By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM DOLLAR remittances to Philippinesthehit their highest level for 2022 in June, as Overseas Filipinos increased their “padala” (money sent home) to finance the higher prices of household goods and commodities in the country. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that cash remittances that coursed through banks from different parts of the world to the Philippines hit $2.755 billion in June. This is the highest volume of monthly remittances for 2022.The June volume of remittances is also 4.4 percent higher compared to the $2.638 billion seen in the same month last year. This is also the highest monthly growth rate for the year. I n the view of Rizal Commer cial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort, one of the main reasons overseas Filipinos were prompted to send more money during the month— apart from the return to normalcy of the global economy—is concern over the rising prices of goods and commodities. InJune,local inflation hit 6.1 percent as the majority of com modity groups registered infla tion rates. Food and energy-re lated items were the key drivers, while transport inflation also continued to rise due to higher fuel prices and jeepney fare hikes in select regions. T he June remittance increase resulted in the growth of the cumu lative cash remittances by 2.9 per cent to $15.347 billion in the first half of 2022, from $14.918 billion recorded in the comparable period in 2021.Interms of country sources, the BSP said the growth in cash remit tances from the United States (US), Saudi Arabia, Japan, Qatar, and Singapore contributed largely to the increase in remittances in the first half of 2022. A ccording to Ricafort, remit tances during the month could have been larger, if not partly offset by the weak peso during the month. UK 67.3992 HK 7.0870 n CHINA 8.2355 AUSTRALIA 39.4944 n EU 56.9869 n KOREA 0.0426 n SAUDI ARABIA Source BSP
By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie & Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas L AWMAKERS moved to transform the briefing on the unauthorized issuance of the Sugar Regulatory Board’s Resolution No. 4 to be turned into a full-blown investigation. I n a motion during a briefing between the House of Represen tatives and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan asked the House Committee on Good Government and Public Account ability and the Committee on Ag riculture and Food to convert the briefing into a full-blown inves tigation to determine account ability of the SRA officials in the invalid issuance of the resolution. “ I would like to file a motion that the committees act on this motu proprio so that we can con tinue investigation on this matter on Thursday, especially on this Sugar Order [SO] No. 4 and related testimonies and investigation to determine what really happened and who has culpability, if any, on this issue,” Libanan said. Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri, in a privilege speech on Monday, urged the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to investigate alleged irregularities at the SRA and asked its high ranking officials to resign. This recent fiasco has put a spotlight not only on the SRA’s blatant disregard for the local sugar industry, but also on its bald-faced attempts to usurp authority. Thus, I ask my col leagues in the Senate, particu larly the Blue Ribbon Committee, to open an investigation and get to the bottom of this shameful incident, and see whether cases need to be filed against the per sons involved. Let us investigate this, and let us find ways to build a better, more responsive, and more inclusive SRA,” Zubiri said. In the resolution posted on the SRA website, Agriculture Under secretary Leocadio S. Sebastian signed on behalf of the President.
Rosales said the PCA will not stop updating its list of coconut farmers and enjoined them to register in order to reap the benefits of the decades-long idled coconut levy fund. “We will not stop at 3.1 million. We hope that more individuals will register in our coconut farmers registry,” he said. The updating of the coconut farmers registry is mandated by Republic Act (RA) 11524 or the Coconut Industry Trust Fund Act.
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario D ESPITE rising commodity prices and the continuing threat posed by the pan demic, the current administra tion remains confident that it can achieve its overall target of a 9-per cent poverty incidence by 2028. O n Monday, the Philippine Sta tistics Authority (PSA) disclosed that there were 19.99 million Fili pinos who were considered poor. This translated to a poverty inci dence rate of 18.1 percent. I n a briefing, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the government will endeavor to pare down the poverty incidence in 2021 by 5 percentage points by 2025 and another 4 per centage points by 2028. “ We can reduce poverty inci dence by 5 percentage points at midterm, and another 4 percentage points by 2028. We aim to reduce poverty incidence among Filipinos to 9 percent by 2028,” Balisacan said.“This Covid-19 pandemic may have disrupted our growth mo mentum but we are determined. We remain committed to deliver adequate, prudent and timely poli cies to achieve our collective aspira tion where no Filipino is poor,” he explained.Balisacan said in order to achieve this target, the government will use the 2021 poverty data as the admin istration’s baseline as it pushes to undo the damage inflicted by the pandemic on the Philippine econ omy.The National Economic and De velopment Authority (Neda) chief said its efforts to achieve the tar get include resuming face-to-face classes and greater vaccine access for children and adults. “ We will continue to provide guidance on minimum public health standards and health risk assessments. We urge all schools to come up with innovative solutions to make studying in school as safe as possible,” Balisacan added. O n top of these efforts, Bali sacan said the government will provide training opportunities for Filipinos to improve their chances of securing quality employment. T he country’s Chief Economist also said the government aims to reduce the cost of doing business in the country and provide greater support for research and develop ment as well as innovation. B alisacan also said the govern ment will enhance inter-industry linkages and be more aggressive in promoting the country as a key in vestment destination in the region. Poverty data MEANWHILE , the proportion of Filipino families with incomes that are not sufficient to buy their mini mum basic food and non-food needs or the poverty incidence among families in 2021 was estimated at 13.2 percent. See “Poor,” A2
w P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages |n Monday, November 29, 2021 Vol. 17 No.52
By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla I NTERNATIONAL concerns over the possible spread of the more infectious Omicron Covid-19 variant prompted the government to reimpose mandatory facility-based quarantine for all arriving passengers in the country. Acting Presidential spokesperson Karlo B. Nograles announced on Sunday that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) suspended the implementation of its Resolution No. 150A (s.2021), effectively imposing stricter protocols for all inbound travelers. Tonote, IATF Resolution 150A had allowed fully vaccinated non-visa travelers from Green List areas to enter the country without the need for facility-based quarantine as long as they secure negative Reverse TranscriptionPolymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) test within 72 hours prior to their “Exceptdeparture. forcountries classified as ‘Red,’ the testing and quarantine protocols for all inbound international travelers in all ports of entry shall comply with the testing and quarantine protocols for ‘Yellow’ list countries,” Nograles said, citing the provision of IATF Resolution He noted Hong Kong, which has confirmed a case of the Omicron variant, will also fall under the YelThe suspension of the rules for “Green List” countries will be in effect from November 28, 2021 to By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM
By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM T HE Philippines and France are eyeing to boost develop ment cooperation in agricul ture and green energy, among other areas, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno met on Monday with French Ambassador to the Philippines Mi chèle Boccoz. A t the courtesy call meet ing, Diokno expressed interest in two countries having more cooperation projects in agricul ture. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is concurrently the sec retary of the Department of Agri culture.Wehave many projects in the pipeline with France in the areas of infrastructure, maritime secu rity, disaster risk management, agriculture, green energy, educa tion, and climate change,” Diokno said in a tweet following his meet ing with the French Ambassador.
THE P2.75year-on-yearbyend-Octoberborrowingsgrossgovernment’snationalasofshrankalmost6percenttotrillion.
Net debt redemption means there were more debts repaid compared to the amount borrowed during the period. Meanwhile, gross foreign borrowings in the same period also contracted by 9.7 percent to P518.7 billion from last year’s P574.4 billion.
Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that the government’s gross borrowings during the 10-month period fell by 5.99 percent from P2.92 trillion a year ago. With only two months left for this year, the latest figure is already equivalent to 89.6 percent of its P3.07-trillion borrowing program. Broken down, gross domestic borrowings from January to October settled at P2.23 trillion, down by 5.08 percent from P2.35 trillion in 2020. The bulk of the amount was sourced from Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds (P1.19 trillion), followed by short-term borrowings from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP (P540 billion), Retail Treasury Bonds/Premyo Bonds (P463.3 billion), Retail Onshore Dollar Bonds (P80.84 billion). In the same period, there was also a net redemption of Treasury Bills amounting to P43.94 billion.
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario C LOSING the country’s borders is one of the most immediate courses of action the government must take to prevent the latest Covid-19 variant, Omicron, from reaching Philippine shores, according to local economists. The new variant is a threat, especially with the holidays coming up and more foreigners being allowed to travel to the Philippines, De La Salle University economist Maria Ella Oplas toldTheBusinessMirror.holidaysusually bring in Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who are eager to spend Christmas with their loved ones, while foreigners living in temperate regions usually want to relax in tropical countries like the Philippines. This year’s influx of OFWs is expected to be heavier since many of them were unable to come home for the holidays in December 2020. “My recommendation is to protect the borders. Do not allow people with a history of travel to countries with positive cases to enter,” Oplas said. “We should be more restrictive. [We have to be] more protective in terms of our Oplasmeasures.”saidthat while this will be a setback to some industries, this is a fair measure considering that this could help prevent placing the country in another strict lockdown, which, she said, the economy can no longer afford. “It is better that we do protective preventive measures than get exposed again. We have a lot to lose,” Oplas said. “We should do it now so that we can open just before Christmas. If it gets contained, we can open it again.”Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (ACERD) Associate Director Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes said closing the country’s borders would be effective but should still adhere to the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO). What is needed, Peña-Reyes told this newspaper, is for travel restrictions to be put in place swiftly and for government to be proactive in imposingPreviousthem.instances when the country had the opportunity to impose travel restrictions did not prevent the spread of Covid-19. That was mainly because the decision was not made immediately, he said. “ Kung papatay patay [If we’re slow] and we get caught flat-footed, [that’s risky] We were too reactive instead of proactive before. We should learn from that,” PeñaReyes said. “It’s a delicate balancing act. We need to push testing and tracing to be properly informed of our decisions. Blanket/shotgun approaches could have dire consequences on the economy.”
‘Close borders, cut Omicron exposure risk’ See “Omicron,” A2 PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.4600 n JAPAN 0.4374 n UK 67.2329 n HK 6.4722 n CHINA 7.9013 n SINGAPORE 36.8968 n AUSTRALIA 36.2807 n Tuesday, August 16, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 312
CONGRESS w P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages |
n
The country will celebrate the 158th birth anniversary of Filipino revolutionary hero Gat Andres Bonifacio on Tuesday, November 30.
Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Deputy Administrator Roel M. Rosales said about 3.11 million coconut farmers and farm workers have been registered with the government since it started updating its registry following the enactment of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund law.
With 20-M poor Pinoys, 9% poverty goal
The PCA official noted that the completion of the initial list of coconut farmers registry would be just in time for the expected rollout of coconut levy-funded programs as President Duterte is expected to sign the industry development plan in early 2022.
HOUSES of informal settlers line an estero on Recto Avenue area in Manila, as towering condominium buildings are seen in the background. On Monday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported there were 19.99 million Filipinos who were considered poor, translating to a poverty incidence rate of 18.1 percent. The government, however, is confident it can achieve its overall target of a 9-percent poverty incidence by 2028. Umbrella story above.
Omicron risk spurs revival of rulesquarantineinPHL
stays
France, PHL eyeing more green energy, agri projects
NATL GOVT BORROWINGS FOR 10 MOS DIP TO P2.75T
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.5320 n JAPAN 0.4161 n
See
A2 FULL-BLOWN PROBE
By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas M ORE than 3 million coconut farmers and workers are now registered with the government’s registry, which serves as the basis for the number of people to be covered by the utilization of the P75-billion coconut levy fund.
PEOPLE walk past the mural of Gat Andres Bonifacio at Manila City Hall Underpass.
JUNE REMITTANCES HIT $2.755B, HIGHEST IN ‘22
(August 15, 2022) US CONGRESS MEMBERS MEET TAIWAN PRESIDENT TSAI AMID CHINA’S ANGER THE WORLD ›› A9
Rosales explained that about 500,000 coconut farmers and workers were added to the PCA’s 2018 list that had about 2.5 million coconut farmers and farm workers. The PCA’s next step is to conduct an exclusion-inclusion procedure by making the updated farmers’ registry public, providing everyone the opportunity to check the veracity of the list, Rosales added. “The list will be posted in public spaces where people can easily see them. This allows everyone to see who are listed in the registry and if farmer doesn’t see his name then he shall coordinate with the PCA immediately,” he explained at a recent dialogue with coconut farmers. “On the other hand, if people would see names on the list and they think they are not coconut farmers or their details are incorrect, they can report it to the PCA for immediate action,” he added.
14.7936
NONIE REYES
See “France,” A2 See “Probe,” A2 “Remittances,” OF SUGAR MESS IN
n SINGAPORE 40.4840 n
This was raised through global bonds (P146.17 billion), program loans (P139.98 billion), euro-denominated bonds (P121.97 billion), a project loan (P86.41 billion), and yen-denominated samurai bonds (P24.19 billion). See “Borrowings,” A2
T he Palace said the supposed Resolution No. 4 was invalid since it was not authorized by President Marcos who sits as chairman of the SRB.Meanwhile, at the House, Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano said members of the panels could not ask questions of the SRA board of directors and other officials as the two panels are just conducting a briefing instead of an inquiry. “ Personally I cannot ask ques tions...those questions relative to SO No. 3 and SO No. 4 deeply because this is just a briefing, and again, we expect an investigation on these issues that concern the sugar industry,” he said. I n a motu proprio inquiry, Pad uano said resource persons would be held under oath and their state ments could be held against them. For his part, Committee on Ag riculture and Food Chairman Mark Enverga vowed that the briefing will be converted into an inquiry, in aid of legislation. “ This is initially a briefing, in the absence, of course, of an official referral of a bill seeking an inquiry in aid of legislation, we cannot take action on that yet. So at least we are starting to get briefed on the current situation, so sooner than later we will definitely convert this officially into an inquiry,” said Enverga. Dasmariñas Rep. Elpidio Bar zaga, meanwhile, asked for the physical attendance of SRA offi cials and other resource persons on HThursday. ouseCommittee on Good Gov ernment and Public Accountability Chairman Florida Robes has direct ed resource persons to personally attend the next hearings. “On Thursday we will definitely proceed with the inquiry and all will be held [under] oath,” she said. from A1 from A1
Continued from A12 Remittances... Continued from A1
Imports...
BusinessMirror www.businessmirror.com.phTuesday, August 16, 2022A2 News
“An offsetting factor has been the weaker peso exchange rate vs. the US dollar in recent months at 55.00 levels recently that could have somewhat reduced the amount of OFW remittances need ed to pay for the same amount of spending in pesos in the country,” the economist said. G oing forward, Ricafort said there may still be a need to send more remittances due to higher prices. “Remittances and conversion to pesos are expected to sea sonally increase in the fourth quarter, in preparation for the holiday season and spending, a pattern seen in recent years,” Ricafort said.
