the area.

For tribal communities, Pinyon Plain is a reminder of the Cold War uranium boom before 1980, when the US was the world’s largest producer, driven by a rush to build nuclear power

plants and atomic bombs.

Back then, nearly all the country’s uranium production was centered on the Colorado Plateau, especially on the Navajo Nation. The industry provided thousands of jobs for Indigenous people. The radon exposure brought them sickness and death.

The country’s first cancer treatment center on an Indian reservation opened in Tuba City in 2019. In Riggs’ community, “chemotherapy is an everyday word,” she said. Three of her relatives are battling cancer.

Energy Fuels’ executives say those fears should remain in the past. These days, they face environmental regulations that didn’t exist a half-century ago, they say, and they pay bonds to ensure their mines will be cleaned up.

“I’m saddened that they think we’re harming them, harming the environment, because we’re not. We’re highly regulated,” Energy Fuels Chief Executive Officer Mark Chalmers told Bloomberg Law.

Still, in corporate filings, the company has warned investors that anti-uranium activists are likely to target its business with blockades or lawsuits.

The EPA is watching closely. Federal agencies are still trying to clean up waste at up to 4,000 long abandoned but still-hazardous uranium mine sites across the plateau and Wyoming, including about 500 on the Navajo Nation, according to EPA data.

“We cannot let what has happened in the past perpetuate into the future,” said Cliff Villa, EPA deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management.

Not waiting for nuclear to rebound

SOLVING the climate crisis may depend on low-carbon nuclear energy, but few nuclear power plants have been built since the 1980s because they’re extremely expensive. For about two decades, nuclear has accounted for the same share of the US energy consumption—about 8 percent—after renewables, coal, oil and natural gas.

Members of Congress, however, including Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, and Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming have introduced legislation to produce more uranium domestically so the US no longer needs to rely on Russian sources. The measure, if passed, would require the Energy Department to create a nuclear fuel security program that would buy and stockpile uranium produced in the US or in an allied country.

Some miners aren’t waiting because they see the Colorado Plateau brimming with ore. Kraken is exploring in an area a short drive from Canyonlands National Park where minerals are showing what Schwab called “off-scale radioactivity”

“We’re trying to move this one ahead as quickly as possible,” he said.

George Glasier, president and chief executive officer of Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp., said the company is mining and stockpiling uranium ore in western Colorado as it seeks approval for a new mill in Green River, Utah. He hopes that site could begin operating by 2026 or 2027.

“We’re not waiting” for the Russian ban to be approved, Glasier said.

“We’re producing now.”

Other uranium companies with active interests in the Four Corners include Thor Energy PLC, EnCore Energy, Atomic Minerals, Consolidated Uranium, Laramide Resources; UVRE, Ltd.; and American Future Fuel Corp. Anfield Energy, Inc., has three prospects in Colorado and Utah, and is studying reopening a long-derelict uranium mill in the region.

Pinyon Plain is in pre-production, or “stand by,” as Energy Fuels awaits higher uranium prices, according to its latest 10-K filing. The company projects it could produce more than 126,000 tons of uranium at $60 per pound.

“It could produce enough uranium to fill a coal train that went from Los Angeles to New York and all the way back again,” Curtis Moore, Energy Fuels’ vice president of marketing, said.

Despite the optimism, the industry will never boom in the region like it once did, Chalmers said.

In 2008, uranium companies produced nearly 3.9 million pounds in the US. By 2022, that had fallen to 194,000 pounds, with production concentrated mainly in Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Texas, according to a May report by the Energy Information Administration.

Most of the uranium used in US nuclear power plants in 2022 came from Canada, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan, with just 5 percent sourced domestically, according to EIA data published in June.

Chris Gadomski, head of research focusing on nuclear energy for BloombergNEF, said he’s convinced lawmakers’ and uranium companies’ excitement over US uranium is misplaced— and a bad investment.

“Beware of all these companies we’re talking about, these small second-tier miners are all looking to attract investor interest so they can continue to produce and expand their operations,” Gadomski said.

The uranium demand just isn’t there—and demand from advanced nuclear reactors and small modular reactors isn’t expected to materialize anytime soon, he said. “I wish you saw more of that going on,” Gadomski said.

Making their case

FOR months, anti-uranium activists and tribal leaders had been pressing Biden administration officials with a unified message: Don’t let uranium mining regain its foothold around the Grand Canyon.

The tribes last spring had invited Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to the Grand Canyon to pitch her on creating the new national monument. It would make permanent the 20-year mining moratorium on 917,000 acres of federal land around the Grand Canyon put in place by the Obama administration in 2012 and affirmed by the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2017.

“The uranium mining during the Cold War devastated the Navajo people, making many of our people sick from tailings and the runoff that made it into our communities,” Richard Begay, speaking on behalf of Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, told federal officials during a public meeting last month in Flagstaff, Arizona.

If uranium mining begins at Pinyon Plain or anywhere else around the

Grand Canyon, the Havasupai people fear it will poison the aquifer that provides water to Supai, their village at the bottom of the gorge, said Stuart Chavez, a former Havasupai Tribal Council member.

“Our worst fear is that our home will no longer be livable, our water will no longer be there,” Chavez said.  The tribes said the monument would also help repair wounds they incurred when they were forcibly removed from parts of the Grand Canyon when it became a national park more than a century ago.

Ranchers and other opponents told federal officials they want the uranium industry to thrive in their region and that mining won’t affect water quality because uranium is in the water naturally.

“The contamination is not going to change if you ban uranium mining,” said Jim Parks, a member of the Coconino County, Arizona, Farm Bureau and Cattlegrowers Association. “Water has been running down through the uranium deposits all around this Grand Canyon for many millenniums.”

Others said they fear the federal government is trying to take their private land near the proposed monument’s boundaries. Some have long called for all federal land in Arizona to be abolished and turned over to the state—part of a decades-old undercurrent of anti-federal government sentiment in the rural West, but one that’s never gained traction or credibility in Washington.

Land bureau chief Tracy StoneManning, who attended the meeting, declined to respond to questions. But the monument designation will affect only public land, no private land will be taken or restricted, the White House said.

In the end, Biden enacted the ban using the Antiquities Act—the same law that President Theodore Roosevelt used to protect the Grand Canyon itself as a national monument in 1908.

Speaking Tuesday near Red Butte, a small mountain near Pinyon Plain sacred to the Havasupai people, Biden said tribes were forced out of the Grand Canyon and he’s declaring the monument to “right the wrongs of the past and conserve this land.”

Biden said his decision kept a promise to Indigenous people who had fought for decades to regain full access to the Grand Canyon, “to protect these lands from mining and development, to clear them from contamination, to preserve their shared legacy for future generations.”

Energy Fuels executives had scoffed at the monument proposal before it was enacted.

“These are tiny little mines,” Moore said in an interview last month. “There is no evidence that these mines have created any environmental contamination, groundwater contamination, or any health issues over the last 50 ye ars.”

But if the ban prohibits the company from exercising what it contends are valid rights to existing claims, Energy Fuels will consider challenging it in court, Moore said.

‘Where

does it go?’

THE Colorado Plateau debate mirrors the dilemma the country faces as it tries to find a more sustainable energy plan. Nuclear energy fueled with domestically produced uranium can be part of a low-carbon energy mix, “but we need to know when that material becomes waste where it needs to go,” Villa, the EPA official, said in an interview.

See “Uranium,” A15

FIVE weeks before President Joe Biden announced a historic new ban on new uranium mining around the Grand Canyon, Sarana Riggs approached the barbed-wire fence surrounding an inactive mine in an Arizona national forest, a Geiger counter in her hand.

SARANA RIGGS with a Geiger counter at the Pinyon Plain uranium mine near the Grand Canyon. BOBBY MAGILL/BLOOMBERG

The World

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 90, falls at home and goes to hospital, but scans are clear, her office says

WASHINGTON—US Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress, fell in her home and went to a hospital for a short time, her office said on Wednesday.

The 90-year-old California Democrat, who has faced mounting concerns about her health and her ability to perform the duties of a senator, “briefly went to the hospital yesterday afternoon as a precaution after a minor fall in her home,” her office said in a statement.

All of her scans were clear, and she returned home later Tuesday, said her spokesman Adam Russell, who provided no further details.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a statement he spoke with Feinstein on Wednesday morning.

“She said she suffered no injuries and briefly went to the hospital as a precaution,” Schumer said. “I’m glad she is back home now and is doing well.”

The San Francisco hospital visit comes after Feinstein missed months of work in Washington earlier this year when she was hospitalized for the shingles virus and its side effects. Since her return to work in May, she has traveled the Capitol halls in a wheelchair and has often appeared confused and disoriented.

Feinstein has defended her ability to perform her job, though her office said in May that she was still experiencing vision and balance impairments from the shingles virus.

Feinstein, who took office in 1992, announced earlier this year that she would not seek reelection in 2024. Several Democrats have already entered the race to replace her.

During her hospitalization in the spring, some progressive House Democrats publicly called on her to resign, saying her absence had grounded the push to confirm President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees. However, leading Democrats, including Biden and Schumer, publicly stood beside her.

Nonetheless, Feinstein’s retirement plans have sparked a competitive Democratic contest to replace her, led by a trio of House lawmakers, US Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff.

Uranium.

Continued from A14

The process for turning uranium into usable energy is complex. The ore is mined, refined and ground into a powder at a mill. Chemicals are then used to separate the uranium from other minerals, and the end result is a dark substance, called yellowcake, that ultimately is converted into gaseous fuel.

One ton of ore might yield only a few pounds of yellowcake—the rest, still potentially radioactive, is buried or stored at waste sites. Decaying waste eventually can become cancer-causing radon gas.    Federal agencies are still trying to clean up waste at up to 4,000 still-hazardous uranium mine sites across the plateau and Wyoming that miners abandoned after the Cold War, including about 500 on the Navajo Nation, according to EPA data.

“Most of it is sitting right where it is— on tribal land, on the Navajo Nation,” Villa said. “If you’re going to move it, where does it go? That’s not easy.”

In Utah, tribal and environmental activists have protested at the entrance to the White Mesa Mill and say they’re alarmed by the prospect of expanded mining near Bears Ears, about an hour north of the mill.

“The Bears Ears region of SE Utah is one of the most wild, scenic, and culturally rich in the nation. It is not the appropriate place for uranium development of any kind,” Landon Newell, staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said in an email.

More intense concern comes from the other direction, from those who live along the six-hour route trucks would use to haul uranium ore between Pinyon Plain and the White Mesa Mill.

If Feinstein resigns before the 2024 election, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom would name her replacement, potentially reordering the race to succeed her. The governor said in 2021 that he would nominate a Black woman to fill the seat if Feinstein, who’s white, were to step aside.

Lee is Black, and becoming the incumbent could be a decisive advantage in the contest, but it’s unknown if Newsom would consider Lee, given that she is already running for the seat. Porter and Schiff are white.

Feinstein has had a storied political career that broke gender barriers as she rose from San Francisco’s City Hall to leadership posts in the US Senate. She played key roles in political battles over issues including reproductive rights and environmental protection, gaining a reputation as a pragmatic centrist.

In recent years, however, she has taken a step back from senior roles at the Capitol. She relinquished the top Democratic spot on the Judiciary Committee in 2020 amid criticism from liberals on how she handled the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. And earlier this year, she declined to serve as the Senate president pro tempore, the most senior member of the majority party who daily opens the Senate chamber, even though she was in line to do so.

Feinstein had also requested to be replaced on the Senate Judiciary panel during her 10-week hospital stay earlier this year, but Republicans declined to allow the replacement. Even after she returned, concerns continued that she would not be able to make it for every crucial vote.

The Senate is expected to resume work in Washington in early September.

“For what?” asked Riggs, the anti-mining activist who grew up in Tuba City. “For economic growth? For somebody to get rich out there? At whose expense?”

The acrimony is particularly focused on the mill itself. Members of the nearby Ute Mountain Ute tribal community of White Mesa have long worried that Energy Fuels’ uranium milling and storage is already contaminating their air and groundwater.

Tribal members have observed “overwhelming smells in the air,” and “deformed animals” in the area, and don’t believe that the mill is safe, Scott Clow, environmental programs director for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2021 comments.

Moore, Energy Fuels’ vice president, said the tribe’s claims are unprovable, anecdotal and unsupported by evidence. In an email he called Clow’s claims “fearmongering and smears” so outrageous that Energy Fuels has considered suing him for defamation.

He pointed to the findings from a federal investigation that the Ute requested in 2019.

Four years after that petition, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, reported in June that anyone consuming the drinking water at White Mesa won’t be harmed by radiological contaminants, and that air pollution from the mill is below the agency’s minimal risk level for radiation. The report didn’t evaluate whether the mill was polluting groundwater.

Clow called the report “good news” and noted that tribal members are avoiding springs fed by groundwater. He also said history has taught his community not to accept at face value any claims about uranium mining.

“You can’t ignore the 500-plus sites just on Navajo Nation that are still contaminated uranium sites,” he said.  Bloomberg News

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., speaks during the Senate Intelligence hearing, July 12, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. AP/MARIAM ZUHAIB

Poland plans to deploy 10,000 troops to border with Belarus

WARSAW, Poland—Poland’s defense minister said Thursday that the country intends to put 10,000 soldiers along its border with Belarus. The statement comes as Warsaw worries about the presence of Russian-linked mercenaries in Belarus and migrants trying to cross the border.

Meanwhile, the Polish military announced that it was carrying out a search in the area near the border with Belarus for fuse lost from a missile, but said it poses no threat because “the detonator has built-in protections.” It said the fuse was lost during “intensive activities using specialized equipment to ensure security.”

“On Tuesday, after the end of combat flights, one of the helicopters carrying out a patrol in the border area was found to have no fuse in one of the missiles. The flight was carried out along the border strip and did not take place over built-up areas,” the military said in a statement.

The military appealed to locals to alert police if they see it.

In an interview on state radio, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said

10,000 soldiers would ultimately be deployed to the border area. He made the announcement a day after a different official said Poland was sending 2,000 additional troops to the border, essentially doubling its military presence there. The soldiers are being sent to reinforce the work of police and Border Guard officers.

For two years, Poland has contended with migrants arriving at the border from Belarus trying to enter the country illegally. The government in Poland and other countries along Nato’s eastern flank have accused Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russia, of opening the migration route in an act of “hybrid warfare” aimed at creating instability in the West.

Poland is also worried about the presence of Wagner group fighters who deployed to Belarus after a short-lived mutiny in Russia in June. Anxieties were further heightened last week when two Belarusian military helicopters briefly entered Polish air space, something Warsaw viewed as a deliberate provocation. AP

Ticket sold in Florida wins $1.58 billion jackpot, the third-largest in US history

By Mark Long, Julie Walker & Freida Frisaro The Associated Press

NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla.—A

single ticket sold in Florida is good for a $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot, ending weeks of anticipation over who would win the eye-popping top prize.

A Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach sold the winning ticket, according to the Florida Lottery. The winning numbers drawn Tuesday night were 13, 19, 20, 32, 33 and the yellow ball 14.

A message was left seeking comment Wednesday from Publix. James F. Davis, secretary of the Florida Lottery, said Wednesday that officials don’t yet know who bought the winning ticket. He noted that the person has 180 days to present the ticket to lottery officials in Tallahassee to receive the winnings.

“These individuals are going to perhaps contact a lawyer, contact a financial adviser and make sure they get their ducks in a row,” Davis told The Associated Press. “Because as you know when you are a winner you have an opportunity to be able to make such a difference in so many individual lives.”

Davis was in Iowa on Wednesday for a meeting of the Multi-State Lottery Association.

“I actually walked into the meeting room and everyone proceeded to start clapping, which was pretty exciting and exhilarating all at the same time,” he said.

Davis said he had been holding out hope that Florida would get a big winner in one of the multi-state lottery games, such as Mega Millions and Powerball.

“I’ll just tell you the last two winners of the Powerball have been in California, and I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed for the next winner to be here

in the state of Florida,” he said.

One Publix employee arriving for work at the Neptune Beach store saw another and said, “Mary, did you win the billion dollars?”

“Nope, and I assume you didn’t, either,” replied the other.

Neptune Beach is one of the many beachside communities along the Atlantic Ocean in northeast Florida. Like any beach town, it has a mix of affluent neighborhoods and some less-ideal spots. Several former and current players and coaches of the NFL football’s Jacksonville Jaguars live in the area.

Before the big win, there had been 31 straight drawings since the last time someone won the game’s jackpot on April 18. That enabled the prize to steadily grow to be the third largest in US history.

Mega Millions jackpot winners are so rare thanks to odds of one in 302.6 million.

The $1.58 billion payout would go to the winner if they opt for an annuity, doled out over 30 years. But people usually prefer a lump sum option, which for Tuesday’s jackpot was an estimated $783.3 million.

The prize money is subject to federal taxes. Many states also tax lottery winnings.

A Florida law that went into effect last year allows the winners of lottery prizes in excess of $250,000 to remain anonymous for 90 days. Also of note, there is no state income tax in Florida.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the US Virgin Islands.

Neptune Beach has just over 7,000 residents and is 16 miles (25 kilometers) east of Jacksonville on Florida’s Atlantic Coast.

Walker reported from New York; Frisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale.

POLAND’S Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak speaks during ceremony after receiving its first shipment of US-made HIMARS rocket launchers, at an air base in Warsaw, Poland on May 15, 2023. Poland’s Defense Minister said Thursday, Augusty 10, 2023, that the country intends to put 10,000 soldiers along its border with Belarus, a statement that comes as Warsaw worries about migrants and Russian-linked mercenaries coming across its border. AP/CZAREK SOKOLOWSKI

DBP gains from forex, assets sale

THE Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) announced last Thursday that its first half net income rose by more than half to P4.42 billion fueled by higher foreign currency profits and gains from property disposals.

The DBP said its bottom-line rose by P1.66 billion than the P2.76 billion it posted in the January to June period of last year.

Given its first half performance, DBP president and CEo Michael o de Jesus said the DBP is on track to meet its fullyear income target of P5.2 billion.

As of end-June, the state-run lender’s net income is already 85 percent of its target bottom-line for this year.

“Notwithstanding the one-time gains, overall the Bank’s performance in the first half of the year demonstrates its resilience as an institution and its readiness to support the National Government’s strategic initiatives to foster economic growth and financial stability,” de Jesus said on Thursday.

De Jesus explained that the bank’s outstanding loans for infrastructure and logistics stood at P281.59 billion, while its lending to social infrastructure and community development reached P110.03 billion.

“A significant chunk of our loans or about 55.5 percent of the Bank’s total portfolio of P507-billion was released to bankroll public infrastructure under the banner of the National Government’s ‘Build Better More’ program, majority of which are in the National Capital Region, Central Visayas, Davao, and Central Luzon,” de Jesus said.

In the first half, the DBP lent P35.38 billion to the agriculture sector and another P79.93 billion for developmental loans used in financial and insurance activities like manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade. The DBP added its loans for environment-related projects reached P54.43 billion while loans for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) reached P30.32 billion.

Furthermore, De Jesus said the DBP’s total deposits as of end-June expanded by four percent year-on-year to P760 billion from P730.76 billion due to “higher term and non-term deposits.”

De Jesus added that the bank’s capital increased by almost eight percent to P83.64 billion from P77.54 billion.

“DBP’s position as the country’s infrastructure bank is closely aligned with our President’s vision of catalyzing progress through economic efficiency through well-planned and inclusive infrastructure development,” de Jesus said. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

More Filipinos are buying microinsurance

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

The Insurance Commission (IC) said the number of lives insured through microinsurance products in the first three months of the year rose by 15.39 percent year-on-year to 51.707 million from 44.812 million in the same period of last year.

The IC said more than half or about

28.82 million Filipinos are insured via microinsurance policies issued by mutual benefit associations (MBAs).

The number of lives insured under MBAs grew by almost 12 percent from 25.744 million Filipinos protected in the first quarter of last year.

The number of lives insured by

life insurance companies rose by 12.01 percent to 16.748 million from 14.951 million. Meanwhile, lives insured by non-life insurance companies reached 6.138 million, 49.13 percent over 4.116 million recorded in the first quarter of last year.

The IC said the increase in the lives insured by microinsurance was driven by heightened awareness by Filipinos on the importance of insurance because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The IC also credited its awareness programs in “building” public trust in microinsurance as a factor to the growth.

Furthermore, the government body said microinsurance has become more accessible to consumers because it is being bundled with micro-finance products like small loans.

Technological advancements, such as mobile wallets, made transactions with microinsurance providers

Govt units, firms told to hasten spending

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) gave state agencies and corporations five weeks to submit their catch-up plans to accelerate spending and address government’s “underperforming” expenditure level as the economy shows signs of slowing down.

The DBM published a circular letter last Thursday mandating all the heads of departments, agencies, state universities and colleges, commissions, governmentowned and -controlled corporations and local government units to submit their respective plans on or before September 15.

The DBM noted that the national government’s spending as of end-June is below the P2.582-trillion disbursement program for the first semester by P170.5 billion or 6.6 percent.

A document from the DBM pointed out there is a “need to ascertain the underlying causes or reasons for the underperformance and undertake measures to address” the slow spending by the national government.

The DBM cited preliminary data pointing to underspending as caused by “ongoing implementation” of various programs, activities and projects (PAPs) by line agencies on top of the “billing or payment concerns or issues” they encounter.

“Given the sizable FY 2023 national budget, government agencies shall exclude their programs and projects as authorized in the annual budget and delivery planned results in a timely manner to help buttress robust economic growth,” the circular read.

The Philippines’s real gross domestic product grew 4.3 percent year-on-year in

POSTAL CLAIM

This undated photo courtesy of the Government Service Insurance System shows GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso (left) giving the actual P100-million check to Acting Postmaster General and CEO Luis D. Carlos representing initial payment for the insurance claim damage suffered by the Manila Central Post Office in May this year. This payment is intended to cover the urgent needs of Philpost in rehabilitating the MCPO building.

CREDIT: GovERnmEnT SERvICE InSuRanCE SySTEm

the second quarter of 2023, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority last Thursday.

“Given that the market forecast was 6.0 percent and the previous quarter’s growth was 6.3 percent, the slowdown in the pace of [the Philippine economy’s] expansion was significant,” Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Economist Ryota Abe has said in a statement.

Address bottlenecks

T HE DBM Circular Letter 2023-10 tasked state agencies to undertake a periodic data analysis of their programs and projects with “historical trends of low disbursement rates” and those with anticipated delays.

The national government agencies were required to submit a consolidated report to the DBM that contains their latest available financial and physical accomplishments, status of their major programs and projects under fiscal years 2022 and 2023, as well as the catch-up plan to “address the bottlenecks” they are experiencing.

The DBM explained that it will use the various catch-up plans as a basis for the release of the balance of budget for the year and for the schedule of fund releases for next year. Furthermore, the plans would also contribute in the determination of the proposed budget level for 2025, according to the DBM.

Obligation rates

DURING the budget briefing of the House of Representatives’ Development Budget Coordination Committee last Thursday,

“easier,” the IC added.

In terms of premium collection, microinsurance recorded a total amount of P3.249 billion in the first quarter, according to the IC. The amount was 22.48 percent higher than the P2.652 billion microinsurance premium collection registered in the same period of last year.

“Notably, micro-insurance premiums collected by non-life insurance companies jumped by a whopping 88.83 percent compared to figures during the first quarter of 2022,” according to a document from the IC.

“Microinsurance premiums collected by MBAs and life insurance companies jumped by 13.43 percent and 12.02 percent, respectively,” it added.

Microinsurance premium collection by MBAs reached P1.781 billion while life insurance companies and non-life insurance companies

DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said the obligation rate of the entire national government as of end-March stood at 30.5 percent.

Pangandaman told lawmakers the Department of Information and Communications Technology had the lowest rate at 5.6 percent followed by the Department of Migrant Workers at 10 percent.

The obligation rate of other departments and government agencies are as follows: Department of Social Welfare and Development (11.4 percent); Department of Agrarian Reform (13.8 percent); and, Department of Labor and Employment (14.1 percent).

Pangandaman said the obligation rate of other executive offices stood at 19.4 percent.

Slow spending

ECoNoMIC officials, particularly Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, have flagged the state’s slow expenditure that could derail the country’s economic development.

The national government (NG) posted a P551.716-billion budget deficit in the first half of the year as spending outpaced revenues during the period, latest Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data showed.

The latest budget deficit was 28.49 percent lower than the NG’s P771.5-billion mid-year deficit program as actual expenditures fell short of target disbursements. (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2023/07/28/ng-budget-deficitnarrows-18-17in-h1-to- percente2 percent82 percenta7551-7b-from- percente2 percent82 percenta7674-2b/) Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Loans to consumers, SMEs boost RCBC’s income rise

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

THE net income of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) posted a double-digit increase in the first semester of the year on the back of strong loan growth across all segments.

In a disclosure at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), RCBC said its net income rose 14 percent to P6.2 billion in the first six months of 2023.

Loan growth was seen across all segments with both SME and consumer sustaining momentum at 18 percent while RCBC’s credit card receivables increased by 48 percent. Gross billings for credit cards grew 54 percent on the back of data-driven and personalized campaigns.

“RCBC continues to perform better than the industry as we focus on high growth segments and equip our people with digital and data science tools,” RCBC president and CEo Eugene S. Acevedo said.

“We are also excited to expand further with the help of our newest shareholder, the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC).” on July 31, 2023, RCBC announced that it completed the sale of an additional 15.001 percent stake to SMBC, one of the largest banks in Japan and in the world.

The P27 billion capital infusion into RCBC will boost its capital ratios by over 300 basis points. The bank also said total deposits rose 22 percent year on year, with its CASA growing by 17 percent year on year given the expansion to the retail and SME markets in areas outside Metro Manila. Total gross income rose 10 percent to P23.5 billion, coming from the core business of loans and deposits, and augmented by higher fee income from retail transactions and sale of assets.

The bank generated an annualized return on equity of 11.1 percent and an annualized return on asset of 1.11 percent, better than year-ago levels.

SME-microfinance bills scrutinized by senators

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

THE Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship lined up marathon hearings Wednesday on three bills intended to boost small businesses and financing.

Simultaneously chaired by Senator Mark A. Villar, the three committees were tasked to scrutinize Senate Bill

(SB) 75 and SB 1247 and House Bill 7363 seeking to provide a microfinancing program for micro-scale enterprises.

As proposed in tackling the three measures, Villar opted to first put under scrutiny the performance and the fund life of the “Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso Program” of the government-run Small Business Corp.

(SBCorp).

SBCorp vice president Angelito B. Acupan reported that the institution has provided P15-billion worth of loans to micro-scale, small-sized and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

In turn, Villar reminded the SBC that the loans extended to MSMEs are not doles and the financial institution should strive to become self-sufficient.

“If the purpose is just to give away money, just make a fund to give cash assistance. But if it is going to be a nature that is supposed to earn an income, to grow and is supposed to be something that can survive on its own then maybe you can recommend to the committee certain provisions that might help the fund become self-sustaining,” Villar suggested.

recorded contributions at P840.097 million and P627.639 million, respectively, based on IC data. The IC said there are 48 regulated entities that sell microinsurance products as of the first quarter.

“The Commission actively promotes micro-insurance as a means for financial inclusion by allowing low-income earners to hedge against various risks such as death, injury and damage to livelihood or property,” added the regulator.

Microinsurance refers to products that can be purchased for premiums that are not more than 7.5 percent of the Metro Manila minimum wage as computed daily, according to the IC. Microinsurance products include micro-life and health insurance, microagricultural insurance as well as preneed products like micro-memorial, educational and even pension plans, the IC added.

Anticipation and initiative: Association essentials

IN my over 30 years of managing associations, I have learned that there are two attributes essential to organizational success: anticipation and initiative.

Associations that possess the ability to anticipate future trends, challenges and opportunities while proactively taking initiatives are better positioned to navigate uncertainty, drive meaningful change and deliver value to their members.

Anticipation involves the ability to foresee potential developments and changes that may impact an association and its members. By adopting a forward-thinking mindset, associations can stay ahead of the curve and make informed decisions that shape their future. Here are key aspects of anticipation that associations can focus on:

1. Environmental scanning. Regularly monitoring and analyzing industry trends, emerging technologies and regulatory shifts, among others, help associations understand the evolving landscape they operate in. This enables them to identify potential opportunities and threats and make strategic adjustments accordingly.

2. Member needs assessment. Anticipating the evolving needs and expectations of members is vital for associations to deliver relevant and valuable services. Conducting surveys, organizing focus groups and engaging in direct conversations with members can provide valuable insights that improve strategic planning and decision-making.

3. Collaboration and knowledge sharing. Associations have the inherent capacity to actively foster collaboration within their communities. By providing platforms for knowledge sharing, networking and idea exchange, associations create opportunities for members to collectively foretell and address challenges they may face together.

While anticipation sets the stage, initiative drives action and progress. Associations that exhibit a proactive approach demonstrate their commitment to addressing member needs, advancing their profession or industry and creating a lasting impact. Here are key elements of initiative for associations:

1. Thought leadership. Associations can establish themselves as thought leaders by providing insightful content, organizing conferences, webinars and educational programs. By

offering expertise and showcasing industry trends, associations position themselves as valuable resources and influencers within their field.

2. Advocacy and policy influence. Proactively engaging in advocacy efforts allows associations to shape public policies and regulations that affect their members. By taking a stand on pertinent issues and advocating for their members’ interests, associations become champions of change and build their reputation as credible stakeholders.

3. Innovation and adaptability. Associations that foster a culture of innovation and adaptability are better equipped to respond to disruptive forces and industry changes. Encouraging experimentation, embracing new technologies and facilitating collaboration between members and industry partners can lead to transformative initiatives and opportunities for growth.