By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan
At the regional level, the regions with the lowest poverty incidence among families in 2021 were National Capital Region (NCR), Cordillera Ad ministrative Region (CAR), Region III, and Region IV-A. O n the other hand, the Autono mous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) consistently figured with the highest poverty incidence among families at 29.8 percent in 2021. Moreover, more than half of the regions posted significant changes in their incidences from 2018 to 2021. The regions with significant increases were NCR, MIMAROPA, and Regions I, III, IV-A, VI, VII, and X. O n the other hand, significant de creases were observed in CAR, Region XI, and ARMM/BARMM. At the provincial level, the provinc es which belonged to the group with the least poverty incidence among families in 2015, 2018 and 2021 were: Bataan, Batanes, Benguet, Bulacan, Capiz, Cavite, Guimaras, Ilocos Norte, Laguna, Pampanga, and Rizal. The provinces of La Union, Siquijor, and Tarlac were included in the least poor cluster since 2018. A lso joining this least poor clus ter in 2021 were: Apayao, Batangas, Cagayan, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Ifugao, Kalinga, Lanao del Sur, Palawan, and Quirino. I n general, poverty incidence in highly urbanized cities (HUCs) was relatively lower compared to many provinces in the country. I n HUCs within NCR, these cities posted significant increases in their poverty incidence among families from 2018 to 2021: Cities of Mala bon, Valenzuela, Las Piñas, Makati, Muntinlupa, Parañaque and Taguig. For HUCs outside NCR, the Cities of Lapu-Lapu, Butuan, and Mandaue registered the highest significant in crease, while Zamboanga City was the only HUC with significant decrease from 6.5 percent in 2018 to 3.3 per cent in 2021. P SA poverty data is derived from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES). The survey for 2021 was conducted between 08 – 31 July 2021 and 10 – 31 January 2022. A total of 165,029 families were in cluded in the FIES. The PSA also said about 7,000 data enumerators were employed to collect data nationwide. Members of the old Naia Consor tium—composed of Aboitiz InfraCapi tal Inc; AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp.; Alliance Global Group Inc.; Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp.; Filinvest De velopment Corp.; JG Summit Holdings Inc.; and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.—and the representatives from the Philippine Airports and Ground Services Inc. have yet to reply to the BusinessMirror’s request for comment. Metro Pacific previously tapped out of the consortium due to com mercial issues. Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista on Saturday said the govern ment plans to revive the rehabilita tion project for Naia, noting that it might consider Public-Private Part nership (PPP) as its funding modality. P ublic policy think tank In frawatch Convener Terry L. Ridon believes that redeveloping Naia is a crucial component of the govern ment’s multi-airport strategy. “ I think the long term strategy is to still proceed with the multi-airport strategy and the development of Naia remains a major pillar in it,” he said in a phone interview. He said their group supports this initiative and believes that PPP is the way to move forward with the project, given the “limited fiscal space of the government.” Torecall,the Duterte government decided to discontinue the project, af ter halting negotiations with the Naia Consortium, a group of seven Filipino conglomerates that banded together to submit a P102-billion unsolicited proposal for the rehab of the country’s main gateway. B efore this, the government re voked the original proponent status (OPS) of Megawide Construction Corp. and partner GMR Infrastruc ture Ltd. for their P109-billion Naia rehab unsolicited proposal. O ther groups that had forwarded their own versions of the Naia rehab proposals include the Philippine Air ports and Ground Services Inc. and San Miguel Corp.
France... Continued
Probe... Continued
Megawide Construction Corp. Ex ecutive Director for Infrastruc ture Development Louie B. Ferrer said the group, which modernized both the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and the Clark International Airport, will look at the terms the government will lay out for the re habilitation project. We are committed to assisting the infrastructure build-up. Our goal is to engineer a first-world Philippines and we will do so starting with our proj ects,” Ferrer said in a text message. “ We’ll wait for the final directions of the government regarding this proj ect and infra projects in general so we understand how to best support their vision.” Forhis part, San Miguel Corp. President Ramon S. Ang confirmed that the group, which is currently building its aerocity in Bulacan, is also interested in the deal. Yes, we’ll join all government bidding,” he said in a text message. A1
The French government is cur rently working on several agriculturerelated projects in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Min danao (BARMM) while French com panies are also leading some local agricultural projects, such as dairy and rice production, the DOF said.
Poor... Continued from
B eltran, the millers’ representa tive to the SRA board, tendered his resignation to Executive Secretary Victor D. Rodriguez, citing “health reasons.”“MayIrespectfully tender my res ignation as a member of the Sugar Board of the Sugar Regulatory Ad ministration, due to health reasons. This is without prejudice to any in vestigation that may be conducted in connection with the issuance of Sugar Order No. 4 s. 2022-2023,” Beltran said in his letter. B eltran explained that his affir mative vote in the SO 4 was “con ditional.”“Inany event, let me interject at the outset that my vote therein was conditional ‘subject to compliance of the provisions of laws, rules and regulations, and the internal pro cesses of SRA,’” Beltran said. The action is thus withdrawn and neglected due to non-compli ance of the conditions set forth therein,” Beltran added.
Megawide, SMC interested in Naia rehab project revival
B eltran earlier told the Busi nessMirror that the probe would provide him the proper avenue and opportunity to clear his name “in accordance with due process of law.”Earlier, Agriculture Under secretary Leocadio S. Sebastian resigned from his post following the controversy surrounding SO 4. Sebastian signed the SO 4 allegedly on behalf of President Marcos Jr., who is the concurrent agriculture secretary and chairperson of the SRA board. T he Palace has denied that Mar cos greenlit the additional impor tation program and gave Sebastian an authorization to sign the order on his behalf. T he issuance would have allowed the importation of 150,000 MT of sugar for industrial users and an other 150,000 MT for producers and traders to help lower the soar ing price of sweetener in the local market due to supply issues.
A team of experts from France is also coming to study the African Swine Fever outbreak in the country. Apart from agriculture, Boccoz also broached the possibility for the two coun tries to forge partnerships on biodiversity, green energy, and waste management, as she cited examples of private sector-led technologies resulting in the production of fertilizers and green energy from waste. Moreover, she said France has a lot of ex pertise in the nuclear sector in terms of energy production. Responding to Boccoz’s suggestion, Diokno welcomed the idea and asked Boccoz to help local government units (LGUs) with such projects through Public-Private Partnership (PPP). To support the devolution of LGU’s disaster risk reduction and manage ment and climate action, the French government’s public development bank-Agence Française de Développe ment (French Development Agency)— is financing a EUR 250 million Credit Facility Agreement (CFA) for the Di saster Risk Reduction Enhancement at the Local Level Program or DRREALL. Boccoz also told Diokno there are about 120 French firms in the Philippines work ing in construction, logistics, business process outsourcing, shipping, water engi neering services, and subway construction and 20 large French companies are coming to the Philippines in October to meet with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the local business sector. “I also encouraged French companies to invest in the [Philippines], especially now that we have amended the almost century-old Public Service Act, which opened up public services to 100-percent foreign ownership,” Diokno said.
He resigned after Malacañang declared the resolution’s issuance as having been done without the President’s consent and knowledge.
Another resignation ASIDE from Sebastian, SRA Board Vice Chairperson Hermenegildo R. Serafica, SRB Miller’s Representa tive Roland B. Beltran, and SRB Planter’s Representative Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama Jr., also signed the document.
AT least two of the four parties that submitted unsolicited proposals for the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) have signified their interest in supporting the government in its bid to bring the country’s premier airport back to its glory days.
A ccording to the Go Negosyo founder, Marcos also discussed in his meetings with different sectors in the agriculture industry the issues that are now impacting food supply such as climate change and the rising cost of agricultural inputs. Concepcion said Marcos emphasized the impor tance of private sector and govern ment cooperation especially when it comes to the agriculture sector. The DA is one of the most chal lenging jobs in government,” said Concepcion. Meanwhile, Concepcion said the private sector has already started to make recommendations in its planned Kapatid Angat Lahat Program, which aims to create linkages between big business and micro, small, and me dium enterprises (MSMEs) to achieve inclusive growth for the Philippines. T he Go Negosyo founder said among the recommendations are rebuilding the agriculture value chain to make farming more vi able as a livelihood, more use of data and science in agriculture es pecially in weather planning and soil analysis, addressing outdated policies and structural issues, and letting small farmers benefit from the scale, technology and best prac tices of big agricultural companies. Agriculture is key to the growth of the Philippines,” Concepcion said. “ With private sector’s participa tion, a healthy agriculture industry will enable the country to better handle future food supply crises,” added Concepcion. Andrea E. San Juan
B eltran also pointed out that he had already vacated his post as SRA board member as early as July 1 upon the expiration of his “tour of duty” and the issuance of Memorandum Circular No 1. However, he said, “on July 29, 2022, I received an email from SRA Management informing me that I am in a ‘holdover capacity.’ I ignored this email.” T he same email, he added, “was reiterated and re-sent on August 1, 2022, and thus [I] reluctantly resumed my duties and responsi bilities as such under pain of being accused of dereliction of duty.” B eltran and other SRA board members are now being investi gated by the Palace over the “un authorized” second round of sugar importation program.
Solons weigh in on bid to tax PHL’s ‘super rich’
Dengue cases exceed epidemic threshold in 9 regions, including NCR–DOH report
Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie
During the recent period—July 3 to July 30, 2022, where 23,414 cases were recorded—the region with the highest number of cases are: Region 3: 5,838 (25 percent), NCR: 2,689 (11 percent), and Calabarzon: 2,369 (10 percent); Nine out of 17 regions (Re gions 2, 3, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Regions 6, 7, 9, Cordillera Admin istrative Region, and NCR exceeded the epidemic threshold in the past four weeks (July 3 to July 30, 2022) with Mimaropa, and Region 6 show ing sustained increasing trend in the same period. Nationally, there were 368 deaths reported.
The no-contact apprehension pol icy is now being implemented in Ma nila, Parañaque, Valenzuela, Muntin lupa, Marikina, and Quezon City. Under the NCAP, motorists will be fined P2,000 (first offense), P3,000 (second offense) and P4,000 (third offense) for the following violations: disobedience to traffic control signals and signs, obstruction of pedestrian lanes, driving on yellow box, over speeding, non-wearing of helmet for motorcycle riders, and disregard to lane markings.
T hese deaths were reported on: January: 35; February: 31; March: 38; April: 46; May: 64; June: 74; July: 80 San Juan MEANWHILE , the San Juan City government conducted a cleanup drive and misting against dengue at Barangay Corazon de Jesus led by Mayor Francis Zamora. San Juan City has reported only a total of 83 dengue cases since Janu ary of this year, but with zero active cases as of August 12, 2022. A s per DOH data, San Juan has the lowest number of dengue cases in Metro Manila. No dengue related death has been logged since January of 2021 with Mayor Zamora hoping to maintain the record.SanJuan City has regularly con ducted cleanups and misting. We have done several times this year and we will continue to do it throughout the year so that we keep our numbers low and prevent deaths,” Zamora said. Last June 2022, during the Den gue Awareness Month, Zamora, along with barangay officials, com mitted to conduct regular cleanups and misting to protect San Juan citizens from the epidemic dengue.
By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3 THE Department of Health (DOH) on Monday reported there were 102,619 dengue cases from January 1 to July 30, 2022, cumulatively higher by 131 percent as compared to the cases logged during the same period in 2021. T here were a total 44,361 cases in the same period last year. Cumulatively, most dengue cases were reported from: Region 3 with 18,664 (18 percent), Region 7 with 10,034 (10 percent), and National Capi tal Region (NCR) 8,870 (9 percent).
Salceda tells LGU: ‘Rethink’ legality of PPP deals for NCAP
www.businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, August 16, 2022 A3BusinessMirror The Nation
A ssistant Minority Leader and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Ar lene D. Brosas said the Marcos administration must focus on im posing wealth tax on billionaires instead of taxing digital transac tions and proposing pro-big busi ness legislations. Brosas issued the statement after the Philippine Statistics Author ity (PSA) reported on Monday that around 19.99 million Filipinos were living below the poverty threshold of about P12,030 per month for a fam ily of five in 2021. A bout 2.32 million Filipinos were added to the population of poor individuals in the country in the last three years bringing the country’s poverty incidence higher at 18.1 percent from 17.67 percent in 2018.Imposing at least 3 percent tax on the wealth of Forbes’ 20 richest Filipinos will yield a whop ping P98.2 billion. This is 8 times the projected revenues from the proposed VAT on digital goods and services, and enough to pro vide P10,000 cash subsidy to 9.8 million poor Filipino families,” Brosas said. T he Makabayan bloc has refiled House Bill 258, which seeks to im pose “super rich tax” on individu als with net value assets exceeding P1 Tbillion.hebill proposed a tax on the super rich. A tax of 1 percent on wealth of above P1 billion, 2 percent on wealth of above P2 billion, and 3 percent over P3 billion. T he bloc said the proposal will raise P236.7 billion annually just from the 50 richest Filipi nos Thealone. government must veer away from its failed neoliberal dogma and start taking a progres sive view of national development. We must uphold the people’s so cial and economic demands, oth erwise, more and more Filipinos will carry the brunt of the govern ment’s failed economic response,” said Brosas. House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda of Albay has warned that “the mo ment you impose an outright wealth tax, it’s gone. And our business envi ronment and jobs will suffer.” “ We can’t raise our taxes too high for capital because it’s so easy to move capital offshore,” he said. The best way to tax wealth is to tax the inefficient and dysfunc tional use of land in this country,” he stressed.
THE chairman of the House Com mittee on Ways and Means on Monday urged local govern ment units (LGU) to “rethink” whether the model of allowing no-contact ap prehension policy (NCAP) to be the subject of private-public partnership (PPP) is actually allowed under the law. A lbay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda is sued the statement after six Metro Manila mayors issued a joint state ment to continue the implementa tion of the NCAP. “I wouldn’t say the LGUs have li abilities. [But] There appears to be inconsistencies with the rules of taxation, the local government code, PPP rules, and DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government] guidelines,” he added.
A MID rising poverty incidence in the country, an assistant minority leader on Monday called on the government to impose a 1 percent to 3 percent wealth tax on the “super rich.”
Currently, Salceda said private companies through PPP schemes are carrying out NCAP. He said the typical arrangement of revenue sharing is 70-30, in favor of the private operator. While PPPs are legal, the following questions are raised on PPPs on NCAP: Can law enforcement be the subject of a Public-Private Partnership? There appears to be no legal precedent for the exercise of the police power by a private enterprise on behalf of the State, and it would appear to contradict the established doctrine of the State’s monopoly of force,” he said. Were stakeholders properly con sulted? Stakeholder engagement and extensive consultation under a Consultation Plan is required under PPP Governing Board Resolution No. 2016-06-02,” he added.
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CITING the “improving” global pandemic situation, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has suspended the mandatory payment of insurance for land-based “rehires” and “direct hires.”
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A DMINISTRATION Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, noting Covid-19 contin ues to pose a major threat as a global health emergency, prodded Marcos government officials concerned to “continue to strengthen its vaccina tion program.” T his, as Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, observed the Philip pines’s vaccination rate remains at only 15 percent, lamenting this is way behind its Asian neighbors. Presiding over the organizational meeting and briefing of the Sen ate Health Committee, Go stressed the importance of investing in the health-care system. T he administration lawmaker lamented that the Philippines “had a difficult time dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic during the first year because the country had neglected its health-care system forGdecades.”oseesthe Covid-19 virus as “an eye opener, which must be a learning experience.” Butch Fernandez By Lenie Lectura @llectura
“I am pleased to visit Siargao for the first time to meet the people of this beautiful island and to see how our humanitarian and development programs are able to help the island bounce back better after Typhoon Odette,” said Ambassador Véron. “I look forward to meeting with communities who are benefiting from our development and liveli hood initiatives and also hear about the challenges they still face,” the envoyAmbassadorsaid. Véron also pays trib ute to the humanitarian aid workers and partners of the EU on the island. “I commend our humanitarian aid workers for their relentless and altru istic effort in providing the most ur gent humanitarian assistance to the communities in Siargao,” he said as his mission also coincides with the celebration of World Humanitar ian Day, which is celebrated every August Ambassador19.
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EU envoy visits Siargao to monitor aid and progress of devt projects Senator prods Marcos admin to boost Covid vax program
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DMW chief Ople suspends mandatory insurance for OFW rehires, direct hires
A4 BusinessMirror www.businessmirror.com.ph Economy Tuesday, August 16, 2022 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug
Overthinking and born smart
P RICES of petroleum products will go down this week, oil firms announced Monday. S tarting Tuesday morning, oil firms will slash diesel prices by P1.05 per liter, gasoline by P0.10 per liter and kerosene by P0.45 perTliter. hefuel price rollback will be implemented by Seaoil, Caltex, PTT, Phoenix, Cleanfuel, Petron, Shell, Total, Unioil and Cleanfuel. Except for Cleanfuel, the oil firms announced that the new prices would take effect 6 a.m. of August 16. Clean fuel will implement its price adjust ment at 8:01 a.m. This is the seventh consecutive week of price rollback for diesel and kerosene. L ast week, oil companies imple mented a price decrease in gasoline by P2.10 per liter, diesel by P2.20 per liter and kerosene by P2.55 per liter. T hese resulted to the year-todate total adjustments to stand at a net increase of P17.55/liter for gasoline, P30.15/liter for diesel and P24.75/liter for kerosene. Oil firms adjust their prices every week to reflect movements in the world oil Tmarket. heDOE said Dubai crude prices kept falling, as well as Mean of Platts Singapore gasoline and diesel amid a wide market sell off on recession fears. Adding downward pressure to the prices was crude stock building in the US. T he local oil industry uses MOPS, which is the daily average of all trad ing transactions between buyer and seller of petroleum products as as sessed and summarized by Standard and Poor’s Platts, a Singapore-based market wire service. C rude prices fell sharply this week amid heightened fears of re cession and demand destruction due to fiscal tightening and rising US-China tensions. By Malou Talosig-Bartolome @maloutalosig
Oil firms roll back diesel, gas, kerosene pump prices anew
Véron is visiting Caridad Elementary School in Pilar to talk with school officials and com munities who have benefited from programs such as the Education in Emergencies, shelter repair, water, sanitation and hygiene and protec tion-related interventions of the EU. After the typhoon hit the island, the EU provided a multi-purpose learn ing space as a temporary venue for teaching and learning activities. Together with humanitarian aid partners, the envoy will also launch the photographic exhibition “The Last Mile,” which aims to raise aware ness about the impact of typhoon on communities in Siargao and other affected provinces and the achieve ments and challenges encountered by NGOs and humanitarian aid or ganizations in reaching the most vulnerable families in the island. The EU ambassador is also lead ing a ceremony to highlight a Solar Community Based Island Tourism and Livelihood Energizer Platform (SMILE) project implemented by the World Wide Fund in Anajawan Island. This SMILE project provides 24.7 renewable energy access to four remote island communities, develop sustainable eco-tourism opportuni ties and help mitigate the impact of climate change. In line with the goal of reducing social and economic marginaliza tion, Ambassador Véron is visit ing Sitio Campinganon, Barangay Maribojoc to interact with women fishers benefiting from the project “Enhancing Women Fishers’ Liveli hood Opportunities in 34 Coastal Barangays of Siargao Island Protect ed Landscape and Seascape Women Managed Areas” promoting womenled enterprises and women fishers’ active participation in the local man agement of protected areas. W hile in Siargao, he is also ex pected to meet with business leaders and local government executives in cluding, Surigao del Norte Governor Lyndon Barbers, Pilar Mayor Maria Liza Resurreccion, General Luna Mayor Sol Matugas, San Benito May or Ma Gina Menil, and del Carmen Mayor Alfredo Matugas Coro II.
SIARGAO—EuropeanUnion(EU)AmbassadortothePhilippinesLucVéronisvisitingSiargaoIslandfromAugust15to18tomonitorEUhumanitarianaidanddevelopmentprojectsanddiscusstherecoverywithlocalofficialsandcommunities.EightmonthsfollowingtheonslaughtofTyphoon“Odette”(internationalcodenameRai)andfourthofhisoutreachmission,anewsstatementsaidAmbassadorVéronwouldliketoseerealitiesontheground,whileobservinghealthprotocols.Sincelastyear,hewenttodevelopmentprogramsintheCordilleraAdministrativeRegion,Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Min danao and Quezon province.
By Henry J. Schumacher W E are living in a world.difficultLet’sget practical for a change and turn to the phenomenon of overthinking. What is meant is being caught in a merry-go-round of thoughts, because of all the problems in the world (climate, Putin, prices) plus personal decisions. We asked business leaders how they deal with “overthinking” and received insightful answers: • There is t he faction of t he “mentals,” who rely on meditation. Others breath consciously for a few minutes on the office couch and lis tens to the birdsong in the national park once a week. T here are the communicative ones, who just talk, talk, talk—with colleagues, friends and family. • There a re t he s tructured ones, who rely on rituals—be it the daily viewing the same TV news for 20 years. • And f inally, t here a re move ment artists, who appreciate “walk ing calls” (telephone calls while walking) or, of course, the wellchosen running route. To which group do you belong? I belong to the movement artists walking 8 kilometers every day— but without a phone. T hese overthinking stories lead me to the question: Are we born smart? W hen we hear stories about a 7-year-old who can speak 14 dif ferent languages or see a video of someone with a photographic mem ory repeating every single person’s name in a 50-person auditorium, we sit back with awe. We begin to think that high levels of intelligence are more the result of nature, rather than nurture. But that’s just not the case! The truth is, we are all blank slates when we arrive here on earth. Sure, we inherit a few things from our parents, but ultimately our fu ture depends on our work ethic. There are plenty brilliant people in the world who never amount to much, solely because they lack the desire to refine their inherent talents and intelligence. On the other side of the spec trum, there are plenty people who had the odds stacked against them and went on to do brilliant things. We, of course, want to belong to this group. So take note: People aren’t born smart. Peo ple learn how to work with what they’ve got and become smart as a result. How? • Rule #1—make sure you a re building a tree of knowledge
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W hen it comes to learning, there is a difference between material that ends up hanging from a branch and the material that makes up the base of the trunk of your tree. It is the periphery versus the central! It underlines the ability to build vast and towering trees of intellect across multiple sectors. Rule #2—You can’t remember what you can’t connect Start with solid roots and dense trunks, and then begin to grow your knowledge upward, begin connect ing branches and leaves together with other branches and leaves of other trees. You n eed t o e mbrace t hese two rules. Build the trunk first, then work tirelessly on making connections.Letmeconclude with my vision: Smart people hang around with other smart people. If you want to become smarter, you have to spend time around people smarter than yourself, or at least communicate with them. One of my favorite quotes: “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.” Smart people hang around with smart people. Remember: You a re the reflection of the five people you spend the most time with! T his is also an important mes sage for the dialogue regarding office work and work from home. My view is very clear: it has to be a hybrid system: you have to meet from time to time with your smart colleagues. I look forward to your smart re sponses on overthinking and learning to be smart; contact me at hjschum acher59@gmail.com
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Department of Migrant Work ers (DMW) Affairs Undersecretary Bernard Olalia, who is also the con current officer-in-charge of POEA, has issued Advisory No. 55 Series of 2022, rescinding a 2021 Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) memorandum order to extend the compulsory insurance of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) for rehires and direct hires. “Considering the improving state of health, and consequently the opening of borders, as well as high vaccination rollout, this rule on ex panded insurance coverage needs to be revisited,” Olalia said in his signed order dated August 5. D MW Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople said she instructed Olalia to suspend the mandatory insur ance for rehires and direct hires because of “lack of consultation among stakeholders.” O ple said that she has received feedback from OFWs who are con fused if they should continue to pay for the expanded compulsory insur ance even when the country remains under Alert Level 1 and other coun tries have reported lower Covid-19 infections and have begun to loosen travel restrictions. “ The suspension will save our ‘ba lik-manggagawa’ workers and those directly hired by foreign employ ers at least $35 (P1,700.00) worth of mandatory insurance coverage, while reducing the number of re quirements imposed by govern ment. Malaking ginhawa ito para sa ating OFWs,” Ople said. T he DMW chief, however, clari fied that the mandatory insurance coverage for newly hired OFWs re mains valid and in place because this was set by law. “ Para malinaw, may dalawang uri ng compulsory insurance. ’Yung para sa mga bagong OFW na bunga ng naipasang batas, at itong expanded compulsory insurance para sa mga balik-manggagawa at direct hires na nakasaad sa isang lumang department order ng DOLE. ’Yung itinatakda ng batas ay ating patuloy na ipatutupad dahil ito naman ay sagot ng mga foreign employers,” Ople said. Ngunit ’yung expanded na version na itinatakda ng Department Order [DO] 228 para sa mga balik-mang gagawa at direct hires ay isasantabi muna natin dahil sa kakulangan ng konsultasyon sa mga stakeholders,” Ople explained. O ple noted that the benefits of such an insurance scheme for rehired and directly hired overseas workers at the height of the Covid-19 epi demic have “yet to be established.” The order to suspend will be followed by a series of formal con sultations with all stakeholders, especially among our OFWs in dif ferent parts of the world via online meetings since they were meant to be the primary beneficiaries of DO No. 228,” Ople said. She added consultations would also enable the DMW to report on the progress of other programs and services, including ongoing efforts to cut red tape and carry out the digita lization of the overseas employment certificate (OEC). We will continue to reach out to our stakeholders so that our goal to make the DMW the home and sanc tuary of every OFW is attainable,” Ople said. For a P1,700 annual premium of OFW mandatory insurance, OFWs and/or families of OFWs can receive these benefits: $10,000 (P550,000) in case of death due to sickness $15,000 (P850,000) in case of accidental death $7,500 (P412,000) in case of permanent disability repatriation of mortal $100 (P5,500) a month for 6 months if OFW is involved in a case or litigation orth 3 to 6 salary case OFW case the employer wins Relations medical repatriation
By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM SEN. Raffy Tulfo on Monday warned against the possible consequences of longstand ing and persistent power outages in different provinces to the country’s peace and order situation. A iring an alarm over what he saw as “a serious threat to the country’s national security,” Tulfo pinned the blame on the Duterte administration’s “failure to prop erly address the recurring long periods of brownouts.” A mid what he warned as “grow ing concerns over the consequence of the unsolved power supply crisis, the senator cited the possibility that “it could seriously affect the maintenance of peace and order in theCcountry.”onveying widespread public apprehension in the hope of get ting quick government response to the situation, in his Friday radio program, Tulfo suggested, “This has to be addressed because terror ists, insurgents and other criminal elements could take advantage of the situation.” “Itong patuloy na pagba-brownout sa ibat-ibang panig ng Pilipinas is be coming a serious national security threat,” the senator said stressing, “This has to be addressed because terrorists, insurgents and other criminal elements could take advan tage of the situation.” He added, “Maaring i-tyempo ng mga masasamang loob na gumawa ng terroristic acts and other criminal activities tuwing brownout kaya kai langan nating tutukan at pigilan ang isyung ito na winalang bahala lang po ng ating kinauukulan, bago pa ito lumala.” Tulfo, upon assuming chairman ship of the Senate Committee on Energy, already called out officials from underperforming electric co operatives like Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, vowing to get to the bottom of the problems on power outages. Moreover, Tulfo earlier filed Sen ate Resolution 107 pressing for a deeper investigation to assess the need for remedial legislation ad dressing “the rotational blackouts in different parts of the country, as well as the rising cost of electricity amid these power interruptions.” A iring an alarm, the senator warned : “Maaaring lusubin o i-over run ng mga insurgents, terrorists at iba pang mga criminal elements ang mga police stations, military out posts, and other government fa cilities. Itse tsempo lamang nila ang aksyon nila tuwing mayroong unan nounced brownout.” At the same time, Tulfo likewise aired an alarm over the adverse ef fect of persistent and rotational brownouts to the health and safe ty of the Filipinos, especially the poor, saying: “Malaki ang banta nito sa kaligtasan ng mga mahihirap nat ing kababayan, partikular na sa mga pasyente sa mga ospital, clinics, o cen ters na walang generator. Buhay ng mga pasyente na nasa kalagitnaan ng medical procedures ang nalalagay sa panganib tuwing magkakaroon ng un announced brownout.”
By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas
T he foreign chambers added that the Creative Industries Development Act, which lapsed into law on July 28, recognizes creative industries as a distinct sector in the traditional sense of an industry cluster. Moreover, the groups said, the newly-enacted law reaffirms the importance and natural competitive edge of Filipino creative talent.
Food poor Pinoys reach 5.9% to 6.55M in 2021–PSA data
THE Philippines has lifted its temporary import ban on poultry products from Mis souri, United States, after the state was cleared from bird flu outbreaks.
By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has tapped veteran agriculture official Domingo F. Panganiban to the Department of Agriculture (DA) as the agency faces the daunting task of boosting agriculture production and addressing rising food prices. Marcos announced the appoint ment of Panganiban as the new ag riculture undersecretary last Friday. “It is an honor to work with an expert to address the needs of our nation, especially the agriculture sector,” Marcos said in Filipino in a Facebook post last Monday.
By Andrea San Juan
In his weekly video blog, Marcos, who is the concurrent agriculture secretary, said there is no need to import additional sugar for now since the country has sufficient supply of the sweetener. But he said the country might import 150,000 MT of the said food commodity by October. A side from the sugar, Marcos also wants DA to focus on increasing the harvest of rice and corn to stabilize the supply of both food staples. Currently, DA is also coordinat ing with the Department of Trade and Industry for the importation of cheap fertilizer from both traditional and non-traditional supply sources.
T he Department of Agriculture (DA) Memorandum Order (MO) 61 authorized the lifting of the tempo rary import ban on poultry products from Missouri, USA after it resolved its bird flu cases. T he DA earlier issued MO 29 that imposed the temporary im port ban on poultry products from Missouri following the detection of highly pathogenic avian influ enza (HPAI) cases. Based on the report of the veteri nary authority of the United States of America to the World Organisa tion for Animal Health and the sup porting documents submitted by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services all outbreaks of HPAI in Missouri are now closed and resolved,” MO 61 read. “Based on the evaluation of the Department of Agriculture, the risk of contamination from importing poultry meat, day old chicks, eggs and semen is negligible,” it added. Furthermore, the DA also issued MO 60 that lifted the temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products, includ ing poultry meat, day old chicks, eggs and semen from Japan. T he DA said in MO 60 that the bird flu cases in Japan have been resolved already. The DA added that the chance of contracting bird flu virus from the importation of various Japanese poultry products is now “negligible.” In accordance with the provi sions of Chapter 10.4 of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code, Japan is now free from HPAI,” MO 60 “read.This Order is issued to lift the temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products originating from Japan,” it added.TheDA has resumed import transactions for poultry products from both Missouri, USA and Japan following the issuance of the two MOs last August 12.