Anticipation and initiative serve as the bedrock of successful associations. By actively engaging in foresight activities, associations can anticipate emerging trends and changing member needs, ensuring they remain relevant and effective. However, anticipation alone is insufficient sans the accompanying initiative to drive proactive actions. Associations that demonstrate initiative take tangible steps to address challenges, provide valuable resources, advocate for their members and lead their industries forward.

In the face of an ever-changing landscape, associations that embrace anticipation and initiative will continue to thrive and provide immense value to their members, reinforcing their position as vital entities within their respective domains. By cultivating these qualities, associations can forge a bright and resilient future for themselves and the communities they serve.

Octavio Peralta is currently the executive director of the Global Compact Network Philippines and founder and volunteer CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives, the “association of associations.” PCAAE will hold its 11th Associations Summit at the PICC on December 6, 2023. E-mail: bobby@pcaae.org.

MORE and more poor Filipinos are getting microinsurance to protect their lives and properties as a result of improved awareness on and accessibility of insurance products, according to the Insurance Commission (IC).

Exciting Internet days are coming?

ThEr E were 5.3 billion Internet users in the world in 2022, and this number is projected to grow to about 6 billion this year. With so much information on the Internet, do you know that you are adding to the global data stockpile every time you search something on Google? According to the latest estimates, 328.77 million terabytes of data are created every day. “Created” includes data that is newly generated, captured, copied, or consumed.

While it’s almost impossible to wrap our mind around these numbers, the latest data shows that Google alone processes over 99,000 searches every single second. This makes more than 8.5 billion searches a day (Internet Live Stats, 2022).

The Philippine population reached 111.8 million in January 2022, when the country had 76.01 million Internet users. Facebook had 83.85 million users in the Philippines in early 2022. YouTube had 56.50 million users; Instagram had 18.65 million users; TikTok had 35.96 million users aged 18 and above; LinkedIn had 11 million members; Snapchat had 10.60 million users; and Twitter had 10.50 million users in the Philippines in early 2022.

Data from GSMA Intelligence shows there were 156.5 million cellular mobile connections in the country at the start of 2022, which is 140 percent of the total population!

With millions of terabytes of data and information getting exchanged everyday, there is a need of data centers bigger than ever. Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John E. Uy sees a fivefold increase in data center capacity in the Philippines for the next five years.

There are projects being carried to manage this heavy volume of data. For example, PLDT is considering Greater Metro Manila (GMM) as a potential location for its upcoming 12th data center, with a planned capacity of at least 100 megawatts, according to the company’s data center arm ePLDT Inc.

“Our main requirement is very far from the fault line and then second is access to reliable and adequate power. We have some places to choose from. I think this will be in GMM,” ePLDT Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Victor S. Genuino said. GMM covers all the cities of Metro Manila and some cities in Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.

PLDT and ePLDT have been putting investments into their international and domestic infrastructure such as cable systems, 5G network and data centers. The plan is to grow their current data center market share of 65 percent, and to position the Philippines as the regional hyperscaler hub in the Asia-Pacific Region.

The National Telecommunications Commission has given PLDT provisional authority to construct two new cable-landing stations in the country to host the 12,000-kilometer-long Apricot cable system, which will be completed in 2025. It will connect the Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Guam.

PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications last week announced its plan of regaining mobile market leadership after the SIM card registration trimmed the market share gap with rival Globe Telecom Inc. PLDT and Smart President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio said they were planning to do so by offering “better products” catering to the needs of the market.

After the July 25 deadline and five-day grace period for SIM listup, Smart saw nearly 80 percent of its users comply with 52.5 million, which is 1.2 million fewer than Globe’s 53.7 million. Prior to this, Globe had 84.75 million SIM cards, significantly bigger than Smart’s 66.3 million.

Panlilio said PLDT is in advanced talks with US-based Radisys Corporation, a global leader in open telecom solutions, to explore building and launching cutting edge digital experiences for Filipinos.

“As part of PLDT’s purpose to inspire innovation and our mission to deliver meaningful connections for all our customers, we look forward to closely working with Radisys to help us usher in more immersive and exciting digital experiences for tech-savvy Filipinos as we look into the future,” Panlilio said. Things are looking up for the country’s Internet infrastructure. We are pleased to note that the telcos have recognized the need to increase Internet speed and to provide reliable Internet connection. If they can start offering comprehensive services—like PLDT’s forthcoming offering of “immersive and exciting digital experiences”—at a reasonable price, then surely the Internet will continue to make our life better. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the days of slow, unreliable and expensive Internet in the Philippines will soon be gone.

Taking pride in Philippine products

sonny M. angara

Better Days

EvEry year in August we observe the Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa or National Language Month. By virtue of Proklamasyon Blg. 1041, s. 1997 issued by the late former President Fidel ramos, the nationwide observation of the Buwan ng Wika recognizes the linguistic diversity of the Philippines and the importance of preserving these as part of our culture. For this year, the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino has chosen the theme: “Filipino at Mga Katutubong Wika: Wika ng Kapayapaan, Seguridad at Ingklusibong Pagpapatupad ng Katarungang Panlipunan.”

The decision to observe the Buwan ng Wika in August was in recognition of the legacy of our former President Manuel Luis Quezon, who was born on August 19, 1878 in Baler, and is known as our “Ama ng Wikang Pambansa.” It was not only by establishing a national language that President Quezon espoused nationalism. He also saw the importance of cultivating and promoting Philippine-made products as an important component of the development of strong and progressive nations.

On August 12, 1936, Quezon issued Proclamation No. 76, s. 1936 declaring the week from August 17 to 23 as Made in the Philippines Products Week. Examining the Quezon issuance, it gave us a glimpse into the exceptional mind

of one of country’s greatest leaders and how he recognized early on the critical role of developing a Philippine brand in order for us to join the ranks of the world’s most vibrant economies.

In the Proclamation, Quezon emphasized that “The people of the Philippine Islands would do well to cultivate and develop this same spirit of economic nationalism among themselves for their own welfare and benefit and for the greater progress and development of this Archipelago. The expansion and great development of local industries will bring more wealth, prosperity, and happiness to all the people living in these Islands.”

“The Philippines is richly endowed with the precious gifts of

nature. We have here an abundance of the basic materials of industry. To a certain extent we have begun to avail ourselves of these natural facilities and advantages for industrial growth, but our local industries are still comparatively few and relatively undeveloped. Most of them remain in their earlier stages of growth. In the meantime, many of our domestic needs that could be fully supplied with local products have to be provided for with considerable importations of foreign articles. In order to give the necessary encouragement and stimulus to domestic industries, the people of this country should patronize Philippine products.”

These ideas still hold true to this day. While we have come a long way in developing our local industries, there is still so much untapped potential and there is plenty of room for growth. It is this objective of making the Philippines a strong, vibrant and prosperous nation that motivates us in working and pushing for our Tatak Pinoy or Proudly Pinoy strategy. We came up with Tatak Pinoy in 2019 after studying what the other nations are producing and how this translates to the strength of their economies. The data is contained in the Atlas of Economic Complexity of Dr. Ricardo Hausmann of Harvard University and Cesar Hidalgo of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which states that a country becomes prosperous when it is able to produce and trade a diverse array of complex and uncommon products

and services.

Tatak Pinoy seeks to achieve a degree of economic complexity so that we can have better jobs, higher incomes and standards of living in the country. This idea, this advocacy is starting to take shape and is now a bill—Senate Bill 2218 or our proposed Tatak Pinoy Act. As Chairman of the Committee on Finance, we have conducted seven hearings on the measure and soon we will start preparing the committee report. We are particularly optimistic about the chances of the Tatak Pinoy bill eventually becoming a law now that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has made it part of his list of priority measures for the legislature.

The realization of Quezon’s vision for the Philippines is long overdue but we are getting there. We now have the attention of the entire government and with the inputs being provided by the private sector about their experiences, the roadblocks that they face, their road to success, they are gradually becoming aware of what needs to be done to help our industries in reaching their full potential and making their mark in the world.

Senator Sonny Angara has been in public service for 18 years—9 years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and 9 as Senator. He has authored, co-authored, and sponsored more than 330 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.   E-mail: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara

Biden issues an executive order restricting US investments in Chinese technology

By Josh Boak | The Associated Press

WAShINGTON—President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to block and regulate high-tech US-based investments going toward China—a move the administration said was targeted but it also reflected an intensifying competition between the world’s two biggest powers.

The order covers advanced computer chips, microelectronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence. Senior administration officials said that the effort stemmed from national security goals rather than economic interests, and that the categories it covered were intentionally narrow in scope. The order seeks to blunt China’s ability to use US investments in its technology companies to upgrade its military while also preserving broader levels of trade that are vital for both nations’ economies.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded in a statement early Thursday that it has “serious concern” about the order and “reserves the right to take measures.”

The United States and China

appear to be increasingly locked in a geopolitical competition with a conflicting set of values. Biden administration officials have insisted that they have no interest in “decoupling” from China, yet the US also has limited the export of advanced computer chips and kept the expanded tariffs set up by President Donald Trump. And in its response, China accused the US of “using the cover of ‘risk reduction’ to carry out ‘decoupling and chain-breaking.’”

China has engaged in crackdowns on foreign companies.

Biden has suggested that China’s economy is struggling and its global ambitions have been tempered as the US has reenergized its alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the European Union. The administration consulted with allies

and industry in shaping the executive order.

“Worry about China, but don’t worry about China,” Biden told donors at a June fundraising event in California.

The officials previewing the order said that China has exploited US investments to support the development of weapons and modernize its military. The new limits were tailored not to disrupt China’s economy, but they would complement the export controls on advanced computer chips from last year that led to pushback by Chinese officials. The Treasury Department, which would monitor the investments, will announce a proposed rulemaking with definitions that would conform to the presidential order and go through a public comment process.

The goals of the order would be to have investors notify the US government about certain types of transactions with China as well as to place prohibitions on some investments.

Officials said the order is focused on areas such as private equity, venture capital and joint partnerships in which the investments could pos-

sibly give countries of concern such as China additional knowledge and military capabilities.

J. Philip Ludvigson, a lawyer and former Treasury official, said the order was an initial framework that could be expanded over time.

“The executive order issued today really represents the start of a conversation between the US government and industry regarding the details of the ultimate screening regime,” Ludvigson said. “While the executive order is limited initially to semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence, it explicitly provides for a future broadening to other sectors.”

The issue is also a bipartisan priority. In July, by a vote of 91-6, the Senate added as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act requirements to monitor and limit investments in countries of concern, including China.

Yet reaction to Biden’s order on Wednesday showed a desire to push harder on China. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said the order See “Biden,”

Deflation in China:

Beijing can do

By Jill Disis

data left no doubt: China is now clearly dealing with a deflation threat. Consumer and producer prices fell together for the first time since 2020, adding to concerns about the health of the world’s second-largest economy. news that China’s prices are falling may be somewhat jarring, given the inflationary pressures in many other parts of the world. But the unique factors contributing to China’s problems are deep and ingrained. solving them may not be an easy fix.

1. Why is China in deflation when other countries have inflation?

Inflation rocketed higher in the US and other major economies as they reopened after the Covid-19 pandemic, with pent-up demand fed at times by government handouts. At the start of this year some economists predicted the same would happen in China, which ended its Covid curbs later. But that hasn’t been the case. Consumer spending growth remains subdued, while a prolonged property slump has dented confidence, holding people back from buying big-ticket items and impacting prices for furniture and home appliances. Energy prices have been falling, too, given weakness in global commodity costs and Beijing’s long-standing control over the power sector. A price war among carmakers has added to deflationary pressures, while companies are also cutting prices to reduce the excess stock they built up over the pandemic. Prices aren’t falling across the board, however. Spending on services, such as travel and restaurants, has surged since pandemic restrictions ended, with prices continuing to rise in those sectors.

2. If everything is cheaper, isn’t that good for consumers?

Not really. Cheaper prices look good for consumers at first glance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean those shoppers will start spending money. When prices drop across a wide range of goods for an extended time, people start thinking it’s best to put off buying expensive items like appliances, thinking the price will continue to fall. That curbs economic activity even further, in turn forcing businesses to reduce their prices. For the consumers, that usually translates into earning less or losing jobs, which then results in less spending in a dangerous spiral downward.

3. What about the impact on businesses?

Lower prices generally lead to weaker revenue and profits, which then prompt companies to curb investment and hiring. Deflation also raises the level of “real,” or inflation-adjusted, interest rates in the economy. A rise in servicing costs for loans for businesses reduces their ability to invest, which in turn crimps demand, inducing more deflation. Some economists believe such “debt deflation” can trigger recessions or depressions as people default on their loans and banks are undermined. Look at Japan, where falling prices took hold in the 1990s and contributed to a prolonged period of stagnation that’s still haunting the world’s third-largest economy. The country is still dealing with the question of how to spur economic growth in a sustainable way. The Bank of Japan’s deployment of negative interest rates has done little to move the needle, prompting new tweaks to monetary policy this year.

4. How long is this deflation going to last?

Plummeting food and energy costs contributed heavily to the downward pressure on July’s figures, and some economists see those prices becoming less of a drag through the rest of the year. Factory-gate prices have been in deflation for longer, since October 2022. Even then, July’s reading marked a slight improvement from the previous month, suggesting some stabilization in producer prices. In general, China’s

inflation has been on the low side for a decade, with economists citing a high household saving rates and high investment leading to rapid increases in industrial capacity as reasons.

5. What is Beijing likely to do about this?

The People’s Bank of China could cut interest rates further or reduce the amount of cash banks have to hold in reserve. The problem is the central bank faces several constraints, such as a weaker yuan and a lready elevated debt levels, especially at the local government level. Fiscal support—stimulus—has also been moderate given the financial strains, meaning authorities are less inclined to rely on big spending measures as in the past and instead turn to targeted strategies. Beijing has also encouraged regional authorities to find ways to get people to spend money, too.

6. What about foreign investors?

The clearest impact may be to corporate earnings, given the pressure on companies to cut prices during times of deflation. Where there’s a bit more upside is in bonds, which better protect investors during times of trouble. Concerns about growth and curbed investment usually prompt governments to deploy looser monetary policy, making a country’s bonds more attractive, too. However, Ken Cheung, chief Asia FX strategist at Mizuho Bank Ltd., said the yields on China’s sovereign debt are simply “too low compared to major markets” to be appealing to foreign traders.

7. What does this mean for the global economy?

There may be some benefits for developed countries, at least in the short term. As Chinese manufacturers cut prices to shed excess supply, that may ripple through to places like the US and Europe, providing some help for central banks there as they work to tame elevated inflation. There are some limitations: Both regions have become more protectionist in recent years and tried to limit their dependence on China. And Chinese-made goods make up a relatively small share of consumer spending in developed countries. For example, the US CPI (consumer price index) basket is dominated by shelter, food, energy and medical care, which have relatively little to do with imports from China. Emerging markets might welcome lower machinery prices—though with some caveats, as analysts have noted those countries may be wary about welcoming too much Chinese competition undercutting domestic industries.

8. Has this happened before?

Yes. Each time, in 2009, 2015 and 2020, Beijing responded with forceful monetary easing and large fiscal stimulus. While Beijing has vowed to accelerate some infrastructure projects and increase support for the slumping housing market this time, many economists aren’t expecting a large-scale building boom as in the past, as President Xi Jinping has been focused on shifting its economy toward new growth drivers, such as advanced technologies. That would make Beijing’s response more similar to its response to a 1998 period of deflation, which is now remembered as structural. Beijing recapitalized underperforming banks and downsized its state-sector ahead of joining the World Trade Organization.  With assistance from Fran Wang and Rebecca Choong

The winds of August and the day of cats

Tito Genova Valiente annoTaTions

Winds do not characterize the month of August. But i woke up on the first day of this month and noticed the crowns of trees around my home almost bending over. A low-pressure area was the quick explanation for that phenomenon. And yet, long after the storm had gone, the leaves were still buffeted by winds, rattling at eight in the morning, the clouds chased by some unseen forces above.

I am not surprised: August is the anomalous month in the structuralist sense of the word. In the binary seasons on this side of the world, it is the neither-here-northere month, the betwixt and between—for Camus the “resentment and satisfaction”; for Victor Turner, the liminality.

August signals the end of the hot summer but it is not the beginning of the chill. But sometimes, the winds come as this year and the month fulfills its incongruous role—a marker for a boundary blurring any definitive trait of clime, shattering any suggestion about shapes reconciling with other shapes.

Who would ask more of the August afternoon? Thus asks Delmore Schwartz because “in the slight ripple, the mind perceives the heart.”

Believe me, August is a subtle month because of all the months, it is the only one that has a mind. While the preceding months have strong bites—March is solid heat, June and July intermittent the homes of storms and rains—August offers what Margaret Atwood calls “Sunday streets in dry August sunlight.”

With no events to celebrate except for sanities (again Atwood speaks) of “the houses in pedantic rows,/ the planted sanitary trees,” August is natural tabula rasa or one that attempts to start anew.

In August, only houses give lectures about the gift of predictable or-

dinariness and the trees are blessed with cleanliness as if waiting for the destruction of September, and the wetness of the succeeding days. August is a month of blankness. This could be the reason why histories provide the game and gain of this month: bombs as mighty as god’s wrath were dropped in the month of August. The month is the month of physicists and botanists.

Religion offers its share of assurance during the eight month of August: in Hinduism, Lakshmi appears, the god of abundance. But somewhere in the fields of Southeast Asia, the month of harvest can be a threat of drought. In Buddhism, the wheel of Dharma has eight spokes and there are eight states of consciousness. In Christianity, the beatitudes are eight.

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. This is exactly what happens in August, when a day is declared as the National Day of Cats.

While dogs are naturally possessing of temerity, cats are imbued with independence that makes them vulnerable. Perhaps, this could be the reason why we set aside a day for them.

Cats, however, have a circuitous presence in my life. I take care of birds. I feed them. Birds are stereotypically the preyed-upon beings for cats. And yet, somehow, this ecological relationship has been altered in

my universe where birds are regularly fed with breadcrumbs and leftover cooked rice.

Let me tell you the story: On one of those days where I had placed tiny bits of bread and cookies on a ledge formed by the wall shared by the house next to mine, I sensed a movement, a shadow clumpier and chunkier than those of birds. At that point, the birds were already feasting on the food I had arranged on the ledge. Used to my presence, the tiny birds were taking their time biting the crumbs or pecking on them and bringing the bits somewhere. It was after a long observation that I noticed a huge sewer (it was dank and dark) rat creeping close to the crumbs. I was not about to stop them but something in me was alerted: supposing this rat chanced upon a bird or two in front of him, would he go for the feast of breads and cookies or opt for one bird.

I had not seen a rat feast upon any bird (true, I have seen in documentaries how big birds swooped on mice and carried them to their nest up in the heavens of tall trees) but I was not ready to witness rats eating up birds. Lost in reverie, I quickly recovered my wit and opened the screen door briskly. Up flew the birds and the

rat scampered to some sewer safety. The rat would not stop. It soon was back. It was then that I prayed for a cat to appear and eat up the rat. My assumption was that the action would end there. I was not expecting the death of the rat to be followed by the cat turning its attention to birds. But no cat appeared and I was left strategizing, which was to transfer my feeding program on the other side of the wall, far from the dark route seemingly preferred by rats. I think of this scenario and dream of cats with nine lives. I believe the day for cats should not be held in August but in September, the ninth month in the Julian calendar. Cats after all have nine, not eight, lives. I dream of a haiku by Issa and it is about cats:

In the shimmering haze

The cat mumbled something

In its sleep. For Borges, cats have “accepted/ since that long forgotten past,/ the love of the distrustful hand.” Addressing a cat further, Borges says: “You belong to another time. You are lord/Of a place bounded like a dream.” This is a short step to a month besieged by an unscheduled wind and a dream of cats and nightmare.

Anti-corruption Ecuadorian presidential candidate assassinated at campaign event

By Gonzalo Solano & Megan Janetsky The Associated Press

QUITO, Ecuador—An Ecuadorian presidential candidate known for speaking up against cartels and corruption was shot and killed Wednesday at a political rally in the capital, amid a startling wave of gang-driven violence in the South American country. President Guillermo Lasso confirmed the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio and suggested organized crime was behind his slaying, less than two weeks before the Aug. 20 presidential election.

“I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished,” Lasso said in a statement. “Organized crime has gone too far, but they will feel the full weight of the law.”

Ecuador’s attorney general’s office said that one suspect died in custody from wounds sustained in a firefight after the killing, and police detained six suspects following raids in Quito.

In his final speech before he was killed, Villavicencio promised a roaring crowd that he would root out

Biden . . . continued from A18

was an “essential step forward,” but it “cannot be the final step.” Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, said Biden should have been more aggressive, saying, “we have to stop all US investment in China’s critical technology and military companies—period.”

Biden has called Chinese Presi-

corruption and lock up the country’s “thieves.”

Prior to the shooting, Villavicencio said he had received multiple death threats, including from affiliates of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, one of a slew of international organized crime groups that now operate in Ecuador. He said his campaign represented a threat to such groups.

“Here I am showing my face. I’m not scared of them,” Villavicencio said in a statement, naming detained crime boss José Adolfo Macías by his alias “Fito.”

Villavicencio was one of eight candidates, though not the front-runner. The politician, 59, was the candidate for the Build Ecuador Movement.

Supporter Ida Paez said that Villavicencio’s campaign had given her hope that the country could overcome the gangs. At the rally, she said, “We were happy. Fernando even danced. His last words were, if someone messes with the people, he is messing with my family.”

As drug traffickers have begun to use the country’s coastal ports, Ecuadorians have reeled from violence not seen for decades. The sounds of gunfire ring in many major cities as

dent Xi Jinping a “dictator” in the aftermath of the US shooting down a spy balloon from China that floated over the United States. Taiwan’s status has been a source of tension, with Biden saying that China had become coercive regarding its independence.

China has supported Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, though Biden has noted that the friendship has not extended to the shipment of weapons.

The US Chamber of Commerce said it met a number of times with

rival gangs battle for control, and gangs have recruited children. Just last month, the mayor of the port city of Manta was shot and killed. On July 26, Lasso declared a state of emergency covering two provinces and the country’s prison system in an effort to stem the violence.

Former vice president and candidate Otto Sonnenholzner said in a news conference following Wednesday’s killing, “We are dying, drowning in a sea of tears and we do not deserve to live like this. We demand that you do something.”

Videos of the rally on social media appear to show Villavicencio walking out of the event surrounded by guards. The video then shows the candidate getting into a white pickup truck before gunshots are heard, followed by screams and commotion around the truck. This sequence of events was confirmed to The Associated Press by Patricio Zuquilanda, Villavicencio’s campaign adviser.

Zuquilanda said the candidate had received at least three death threats before the shooting, which he had reported to authorities, resulting in one detention. He called on international authorities to take

the White House and federal agencies as the order was being prepared and said its goal during the comment period will be “to ensure the measure is targeted and administrable.”

US officials have long signaled the coming executive order on investing in China, but it’s unclear whether financial markets will regard it as a tapered step or a continued escalation of tensions at a fragile moment.

“The message it sends to the market may be far more decisive,” said

action against the violence, attributing it to rising violence and drug trafficking.

“The Ecuadorian people are crying and Ecuador is mortally wounded,” he said. “Politics cannot lead to the death of any member of society.”

Villavicencio was one of the country’s most critical voices against corruption, especially during the 2007-2017 government of President Rafael Correa.

He was also an independent journalist who investigated corruption in previous governments, later entering politics as an anti-graft campaigner. Villavicencio filed many judicial complaints against high-ranking members of the Correa government, including against the ex-president himself. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for defamation over his criticisms of Correa, and fled to Indigenous territory in Ecuador, later receiving asylum in neighboring Peru.

Edison Romo, a former military intelligence colonel, said the anticorruption complaints made Villavicencio “a threat to international criminal organizations.” Janetsky reported from Mexico City.

Elaine Dezenski, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “US and multinational companies are already reexamining the risks of investing in China. Beijing’s so-called ‘national security’ and ‘anti-espionage’ laws that curb routine and necessary corporate due diligence and compliance were already having a chilling effect on US foreign direct investment. That chilling now risks turning into a deep freeze.” AP reporter Joe McDonald contributed to this report from Beijing.

Why prices are falling and what

A20 Friday, August11, 2023

18 Manila Bay reclamation projects were granted ECCs

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

ATOTAL of 18 land reclamation projects in Manila Bay were able to secure environmental compliance certificates (ECC) and are in various stages of development.

Combined, these dump-and-fill projects cover a total of 5,795.84 hectares, an area bigger than Caloocan City with a total of 176 barangays and over 1.6 million population based on the 2020 census of population and housing.

A document from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror , identified the projects, the status of implementation, including dates the ECCs were issued.

T he list does not include SMC’s international airport project in Bulakan, Bulacan. The document showed the city of Manila has 4 projects with ECCs, Navotas has 2, Pasay 2, and Paranaque

1 – all in the National Capital Region.

A nother land-reclamation project straddles the territorial jurisdiction of Las Piñas and Parañaque.

I n Cavite Province, Bacoor has the

most number of land-reclamation projects with ECCS at 4; Kawit has 1; Noveleta, 1; and Rosario, 1. A nother land reclamation project that straddles the territories of Kawit and Noveleta lists the Province of Cavite as the proponent.

C ities or municipalities were listed as proponents of the projects, with private sector partners.

O f these projects with approved ECCs, the Manila Bay Land Reclamation of the Province of Cavite and Coastal Road Corp/Cavitex Holdings, Inc. is the largest, with a total land area covering 844 hectares.

A nother big land-reclamation project is the Parañaque & Las Piñas Coastal Bay Land Reclamation & Dev Project, which lists both the cities of Parañaque and Las Piñas as proponents and Alltech Contractors, Inc. as its private sector partner.  It covers a total of 635.14 hectares.

Most of the projects are not yet im -

plemented, except for three ongoing land reclamation projects in Navotas and 2 in Pasay City.

T he ECC for the 4KM Coastal Dike with Detention Pond, Pumping Station, and Reclamation Project of Navotas and Argonbay Construction Company, Inc. with a total area of 576.7 hectares was issued in March 2021.  It was granted conditional notice to proceed from the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA).

T he Pasay Harbour Reclamation Project of Pasay City and Philkairos Inc, Pasay Reclamation Project, and SM Prime Holdings, Inc.  are both ongoing. Pasay Harbour covers a total area of 265 hectares and the ECC was issued in November 2018, while the Pasay Reclamation Project covers a total area of 360 hectares and ECC was issued in October 2017.

B oth projects have been issued conditional notice to proceed by the PRA.

P resident Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier announced the suspension of all but one land reclamation project in Manila Bay due to various violations, prompting environment groups to call for transparency and challenging Malacañang and the DENR to name the “one that got away” reportedly because it has passed a rigid review process.

S ources at the DENR said they are not privy to the President’s order.

O ver the past few months, the DENR under Secretary Maria Anto -

NCR’S P854-B FUNDING TOPS REGIONAL BUDGETS

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

nia Yulo-Loyzaga has been conducting stakeholders’ consultations to gather valuable inputs from nongovernment organizations, people’s organizations, the academe and scientific communities, as well as the private sector as part of an ongoing review.

S he also cited DENR’s role as one of the 13 agencies tasked by the Supreme Court in 2018 to rehabilitate Manila Bay and restore its water quality to its pristine state.  While recognizing the benefits of land reclamation, the country’s chief environmental steward insists on probing the cumulative impact of land reclamation projects in Manila Bay before deciding on the fate of the ongoing development. Meanwhile, environmental groups also urged the DENR to stop processing ECC  applications pending a cumulative impact assessment with a broad stakeholders’ participation, and immediately revoke the ECCs of those with approved permits.  They also demand accountability for the economic displacement of affected communities.

L and reclamation is a way of expanding coastal territories through the process called dump-and-fill. The process, which involves the scraping of mangrove forests and dumping of filling materials in coastal areas, is being condemned by environmental groups as environmentally destructive and would lead to irreversible damage to coastal and marine ecosystems.

THE National Capital Region (NCR) will receive more than a fourth of the P3.63 trillion allotted for the regions nationwide, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

DBM data showed the NCR’s P854.2-billion budget alone accounts for nearly 15 percent of the record-high P5.768trillion proposed budget for 2024.

R egion III is followed by the NCR in terms of the budget allocated on a regional basis, with an estimated proposed funding of P311.9 billion.

R egion IV-A ranked third at P304.6 billion, DBM data showed.

O n an island basis, Luzon got P1.342 trillion in budget allocation, about 23.3 percent of the overall national government proposed funding for next year. Visayas received a P604.5 billion allocation, while P829.2 billion was proposed for Mindanao. The proposed budget of the other Luzon regions follows: Region I (P157.9 billion), CAR (P92.7 billion), Region II (P141.5 billion, Region IV-B (P133.8 billion), and Region V (P199.7 billion).

R egion VII led the Visayas in terms of budget allocation at P212.4 billion, followed by Region VI with P207.5 billion, and Region VIII at P184.6 billion.

I n Mindanao, Region X had the biggest budget proposal at P164.5 billion followed by Region XI and BARMM with P157.5 billion and P142.2 billion, respectively.

T he rest of Mindanao got these budget allocations: Region IX (P132 billion), Region XII (P123.1 billion) and CARAGA (P109.9 billion).

T he DBM said the budget directly allocated to all the regions accounts for 63 percent of the national government’s total proposed national government budget.

T he remaining 37 percent were shared by the nationwide budget at P1.508 trillion and central office budget at P629 billion, the DBM added.

DOT’s Ho-Ho buses told to stay away from Naia PBBM wants new Vietnam, PHL maritime pact signed

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. pushed for the signing of a new Philippine-Vietnam maritime agreement to help strengthen cooperation between both countries in the South China Sea.

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

THE operator of the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) Hop-on, Hop-off (Ho-Ho) bus was told to park its buses elsewhere, away from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) to avoid confusing arriving passengers.