L ast month, Marcos was rein fected with Covid-19 and suffered minor symptoms. He was able to return to his face-to-face engage ment after a week of isolation. Samuel P. Medenilla
PRESS Secretary Beatrix “Trix ie” Cruz-Angeles on Monday said she had tested positive Covid-19 and is now under isolation. I n a video message in her Face book, Angeles said she learned about her infection after undergo ing a reverse transcription–poly merase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test over the weekend to attend an official engagement. H owever, Angeles said she is asymptomatic and will still con tinue to perform her duties while under isolation. “I tested positive for Covid that is why I am working from home, while I am under isolation,” Angeles said. She then urged the public to avail of their free booster shots to mini mize their risk from Covid-19. A s of August 14, 2022, data from the Department of Health (DOH), showed that only over 17 million of the 71.52 million fully vaccinated individuals nationwide got their booster shots. H ealth experts stressed the importance of the booster shots since the effect of Covid-19 jabs wane overtime. W hen asked if she had any recent close contact with President Fer dinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., Angeles said “the President is fine.”
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario A FILIPINO earning P100 per day is not considered poor in the Philippines, according to the Philippine Statistics Author ity B(PSA).ased on the 2021 Poverty Sta tistics, PSA said every Filipino needs a minimum income of P2,406 per month to meet basic food and nonfood needs. On a daily basis, the Business Mirror calculated that this would translate to a minimum income of P80.2 per day, given a 30-day month. Poor [Filipinos are] individuals and families whose income fall below the poverty threshold as defined by the Neda [National Economic and De velopment Authority] and/or cannot afford in a sustained manner to pro vide their minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing and other essential amenities of life,” PSA said, citing the definition in Republic Act 8425 or the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act. Among families of five, the minimum monthly income not to be considered poor, is P12,030. This translates to an average of P401 per day. In terms of the food threshold, the minimum income needed for a Filipino to meet his or her basic food needs is P1,676 per month. This translates to P55.87 per day. For a family of five, meeting ba sic food needs requires a minimum income of P8,379 a month. This translates to P279.3 per day. “ The food threshold is computed first using the food bundle determined by FNRI [Food and Nutrition Research Institute] and prices of each food item collected by PSA,” Assistant National Statistician Wilma A. Guillen told the BusinessMirror on Monday. “The prices used are prices in 2021.” Based on the PSA data, the pro portion of Filipino families whose incomes were not sufficient to meet the basic food needs in 2021 stood at 3.9 percent. PSA said among Fili pinos, 6 in every 100 lived below the food thresholds in 2021. T here were a total of 6.55 million food poor Filipinos, translating to 5.9 percent of the population, in 2021. T he data also showed that in terms of families, there were a to tal of 1.04 million who were not able to meet their basic food needs. This represents about 3.9 percent of Filipino families. The average of the monthly pric es for the year are used for estimating the food threshold,” PSA said. Per Capita Food Threshold per day is then multiplied by 30.4 [approximate number of days per month] to get the monthly per capita food threshold and multiplied by 12 [number of months] to get the annual per capita food threshold,” it added. T he PSA explained that the na tional food bundle was converted to provincial food bundles taking into consideration specific criteria. T hese include satisfying the 100 percent Recommended Energy and Nutrient Intakes (RENI) for energy and protein (2000 kilocalories or kcal on average) and 80 percent RENI for other nutrients. Other criteria includes food items that are locally available and are eaten in the province; food items in the bundle must be low-cost in the province; and the food bundle must be “visualizable,” and can be cooked and eaten in the area. L ast month, the BusinessMir ror reported that starvation has killed 355 Filipinos between 2006 and 2020. At least 90.14 percent of these deaths, or a total of 320, hap pened just in a span of four years: between 2017 and 2020. W hile there were years—2014 and 2016—when no deaths due to starva tion were recorded, the years 2017 to 2019 saw exponential growth in star vation deaths. In 2017, there were 106 fatalities due to starvation; in 2018, 103; and, in 2019, 99 died of hunger. Full story here: https://business mirror.com.ph/2022/07/28/onenation-undernutrition-when-in equality-brings-death-malnutri tion-to-phls-doorsteps/).
JFC welcomes enactment of Creative Industries Development Act into law
Press fortestsCruz-AngelesSecretarypositiveCovid-19
PBBM appoints Panganiban as new agri undersecretary, vice Sebastian
T he seven chambers also noted that by establishing a Philippine Creative Industry Development Council (PCIDC) mandated to formulate and implement the Philippine Creative Industries Development Plan, “the country will be better equipped to reap the economic and employment benefits from the diverse creative talents of Filipinos organized under the nine creative industry ‘domains’ identified in the law.” T he nine domains are Audiovisual Media, Digital Interactive Media, Creative Services, Design, Publishing and Printed Media, Performing Arts,Visual Arts, Traditional Cultural Expressions, and Cultural Sites. T he PCIDC would be responsible for growing the sector by monitoring key performance indicators on the short, medium and long-term basis. A ccording to Section 7 of RA 11904, among the mandates of the Council is to “Formulate and implement a Philippine Creative Industries Development Plan that shall define economic goals and key performance indicators for the creative industries including value creation, contribution to gross domestic product, job creation, market creation and expansion, whether domestic or international, investment targets, and creative intellectual property targets.”
Vape law to regulate new products, save adult smokers and protect minors, proponents say
Ban lifted on poultry imports from Missouri, USA and Japan
THE Joint Foreign Chambers in the Philippines (JFC) lauded the enactment of the Creative Industries Development Act, which they said would drive the country’s economic growth. “RA 11904 is a much-awaited law that will spur the growth of a highvalue sector already contributing over 7 percent of the country’s GDP,” the foreign business groups underscored in a news statement released on Monday.
Rampant brownouts in the regions may affect peace and order, senator warns
Panganiban served as agriculture secretary during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He was appointed to his new post after Agriculture Undersecre tary Leocadio S. Sebastian resigned from his post last Thursday over the issuance of Sugar Order (SO) No.4 without the approval of Marcos. Under the unauthorized order, the country would have imported 300,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar.
www.businessmirror.com.ph Tuesday, August 16, 2022 A5BusinessMirror News
LEGISLATORS and tobacco harm reduction advocates de scribed the new vape law as the most comprehensive regulatory framework that will help save the lives of 16 million smokers, protect minors and generate revenues for the government, while preventing the illicit trade of substandard devices in the local market. “ If we don’t regulate these prod ucts, every kind of devices will proliferate in the market. Without regulating them, there will be no order. It would be difficult to po lice unwarranted and fly-by-night industries,” former Representa tive Wes Gatchalian, one of the main authors of Republic Act No. 11900 or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regu lation Act, Philippinesaid.E-cigarette Industry Association (PECIA) President Joey Dulay said RA 11900 will regulate the industry for the welfare of con sumers. “We support the Vape Law because it provides a comprehensive regulation that will protect consum ers and promote responsible trade, ensuring minors and non-smokers are protected,” he said. Dr. Lorenzo Mata Jr., a physician and president of advocacy group Quit For Good, said the vape law will help address the world’s leading cause of preventable deaths which is the smoking epidemic. “Ten Filipinos die of smoking-related diseases every hour,” he said. RA 11900, which became a law on July 25, 2022, regulates the impor tation, manufacture, sale, packag ing, distribution, use and commu nication of vaping products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco productsGatchalian,(HTPs).who is now the in cumbent mayor of Valenzuela City, said the regulation of these smokefree alternatives provide hope to millions of smokers who face seri ous health risks because of their exposure to smoke. He said the vape law will provide comprehensive restrictions on trade of vape products, boost the economy by supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the govern ment, protect minors and give adult smokers a chance to leave their dead ly habitGatchalianbehind.also said the vape law is one of the most highly-stud ied pieces of legislation passed and ratified by the 18th Congress. He said the vape bill was in fact filed as early as the 17th Congress. “In the 18th Congress, I refiled the bill for the same reason that there are lot of smokers who approached the House Committee on Trade and Industry proposing the regulation of these innovative products,” he said. As chair of the committee, Gatchalian said he studied these innovative products and listened to international experts in Geneva and London. “When I went back, this bill was thoroughly studied and debated upon, and we invited both sides to take part in the hearings. It is one of the bills that lasted 10 hearings and meetings of the techni cal working groups. It was also the first time we conducted a hearing in Congress where we invited foreign experts,” he Gatchaliansaid.said the bill over whelmingly approved by the House was further enhanced in the Senate and the bicameral conference com mittee. “Finally, after many years, we now have the first landmark law that will really regulate the use of these products,” he said. “We fought for 16 million smok ers who wanted to change. With this law, we regulate the products, we regulate the flavors, we regulate the marketing of the products to the youth. This is purely for those who want to quit,” he said. “ This bill also tackled penalties. These products are widely smuggled and with this bill, we will be able to protect SMEs that are into this busi ness. We will eliminate smuggling, plus we will generate P27 billion in taxes for the government each year,” saidDGatchalian.r.Matasaid, “Quit for Good welcomes the enactment of the Vape Regulation Law. This will usher the drastic decline of smoking prevalence in the Philippines with the potential to save the lives of 16 million Filipino smokers. With the vape law, we now expect to see a decline in smoking-related deaths andDdiseases.”r.Matasaid compared to ciga rette smoking, vaporized nicotine products such as e-cigarettes or vapes and HTPS are fundamentally differ ent from and are better alternatives because these innovative products do not produce smoke and generate only aerosol or vapor by heating the e-liquid or Leadingtobacco.publichealth regulators around the world have found these novel products as less harmful com pared to smoking cigarettes. No less than the top public health authori ties from UK, US, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Ukraine and China have found that vape products are significantly less harmful than smoking,” he said.
Brief Job StrategizeDescription:sourcingevents for electrification business in the Philippines and New Zealand. Supports development and communication/implementation of global and regional PL strategies.
Brief Job Description: The position will require candidates to take calls using any of the 6 languages to support our clients with their it-related incident and requests. Some of the roles and responsibilities for the role include perform initial triage for it issues raised by customer, log, track, and update incidents, attempt first time fix resolution for known issues, identify target resolver group and route tickets, doo remote troubleshooting, install/ uninstall applications for incidents raised by customers.
BIGCAT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, INC. 18/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Avenue Cor. Rufino Street, Salcedo Vill., Bel-air, City Of Makati
Brief Job Description: Receive contact from our Korean and English merchants through chat, email and phone. Answer inquiries and provide assistance to our Korean and English merchant. May answer inquiries, resolve problems, and complaints, retain customers, capture compliments and promote products/service. Requires extensive knowledge of the organization, products and/or services. Undertakes all compliance and regulatory training in line with company requirements etc.
Basic GraduateQualification:ofany4yr course, preferably it or engineering related. Strong working knowledge of the service desk function. Good knowledge level on multiple IT technologies.
Basic GraduateQualification:ofany4yr course, preferably it or engineering related. Strong working knowledge of the service desk function. Good knowledge level on multiple it technologies. PhpSalaryschedule.andculturalinandwrittencommunicationsExcellentskillsbothandverbal.Willingabletoworkeffectivelyadiverseandmulti-environment.WillingabletoworkonashiftingRange:30,000-Php59,999
13. NOUPOUE YAMBEU, CEDRICK JUNIOR SW/App/Cloud Tech Support Analyst
Brief Job Description: Position will require candidates to provide level 1 it supports in French and/or English language to customers globally. A French bilingual l1 is primarily responsible for taking in phone/email/chat interactions in order to meet customer needs and expectations. He/she is functionally and technically skilled in providing support in resolving customer’s issues. He/she provides guidance in resolving customer concerns while ensuring a high level of customer satisfaction and consistent compliance on quality standards in every interaction.
28. THONG YUEN LIM Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Executive Brief Job InterpretsDescription:andanalyze data using statistical techniques. Helps workers in resolving problems and completing work.
Basic FluentQualification:andproficient in writing and speaking at least 2 of the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese; 3-5 years of experience in related field. Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999
Basic toassociate1-yearQualification:customerserviceexperience,basicadvanceMSapplication skills. Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999
ACCENTURE, INC. 7f, Robinsons Cybergate Tower 1, Pioneer St, City Of Mandaluyong
BON JIN LENDING INC. Units A&b 20/f Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati 22. HUANG, MINGTAO Admin Manager - Mandarin Speaking Brief Job RecruitingDescription:andtraining Chinese personnel; Planning and coordinating administrative procedure and system Basic PhpSalaryworkleadershipMandarin,KnowQualification:howtospeakExcellentskills,relevantexperienceRange:90,000-Php149,999
ABB, INC. Km 20 West Service Road, South Super Hi-way, Marcelo Green Village, City Of Parañaque RIPAMONTI, SIMONE Procurement And Logistics Business Partner
25. WIPHURANUN, JIDAPA Customer Service Associate Brief Job Description: Provides assistance to customers during emergency calls and informational calls.
Basic EngineeringComputerBachelor’sQualification:degreeinScienceorrelated field Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 BEIERSDORF PHILIPPINES, INC. Unit 2&4 11th Floor Bench Tower 30th Street Corner, Rizal Drive, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig 16. SEELEN, NIKKI MARIA ANNA Marketing Director Brief Job Description: • As part of the Management Team Philippines, steer and develop the overall business strategy and business plans to achieve the short-, mid- and long-term growth and profit objectives of the company within corporate guidelines.
PhpSalaryschedule.andculturalinandwrittencommunicationsExcellentskillsbothandverbal.Willingabletoworkeffectivelyadiverseandmulti-environment.WillingabletoworkonashiftingRange:30,000-Php59,999
7. LILIANI Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Manage large number of calls, handle customer concerns Basic ExcellentQualification:inReading, Writing and Speaking in Foreign Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
AXA GROUP OPERATIONS PHILIPPINES INC. 39/f Gt Tower International, 6813 Ayala Ave., Cor. H.v. Dela Costa St., Bel-air, City Of Makati 15. SINGH MANJOT KULWANT Information Security Expert Brief Job Description: 3rd Party Security Assessments/audits; Project risk assessment; assurance framework based on ISO 27001; Architecture Reviews, etc.
Basic FluentQualification:andproficient in writing and speaking at least 2 of the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese; 1 year experience of working in a similar role. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic PhpSalaryexperiencecustomerMinimumb2cdirectExperience(voice,customerminimumBachelor’sQualification:degreepreferred,1-2yearsofserviceexperienceemailorchat).workingwithcustomersineitherorb2benvironment.1-2yearsinKoreanservicesupportRange:30,000-Php59,999
ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE BusinessMirrorA6 www.businessmirror.com.phTuesday, August 16, 2022 ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE 24 INCH GAUGE CONSTRUCTION INC. L4 Blk. 4, Near Kay Buboy Bridge, San Dionisio, City Of Parañaque 1. QIU, FENG Marketing Specialist Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:forcoordinating with other marketing and sales professionals to implement innovative campaigns for branding or product launches. Basic pressureAbilityQualification:toworkunderandmotivation to succeed in a PhpSalaryandfield;communicationsinhaveenvironment;competitiveShouldabachelor’sdegreejournalism,marketing,orarelatedGoodcommunicationinterpersonalskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 7 PRIME TECH, INC. 10/f Ewestpod, Eton Westend Square, Yakal St. Cor. Don Chino Roces Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati 2. GOOT MING SEAN Bilingual Customer Service Manager Brief Job Description: Manage large amount of calls. Basic ExcellentQualification:inreading, writing and speaking foreign language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 3. ENNY Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Manage large number of calls, handle customer concerns Basic ExcellentQualification:inReading, Writing and Speaking in Foreign Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 4. FRANS THOMAS WILLIM Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Manage large number of calls, handle customer concerns Basic ExcellentQualification:inReading, Writing and Speaking in Foreign Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
24. JO, KWEN HEE Customer Service Associate Brief Job Description: Provides assistance to customers during emergency calls and informational calls.
32. LEE MIN SERN Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Officer
Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
ACCIONA CONSTRUCTION PHILIPPINES INC. 23/f Tower 2, The Enterprise Center Tower 2, Ayala Ave. Cor. Paseo De Roxas, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati 14. FERNANDEZ - LLEBREZ TORRES, RAFAEL Sea Head Of HR Brief Job Description: Lead the HR team across the sea region Basic Qualification: 5-10 yrs.’ experience in HR, preferably in the construction industry, PhpSalaryinexperienceinternationalisamust,fluentSpanish&EnglishRange:150,000-Php499,999
5. HERIYANTO Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Manage large number of calls, handle customer concerns Basic ExcellentQualification:inReading, Writing and Speaking in Foreign Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
8. BENNY ERLIAN Indonesian-speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Manage large number of calls, handle customer concerns Basic ExcellentQualification:inReading, Writing and Speaking in Foreign Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
19. BACHAR, OFIR Hebrew Recruitment Specialist Brief Job Description: Establish a strong rapport with hiring managers at headquarters and in international field officers to understand their strategic staffing needs and fill vacancies in a timely manner ensure clear mutual understanding of staffing priorities and practical constraints guide the hiring managers through the recruitment process where needed Basic Bachelor’sQualification:Degreein Business Admin HR or Related Field/ Experience in Sales Recruitment Cross Cultural Sensitivity/ Knowledge of and Ability to Work With People of Diverse Background RecruitmentExperienceforPosition in Developing Countries and or in the NGO/PVO Industry Preferred Preferably in a Full Life Cycle International Recruitment Structure/ Hebrew Speaker/ English PhpSalarySpeakerRange:30,000-Php 59,999
21. HE, CAIQUAN Mandarin Language - Officer Support Brief Job Description: Assist in planning and administration of the organization’s daily operation.
20. MOHAMMAD IMRAN Indian Language - Officer Marketing Brief Job Description: Create specific promotions for affiliates.
Basic FluentlyQualification:speakand write Indian language to cater foreign market. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Bachelor’sQualification:Degreein Business Admin HR or Related Field/ Experience in Sales Recruitment Cross Cultural Sensitivity/ Knowledge of and Ability to Work With People of Diverse Background RecruitmentExperienceforPosition in Developing Countries and or in the NGO/PVO Industry Preferred Preferably in a Full Life Cycle International Recruitment Structure/ Hebrew Speaker/ English PhpSalarySpeakerRange:30,000-Php 59,999
Basic toassociate1-yearQualification:customerserviceexperience,basicadvanceMSapplication skills. Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999 CHROMELAB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 25/f Techzone Bldg., 213 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati 26. KHOO KAI SEANG Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Executive Brief Job InterpretsDescription:andanalyze data using statistical techniques. Helps workers in resolving problems and completing work. Basic FluentQualification:andproficient in writing and speaking at least 2 of the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese; 3-5 years of experience in related field. Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999
10. JEONG, HANEUL Customer Service Analyst
11. FOTSO TAGNE, ANTOINE LEDOUX SW/App/Cloud Tech Support Analyst
Basic Qualification: 1-2 years’ experience in an analytical or customer service role. Strong, effective written and oral English communication skillsimpeccable attention to detail ability to multitask under pressure in an everchanging professionalenvironmentknowledge of android OS, IOS and mac OS desired. Ability to keep up to date in a very fast paced environment, staying on top of policy, procedure and workflow changes and evolutions. Be able to work as an individual contributor, as well as part of a close Salaryteam.
Basic speakDegreeQualification:holder,fluentlyandwriteVietnamese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
12. MARENDA, KARYNE SW/App/Cloud Tech Support Analyst Brief Job Description: The position will require candidates to take calls using any of the 6 languages to support our clients with their it-related incident and requests. Some of the roles and responsibilities for the role include perform initial triage for it issues raised by customer, log, track, and update incidents, attempt first time fix resolution for known issues, identify target resolver group and route tickets, doo remote troubleshooting, install/ uninstall applications for incidents raised by customers.
BOSCH SERVICE SOLUTIONS, INC. 23rd Floor, W Fifth Avenue Building, 32nd Street Corner, 5th Avenue Bonifacio Global City, City Of Taguig 23. BOONYEN, LAOONGDAO Customer Service Associate Brief Job Description: Provides support to customers in processing orders. Basic toassociate1-yearQualification:customerserviceexperience,basicadvanceMSapplication skills. Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999
Basic Qualification: • 15 years fundamental marketing experience within PhpSalaryexperiencesector.organizationsinternationalfromFMCGInternationalmobilityisanadvantageRange:30,000-Php59,999
27. PHUNG TRI PHONG Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Executive Brief Job InterpretsDescription:andanalyze data using statistical techniques. Helps workers in resolving problems and completing work.
29. CHAU GIAI THUAN Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Officer Brief Job InterpretsDescription:data,analyzes results using statistical techniques and provides ongoing reports.
30. HII TOH CHAI Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Officer Brief Job Description: Provide supports to operations manager in handling all gaming operations
Basic FluentQualification:andproficient in writing and speaking at least two of the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Bahasa, Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesian, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese/ 1 year experience of working in a similar role Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic FluentQualification:andproficient in writing and speaking at least 2 of the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese; 3-5 years of experience in related field. Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999
9.
Basic Qualification: 3+ years of in-depth strategic procurement experience or equivalent extensive experience working in the category for which the role is intended to support, business level English fluency. Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999
18. ELBACHARI, MOSHE Hebrew Project Data Administrator Brief Job Description: Retrieve necessary information (e.g. user/client requirements and relevant case studies) participate in the definition and implementation of key performance indicators /participate in the participation and delivery of PMO reports (internal and external) / Alert the projects about deviation observed and support the identification and proposal of recovery areas to management with relevant actions Basic Bachelor’sQualification:Degreein Business Admin HR or Related Field/ Experience in Sales Recruitment Cross Cultural Sensitivity/ Knowledge of and Ability to Work With People of Diverse Background RecruitmentExperienceforPosition in Developing Countries and or in the NGO/PVO Industry Preferred Preferably in a Full Life Cycle International Recruitment Structure/ Hebrew Speaker/ English PhpSalarySpeakerRange:60,000-Php 89,999
31. HII TOH CHIAN Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Officer
BEST RELIABLE RESOURCES CORP. Ub 111 Paseo De Roxas Bldg., Paseo De Roxas, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati 17. MABI, OFIR Hebrew Corporate Recruitment Administrator Brief Job Description: Creating and posting job descriptions to relevant jobs boards/ Source candidate utilizing social media and local group/ Reviews resumes and conducts phone screens to determine qualifications/ Schedule interviews with the hiring manager and ensure positive candidate experience interview potential sales staff members using industry-standard techniques/ Introduce new hires to the company and go through the hiring and training process/ Complete all vetting papers with candidates who meet the expectations of the job
Brief Job Description: Provide supports to operations manager in handling all gaming operations
Basic FluentQualification:andproficient in writing and speaking at least two of the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Bahasa, Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesian, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese/ 1 year experience of working in a similar role Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Brief Job Description: Provide supports to operations manager in handling all gaming operations
Basic FluentQualification:andproficient in writing and speaking at least two of the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Bahasa, Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesian, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese/ 1 year experience of working in a similar role Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
6. JOURDAN RICHARDO SIMANGUNSONG Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Manage large number of calls, handle customer concerns Basic ExcellentQualification:inReading, Writing and Speaking in Foreign Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic PhpSalaryConstructionWithBothFluentQualification:inEnglishLanguageWrittenandVerbal;WorkingKnowledgeinRange:30,000-Php59,999
Mandarin Operations Specialist
Global Marketing Brief Job Description: Assist the
53. CHEN, ZHIBIN Mandarin Branding Specialist Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:formanaging the company’s brand
global marketing
33. LOH KE YEW Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Officer Brief Job InterpretsDescription:data,analyzes results using statistical techniques and provides ongoing reports.
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91. TAN BOON LENG Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires; Identifying and assessing customer’s needs. Basic Qualification: Fluently speaking in Vietnamese and English. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
36. NGUYEN HUU QUANG Advisor I, Customer Service Brief Job Description: Provide Customer Service for Google client Basic Qualification: Basic computer navigation skills and PC knowledge. Ability to work as a team member, as well as PhpSalaryindependentlyRange:90,000-Php 149,999 DERMALOG IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS GMBH PHILIPPINES 5th Flr. Gateway Tower, Gen. Roxas Ave. Cor., Socorro, NGUYEN THI HONG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Job RecommendsDescription:potential products or services to management by collecting information and analyzing customer
Salary Range:
Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 GLOBALLGA BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING, OPC Ground Level, Level 2-5 Floor, Silver City 4, Ortigas East, Ugong, City Of Pasig 65. XIANG, TAO Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication mandarin speaking.
Brief
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Basic FluentQualification:inHanoiand English. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 87. HENDI Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:callsandcustomer services. Basic FluentQualification:inHanoiand English. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 63. WANG, MandarinJUNSpeaking Customer Service Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customer by answering products and services questions.
Basic PhpSalaryanalyzingcustomertopotentialKnowsQualification:howtorecommendproductsorservicesmanagementbycollectinginformationandcustomerneeds.Range:30,000-Php59,999
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Basic CollegeQualification:Graduate.Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, and Taiwanese Language. Must work well under pressure and excellent sense of priorities. At least 1 year experience related to the position applying for. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
- Php 59,999 56. CHEN, TE-YANG Mandarin Operations Specialist Brief Job Description: Maintain accurate sales record Basic Qualification: Can speak
90. LOW JEAN THAT Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:callsandcustomer services.
Basic PhpSalaryEnglishandCollegeQualification:graduate,speakswritefluently(Korean,andMandarin)Range:60,000-Php89,999
JIANGSU DIBANG CONSTRUCTION PHILIPPINES CORPORATION Unit 2106-a West Tower, Psec Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig 70. LU, YING Equipment Installation Specialist Brief Job Description: Manage the company’s email system and provide user support to technical and non-technical users in the office
J-NA ALLOUT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORP. 3/f Lipams Bldg., #48 President Avenue, B. F. Homes, City Of Parañaque 69. CHO, YOUNHO Korean Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Track main industry trends in Korean through blogs, micro blogs and forums
46. LIN, HANQUAN Mandarin Coordinator Brief Job MandarinDescription:Coordinator provides customer service support to the organization by obtaining, analyzing and verifying the accuracy of order information in timely manner
Basic PhpSalaryMandarinFluentQualification:inOralandwrittenandEnglish.Range:30,000-Php59,999
JPH DREAM STREET TRAINING CENTER INC. Unit 801 88 Malakas Suites, No. 88 Malakas, Pinyahan, Quezon City 73. USUI, SHUZO Japanese Language Coordinator Brief Job CoordinatingDescription:andmanaging the delivery of Japanese Language and Academic Skills provision.
59.
Basic FluentQualification:inHanoiand English. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic CollegeQualification:Graduate.Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, and Taiwanese Language. Must work well under pressure and excellent sense of priorities. At least 1 year experience related to the position applying for. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic PhpSalaryBachelorQualification:graduateRange:30,000-Php59,999
Basic FluentQualification:andproficient in writing and speaking at least two of the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Bahasa, Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesian, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese/ 1 year experience of working in a similar role Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 CONCENTRIX SERVICES CORPORATION 18th, 20th, 21st Floor, Tera Tower, Bridgetown Along C-5 Road, Ugong Norte, Quezon City
45.
71. NGO THI THU Equipment Installation Specialist Brief Job Description: Working as per the requirements of the clients and performing all kinds of general installation; Programming and setting up the machineries and equipment along with experimenting on the same
Basic FluentQualification:inHanoiand English. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 YAO, PAN Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:callsandcustomer services.
Basic FluentQualification:andproficient in writing and speaking at least two of the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Bahasa, Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesian, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese/ 1 year experience of working in a similar role Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
49. TAN JIAN AN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job LanguageDescription:fluencyMandarin & English Basic FluentQualification:inwrittenand oral Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 50. TAN, RUCHUANG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Assisting clients by providing information on services.
Basic PhpSalarymandarinreadingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritinginRange:30,000-Php59,999 EAST BUSINESS CONSULTANCY INC. Unit Ug11 Upper G/f Cityland 10 Tower Ii, 154 H.v. Dela Costa St., Bel-air, City Of Makati CAI, MandarinLIANGJUNBusiness Consultant Brief Job Description: A consultant may specialize in a specific area, such as information technologies, human resources, or marketing, or may offer general services in all areas of business.
MELCO RESORTS LEISURE (PHP) CORPORATION City Of Dreams Manila, Aseana Ave. Cor. Roxas Blvd., City Parañaque Manager, chief, and/or PhpSalaryanforeignabilitywrittenessential,inCollegeQualification:graduate,experiencegaminghostroleisfluentinboth&spokenEnglish,toconverseinotherlanguageswouldbeadvantage.Range:150,000-Php499,999 INC. 8,9,10,11,12,14,15,16,17,18 & 19 Floors, Century Diamond Center, Poblacion, City Of Makati PU, HUAN Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:callsandcustomer services.
89. YENNI Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires; Identifying and assessing customer’s needs. Basic FluentlyQualification:speakingin Indo and PhpSalaryEnglish.Range:30,000-Php 59,999
FLYING FUTURE SERVICES INC. 3/f Salcedo One Center, 170 Salcedo St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati
48. LE DUY KHANH Chinese Customer Service Brief Job LanguageDescription:fluencyMandarin & English Basic FluentQualification:inwrittenand oral Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and PhpSalarywrittenRange:30,000-Php 59,999 GUANGXI HYDRO ELECTRIC CONSTRUCTION BUREAU (GHCB PHILIPPINES CORPORATION) #58, Road 1, Project 6, Quezon City 67. LAN, HUI Mandarin Finance Supervisor Brief Job Description: The mandarin finance supervisor will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.
ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE
59,999 57. GUAN,
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51. KHO YONG FEI Mandarin Accounts Staff Brief Job Description: Assist in determining pricing quotes for customers Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 52. YONG CHOON WAH Mandarin Accounts Staff Brief Job Description: Assist in determining pricing quotes for customers
ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE
Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 54. LIU, MandarinJUN Customer Service Brief Job Description: Maintain 30,000 30,000 mandarin Php 30,000 - Php XIN Brief Job Description: Maintain accurate sales record Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 CHEN, ManageBriefMandarinHAOJINGSupervisorJobDescription:anddevelop employee performance expectations
Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 OUYANG, DA Mandarin Technical Support Brief Job MonitoringDescription:andmaintaining computer systems and network Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
35. YAP KOK WENG Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Officer Brief Job Description: Provide supports to operations manager in handling all gaming operations
60.