M anila International Airport Authority Officer-in-Charge Bryan Co told the BusinessMirror , “The DOT hop-on, hop-off [bus service] does not include Naia as its destinations for now.” He made this statement in response to complaints from arriving passengers that they were denied from boarding a Ho-Ho bus by its driver, despite the vehicle carrying a sign that it was ferrying passengers to the four Naia passenger terminals.

What happened was that their service provider (UBE Express), which also operates P2P (point-to-point) routes to/from Naia, used these buses; hence the confusion,” explained Co. He acknowledged that there was another UBE Express bus that also went around the Naia terminal, but operated another P2P route. He said, “We already called the attention of UBE Express to not intermix Ho-Ho/ DOT bus with its Naia service to avoid confusion; clearly mark its buses on destinations; and properly train their personnel to handle customers.”

MIAA free bus service

THE DOT had no comment about the incidents involving its Ho-Ho bus parked at the Naia. The Ho-Ho bus project was conceived to ferry tourists around Makati and Manila, with bookings done through a mobile app.

Co underscored that the MIAA also operates an Inter-Terminal Bus link servicing terminals 1, 2, 3, and 4 “for ticketed or passengers with boarding passes. We are now in the process of putting additional wayfinding signs to raise

awareness. This will be augmented in the next few months with additional eBuses. This service of MIAA between terminals is free of charge.”

He added that “clear signages will be posted in decision points to aid passengers that need to connect to other terminals.” The MIAA recently reassigned terminals with T2 catering mostly to domestic carriers, and T3 for Cebu Pacific local and international flights, and other international carriers.

O n August 5, lifestyle designer and Boracay entrepreneur PJ Arañador narrated the confusion he and others experienced, when he tried to board a Ho-ho bus emblazoned with DOT’s new “Love the Philippines” slogan. Posting a photo of the bus on his Facebook account, he said, “This LOVE THE PHILIPPINES or LOVE BUS by DOT  was  empty. It was  supposed  to loop between airports as its sign said so. I needed to transfer from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2. I went to it and confused me with other Filipino passengers. No tourists. DOT bus [driver] said instead, ‘ Duon, Doon (Go there, go there).” The bus driver said he was going to Pasay and left empty.  (https:// shorturl.at/lrJL7)

3.6M int’l arrivals

ANOTHER bus operated by UBE Express likewise denied Arañador and others boarding despite a “lighted running sign” that read Naia Terminal 1, 2, 3, 4. Amid the confusion, three overseas Filipino workers, who were also trying to get to their terminal, hailed a taxi cab instead.

I knew they were disgusted and noncomplaining. I was,” said Arañador. “If I was a tourist, foreign or Filipino, I will be stressed and drained already. I was a public Filipino commuter, I could be ashamed  how it was managed.” His post garnered similar complaints from other Facebook users.

T he chief executive made the pronouncement at the farewell call of outgoing Vietnam Ambassador to the Philippines Hoang Huy Chung in Malacañang on Thursday.

Now that we are going to start discussions on the agreement that we have between the Philippines and Vietnam, I think it is a very, very important—it will be a very, very important part of our relationship and it will bring an element of stability to the problems that we are seeing now in the South China Sea,” the President said.

Both Philippines and Vietnam have existing territorial disputes with China.

M arcos said he hopes to come out with similar maritime agreements with other Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) countries.

T he chief executive thanked Chung, who has served as Vietnam’s ambassador to the Philippines since 2020, for his role in crafting the said agreement.  For his part, Chung said Vietnam still considers the Philippines as one of its “strategic partners.”

“And President, Vietnam, we have very respect for your thought that you are a friend to all, none enemy,” Chung told President Marcos.

T he President said the country will continue with its good relationship with Vietnam, which resulted in cooperation in agricultural security and defens e.  Samuel P. Medenilla

LI, YONGTAO Mandarin Technical Manager Brief Job Description: The mandarin technical manager 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.

FEDERAL LAND NRE GLOBAL INC.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as mandarin technical manager, excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Unit C304 2nd Floor Park West 7th Avenue Corner 36th Street North Bonifacio District, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Companies

B1

Friday, August 11, 2023

Texas Instruments to spend $1B on PHL plants expansion

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

During President Ferdinand r Marcos Jr.’s meetings with the united States-Association of Southeast Asian (uS -Asean) business Council last Wednesday, u S officials announced that T i will submit in the next two weeks its investment proposal to avail of perks under the

Corporate recovery and Tax incentives for enterprises (Cr e ATe) Act.

The expansion plan is in line with Washington’s efforts to ramp up research and production of semiconductors under the CHiPS and Science Act of 2022, Malacañang said Thursday.

Marcos lauded the proposed investment, saying this will help boost the country’s semiconductor exports.

“And we have a great deal of [dependence] already…of our exports.

We do not see why we should not further support and enhance the sector of the economy because it has [done] well,” the president said.

According to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the commodity group with the highest annual increase in terms of export receipts in June was electronic products, which rose by $421.47 million. electronic products are the Philippines’s top export.

Marcos also expressed confidence that the Philippines will be able to provide the necessary workforce for T i s expansion due to its labor

Cebu Air swings to income in H1

upskilling and reskilling program.

Once operational, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Velicaria- ga rafil said the expanded local T i facilities will prop up microchips availability worldwide.

“There will be huge opportunities as Texas instruments gear toward making the investment, which would increase capacity in the region, having in mind the shortage of chips in the global economy,” garafil said in a statement. The Ti expansion plan was among the investments discussed by uSAsean business Council during its meeting with the President.

Thirty American companies joined this year’s uS -Asean business Council mission, the biggest delegation in more than 10 years.

DMCI H1 profit declines by 22%

By VG Cabuag @villygc

Engineering conglomer-

ate DMC i Holdings said its income dropped by almost 22 percent in the first half due to lower contributions from its coal, nickel, real estate and construction businesses.

r e venues for the period fell 14 percent to P69.98 billion from the previous year’s P81.46 billion. For the second quarter alone, it recorded a 9-percent drop in its net income to P8.2 billion from the previous year’s P9.03 billion.

e x cluding a nonrecurring gain of P37 million in 2022 attributable

to DMC i gain on sale of land and a nonrecurring loss of P12 million due to Maynilad donations and net foreign exchange losses, consolidated core net income fell by 8 percent to P8.3 billion, from P9 billion.

“Our bottomline was propped up by the strong rebound of our power and water businesses,” DMC i Holdings Chairman and President isidro A. Consunji said.

“Although coal and nickel prices dropped double digits and construction volumes are on a downtrend, we were able to deliver our second highest second quarter ever.”

r e venues for the second quarter fell 2 percent to P36.95 billion from

the previous year’s P37.7 billion.

From April to June, net income contribution from Semirara Mining and Power Corp. dipped 5 percent to P5.8 billion from its record-setting P6.1 billion because of weaker coal selling prices, largely offset by higher coal shipments, power generation, electricity sales and average selling prices.

DMC i Homes contributed P1.4 billion, 8 percent higher from P1.3 billion on the back of higher finance and other income.

Meanwhile, affiliate Maynilad Water Services i n c. delivered a 21-percent improvement in contribution to P474 million from P393 million due to the combined effect

of improved billed volume, customer mix and average effective tariff.

Contribution from DMC i Mining fell by 51 percent to P250 million from P510 million mainly due to lower selling prices and foreign exchange gain, coupled with higher costs.

DMC i Power contributed P231 million, a 13-percent increase from P205 million, because of higher electricity sales and lower fuel costs.

Contribution from DM Consunji i nc., the construction firm plunged 73 percent to P139 million from P516 million the previous year because of slower construction accomplishments, fewer projects and delays in major projects.

ERC suspends franchise tax rule

PH i n M A Corp. on Thursday said its income in the first half reached P456.75 million, some 12 percent higher than the previous year’s P406.83 million.

Consolidated revenues reached P8.89 billion for the six-month period, a 3-percent increase from last year’s P8.63 billion.

The company said it is on track to grow its businesses in education, construction materials, property development and hospitality.

Due to strong performance of its core business units and efficient operations, Phinma’s core net income grew nearly 4 percent year-on-year to P482.09 million in the first half. The figure excludes unrealized gains and foreign exchange adjustments.

“While challenges persist, i believe our healthy portfolio of businesses in key sectors provides a platform for dynamic growth for Phinma. This we will achieve by capitalizing on the demonstrated strengths of our strategic business units as we continue to pursue our mission of serving many more families and communities,” company chairman and C e O r am on r del r o sario Jr. said.

THe energy r egulatory Commission (erC) has moved to stop the national gr id Corporation of the Philippines (ngCP) from passing on to consumers its 3-percent franchise tax.

in a special commission meeting last August

8, the erC suspended the effectivity of erC resolution no. 07, Series of 2011 on the inclusion of the 3-percent franchise tax of ngCP in the monthly transmission costs billed to distribution utilities (Dus).

ngCP was granted a franchise through republic Act (r A) 9511, otherwise known as “An Act granting the national gr id Corporation of the Philippines a Franchise to engage in the business of Conveying or Transmitting electricity Through High Voltage back-bone System of interconnected Transmission Lines, Substations and related Facilities, and for Other Purposes.” Section 9 of r A 9511 requires ngCP to pay a franchise tax equivalent to 3 percent of all gross receipts derived by ngCP from its operation under its franchise. because of r A 9511, the Commission issued erC resolution no. 07, Series of 2011, allowing the inclusion of this 3 percent franchise tax in

the monthly billing of Dus in a statement, the erC said Thursday that it continuously examines its existing rules and regulations to determine whether the mandates under the electric Power industry reform Act are “faithfully fulfilled.”

“With the consumers’ interests in mind, as well as upholding the rule of law, the Commission resolved to suspend erC resolution no 07, Series of 2011, by unanimous vote,” it said. The erC said it will formalize its directive in a resolution to be issued on this matter. Once effective, the ngCP franchise tax can no longer be passed on to consumers on the following billing month.

The ngCP has yet to comment on the suspension of the erC resolution.

Senator Sherwin gatchalian, vice-chairman of the Senate’s energy committee, earlier urged the erC to stop allowing ngCP from passing to consumers the 3 percent franchise tax it is supposed to pay to the government. ngCP Spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza has said the resolution does not give a “special consideration” as the 3-percent franchise tax is based on gross receipts, unlike a regular income tax, which will be derived from net income. Lenie Lectura

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

Cebu Air i n c. (C e b ) reversed the P9.50-billion net loss it incurred in the first half of 2022, as it posted a net income of P3.75 billion at end-June.

According to a stock exchange filing, the operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific saw its revenues soaring by 110.6 percent to P43.55 billion in the first six months of the year from P20.68 billion the year prior.

“The overall increase in revenues was primarily driven by significant increase in passenger volume and flight activities due to the increased demand for travel,” the disclosure read.

Passenger revenues surged by 158.2 percent to P30.13 billion from P11.66 billion last year, as it increased passenger volume by 63.3 percent to 10.3 million from 6.3 million.

i t also raised the number of its flights by 47.5 percent, while also posting positive results for average seat load factor, which was at

84.8 percent as of end-June. Ancillary revenues rose by 109.9 percent to P11.43 billion from P5.98 billion.

Cargo revenues, however, declined by 44 percent to P2.00 billion. e x penses, meanwhile, went up by 38 percent to P39.79 billion from P28.84 billion.

“The past few months have been one of the toughest for C e b b ut we remain steadfast in our commitment to provide safe, reliable, and affordable flights to our passengers and support economic growth in the Philippines and across the region” Cebu Pacific President Alexander Lao said in a separate statement.

As of June 30, Cebu Pacific operates a fleet of 80 aircraft which comprises of 21 Airbus A320 C e O s, seven Airbus A321 C e O s, 14 Airbus A320 n e O s, 10 Airbus A321 n e O s, four Airbus A330 C e O s, five Airbus A330 n e O s, five AT r 72-500s, and 14 AT r 72-600 aircraft. it has a domestic network of 78 routes and an international network of 29 international routes.

AmericAn microprocessors manufacturer Texas instruments inc. (Ti) is planning to invest almost $1 billion to expand its facilities in clark, Pampanga and Baguio, according to malacañang.

Photo by NoNie Reyes

busiNessMiRRoR file Photo

World Companies

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Friday, August 11, 2023

B3

More Japanese firms opt to go private as activist clout grows

Agrowing number of publicly-listed companies in Japan are going private, as regulatory shifts clear the way for activist investors to step up scrutiny and demand changes.

A total of 135 companies delisted from the country’s stock exchanges last year, almost triple what it was

a decade ago, according to Jason Thomas, head of Carlyle group inc.’s global research and investment strategy.

Drawn by the promise of fat returns on stocks trading at discounts, activist shareholders are flocking to the world’s third-largest equity market. reforms in corporate gov-

ernance guidelines and regulators’ increasing emphasis on equity returns and profitability are further spurring a level of activism that’s driving a surge in privatizations, Thomas said.

Japan is on pace to more than double the number of shareholder proposals that companies field from

activists this year, with 67 proposals submitted as of June, compared with a record 58 in all of 2022, according to ir Japan Holdings Ltd. in 2014, publicly-traded companies received four proposals. Management teams often prefer to restructure their firms as privately-held entities with partners of their

choosing and are wary of changes pushed through by activist shareholders, Thomas said. The number of delistings may grow “substantially from here,” he said. Prominent delistings on the horizon include Toshiba Corp., whose long-delayed $15 billion buyout began Tuesday, as well as semiconduc-

tor materials maker JSr Corp., which is slated for a $6.3 billion take-private bid. Both are linchpins Japan’s tech sector, and their privatizations signal how even some of Tokyo Stock Exchange’s longtime members are finding the drawbacks of a public listing outweighing the considerable advantages. Bloomberg News

A complicated biz relationship

THE late newscaster and public relations specialist Tony Zorrilla, my boss at one point in my life, said that public relations (PR) was initially practiced by lawyers. As lawyers defend their clients accused of some crime or wrongdoing, PR professionals similarly advocate for the best interests of their clients.

The media and PR professions both trade in the business of information, with the media trying to unearth more in the hope of explaining a news item to the public. In the most tranquil or ordinary of cases, when a business or company just goes about operating in its regular manner, the PR consultant will acquiesce with releasing the information needed by the journalist.

There are times, however, that the relationship is like oil and water; while journalists exist to tell the truth about a person or company in the news, PR experts sometimes bend or hide the truth about their clients, with the intention of sanitizing the latter’s public profile, especially when exposed as having committed something illicit, illegal, or maybe immoral.

Despite being on opposite sides of an issue, practitioners of both these communications sectors are expected to always be professional and respectful in the manner of writing, speaking, and overall behavior. The problem arises when one of them tosses basic good manners out of the window. (For instance, what’s a simple introduction of who you are when you’re cold-sending us a press release via e-mail?)

Editors and reporters give PRs a lot of grief, when we feel the latter lack the basic skills required by their own profession, or fail to do any research about the media professionals to which they have to relate.