NEO INCORPORATED North Tower Centrum Bldg., Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque 75. HUANG, JUNWEN Chinese Speaking Graphic Designer Brief Job Assist/helpDescription:customers, give customers information about product and services Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and PhpSalarywrittenRange:30,000-Php 59,999 NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION 1331 Pearl Plaza Bldg., Quirino Ave., Tambo, City Of Parañaque 76. FERIAN Indonesian Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarywrittenapplicationKnowledgeableQualification:incomputerwithgoodoralandcommunicationskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 77. MARYANTO Indonesian Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarywrittenapplicationKnowledgeableQualification:incomputerwithgoodoralandcommunicationskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 78. DINH VAN QUANG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarywrittenapplicationKnowledgeableQualification:incomputerwithgoodoralandcommunicationskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 79. NGUYEN THI HIEN Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarywrittenapplicationKnowledgeableQualification:incomputerwithgoodoralandcommunicationskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 80. NGUYEN XUAN VUONG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarywrittenapplicationKnowledgeableQualification:incomputerwithgoodoralandcommunicationskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 81. PHAM VAN HUNG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarywrittenapplicationKnowledgeableQualification:incomputerwithgoodoralandcommunicationskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 82. THONG CAI MU Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarywrittenapplicationKnowledgeableQualification:incomputerwithgoodoralandcommunicationskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 83. TRAN DUY DUNG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarywrittenapplicationKnowledgeableQualification:incomputerwithgoodoralandcommunicationskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 84. VO THI KIM NHUNG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarywrittenapplicationKnowledgeableQualification:incomputerwithgoodoralandcommunicationskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 NOCMAKATI,
Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
88. HIU WILLIAM ALEXANDER Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:callsandcustomer services.
Basic FluentQualification:andproficient in writing and speaking at least 2 of the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese; 1 year experience of working in a similar role. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
needs
the manager, global marketing in customer development & retention for the global marketing, elite market. Basic
Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 LIU, MandarinJISHENGTechnical Support Brief Job MonitoringDescription:andmaintaining computer systems and network
34. TAN WEE LEE Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Officer Brief Job Description: Provide supports to operations manager in handling all gaming operations
62. FAN, LIANCHUN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customer by answering products and services questions.
FLYING DRAGON NETWORK PHILIPPINES INC. Malate Bayview Mansion, 1781 M. Adriatico Street. 076, Barangay 699, Malate, City Of Manila
Basic PhpSalarypresentationinterpersonalexcellentmandarinProvenQualification:experienceasfinancesupervisor,communication,andskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 68. ZENG, LI Mandarin Project Supervisor Brief Job Description: The mandarin project supervisor will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.
JIANGSU POWER DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION INCORPORATED Unit A&b U-8b 20/f Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati 72. FENG, WEI Mandarin Quality Inspector Brief Job Description: The mandarin quality inspector will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company in the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long-term goals.
47. CHAN KIN WAI Chinese Customer Service Brief Job LanguageDescription:fluencyMandarin & English Basic FluentQualification:inwrittenand oral Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
74. FOO YEAN SAN Account
- Php 59,999 55. ZHAO, LU Mandarin Customer Service Brief Job Description: Opens customer accounts by recording account info. Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php
Basic FluentQualification:inHanoiand English. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
61. HUANG, MIN Mandarin Technical Support Specialist Brief Job MonitoringDescription:andmaintaining computer systems and network Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 FUWEALTH SERVICES INC. 18/f Techzone Bldg., 213 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati
BusinessMirror A7www.businessmirror.com.ph Tuesday, August 16, 2022
customer records by updating account info Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php
Basic PhpSalarypresentationinterpersonalexcellentmandarinProvenQualification:experienceasprojectsupervisor,communication,andskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999
GRAND PREMIUM CREST HOLDING INC. 16/f Tower 6789, 6789 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati 66. LE DINH TUAN Chinese Speaking Business Financial Officer Brief Job Assist/helpDescription:customers, give customers information about product and services.
Quezon City 37. DUNKEL, TILL ANDREAS Project Director Brief Job Description: Overall responsible for the project management and transition of the project to the operation phase. Basic PhpSalaryandcommunicationengineeringDegreeQualification:incomputerandexcellentinEnglishGerman.Range:500,000andabove DIGICHROM INC. Unit 2602 & 2603 26/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati 38. CHENG, HSIN-YI Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingand outgoing calls, chats and emails. Basic PhpSalaryMandarinReadingProficientQualification:inSpeaking,andWritinginRange:30,000-Php59,999 39. CHOU, SHIH-HAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingand outgoing calls, chats and emails. Basic PhpSalarymandarinreadingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritinginRange:30,000-Php59,999 40. LAM VY THANH Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingand outgoing calls, chats and emails. Basic PhpSalarymandarinreadingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritinginRange:30,000-Php59,999 EASYTECH SUPPORT INC. 9-11/f, 14/f Capella Bldg., Asean Drive Filinvest, Alabang, City Of Muntinlupa 41. DUONG XUAN TIEN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job RecommendsDescription:potential products or services to management by collecting information and analyzing customer needs Basic PhpSalarymandarinreadingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritinginRange:30,000-Php59,999 42. LAU MINH LONG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job RecommendsDescription:potential products or services to management by collecting information and analyzing customer needs Basic PhpSalarymandarinreadingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritinginRange:30,000-Php59,999 43. NGUYEN THI HIEN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative Brief Job RecommendsDescription:potential products or services to management by collecting information and analyzing customer needs Basic PhpSalarymandarinreadingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritinginRange:30,000-Php59,999 44.
64. ZHANG, DONGDONG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customer by answering products and services questions.
Basic ProvenQualification:experienceas a mandarin quality inspector, excellent PhpSalarypresentationinterpersonal,communication,andskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999
Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic PhpSalaryConstructionWithBothFluentQualification:inEnglishLanguageinWrittenandVerbal;WorkingKnowledgeinRange:30,000-Php59,999
Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats
Basic Business,Bachelor’sQualification:DegreeinMarketing and Other Relevant Courses Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 SPEEDWELL INC. 5/f King’s Court 2 Bldg., 2129 Chino Roces Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati 114. SUN, ChineseSHAOSHUAISpeaking Technical Consultant Brief Job Assist/helpDescription:customers, give customers information about products and services.
Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services.
121. KHRONGBUN, BOVONDET Thai - Speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Build good customer relationships.
108. MUMA, REBECCA ANN Manager For Financial Clearance Center Brief Job Description: Leads Financial Clearance Center Insurance Verification, Authorization Clearance, and Pre- Registration operations teams for multiple Client Hospital sites to ensure the patient experience is held to our quality standards.
Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Guest Relations Officer. Familiarity with hospitality industry standards. Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 110. KATO, SpecialtyKATSUJIChef - Teppanyaki Brief Job Description: Specialty chef is responsible assisting the Japanese chef.
Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats
130. TRAN THI KHANH LY Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats
Brief Job ParticipatesDescription:inthedevelopment and implementation of software configuration and data management standards, processes, systems, and tools.
Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquires; Identifying and assessing customer’s needs. Basic Qualification: Fluently speaking in Vietnamese and English. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 96. LY TU HIEN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative
WANFANG TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT, INC. 6-9/f Tower 2 Double Dragon Plaza, Edsa Cor. Macapagal Ave., Barangay 76, Pasay City
ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE
WIPRO PHILIPPINES, INC. 7th Floor Eton Centris Building, Edsa, Corner Quezon Avenue, Quezon City 136.
Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
103. TRAN VINH THANG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming calls. Generate sales leads. Identify and assess customers’ needs. Handle customer complaints. Follow communication procedures, guidelines and policies.
Basic Qualification: Fluent in Hanoi and English. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
QROI NETWORK SERVICES INC. Unit 16a 16/f Pet Plans Tower, 444 Edsa, Guadalupe Viejo, City Of Makati 107. JOKINEN, MATTI JUHANI Director Brief Job Description: Maintain current relationship & identify areas for potential clients
Basic ParticipatesQualification:inthe development and implementation of software configuration and data management standards, processes, systems, and tools. At least five (5) years technical and related experience in the field; fluent in mandarin/ Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 TIAN XIA TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC. 6/f Filinvest Cyberzone Bldg. B, Superblock A Central Business Park 1 Bay City St., Barangay 76, Pasay City 117. TALABPETH, PORAMIN Thai Admin Support Specialist Brief Job Description: Handles administrative request and queries from senior managers/officer.
125. NGUYEN HUU LONG HAI Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer
Basic ExcellentQualification:inwriting, reading and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
BusinessMirrorA6 www.businessmirror.com.phTuesday, August 16, 2022
Basic ExperienceQualification:inrelation to front end operations of hospitals or call center environment preferred. 3 to 5 years of experience preferred in hospital, call center environment or similar.
Basic ExcellentQualification:inwriting, reading and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic readingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritingin Chinese Mandarin, English and their respective native language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic readingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritingin Chinese Mandarin, English and their respective native language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ good in oral communication and SalarywrittenRange: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 SUPREME CHENGHAO MANAGEMENT OPC Level 26-a Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati 116. LIU, ZHIMIN Configuration Management Specialist
94. DAM NGOC BINH Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services.
Basic readingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritingin thai. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
113. ALBERT LEO Bahasa Indonesian Language - Trade Specialist Brief Job Description: Ensure that all prices, changes and delivery of events are timely and accurate
Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months of customer service experience/ good in oral communication and SalarywrittenRange: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Business,Bachelor’sQualification:DegreeinMarketing, and Other Relevant Courses, Fluently Speak and Write Chines, Bahasa Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Thai to Cater Foreign Market Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
92. TEH SHUET NEE Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services. Basic Qualification: Fluent in Hanoi and English. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 93. CUN MY LINH Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing calls and customer services.
Basic readingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritingin thai. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
102. TRAN TO NHAN Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming calls. Generate sales leads. Identify and assess customers’ needs. Handle customer complaints. Follow communication procedures, guidelines and policies.
Basic Qualification: At least 19y/old. Ability to speak write and communicate in Taiwanese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 VPC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 11/f 100 West, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Cor., Washington St., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati 118. HOMUDOM, SUMRIT Thai - Speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Build good customer relationships.
101. ON DINH SAM Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming calls. Generate sales leads. Identify and assess customers’ needs. Handle customer complaints. Follow communication procedures, guidelines and policies.
134. NGUYEN QUANG HAO Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering product and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services.
100. NGUYEN PHAM TRUC HUONG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming calls. Generate sales leads. Identify and assess customers’ needs. Handle customer complaints. Follow communication procedures, guidelines and policies.
Basic ExcellentQualification:inwriting, reading and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
132. WIHEWONGSA, RATCHAPHON Thai Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering product and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services Basic readingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritingin Chinese Mandarin, English and their respective native language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic ExcellentQualification:inwriting, reading and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
PHIL. YAMEEN TRADING INC. Unit No. U-8 Flr. No. 3/f Baclaran Bagong Milenyo Plaza Bldg., F.b. Harrison St., Barangay 76, Pasay City105. TONG THI HUYEN VAN Sales Consultant Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:forgiving knowledge regarding sales matters Basic Qualification: With good oral and communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 ROYAL BAYSHORE HOTELS AND AMUSEMENT INC. Star Cruises Ctr., Newport City Villamor, Barangay 183, Pasay City 109. SATO, EMI Japanese Guest Relations Executive Brief Job Description: Manages the needs of VIP and long-stay Guests and informs other Team Members of VIP/long-stay Guest needs in order to ensure an exceptional Guest experience.
115. YUAN, ChineseWEIDONGSpeaking Technical Consultant Brief Job Assist/helpDescription:customers, give customers information about product and services.
119. JANTHASA, JUTAMAST Thai - Speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Build good customer relationships.
128. NGUYEN VAN THAI Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer
Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats Basic ExcellentQualification:inwriting, reading and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: Graduate of Bachelor of Engineering. With 10 years relevant experience Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 *Date Generated: Aug 15, 2022
Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats
126. NGUYEN THI PHUONG Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer
Basic Bachelor’sQualification:degreein Management, Finance, Economics or any other relevant field. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
122. KROANGBOON, JANTRA Thai - Speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Build good customer relationships.
Basic Qualification: Culinary diploma from recognized institution. Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 SAMARITAN’S PURSE (PHILIPPINES) INC. 6/f Philcox Bldg., 172 Salcedo St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati 111. WIRANTA MAWIRA TARIGAN Deputy Country Director Brief Job Description: Lead, oversees and manage the company’s research, planning, coordination and operations Basic DegreeQualification:ininternational affairs with combined 10 years of project management, social science and international development Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 SHANG SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, INC. 11/f Pbcom Tower, Ayala Avenue, Salcedo Village, Bel-air, City Of Makati 112. BahasaRIANA Indonesian Language - B2b Channel Support BriefOfficerJob RecognizeDescription:potentialpartners among clients, perform various marketing activities to promote partner program
Basic readingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritingin thai. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
VIJAYAN, SRINIVASAN Project Manager Brief Job Description: Contribute to process change and redesign; form a strong basic understanding of the specific product or process associated with a project under management. Creation and maintenance of relevant project artifacts (project plans, project charters, risk and issues logs, etc.)
104. TU VINH HAO Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming calls. Generate sales leads. Identify and assess customers’ needs. Handle customer complaints. Follow communication procedures, guidelines and policies.
98. JENNIFER TING YEE WENG Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming calls. Generate sales leads. Identify and assess customers’ needs. Handle customer complaints. Follow communication procedures, guidelines and policies.
Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 99. KU, NAI-FANG Customer Service Representative
Basic readingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritingin thai. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
123. SAENJAMPA, WASAN Thai - Speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Build good customer relationships.
VSL CIVIL WORKS PHILIPPINE BRANCH # 162, 2/f, Unit 201 D Paragon Plaza, Highway Hills, City Of Mandaluyong
Basic readingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritingin Chinese Mandarin, English and their respective native language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic readingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritingin thai. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
In the ad material of Notice of Filing of Application for Alien Employment Permits published on Aug 12, 2022, the name of WUNNIE under the company CASPO INCORPORATED, should have been read as WYNNIE and not as published. In the ad material of Notice of Filing of Application for Alien Employment Permits published on Aug 2, 2022, the name of TRAN THI QUY NGOC under the company INOZA INDUSTRIES INC., should have been read as XIAO, NA and not as published. Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE National Capital Region located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this Pleasepublication.inform DOLE National Capital Region if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.
127. NGUYEN THI THANH NGAN Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer
129. TRAN HAU DAI Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats
120. KANBUDDEE, KETSARIN Thai - Speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Build good customer relationships.
Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming calls. Generate sales leads. Identify and assess customers’ needs. Handle customer complaints. Follow communication procedures, guidelines and policies.
Basic readingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritingin thai. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
133. HOANG HUY TOAN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering product and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services.
Basic ExcellentQualification:inwriting, reading and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE
Basic Qualification: Fluent in Hanoi and English. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 95. HA THI HAU Vietnamese Customer Service Representative
124. CHU VAN DUC Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer Brief Job Description: Responsible to resolve queries of the Malay-customers through email and chats
OMNIWEALTH ENTERPRISE INC. 17th Flr. Citibank Square Bldg., No. 188 Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Eastwood City Cyberpark 3, Bagumbayan, Quezon City 97. CHANG, YA-WEN Customer Service Representative
131. DEBEAUD, LEO ABEL LEON Junior Precast Yard Specialist Brief Job CoordinateDescription:anddocument the operation of pre-casting segments
Basic Qualification: Appointed by the board Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 R1 RCM PHILIPPINES, INC. Unit 3001 30/f 88 Corporate Center,, Valero Cor. Sedeño St., Bel-air, City Of Makati
PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND SUSTAINALBLE DEVELOPMENT, INC. 3rd Floor Dap Building, San Miguel Ave., San Antonio, City Of Pasig 106. WANG, WENJUN Executive Consultant For Chinese Brief Job Description: Develop and sustain a level of professionalism among staff and client, solve a specific problem in an area like operations, employees or strategic planning
Basic ExcellentQualification:inwriting, reading and speaking in bilingual languages Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: 1-2 years experience in construction projects with experience in coordinating and documenting the operation of precasting span segments Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999
135. TRAN DINH DIEN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering product and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services.
Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: Must be a College graduate; Can Prepare product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information; Can contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed; Can Manage large amounts of incoming calls Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: Fluent in Hanoi and English. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Brief Job Description: Manage large amounts of incoming calls. Generate sales leads. Identify and assess customers’ needs. Handle customer complaints. Follow communication procedures, guidelines and policies.
Strike four: Facebook misses election misinfo in Brazil ads
AN iPhone displays the Facebook app in New Orleans, August 11, 2019. Facebook failed to detect election-related misinformation in ads ahead of Brazil’s 2022 election, a new report from Global Witness has found, continuing a pattern of not catching material that violates its policies the group says is “alarming.” AP/JENNY KANE
By Hillel Italie & Carolyn Thompson
FROM left US Democrat Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, left, and Democratic House member John Garamendi of California, second left, back, arrive with their wives at the parliament building in Taipei, Taiwan, on Monday, August 15, 2022. Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen met Monday with a delegation of US Congress members in a further sign of support among American lawmakers for the self-governing island that China claims as its own territory. AP/JOHNSON LAI
TAIPEI,MondayPresidentTaiwan—Taiwan’sTsaiIng-wenmetwithadelegationof
US Congress members meet Taiwan President Tsai amid China’s anger
Taiwanese media showed the delegation arriving for the talks, but details of the meeting were not immediately released. It comes less than two weeks after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which prompted days of threatening mili tary exercises by China, including the firing of missiles over the is land and into the Taiwan Strait. China has also sent warplanes and navy ships across the water way’s median, which has long been a buffer between the sides that separated amid civil war in 1949. China regards formal contacts between US politicians and the island’s government as support for its independence from Beijing. China says it wants to use peaceful means to bring Taiwan under its control, but its recent saber rattling has emphasized its military threat. The five-member delegation is led by Democratic Sen. Ed Mar key of Massachusetts and is to meet with other government and private sector representatives. Reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and investments in Taiwan’s crucial semiconductor industry are expected to be key topics of discussion.Theother members of the delegation are Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Rade wagen, a delegate from Ameri can Samoa, and Democrats John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal from California and Don Beyer from Virginia. A senior White House official on Asia policy said last week that China had used Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to launch an intensified pressure campaign against Tai wan, jeopardizing peace and sta bility across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region. “China has overreacted, and its actions continue to be provoca tive, destabilizing, and unprece dented,” Kurt Campbell, a deputy assistant to President Joe Biden, said on a call with reporters. “It has sought to disregard the centerline between the P.R.C. and Taiwan, which has been respected by both sides for more than 60 years as a stabilizing feature,” he said, using the acronym for the country’s full name, the People’s Republic of China. China accuses the US of en couraging independence forces in Taiwan through its sale of military equipment to the island and engag ing with its officials. The US says it does not support independence for Taiwan but that its differences with China should be resolved by peaceful means.
Facebook says it had put in place to prevent misuse of its platform by malicious actors trying to inter vene in elections around the world. “What’s quite clear from the results of this investigation and others is that their content mod eration capabilities and the integ rity systems that they deploy in order to mitigate some of the risk during election periods, it’s just not working,” Lloyd said. The group is using ads as a test and not regular posts because Meta claims to hold advertisements to an “even stricter” standard than regular, unpaid posts, according to its help center page for paid advertisements.Butjudgingfrom the four in vestigations, Lloyd said that’s not actually clear. “We are constantly having to take Facebook at their word. And without a verified independent third party audit, we just can’t hold Meta or any other tech com pany accountable for what they say they’re doing,” he said. Global Witness submitted 10 ads to Meta that obviously violated its policies around election-related advertising. They included false information about when and where to vote, for instance and called into question the integrity of Brazil’s voting machines—echoing disin formation used by malicious actors to destabilize democracies around theInworld.another study carried out by the Federal University of Rio de Ja neiro, researchers identified more than two dozen ads on Facebook and Instagram, for the month of July, that promoted misleading information or attacked the coun try’s electronic voting machines. The university’s Internet and social media department, Net Lab, which also participated in the Global Witness study, found that many of those had been financed by candidates running for a seat at a federal or state legislature. This will be Brazil’s first elec tion since far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who is seeking reelec tion, came to power. Bolsonaro has repeatedly attacked the in tegrity of the country’s electronic voting“Disinformationsystem. featured heav ily in its 2018 election, and this year’s election is already marred by reports of widespread disin formation, spread from the very top: Bolsonaro is already seeding doubt about the legitimacy of the election result, leading to fears of a United States-inspired January 6 ‘stop the steal’ style coup attempt,” Global Witness said. In its previous investigations, the group found that Facebook did not catch hate speech in Myanmar, where ads used a slur to refer to people of East Indian or Muslim origin and call for their deaths; in Ethiopia, where the ads used de humanizing hate speech to call for the murder of people belonging to each of Ethiopia’s three main eth nic groups; and in Kenya, where the ads spoke of beheadings, rape and bloodshed.
AP
China’s ruling Communist Party has long said that it favors Taiwan joining China peace fully but that it will not rule out force if necessary. The two split in 1949 during a civil war in which the Communists took control of China and the losing Nationalists retreated to the island of Campbell,Taiwan.speaking on Friday, said the US would send warships and planes through the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks and is developing a roadmap for trade talks with Taiwan that he said the US intends to announce in the coming days.
BusinessMirror Tuesday, August 16, 2022 The World www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso A9
By Yongchang Chin & Elizabeth Low O IL extended losses at the start of the week as trad ers weighed concerns about Chinese demand and the prospect for more Iranian supply. West Texas Intermediate fell toward $91 a barrel after clos ing 2.4 percent lower on Friday. China’s central bank unexpect edly cut its key interest rates as it boosts support for an economy hit by virus lockdowns and prop erty woes. The nation’s apparent oil demand last month was about 10 percent lower year-on-year. The drawn out process of re viving a nuclear deal with Iran appears to be inching forward. A spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry said that the basis exists for signing such an agreement “in the very near future,” adding that “considerable” progress had been made in the last round of talks. Crude has ticked lower over the past couple of months on concerns about an economic slow down, shedding all the gains put on following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Money managers have cut their bullish bets on WTI to the lowest in over two years, ac cording to the Commodity Futures Trading“RenewedCommission.Covidlockdowns in China are weighing on demand on top of recessionary worries, while supply concerns have melted away,” said Vandana Hari, found er of Singapore-based Vanda In sights. The prospect of Iranian supply returning adds to the bear ish sentiment, she added. China’s economic recovery unexpectedly weakened in July as fresh Covid-19 outbreaks im pacted consumer and business spending. Industrial output rose 3.8 percent from a year ago, low er than June’s 3.9 percent and missing economists’ forecast of a 4.3 percent increase. Oil refin ing also fell as plants shut for maintenance.Oilisstillup around 20 percent this year and the surge in energy prices over the first half has un derpinned record earnings for pro ducers. Saudi Aramco posted the biggest quarterly adjusted profit of any listed company globally, following its big oil rivals such as Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. The Middle Eastern oil giant “expects oil demand to continue to grow for the rest of the decade, despite downward economic pres sures on short-term global fore casts,” Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said. The outlook for the oil market remains mixed. The International Energy Agency last week raised its forecast for global demand growth this year, while Opec expects the market to tip into a surplus this quarter. The cartel trimmed its forecasts for the amount of crude it will need to pump.
By Barbara Ortutay AP Technology Writer F ACEBOOK failed to detect blatant election-related mis information in ads ahead of Brazil’s 2022 election, a new report from Global Witness has found, continuing a pattern of not catching material that violates its policies the group describes as “alarming.”Theadvertisements contained false information about the coun try’s upcoming election, such as promoting the wrong election date, incorrect voting methods and questioning the integrity of the election—including Brazil’s electronic voting system. This is the fourth time that the London-based nonprofit has test ed Meta’s ability to catch blatant violations of the rules of its most popular social media platform— and the fourth such test Facebook has flubbed. In the three prior in stances, Global Witness submitted advertisements containing violent hate speech to see if Facebook’s controls—either human reviewers or artificial intelligence—would catch them. They did not. “Facebook has identified Bra zil as one of its priority coun tries where it’s investing special resources specifically to tackle election related disinformation,” said Jon Lloyd, senior advisor at Global Witness. “So we wanted to really test out their systems with enough time for them to act. And with the US midterms around the corner, Meta simply has to get this right—and right now.”
The Associated Press M AYVILLE, N.Y.—Salman Rushdie is “on the road to recovery,” his agent confirmed Sunday, two days after the author of “The Satanic Verses” suffered serious injuries in a stabbing at a lecture in New York. The announcement followed news that the lauded writer was removed from a ventilator Saturday and able to talk. Literary agent Andrew Wylie cautioned that although Rushdie’s “condition is headed in the right direction,” his recovery would be long. Rushdie, 75, suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm and in an eye that he was likely to lose, Wylie had previously“Thoughsaid.his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty & defiant sense of humor remains intact,” Rushdie’s son Zafar Rushdie said in a Sunday statement that stressed the author remained in critical condition. The family statement also expressed gratitude for the “audience members who bravely leapt to his defense,” as well as police, doctors and “the outpouring of love and support.” Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty Saturday to attempted murder and assault charges in what a prosecutor called “a targeted, unprovoked, preplanned attack” at western New York’s Chautauqua Institution, a nonprofit education and retreat center. The attack was met with global shock and outrage, along with praise for the man who, for more than three decades—including nine years in hiding under the protection of the British government—has weathered death threats and a $3 million bounty on his head over “The Satanic Verses.” “It’s an attack against his body, his life and against every value that he stood for,” Henry Reese, 73, told The Associated Press. The cofounder of Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum was on stage with Rushdie and suffered a gash to his forehead, bruising and other minor injuries. They had planned to discuss the need for writers’ safety and freedom of expression. Authors, activists and government officials cited Rushdie’s bravery and longtime championing of free speech in the face of intimidation. Writer and longtime friend Ian McEwan labeled Rushdie “an inspirational defender of persecuted writers and journalists” and actor-author Kal Penn called him a role model, “especially many of us in the South Asian diaspora.” “Salman Rushdie—with his insight into humanity, with his unmatched sense for story, with his refusal to be intimidated or silenced—stands for essential, universal ideals,” US President Joe Biden said in a Saturday statement. “Truth. Courage. Resilience. The ability to share ideas withoutRushdie,fear.” who was born in India to a Muslim family and has lived in Britain and the US, is known for his surreal and satirical prose, beginning with his Booker Prizewinning 1981 novel “Midnight’s Children,” in which he sharply criticized then-Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Infused with magical realism, 1988’s “The Satanic Verses” drew ire from some Muslims who regarded elements of the novel as blasphemy. They believed Rushdie insulted the Prophet Muhammad by naming a character Mahound, a medieval corruption of “Muhammad.” The character was a prophet in a city called Jahilia, which in Arabic refers to the time before the advent of Islam on the Arabian Peninsula. Another sequence includes prostitutes that share names with some of Muhammad’s nine wives. The novel also implies that Muhammad, not Allah, may have been the Quran’s real author. The book had already been banned and burned in India, Pakistan and elsewhere when Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death in 1989. Khomeini died that same year, but the fatwa remains in effect—though Iran, in recent years, hadn’t focused on Rushdie. Iran’s state-run newspaper, Iran Daily, praised the attack as an “implementation of divine decree” Sunday. Another hardline newspaper, Kayhan, termed it “divine revenge” that would partially calm the anger of Muslims.Investigators were trying to determine whether the suspect, born nearly a decade after the novel’s publication, acted alone. A prosecutor alluded to the standing fatwa as a potential motive in arguing against bail.
KareemPressItaliereportedfromNewYork.AssociatedjournalistsAmirVahdatinTehran,Iran;ChehayebandBassemMroueinBeirut;JonGambrellinDubai,UnitedArabEmirates,JillLawlessinLondonandJulieWalkerinNewYorkcontributedtothisreport.
The Associated Press Writer Diane Jeantet contributed to this story.
Salman Rushdie ‘on the road to recovery,’ agent confirms
Oil extends losses as traders weigh China outlook, Iran supply concerns
US Congress members in a further sign of support among American lawmakers for the self-governing island that China claims as its own territory.
Brazil’s national elections will be held on October 2 amid high tensions and disinformation threatening to discredit the elec toral process. Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the country. In a statement, Meta said it has “ prepared extensively for the 2022 election in Brazil.” “We’ve launched tools that promote reliable information and label election-related posts, established a direct channel for the Superior Electoral Court [Bra zil’s electoral authority] to send us potentially-harmful content for review, and continue closely collaborating with Brazilian au thorities and researchers,” the company said. In 2020 Facebook began requir ing advertisers who wish to run ads about elections or politics to com plete an authorization process and include “paid for by” disclaimers on them, similar to what it does in the US. The increased safeguards follow the 2016 US presidential elections, when Russia used rubles to pay for political ads designed to stoke divisions and unrest among Americans.GlobalWitness said it broke these rules when it submitted the test ads (which were approved for publication but were never actu ally published). The group placed the ads from outside Brazil, from Nairobi and London, which should have raised red flags. It was also not required to put a “paid for by” disclaimer on the ads and did not use a Brazilian payment method—all safeguards
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I also said that we will see more capital inflows to the Philippines over the next 24 months. However, I am concerned that our quest for more foreign investment is confusing. What industry/sector do we really want foreign money to invest in? It is nice to see the new Ikea store but they are not competition against local businesses. Now if Walmart (US), Schwarz (Ger), Tesco (UK), or Carrefour (France) wanted to set up shop on our shores, would we be as welcoming? SM, Robinsons, AllHome, and Metro Retail might not be as accommodating as they are with Ikea. Should we ask for investments in manufacturing? Making stuff is a great productive business. The problem is that to be able to manufacture anything, you must first have a reliable, easily available, and competitively priced supply of raw materials. What is imported and exported gives a fairly clear image of the manufacturing sector. Of total exports, 63 percent is “Electrical machinery, equipment” and “Machinery including computers”. That is not a surprise. A large portion of that are “assembled goods” rather than purely “manufactured goods.” In 2020, we imported $12 billion of “Integrated Circuits” and exported $23 billion of “Integrated Circuits.”Certainly, it is a good valueadded business but not exactly “manufacturing” in the traditional sense.