One male editor often complained about being addressed “Miss” because his name sounded feminine, when a simple phone call to the news desk will have immediately clarified his sex.

It’s “already a given,” according to a colleague in this paper, that the press releases the PRs send us will be “badly written.” (This doesn’t bother me as much, as I make it a game to try to find out what exactly all the verbiage means.) But an editor-friend, Miggy, asks if it’s too much for PRs to send “short and to-the-point press releases,” or put captions on their photo releases by identifying the people therein (from left to right)?

Then recently, I received an invitation from some obscure PR company to attend an event...the very next day. I guess the young publicist just assumed I was on pins and needles, anxiously waiting to be invited for some awarding ceremony that will require me to dress up in a modern Filipiniana outfit, get into a cab, and cruise through rush-hour traffic to Makati City, 15 kilometers away from where I live, just so I have some news to write about.

I’ve never even met this publicist personally, and yet he made a lot of assumptions about me...like I don’t have the week’s appointments planned out in advance.

For another, my editor-friend Babe complained about receiving a press release from some establishment about an event it held, for which they failed to invite her. “I do not suffer fools gladly,” she warned. (Unfortunately, I get my fair share of postevent press releases as well, especially from a few hotel PRs or lifestyle publicists.) Meanwhile, a younger colleague informed me how he is annoyed at how some PRs make him wait

Juan Carlo the Caterer wins Savour 2023

JUAN Carlo the Caterer emerged victorious in the recent Savour: The Ultimate Taste Test of Tagaytay event in Trabiesa, Tagaytay. Organized by Peak Tagaytay Wedding Vendors Association, the grand food tasting showcase presented five leading caterers, alongside a mini bridal fair and a bazaar featuring Peak members.

Juan Carlo the Caterer, Agot’s Catering Services, Alba Catering, Hizon’s Catering, and Town’s Delight Catering and Events

HOROSCOPE

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS

DAY: Alyson Stoner, 30; Chris Hemsworth, 40; Ben Gibbard, 47; Hulk Hogan, 70.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Observation is your best bet when dealing with unpredictable situations. Control your emotions and look for choices that are less stressful. Maintenance will be necessary as you navigate from one position to the next. Change may be inevitable, but how you handle it can modify the outcome in your favor if you are moderate and target what’s necessary. Your numbers are 7, 15, 23, 29, 37, ARIES (March 21-April 19): Get out, mingle, sign up for events or activities that interest you, and socialize with people who share your interests. A makeover or trendy new look will make you stand out and boost your morale. Love and romance will enhance your life. ★★

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t believe everything you hear. Someone will be misleading if given the opportunity. Concentrate on being resourceful, ask questions and follow through when you are confident that the outcome will favor you. Protect against situations that result in

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Emotions will make you vulnerable. Listen to the information you receive from someone who has the inside scoop on someone’s intentions, and it will help you clear your head and divert a costly mistake. Make self-esteem and personal growth your priorities. ★★★

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Be resourceful and look at every angle of a situation before you commit. A change of plans may not be welcome, but the outcome will give you something to consider. Don’t act in haste; go over every detail and make decisions based on facts. ★★★

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Check your options and focus on what you must do to protect yourself and your assets. Refuse to let anyone talk you into something that will burden you emotionally, financially or physically. Surround yourself with people who have experience and your best interests at heart.

for hours in reverting to his simple request “like clarifying a caption or some other basic background detail that should be in a [news statement].” I’m all too familiar with his predicament; some publicists forget the tight deadline of a daily newspaper, and even tighter schedules of online publications. One publicist reverted to my request for an official statement three weeks later (ostensibly because they couldn’t track down their principal) and I had to inform her, thank you, but the bit was no longer newsworthy.

Many of the newbie PRs these days don’t seem to comprehend the enormous responsibility of their jobs. They seem to think they were just hired to play cute to the media. But a publicist’s job is to represent his client in the most positive light possible, and hopefully, at the client’s most honest, authentic self. And if these PRs don’t do their jobs well, it reflects poorly on their clients.

On the other hand, a few publicist-friends have also told me how many companies these days like to

went at it in the friendly competition for taste supremacy. The catering outfits served their best main dishes and desserts to be scrutinized under the sharp eyes and discerning palates of five judges. In the end, Juan Carlo won in both best main dish and best dessert categories.

The winning main entrée was “Pinnacle,” featuring Chilean sea bass that went with sweet potato puree, adobo flavoured shitake mushroom, and Amadeo coffee syrup,

among others.

“The dish pays homage to the locally sourced ingredients that Tagaytay and the Philippines has to offer,” said Juan Carlo, the owner and namesake of the winning catering service. “It is a culmination of the distinct Filipino taste elevated by French and European techniques with a mission to prove that Filipino flavors can be at the pinnacle of the culinary world.”

Meanwhile, the dessert that captured

The

the hearts and taste buds of the judges was “Eruption,” which featured coconut mousse, pandan cheesecake, caramel custard, chocolate lamington, and latik, among others. The event proved to be a success in achieving its threefold mission of promoting local tourism, elevating service standards, and fostering a tight-knit community of suppliers in the Cavite and Metro Tagaytay Area.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Slow down, assess each situation separately and refuse to let anyone decide for you. A take-charge attitude will give you the momentum to recognize what’s best for you and follow your plans. Base your actions on facts, not emotions. ★★

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): What you want to do and what’s best for you will conflict. Don’t fold under pressure or give in to someone who tempts you. Kick back, take a break and spend downtime with someone who respects and loves you for you. ★★★★★

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Money and emotions will clash. When faced with a need for a quick decision, get the facts, use common sense and make your move. Procrastination will cause regret and friction with someone you love and respect. Don’t fear change. ★★★

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Keep your eyes open and verify information. Pay attention to how you feel and look; it will help you remain the go-to person in your circle. Refuse to let anyone weasel their way into your territory. ★★★

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Pay it forward, and do something that makes you feel good regarding your contribution. Be the one to start a movement that draws awareness to a worthy cause. An issue someone has will lead to controversy and financial loss if you don’t act fast. ★★★

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t expect to agree with everyone you encounter. Let bygones be bygones, and go about your business. You’ll achieve far more if you do your own thing and offer others the same right. Make selfimprovement and love your priorities. ★★★

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Give your all, and you’ll get your way. An opportunity that offers better money management and a stellar lifestyle is apparent. Take the initiative to line up those you want by your side. ★★★★★

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are playful, flexible and friendly. You are resourceful and spontaneous.

Less is now: A documentary

THE title intrigued me.

thought it was interesting that a short documentary running less than an hour can be done about this art movement that is well abused and bandied around. I am referring to the aesthetics exemplified by the Bauhaus approach to design. Or, for example, to the achievements of Ludwig van der Rohe (who popularized the maxim “Less is more”). But I was wrong.

The documentary individuals, friends from grade school, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus who call themselves that—the minimalists—because they believe in paring down their material possessions. Does that sound like Marie Kondo all over again? Maybe yes.

But in the case of Josh and Ryan, there is a strong sense of advocacy, a determination that nearly borders on the spiritual.

The point of keeping only the things that one needs is the spirit of the documentary; the core of the presentation, though, is in the capitalist enterprise that has evolved to include the new tools of social media. The world is not only more prosperous; the world is providing more options. The availability of options, however, is not a passive platform. Inside each and every product available to man and woman is the eye of a technology that is able to monitor one’s acquisitive habits. Through GPS, our product interest and our capacity to spend are tracked.

Advertising, which has always been the push for consumption, has changed radically, the documentary shows. Ads have become intelligent and predictive, “ads that seem to know us better than ourselves.” Central to this ability to find out what attracts us most are the so-called deficit advertisements. These are those announcements tailored to make us feel inadequate because we do not possess certain products and properties: “Why do I not have that car?” “Why is my skin so pale or rough?”

“Can I still lose weight?”

We are unhappy for so many reasons—we cannot have certain products, and, as much as we crave for them, we do not have the capital to possess them.

The docu thrives on soundbites:

“We have the opportunity to have so much.”

“We just love stuff.”

“I can get you to choose before you think, I’m gonna get you to buy things you do not need.”

Our senses are being bombarded with reminders. You have to buy this. If you buy this, you will be

Complicated...

Continued from B4

hire these no-background newbie-PR consultants or “boutique PR outfits” to cut down on costs.

“Although we have a solid reputation, and have been in the business for so long, we lose out to these boutique PR companies because they offer cheaper rates,” griped a publicist-friend recently. “The client will not care about the quality of the PR’s services because it’s a one-off, just one launch event, and are not out to engage with the media for a longer period (e.g. an annual or months-long retainer),” according to my PR friend.

This is probably the reason we just keep reading about these tons of new companies with new products, but after being introduced via initial media blast, we no longer hear anything about them. To them, it’s enough for their publicists to announce their brand out there via media, instead of actually building their brand, taking hold of the public’s consciousness, and making it an indispensable product or company.

Meanwhile, we in media do understand the need for businesses to employ external communications staff or PR specialists. On the whole, these comms people provide a vital link to their principals and help disseminate important information about the establishments for which they work. And when their principals are unavailable, some of these PRs are able to provide us with the needed quote to give more flesh to our news pieces.

So, with the right kind of publicist with a more respectful attitude or professional background, we journalists can get our work done efficiently. Of course, in the absence of publicists, I’d like to think we can still get our jobs done effectively and put out important, truthful news stories. n

Our consumption does not harm only us; it harms our planet. As this phrase is uttered, images of trucks spilling trash crosses the screen and quickly changes into a drone shot of a wide, wide space covered in trash and refuse that came from what we bought but really never consume. It all starts with one question: How might your life be better with less. This is the line spoken by a man who walks onto a stage, pauses, and with an almost declamatory style proceeds to pose the challenge via that query. The man is Josh. He is joined by his friend, Ryan. You might say Josh and Ryan dramatizing the crisis of consumption in an evangelical mode is a bit too much. But, hey, it works. Marie Kondo is secular; our brotherhood in a team against conspicuous consumption borders on the prophetic, not as raging

things that add value to our own existence.

Ryan and Josh are also the partners behind the blogs and podcasts dealing with decluttering after leaving their corporate world. They tell us we have reached a life where simplicity has not become easy, that it takes a lot of work to live a simple life, away from clutter.

But what makes the documentary work are the more clinical experts providing the socio-economic impetus for decluttering. There is Annie Leonard, the executive director of Greenpeace USA, who tells us about the corporation behind our “addiction” to accumulate. That these corporate structures are built to create profit, and their obligation is to their shareholders for which they have to increase revenue. She reminds us what capitalism is all about: growth.

angelina Jolie Joins produCing teaM

For broadway-bound ‘the outsiders’

ADD Angelina Jolie to the growing list of celebrities lately dipping their toes into producing on Broadway.

The Oscar-winning Girl, Interrupted actor has become a lead producer on the Broadway-bound new musical The Outsiders, a show based on S.E. Hinton’s novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 coming-of-age crime drama. The Outsiders had its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse earlier this year. The Broadway cast and dates have not been revealed yet.

“I hope to be able to contribute while continuing to learn from this amazing team, who I have been working with since my daughter brought me to see the show at La Jolla Playhouse,” Jolie said in a statement.

“I can’t begin to express how excited I am for this musical to make its Broadway debut and look forward to sharing this new adaptation of The Outsiders with

the world.”

Other celebs who have signed up to produce Broadway shows include Mariah Carey on the current hit Some Like It Hot. Dwayne Wade, actor Gabrielle Union, and RuPaul joined the producing team of the closed show Ain’t No Mo,’ and Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas joined the producing team of last season’s Chicken & Biscuits. Jennifer Hudson, Don Cheadle, Mindy Kaling, and RuPaul were also among the producers of 2022’s Tony-winner A Strange Loop while the current Here Lies Love boasts H.E.R., Jo Koy and Apl.de.Ap as producers.

The Outsiders musical features a story by Adam Rapp with Justin Levine, music and lyrics by Jonathan Clay, Zach Chance and Levine. It will be directed by Danya Taymor. AP

compelling with his idea of how we, in this “free market,” are not really free to choose. As Coleman speaks, a line flashes on the left side of the screen stating how nearly “70 percent of digital ad spending goes through just three companies.” Coleman then brings up these “artificial monopolies,” which gets to decide for everyone.

Dave Ramsey, author of the Total Money Makeover, discloses how we buy things that we do not really need, with money that we do not really have, to impress people we do not really like. If only for this cautionary wisdom, the new minimalism makes sense.

The Minimalists: Less is now is directed by Matt D’Avella and produced by Booklight Productions and Catalyst Films. It streams on Netflix. n

TOM AND JERRY DUEL OVER DURIAN IN SG-PRODUCED SERIES

A GLOBAL sneak-peek of an all-new Tom and Jerry series premiered recently on Cartoon Network. In the episode, which aired just before Singapore National Day on August 9, the beloved cat and mouse duo take their rivalry through the city and discover durian, the famously pungent fruit that polarises opinion in Southeast Asia.

In this first installment, called “What’s That Smell,” one cat’s delicacy is another mouse’s poison. Tom and Jerry get caught in a thorny issue over the aroma of durian—which is well loved (by some, but not all) in Singapore. Will they reconcile their differences over the King of Fruits?

The episode is also available on YouTube via the Cartoon Network Asia channel.

To mark the premiere and to celebrate International Cat Day on August 8, the channel has been rebranded temporarily as Cat-Toon Network and is doubling down on feline-focused content this month.

In this programming event, cat (and cartoon) fans can catch episodes starring feline friends in Looney Tunes Cartoons, The Amazing World of Gumball, Tom and Jerry in New York, Unikitty!, Teen Titans Go! and more.

The stunt runs on Cartoon Network until August 18.

The new Tom and Jerry seven-part series is produced in Singapore, in association with Warner Bros. Animation. It is part of a wider partnership between Warner Bros., Discovery, and Singapore Tourism Board to collaborate on content that will spotlight and inspire travel to destination Singapore. The premiere dates for the next six episodes of the first ever localized series of the iconic franchise will be announced later this year.

Follow @CartoonNetworkAsia on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more information.

angelina Jolie poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film Eternals on october 27, 2021, in london. AP

Foundever™, San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan Partner to Empower the Community

Nickel Asia to plant over 32,000 Trees in Hagonoy

LISTED natural resources development firm Nickel Asia Corporation (NAC) has pledged to plant over 32,000 seedlings in two coastal barangays in Hagonoy, Bulacan. The commitment is part of the first-ever NAC Sustainability Run held last July 23, 2023, which drew more than 2,000 participants across the country.

The sustainability run was held simultaneously in Pasay City, Puerto Princesa City, and Surigao City, which symbolizes the need for collaboration and collective action to effect genuine change across communities.

In partnership with the nongovernmental organization Fostering Education & Environment for Development, Inc. (FEED), NAC will share an integral role in a five-year plan aiming to plant approximately 100,000 mangroves across a 10-hectare mangrove-protected site project in Hagonoy, Bulacan.

Currently, the municipality of Hagonoy has been identified as a priority area by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for mangrove planting due to frequent flooding in the community and the nearby regions. Based on studies, this is due to land subsidence, or the gradual sinking of the Earth’s surface mainly caused by worsening climate change.

This makes the municipality prone to flooding even in the absence of rainfall.

“As stewards of our country’s resources, it is our responsibility to look after communities outside our own towards causes that are aligned with ours. For us, responsible growth means contributing to nation-building, to our people, and our planet,” said Martin Antonio G. Zamora, NAC President, and CEO.

FOUNDEVER™, a global leader in the customer experience (CX) industry, continues its commitment to collaboration and community empowerment through a new partnership with the University of Community Partnership (UCP), a program under the Language Academy at Foundever and the city government of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.

The partnership, which was recently signed by virtue of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Foundever and the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, will focus on key areas of talent acquisition, as well as learning and development.

The MOU signifies a one-year renewable agreement, establishing a collaborative effort to source and select qualified candidates for potential employment opportunities within Foundever.

PESO San Jose Del Monte will play a crucial role in identifying talented

individuals, ensuring a strong talent pool for various job vacancies. Moreover, the local employment office will facilitate exclusive recruitment and job placement activities, providing accessible opportunities for the residents of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.

With the aim of streamlining the hiring process, both parties will work together in the selection and processing of qualified candidates. Foundever, through its renowned Language Academy, will conduct career readiness training and lectures, equipping the candidates with essential skills for professional growth.

“We are thrilled to embark on this exciting partnership with PESO San Jose Del Monte,” said Rowel Villalobos, Talent Acquisition Director at Foundever. “By collaborating in talent acquisition and learning initiatives, we are confident that this alliance will not only benefit the local community but also strengthen the region’s economic prospects.”

To support these learning initiatives, PESO San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, will

actively contribute by providing trainees and facilitating access to quality training programs. The collaboration seeks to empower individuals, paving the way for personal and professional development.

“This partnership not only bridges the gaps in applying (in the) BPO but also paves the way for a brighter future, where innovation and opportunity converge to uplift our community,” shared Mayor Arturo B. Robes of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.

Anthony Fernandez, University and Community Partnerships Manager at Foundever™, added, “This collaboration underscores the commitment of Foundever to making a positive impact on the community. We believe that through this alliance, we can contribute to the region’s growth and prosperity.” By providing employment opportunities, enhancing skills through training programs, and increasing brand visibility, this partnership will leave a significant mark on the growth and development of the region.

Regional convention series of Jehovah‘s Witnesses to run until August 27 and will feature baptism and a Bible drama

JEHOVAH’S Witnesses in Metro Manila and throughout the country are holding their series of regional conventions that will run through until this month, featuring baptism and a Bible drama as among the highly anticipated sessions during their three-day program.

Both the baptism and the Bible drama will be part of the “Exercise Patience!”

Regional Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses which will be held until August 27 this year. The morning session begins at 9:20 a.m. and culminates with a talk preceding the baptism event. Another highlight of the convention’s second day will be the first of a two-part prerecorded feature Bible drama with title “Commit your way to Jehovah.”

“The Saturday program at our annual

conventions is always a highlight of the three days. The significance of the baptism and the powerfully compelling drama in the afternoon make quite an impact on those attending,” said James Morales, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Morales said that baptism arrangements continued despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Baptism talks were conducted via video streaming, while the actual baptism ceremony was performed in full compliance with the existing health protocols.

From March 2020 to December 2022 alone, there have been more than 19,700 individuals who got baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Philippines. Globally, there are more than 8.6 million Jehovah’s Witnesses in 239 lands.

To become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Morales explained that an individual must first study the Bible with them and apply what they learn by making significant changes in their thinking and behavior. It is important for them to understand the teachings of the Bible and afterward, they can make a personal decision to get baptized.

“As long as a person can make a personal decision to learn, accept, and apply what the Bible teaches, they can be baptized regardless of age. Some choose to be baptized as children, while others may decide to do so even in old age. Ultimately, each individual must make their own choice regarding their worship,” he said.

Eight-year-old Janelle Shaffico was among those who got baptized at the Metro Manila Assembly Hall in Novaliches, Quezon City on July 22.

“I love Jehovah very much and I want to do more for him that is why I decided to get baptized. The Bible study has helped me know more about Jehovah’s qualities so that I can imitate him. Just as Jehovah is a happy God, I also want to be always happy even when others may not treat me well. I have also learned what Jehovah wants me to do, and I know that it will help me become a good child,” Janelle said.

The regional convention is open to the public and no collection is taken. For more information on the program or to find convention locations and dates, please go to jw.org and navigate to the “About Us” tab. The Bible-based brochure “Enjoy Life Forever” is also available for download in a number of Filipino languages.

Aside from fulfilling several objectives in the company’s Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) Roadmap, the primary goal of the run is to support Hagonoy in enhancing its natural defense against flooding and fostering ecological balance within the municipality.

This goal gains added significance considering the study conducted by Climate Central in 2019, which identified Hagonoy

LEADING POSITIVE CHANGE. Nickel Asia’s President and CEO Martin Antonio G. Zamora joins the 10KM category, leading the company towards causes that contribute to the responsible growth of communities. as part of the Central Luzon Region at risk of rising sea levels by 2050.

Climate Central is an independent group of scientists and communicators who report about the world’s changing climate.

“We thank all participants of our first NAC Sustainability Run. The 32,175 seedlings pledged for mangrove reforestation in Hagonoy, Bulacan are not just numbers – they represent a collective effort that will have a positive, long-lasting impact on the communities,” said Jose Bayani Baylon, NAC Senior Vice President for Sustainability, Risk Management, Corporate Affairs, and Communications.

The event brought together NAC officers and mine managers, employees, and children across Manila, Puerto Princesa, and Surigao.

“Running for fitness is personal, but knowing it helps the environment is even more fulfilling,” shared Julanie Escalante one of the runners from Surigao.

Tivoli Royale Country Club is QC‘s eco-friendly country club; to invest in solar energy system

with two delicious dips: Barbie’s Pink Rave Dragon Fruit Aioli Dip, a combination of the zesty garlic mayo with the subtle sweetness of dragon fruit, this deep pink sauce is a riff on the classic, or Ken’s Sensational Barbie-Q Sauce, the subtle tartness and natural sweetness of the apples with the bitterness of Worcestershire sauce, simmered together in tomato catsup, mustard and a blend of carefully selected spices make this homemade Texan-style dip a signature favorite. Toddlers eat free.

IF you are looking for a place to relax, have fun, and enjoy the benefits of a sustainable lifestyle, you need to check out Tivoli Royale Country Club. This premier club in Quezon City has recently launched a groundbreaking eco-friendly project that will put it on the map as one of the most environmentally savvy clubs in the country.

Tivoli Royale Country Club’s board of directors has decided to invest in a 100kw solar energy system that will power the club with clean, renewable energy for the next 25 years. The solar panels, which will be installed on the club’s roof, will produce roughly 350 to 450 kWh per day, enough to reduce their total consumption by 30 percent.

This means that the club will not only save money on electricity bills, but also reduce its carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.

But that’s not all. The club has also taken steps to improve its lighting efficiency and aesthetics. Most of their interior lighting has been replaced with LED bulbs, which consume less energy and last longer than conventional ones. They have also installed solar lights in their parking area, which provide illumination at night without using any electricity.

These changes have not only enhanced the club’s ambiance and security, but also reduced its maintenance costs and waste generation.

If you are feeling hungry or thirsty after enjoying the club’s amenities, you are in for a treat. Tivoli Royale Country Club has launched a new Barbie-inspired food and drink menu that will delight your taste buds and your eyes.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, you can indulge in all-you-can-eat Barbie & Ken Nuggets & Fries at the Game Center for only P350 net per person. These irresistible nuggets and shatteringly crispy fries come

You can also sip on a refreshing Barbie Strawberry Float for only P150 net anywhere at the club. This dessert drink is made with strawberry, soda, and vanilla ice cream, and is an ode to the coolest girl in town.

These Barbie-themed treats are not only delicious, but also Instagram-worthy. You can snap some photos with the pink decorations and props at the Game Center, or pose with the limited edition Hi, Barbie Hi, Ken food and beverage at the entrance.

Whether you want to throw a memorable party or impress your colleagues, the Game Center at Tivoli Royale Country Club is the ideal venue for you. The Game Center features archery and bowling facilities that will let you have fun and bond with your friends or co-workers.

You can avail of their worry-free party packages for only P30,000 net for 20 persons, which include exclusive use of either archery or bowling facilities for maximum of five hours, five-star quality food and beverage from the club’s best-seller menu, and a dedicated staff to assist you. This is perfect for both corporate and social events.

The menu options include a sportsthemed menu, featuring the club’s best-sellers such as The Royale Supreme Pizza, Fried Chicken, Crispy Pata, Carbonara, Chicken Inasal, Salmon Sinigang, Sisig, and more. You can also customize your menu according to your preferences and budget.

The Game Center is equipped with family-friendly and cozy equipment and safety features to ensure your enjoyment and comfort. The club also recently installed safety paddings inside the covered court. The indoor facility provides flexibility and excitement to guests who can also enjoy other games such as billiards, darts, golf simulators, and arcade games. Visit Tivoli Royale Country Club today and see for yourself.

RESIDENTS of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan and nearby towns can look forward to more career opportunities following the signing of an MOU, which marks the beginning of a lasting partnership between Foundever™ and San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. In the photo are the Talent Acquisition Director Rowel Villalobos from Foundever and University and Community Partnerships Manager Anthony Fernandez with San Jose Del Monte’s Mayor Arthur Robes, Public Employment Service Office Manager Perfecto Jaime Tagalog and Public Employment Service Office Labor and Employment Officer II John Andrew Flores.

Jun Lomibao

WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: A LIFE CHANGER

MELBOURNE, Australia—Players who reached the knockout round at the Women’s World Cup got larger individual bonuses that can be life-changing for many of them.

FIFA designated $30,000 for the 732 players among 32 teams in the tournament field. The payout rises to $60,000 for players on the 16 teams that advanced out of group play.

The money grows to $90,000 for players in the quarterfinals and it’s a significant payday for many of the players, particularly those that have had financial disputes with their federations over pay and support.

H ildah Magaia, appropriately nicknamed the “Breadwinner” of South Africa’s squad, helped the Banyana Banyana advance out of group play, into the knockout stage, and double her bonus.

She appropriately plans to use the money to care for her mother.

“ I’ll be able to do everything for my mother because I’m the one who’s taking care of her,” she said. “I’m the breadwinner, so I’ll be doing everything for my mom.”

Deneisha Blackwood, part of the Jamaica squad eliminated by Colombia in the knockouts, described the minimum payouts as a good start for her team. Jamaica has had financial difficulties and relied on

Chameleons set to join PVL action in third conference

NXLED has formed its own team and will join the Premier Volleyball League starting in the third conference later this year.

Nxled will be the second team of Akari Lighting and Technology Corp. in the PVL.

A kari’s two teams are expected not only provide the company with more marketing exposure but also to align with its vision of supporting Philippine volleyball.

“ The obvious reason that we are forming Nxled is because we want to market the brand,” Akari Sports Director Russell Balbacal said.

“The PVL has proven to be a strong platform for brands to promote their products.”

He added: “Akari has been a staunch supporter of Philippine volleyball for the past few years. Having a second team will help provide more jobs for players and coaches alike.”

Nxled will carry the moniker Chameleons.

Just like a chameleon, Nxled, which specializes in luxury lighting, offers accent lights that adjust to any household.

Evolving and adjusting to every style of the game is what Balbacal envisions as the identity of Nxled in the PVL.

We are envisioning the Nxled Chameleons to be a team that will easily adjust to any opponent they face in the PVL,” he said.

“ We are committed to forming a very competitive team in this new endeavor of ours because this is not just a one-shot deal. We are guaranteeing to the PVL and fans alike that this team will be in the league for the long term.”

The team will soon announce the coaching staff and team composition of the Nxled Chameleons.

The league, organized by Sports Vision, is coming off a successful staging of the Invitational Conference that saw the Kurashiki Ablaze of Japan nip Creamline in an epic onegame finale before a banner crowd at the PhilSports Arena.

The tournament also featured three new local teams—Foton, Farm Fresh and Gerflor—with Nxled likely to make it a record 12-team field in the upcoming tournament.

crowdfunding to raise money for its travel to the tournament.

“Obviously we as players have a life outside of football and I think prize money like that rewards us in ways we can’t imagine. A lot of us have bills to pay and family to take care of,” Blackwood said, “and I think for the younger generation, especially, football doesn’t make you a lot of money. So for [girls] to see us doing what we love and realize that you can make a living off it—it’s motivational.”

No one can ensure all the players will receive their guaranteed bonuses.

The global players union, FIFPRO, last year sent a letter to FIFA on behalf of players from 25 national teams asking for better conditions within the tournament.

FIFA announced the individual bonuses of the $110 million prize pool in June.

But FIFA President Gianni Infantino said before the start of the World Cup that the federations would be responsible for distributing the payments. He was unable to make any guarantee that funds would reach the players.

FIFPRO said it was working to establish bank accounts for the players as well as an auditing process. But there have already been snags.

FIFPRO announced late Tuesday that it was assisting Nigeria’s players in a dispute with their federation

concerning bonus payments, camp allowances and expenses, some dating back to 2021. Nigeria narrowly missed the quarterfinals after a penalty shootout loss to England.

“ The team is extremely frustrated that they’ve had to pursue the Nigeria Football Federation for these payments before and during the tournament,” FIFPRO said. “It is regrettable that players needed to challenge their own federation at such an important time in their careers.”

In the run-up to the World Cup, South Africa players boycotted a warm-up match against Botswana because the individual payments weren’t included in their contracts. The dispute ended when billionaire Patrice Motsepe, the president of the African Football Confederation, agreed to contribute $320,000 to be equally distributed among the players.

Some of the Jamaican players took to social media before the World Cup to complain about a lack of support and funding for the team. That spurred two crowdfunding campaigns to raise money for the Reggae Girlz.

The Jamaican Football Federation released a statement saying reports about the team’s financial struggles had taken away from the team’s accomplishments. The Reggae Girlz reached the Round of 16 but fell 1-0 to Colombia on Tuesday night.

We of course welcome anyone

Malixi disposes of Koo, takes on Shoemaker next

RIANNE MALIXI eased out

American Ellie Koo with a birdie and an early run of pars for a 5&3 victory in the Round of 64 of the US Women’s Amateur Match Play at the Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, California, Wednesday.

It was one of the few lopsided results in the first day of head-tohead duels that saw six matches go extra holes, the most in a US Women’s Amateur since 2016 with top seed Briana Chacon surviving Olivia Duan on the 19th hole, breaking a sort of a medalist curse where six of the last nine No. 1 seeds have fallen to their No. 64 seeded rivals.

M alixi, who moved into the knockout phase at No. 23 after finishing tied at 18th in the 36-hole stroke play qualifying, pounced on Koo’s mishap on the par-four No. 2 to seize control, birdied No. 4 and won the next two holes on her

Afan ready for World Combat Games

By Josef Ramos

FIERRE AFAN is one prime example of a young athlete who efficiently manages his time and balances his productive time in school and at the gym.

A fan, 20, will represent the country in wrestling in the World Combat Games set October 21 to 30 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He qualified for the worlds with his bronze medal-finish at the qualifiers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan last May.

It’s very tiring after training because I also have to attend my class,” said Afan, who’s a Sports Science scholar at the University of the Philippines. “But I want to be successful so that’s okay for me.”

B esides his medal in Tashkent, the 19-year-old Afan also won gold in the United World Wrestling World Grappling Asian Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, last June.

He is a Marikina City resident but

Jrs regional badminton series unfurl

spends more time at the DEFTACRibeiro Gym in Sucat, Parañaque City.

“

I thank all my teammates who encourage me all the time, who believe in me all the time,” he said. “I also want to finish college. I won’t be around here if my teammates aren’t here to help me.”

Training is always a difficult task, but Afan said the mental part’s even more difficult.

“

I’d like to express my sacrifices, but I can’t,” said Afan, who scored a major upset over world champion Artem Khvan of Kazakhstan in the U-20 no-gi junior class in Astana, where he collected a total of two junior gold and two silver medals.

Wrestling Association of the Philippines president Alvin Aguilar said Afan already went through huge fights in his younger years and is

THE Philippine Badminton Association (PBA) will launch the opening leg on Friday and Saturday of the Juniors Regional Badminton Series at the Delta Badminton Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.

A total of 419 players registered for the Pampanga Leg. “With the inauguration of our grass-

Cup

ELASTO Painters Coach Yeng

Guiao knows the Taipei sortie will be tough to handle.

HILDAH MADAIA, nicknamed the “Breadwinner” of South Africa’s squad, plans to use the money to care for her mother. AP

THE mission is tough so Rain or Shine is leaving for Taipei on Friday for the 42nd William Jones Cup armed with a modest goal. For one, the two-time Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) champion team will be facing a formidable field, including the national teams of three top Middle East nations and the region’s top clubs in the nine-day tournament which unwraps on Saturday.

T he E-Painters even don’t have an idea as to what kind of opposition they will be facing although the Yeng Guiao-coached squad is not the type to back down from a challenge.

S o expect the Raymond Yu- and Terry Que-owned franchise to go all out in its bid to defend the country’s title in the Jones Cup which was last won by an import-laden Mighty Sports team in pre-pandemic 2019. A tty. Mert Mondragon, the team’s governor to the PBA, is confident that the team will play its best, hoping not only to represent the pro league well but also showcase the Filipino brand of basketball on the international stage.

“

We will be up against some very tough teams, taller and quicker, even national teams,” Mondragon said. “We are not promising anything but I’m sure that our guys will not back down from a challenge and will fight to represent the PBA, and the country well.”

Reinforcing the team are Gilas Pilipinas’s Ange Kouame and American import Nick Evans along with the young core of Rey Nambatac, Anton Asistio, Santi Santillan, Andrei Caracut, Gian Mamuyac and Shaun Ildefonso.

opponent’s miscues to go 4-up.

A lthough she failed to match Koo’s birdie on the par-5 eighth after hitting two bunkers on her way to the green, the International Container Terminal Services Inc.backed Malixi birdied Nos. 10 and 11 to pull away by five holes.

S he yielded the 12th on a bogey, regained the hole on next the with a par, lost No. 14 on another mishap but wrapped it up despite a bogey on No. 15 as Koo holed out with a double-bogey.

M alixi, runner-up in last month’s US Girls’ Junior in Colorado, faces American Bailey Shoemaker at 8:50 a.m. in the Round of 32 Thursday with the winner slugging it out with the victor in the Hailey BorjaSara Im clash in the Last 16 in the afternoon expected to likewise test the surviving field’s staying power. N o. 63 Charlotte Cantonis,

bound to reap more success.

We believe in Fierre, his hard work and sheer determination to succeed has been tested at his early age,” Aguilar said. “He will give our country more medals, not only in Asian but on the global stage.” A fan’s also a fan of mixed martial arts and is a regular at all Universal Reality Combat Championship events. But going MMA’s still not a priority.

meanwhile, produced the biggest result when she stunned second seed Andrea Lignell from Sweden, 4&3, No. 54 Aussie Caitlin Peirce pulled off a 1-up win over No. 11 Savannah Grewal of Canada, and No. 53 Thienna Huynh shocked recent US Girls’ Junior winner Kiara Romero, 6&5.

A s lew of fancied bets, however, advanced with Anna Davis scoring a 3&2 win over Amanda Sambach; Gianna Clemente crushed 2021 champion Jensen Castle, 4&3; last week’s Canadian Amateur champion Lauren Kim routed Brianna Navarrosa, 5&4; Yana Wilson dispatched Ellie Szeryk, 6&4; Rachel Kuehn held off Kaleiya Romero, 2&1; Rachel Heck outlasted Sera Hasegawa on the 21st hole; and Rin Yoshida gaining with a walkover win over Lauren Miller, who withdrew due to illness.

Veterans Gabe Norwood, Jewel Ponferrada and Beau Belga are still expected to provide the leadership along with Jhonard Clarito, Mac Belo, Nick Demusis and Mark Borboran.

H eading the delegation are Rain or Shine Alternate Governor Edison Oribina, Redmond Yu and Jireh Ibanez.

R ain or Shine plays host Chinese Taipei Team A on Saturday and Team B on Sunday. The Elasto Painters then lock horns with national teams of UAE on August 14, Qatar on August 15 and Iran on August 16.

R ain or Shine also takes on Korean Basketball League champion Anyang KGC on August 17 before taking a rest the next day.

The Elasto Painters wrap up the competition against Japan’s Under-22 national team on August19 the US NCAA UC Irvines on August 20.

20th Igan Cup tees off at Eastridge

THE 20th Igan Cup, the country’s longest running celebrity golf tournament, will be held on August 18 at the Eastridge Golf & Country Club in Binangonan, Rizal.  “ We call on our friends to join us again,” said host Arnold Clavio, the popular television host.  “We cannot wait to see you on the course for another great round of golf with the usual lucrative prizes at stake.”

P layers will tee off in double shotgun at 6 a.m. and 12 noon. Tournament format is system 36, with participants allowed to use only five clubs.

Your support directly benefits the programs and activities of Igan Ng Pilipinas Foundation Inc.,” Clavio said.

The tournament is supported by platinum sponsors Get Go, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Robina Agri Partners Kabalikat, Kampfortis, Peerless Products Manufacturing Corp., Em-Core and gold backers NGCP,

Unilever, San Miguel Corp., SM Prime Holdings, Zelle Wellness Center, Bicol Saro, Hotel Sogo, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., LT Group Inc., New San Jose Builders Inc. and C-Lium Fiber.   Guilana’sBar and Restaurant, Globe Telecom, Meralco, Stradcom Corporation, FR Sevilla, Ritemed, SM Supermalls, Pag-ibig Fund, GMA Network, 24 Shares Updates, K & G Apparels, Eurotel, SM Foundation, Converge, San Miguel Foods Inc., MMDA and RFM are the silver sponsors. R obros Incorporated, Sogo Cares, NGCB, Toyota Quezon Avenue, Arlo Aluminum Co. Inc.  NLEX, Ayala Land Inc. Emperador Distillers Inc. Jack Nicklaus (Hole) Petron, Obra ni Juan, Lydia’s Lechon, Mitsui Trading Phils., MC Jim Classic Leather, (Hole in One) K & G Golf Apparels and Accessories, Autohub, Gransportivo, Mutt Motorcyle, and MAA General Assurance Phils. Inc.

roots program in Pampanga, the association embarks on a transformative journey for the sport in our nation,” said Melvin Nubla, PBAD’s head of development.

“ This initiative not only lays the foundation for widespread participation but also serves as a crucible for nurturing future champions,” he said.

“As we set our sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, we are confident that these emerging talents will be the driving force behind our quest for excellence, propelling Philippine badminton onto the global stage.”

The Pampanga leg of the nationwide tournament features five age groups—singles for under-19,

under-17, under-15, under-13 and under-11 and also doubles for under-15 to under-19.

It is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Pampanga Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda and Protech PH, Reckitt/Lysol, Pocari Sweat, Alaska, A2Z Customs, Cignal TV, PLDT and FMKD.

Rain or Shine sets modest goal amid tough field in Jones

RIANNE MALIXI holds fort in US campaign.

IT’S a matter of balancing school and sports for 19-year-old Fierre Afan.

GATEWAY INAUGURATES SUBARU ALABANG DEALERSHIP

Peregrino

door to the public.

Situated within the confines of Westgate, Alabang, the facility sits on a 700 sqm property highlighting a presentable and elegant showroom with three service bays and efficient crews to service all Subaru clients in that southern part of Metro Manila. No less than Gateway executive vice president Michael Goho graced the ceremony and was delighted to share the good news with the guests. Various VIP guests and members of the motoring media also attended the event.

“Presently, our Subaru Gateway comprises a 25 percent share

of the entire dealer network, and we are glad to be one of the leading pioneers and proponents for such a prestigious brand. We’re very pleased to have Motor Image as our valued partner, and we hope this collaboration continues to prosper with more enticing promos and a stable inventory. As a volume-oriented company, we intend to level up the volume for Subaru with a highly robust product line such as the Forester, Outback, WRX, and now the Crosstrek. We are also glad that we’ve already surpassed last

year’s total sales output. Subaru has captured the hearts of Filipinos over the past decade and will certainly continue to do so with its exceptional products,” said Goho.

Goho also shared that their first two Subaru dealerships in Pampanga and Camarines Sur have been doing well with the re-opening of the economy. “The Subaru brand has many unique traits that can generate its own base. With Pampanga and CamSur, and now with the addition of this Alabang branch, which is very ideal and

perfect for the Alabang market, we will aspire and contribute to more growth and brand visibility in the years to come. To stronger ties, more sales, and happier customers, may this venture with Subaru excel and flourish,” he added.

From XV to Crosstrek

MEANWHILE , the inauguration

of the new Subaru Alabang dealership coincided with the official launch of Subaru’s latest crossover model—the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. Formerly known as the XV, the all-new Subaru Crosstrek unlocks a new level of all-terrain adventure. Featuring upgraded off-road capability, enhanced technology, and loads of rugged style, Subaru claims the Crosstrek is built with quality Subaru engineering for confidently exploring rugged trails.

From its matte-black finish protective cladding and the glarereducing hood decal to the 17-inch (2.0 i-L Eyesight)/18-inch (2.0 i-S Eyesight) alloy wheels, the Crosstrek is built for rough places. The rugged design continues into the cabin, which features durable and water-repellent upholstery embossed with the Subaru logo. The 2024 Crosstrek goes even further with potent upgrades, including a more prominent grille with a unique layered honeycomb look, updated LED headlights set at an aggressive angle, and a kinetic new wheel design.

Motivation comes from a 2.0-litre FB20D boxer engine generating 154 hp and 196 N-m of maximum torque paired with a Continuous Variable Transmission. The latest-generation Crosstrek is safer than ever with the upgraded standard EyeSight Driver Assist Technology for more peace of mind. The enhanced EyeSight 4.0 features a monocular lens to see even wider. The upgraded system features Pre-collision Braking, Autonomous Emergency Steering, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Centering Function, and Lane Departure Prevention, to name a few.

The Crosstrek 2.0i-L Eyesight variant retails at P1.998 million, while the top-spec Crosstrek 2.0i-S Eyesight is P2.018 million.

Yaris launch kicks off Toyota’s 35th anniversary

test-driven as well from Fifth Avenue going round Grand Hyatt Hotel t hrough Lexus Manila Inc. and back.

IN an unprecedented move, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) presented its best-selling cars to t he public outdoors, using the entire length and breathe of the iconic B GC High Street’s sprawling park in Taguig City.

T he three-day extravaganza from August 4-6 happily stunned a car crowd not used to seeing a huge showcase of automobiles delicately, symmetrically, positioned in an opena ir arena frequented practically by all walks of life almost seven days a week.

“ It’s our humble way of showing our appreciation to our customers, friends and allies, of expressing how we value their support, by exhibiting the widest array of our models f or their singular delectation,” said Jing Atienza, the TMP executive vice president.

It’s a milestone party never been done before, the event setting a first in the motoring industry, where a record 35 vehicles featuring models and variants of Toyota and its big brother, Lexus, are not merely to be appreciatively gawked at but to be

This is a team effort at presenting a totally different menu for our c lients and supporters alike,” said Lexus vice president Carlo Ablaza. “We wracked our brains to come up with this out-of-the-box idea if only to help spur growth in the motoring industry.”

T he event is but a bombastic kickoff to TMP’s 35th anniversary bonanza after its birth on August 3, 1988.

We dedicate this celebration to the generations of Filipino Toyota customers who have embraced the Toyota brand and became Toyota’s brand ambassadors,” said TMP President Atsuhiro Okamoto. “To thank ou r customers for this milestone and to give them a glimpse of our exciting future together, we are treating t hem to exciting and unforgettable activities this month to kick-start our 35th year.”

T he celebration has also been centered around Toyota’s push for car e lectrification for carbon neutrality, capped by the unveiling of the AllNew Toyota Yaris Cross HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle).

T he Yaris Cross was joined at the BGC show by electrified sedans, MPVs, and SUVs in the event called “Go Electrified with Toyota.”

T he fair allowed customers to familiarize themselves with and personally experience electrified

vehicles, with the TMP/Lexus combo of Jade Sison, Sunshine Cabrera, N adinne Capistrano, Michelle de Guzman, Faith Allana Rufo, Shaina Mae Semana and Aries P. Alconaba combining efforts to help ensure the event’s smashing success.

A s a special feature of the anniversary, Akio Toyoda, the chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, will fly in from Tokyo to do a racing exhibition in Manila.  Known as Morizo w hen joining a motorsports event, Toyoda will topbill TMP’s two-day Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival at Luneta’s Quirino Grandstand.

M orizo will perform exciting but challenging stunts in a rare spectacle reserved in world-renowned tracks on August 23-24. He will be joined by famous Japanese racers Norihiko Katsuta and Masahiro Sasaki on board cars they use in global events.

D riving alongside them in drifting and gymkhana challenges are Filipinos Alex Perez, Luis Gono, Marlon Stockinger and Ryan Agoncillo, u sing TGR’s performance cars GR Supra, GR Yaris and GR 86.

Famous artists like Ely Buendia, Ben&Ben, Parokya ni Edgar and Kamikazee will provide music during t he two-day racefest that is open to the public for free. See you there.

PEE STOP Toyota’s 35th anniversary offers huge special deals this month at all its 72 dealerships nationwide. Cheers!

GATEWAY Motors Group is on a roll in opening multi-brand of automotive dealerships. As one of the country’s big automotive dealer groups, housing over 21 worldrenowned brands, the company recently opened its third premiere Subaru outlet’s

THE newly-inaugurated Gateway Motors Group Subaru dealership in Alabang

The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek 2.0i-S Eyesight top-spec variant