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Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian resigned on Friday over the alleged unauthorized issuance of a resolution for the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar. Sebastian signed on behalf of the President Resolution No. 4 of the Sugar Regulatory Administration Board. The resolution would have allowed the importation of 150,000 MT of sugar for industrial users and another 150,000 MT for producers and traders to help lower the soaring price of sugar in the local market. The big question is, why did Sebastian sign the document? Press Secretary Beatrix “Trixie” Cruz-Angeles said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., who sits as SRA Board chairman, did not authorize SRA Resolution No. 4. “His (Sebastian) assignment as the alternate of the President is merely to be present in those meetings that the President cannot attend. It is not a delegation of authority to call any meeting or to sign any resolution in the absence of the President’s awareness that such a resolution is to be issued,” Angeles said. She added: “An investigation is ongoing to determine whether any act that would cause the President to lose trust and confidence in his officials can be found, or if there is malice or negligence involved. In such a case, if such findings are made, then the only determination left will be how many heads are going to roll.” Aside from Sebastian, SRA Board Vice Chairperson and SRA Administrator Hermenegildo R. Serafica, SRB Millers’ Representative Roland B. Beltran, and SRB Planters’ Representative Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama, Jr. also signed the document. At first blush, this development seems odd because the SRA administrator told the press on August 4 that the government plans to import at least 300,000 metric tons of sugar as the price of refined sugar in the local market has reached P100 per kilo. Serafica said the President has approved the importation of sugar to prevent a shortage in the supply of the sweetener. Serafica’s words: “This is very urgent. The marching order of the President is we need the supply so we are trying to get all the needed data. It is a work in progress and the SRA is working double time to finalize the importation of sugar the soonest possible time. This is the first time in history that the retail price of refined sugar hit P100 per kilo as traditionally, the suggested retail price is only at P50 per kilo, while the raw sugar is at P45 per kilo.”
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THE EnTrEprEnEurMannyB.Villar
The 7.4-percent expansion of the Philippine economy in the second quarter of the year came as no surprise to me. Robust corporate earnings in the April-to-June period, a booming travel sector and energetic consumers visiting and dining in the malls are telltale signs that the economy is powering through the headwinds. The easing of mobility restrictions, of course, allowed more businesses to resume operations and rehire employees displaced at the outset of the pandemic. The 7.4-percent growth in the gross domestic product in Q2 is a strong follow-up to the revised 8.2-percent expansion in the first quarter. The Philippines now has registered five straight quarters of growth—clear proof that the economy has overcome the pandemic. The growth may have slowed down from the first-quarter expansion but base effects simply explain the reduced pace. The economy expanded at a faster rate of 12.1 percent during the comparative period last year. Also restraining the economic momentum in the second quarter was the surge in global commodity prices, led by petroleum products. The war between Russia and Ukraine and the lockdowns in China disrupted the global supply chain, leading to spiraling costs of commodity prices not only in Asia, but also in Europe and North AnotherAmerica.factoris the sluggish performance of the agriculture and fisheries sector, which remained vulnerable to climate change. Agriculture grew just 0.2 percent in the second quarter, compared with the 6.3-percent and 9.1-percent expansion of the industry and services sectors, respectively. The government, however, is doing its best to improve the farm sector, with no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. heading the Department of Agriculture to give it the attention and assistance it deserves.Nevertheless, we have the second fastest-growing economy among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippines was the second best-performing nation among the region’s major emerging economies, next to Vietnam, which grew 7.7 percent in the second quarter. More importantly, we achieved the growth rate while other bigger economies struggled. China, for example, announced a meager growth of 0.4 percent in the quarter.Thecountry’s growth averaged 7.8 percent in the first half, or above the government’s target range of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent. This impressive feat means more Filipinos are finding jobs. The unemployment rate, per the report of the Philippine Statistics Authority, eased to 6 percent in June from 7.7 percent a year ago, with more than 1.5 million Filipinos joining the labor force thisTheyear.economy, though, is not living up to its full potential. We should pursue the full reopening of the economy, including the resumption of in-person classes, to enable our young learners, particularly those in Grades 1 to 3, to catch up with their lessons. The two-year closure of schools has adversely affected the literacy and reading comprehension of public school students in age group 7 to 9. The vaccination program will play a crucial role in the resumption of onsite classes. We should consider putting up vaccination sites in schools to make sure Filipino learners are protected and educated well. I am also hoping that inflation will settle within the government’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent in the third and fourth quarters, so that more poor households will feel the benefit of the expanding economy. Our biggest challenge, though, remains the rising inflation rate, which is being caused by overseas developments.PresidentMarcos, fortunately, is addressing the problem of rising food prices head-on. To combat inflation and protect consumers, it is imperative that we ensure food security and reduce transport and logistics costs. Investing in agriculture and more infrastructure projects will bolster foodPriceproduction.stabilityis the key to making economic growth more relevant and inclusive. Taming the inflation rate will prevent an erosion of the consumers’ purchasing power. I believe we will attain faster GDP growths in the coming years if we keep inflation within target and decide to fully reopen the economy.
Philippine economy: Firing on all cylinders Angel R. Calso Are there economic bandits at SRA?
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Foreign investment is confusing OuTSIDE THE BOX John Mangun My concerns are both the sovereign and household debt and the strong potential for default of many sovereigns in light of the strengthening US dollar. In addition, inflation is and will continue to make paying household debt increasingly difficult to the point that even individuals will be forced to default. The Philippines will be spared as household debt is almost negligible and the sovereign debt payments are well within manageable parameters. There are many potentially strong negative external factors that are a little frightening. Anyone that believes the “adults” are in charge of politics and economics in the West are looking at something that I do not see.
The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) on Friday alleged that there was corruption involved in the plan to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar. In a radio interview, SINAG President Rosendo So said that based on the consultation organized by officials of the Department of Agriculture and the Sugar Regulatory Administration, the supply shortfall was only at 100,000 MT. “We were surprised because the shortfall they mentioned was at 100,000 metric tons. We see some corruption within the department and the volume is too much, three times the volume they are saying,” So said. We welcome Malacañang’s probe on the SRA Board’s “unauthorized” resolution to import sugar. But the investigation should go deeper. The people want to know why the price of sugar soared to P100 per kilo. If there’s hoarding involved, that’s tantamount to killing Philippine industries. How do we expect the Philippine confectionery industry, for example, to compete with neighbors when the average price of white sugar in Vietnam is only 18,300 Vietnamese dong per kilo, which is the equivalent of P43.69 in Philippine peso? In Thailand, the average price of sugar is even lower at 22 Thai baht per kilo, or about P34.63 in Philippine peso. If indeed there was serious misconduct that happened at the SRA, it would do well for the Marcos administration to seriously look into it. The President must spare no effort to punish and banish the economic bandits in our midst.
Opinion BusinessMirrorA10
Price stability is the key to making economic growth more relevant and inclusive. Taming the inflation rate will prevent an erosion of the consumers’ purchasing power. I believe we will attain faster GDP growths in the coming years if we keep inflation within target and decide to fully reopen the economy. Should we ask for investments in manufacturing? Making stuff is a great productive business. The problem is that to be able to manufacture anything, you must first have a reliable, easily available, and competitively priced supply of raw materials.
For comments, send e-mail to mbv_secretariat@vistaland.com.ph or visit www.mannyvillar. com.ph See “Mangun,” A11 broader look at today’s business
T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso Ruben M. Cruz Jr. Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes D. Edgard A. Cabangon Benjamin V. Ramos Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025. (Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807. (Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news.businessmirror@gmail.com
IT was a pleasure to speak before the members of the Rotary Club of Makati Central last week about the lessons learned from cycles and what happens when those cycles change particularly in regard to 2023.
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editorial Bono, the lead singer for the popular Irish rock band U2 and a prominent human-rights activist, said: “The worst disease in the world today is corruption. And there is a cure: Transparency.”
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Roughly two-thirds of Americans say the US federal government, developed countries abroad and corporations and industries have a large responsibility to address climate change. Fewer—45 percent—say that of individual people. Jack Hermanson, a 23-year-old software engineer, feels strongly that corporations are the “major culprits” of emissions and that the government is complicit in that behavior. “I don’t know if that makes sense to say that individuals should have to work and fix the climate,” the Denver resident said. “I would say my individual actions hardly mean anything at all.” US household greenhouse gas emissions are not as much as those from cars, trucks and other transportation, electrical power generating and industry. A 2020 University of Michigan study of 93 million US homes estimates that 20 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions comes from home energy use, with wealthier Americans’ per capita footprints about 25 percent higher than lowincome residents. But like many others that spoke to the AP, that difference hasn’t stopped Hermanson from trying. He’s been a vegetarian for four years, and he tries to bike or take public transportation, buy products with less packaging andAmongrecycle.Americans who believe in climate change, 70 percent say it will be necessary for individuals to make major lifestyle changes to combat the issue. Most think individuals have at least some Individualsresponsibility.canbelieve they personally don’t have a direct impact while also recognizing that collective action is essential to combatting climate change, said Shahzeen Attari, who studies human behavior and climate change at Indiana University. The poll shows about 6 in 10 Americans say they have reduced their driving, reduced their use of heat or air conditioning and bought used products instead of new ones. Nearly three-quarters are using energy efficient appliances. Among those who are taking those steps, most say the main reason is to save money, rather than to help the getstheyFewer—roughlyenvironment.aquarter—sayuseanelectricitysupplierthatpowerfromrenewablesources, and only about 1 in 10 live in a home with solar panels or drive a hybrid or electric car. Brad Machincia, a 38-year-old welder, said he wouldn’t switch from his gas car to an electric vehicle. While he said he grew up in a West Virginia household that used renewable energy sources, he hasn’t adopted those practices for his family in Christiansburg, Virginia. Climate change used to be a concern for him, but at this point, he feels like it’s “beating a dead horse.”
The shift from gas is a setback in the global push for cleaner energy. Many countries turned to natural gas as part of decarbonization efforts, as it’s the cleanest fossil fuel. Dirtier alternatives from coal to liquid fuel will make it more difficult for nations to reach their climate goals.
There is also a mandatory tax audit by the LGU and the BIR. Before the SEC can proceed to close a business, tax audits should have been completed and tax clearances should have been issued. It usually takes years before the LGU and the BIR complete an audit and finally issue a tax clearance. So, a bottleneck occurs at this stage. Other government agencies (SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG) will not act on the application for dissolution until a Certificate of Dissolution is secured from the SEC. In the previous administration, there was an attempt to simplify the BIR tax audit in the Ease of Paying Taxes Bill (HB 8942) by making the tax audit discretionary, and the decision to conduct one is based on a risk assessment evaluation. Unfortunately, the bill was not passed into law. This could have been a great way to overcome the bottleneck. So, I hope that this bill will find support under the present administration.Becauseofthis bureaucratic process, it is not a surprise to see companies that have been non-operational for so many years to still appear active in the government records. In effect, some could not just move on and start a new venture without settling at once the closure of an existing one. This is a turnoff. So, it is equally important for our government to provide all the assistance that it could give (by simplifying its procedures) to those who are closing their businesses, especially to those whose businesses went bankrupt and want to start again. This is an added value that we can offer to investors.Onthepart of the taxpayer, it is also essential to know the procedures and requirements to terminate the life of a business, preserve its corporate and accounting records, and pay its taxes correctly and diligently, to facilitate the closure process later on. Closure in any shape or form must not be difficult. The author is a junior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm of WTS Global. The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at mabel.buted@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 160.
China announces patrols to protest US senator’s Taiwan visit
Closure
Diane Panicucci in West Warwick, Rhode Island, believes climate change is happening and that it needs to be addressed. But for her, it’s a lower priority compared with other issues, including inflation and food and drug “There’scosts.somuch unrest in this country right now,” the 62-year-old said. “People are suffering.” Panicucci added solar panels to her house, and she’s cut back on driving. She thinks individuals should do what they’re told will help, but “it doesn’t start with little ol’ me. It has to be larger scale,” she said. While the climate crisis will require an “all of the above approach,” it’s “reasonable” that individuals don’t feel they have the bandwidth to tackle climate action “on top of everything else,” said Kim Cobb, director of the Institute at Brown University for Environment and Society.
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By Hannah Fingerhut & Nuha Dolby | The Associated Press
WAShiNGtON—Americans are less concerned now about how climate change might impact them personally—and about how their personal choices affect the climate—than they were three years ago, a new poll shows, even as a wide majority still believe climate change is happening.
“There’s nothing we can do to fix it,” he Individualssaid. should feel empowered to make climate-driven decisions that not only help reduce emissions but also improve their lives, said Jonathan Foley, executive director at climate nonprofit Project Drawdown. Foley thinks the findings show that efforts to engage Americans need to shift away from doomsday scenarios, include diverse messengers and focus on the ways climate solutions can intersect with Americans’ other priorities. Julio Carmona, a 37-year-old financial clerk, said he recently transitioned his home in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to solar energy because the switch will help reduce his carbon footprint and his expenses, even if modestly.“Ithought that it was just something smart for us to do long term,” he said. “I just kind of wanted to do my part, whether or not it’s gonna make a difference.” AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report. The poll of 1,053 adults was conducted June 23-27 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The EU Commission will continue to enable increased coal power generation this year and next, temporarily reversing the longterm decline in coal consumption in Europe, Fitch Solutions analysts said in an August 8 note. And higher LNG prices will encourage electricity generators globally to switch from gas to coal feedstock where possible.
CHINA S military said it held fresh patrols around Taiwan to “fight back” against another US congressional visit less than two weeks after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Taipei. The patrols and exercises conducted in the “sea and air space around Taiwan” on Monday provided a “resolute response and stern deterrence to US-Taiwan collusion,” Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian said in a statement. The move came as a delegation led by Senator Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, continued a two-day visit to the democratically governed island. Unlike earlier this month when China conducted live-fire exercises and likely fired ballistic missiles over Taiwan’s main island, Beijing didn’t immediately specify exclusion areas for commercial planes or ships to avoid. Chinese naval vessels and warplanes have regularly breached the US-drawn median line that divides the Taiwan Strait since Pelosi’s arrival on August 2. Markey’s delegation was expected to meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and local lawmakers, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. The two sides intended to discuss regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains and climate change, according to the American Institute in Taiwan, the de-facto US embassy.Along with Markey, the delegation includes Democratic Representatives John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal—both of California— and Don Beyer of Virginia. Representative Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, a Republican delegate from American Samoa, also took part. The delegation will reaffirm US support for Taiwan and “encourage stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait,” Markey’s office said in a statement. Meetings were planned with political and business leaders to discuss topics including investments in semiconductors, according to the statement.Pelosi’sstopover in Taiwan drew a strong response from China, which conducted its most provocative military drills in decades in the wake of her visit. Beijing denounced the trip as a violation of the US pledge decades ago not to formally recognize the government of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory. While Pelosi was the highestranking US official to make it to Taiwan in a quarter century, visits by other members of Congress have been common for decades. During her meeting with the Taiwanese leader, Pelosi recalled that several US senators, including the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Democrat Bob Menendez, had visited this year without drawing a firestorm of criticism from Beijing. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin nonetheless said Monday that Markey’s visit “blatantly violates” the country’s “One China” understanding with the US. Bloomberg
World embraces dirtier fuels as gas hits exorbitant heights Excluding our number one value import—“Mineral fuels including oil”—all the rest of our top imports are manufactured and require a strong raw material supply. These are Vehicles, Iron and steel, Pharmaceuticals, and plastics/plastic articles. And in 2020, the Philippines was the world’s largest importer of Copra. Of course, you might think that we should be making our consumer goods. Again, much of our “durable goods” are assembled here because it is more cost-effective, meaning less expensive for the consumer, which is also important. It is cheaper to import bulk thread from China and repackage it than to import the cotton or polyester fiber and make the thread here. We are caught between a rock and a hard spot and so is foreignOfinvestment.ourtotalexports, 3.5 percent is “Copper” with another 2.7 percent from “Ores, slag, ash.” Let’s consider theSomefollowing.ofthe world’s richest men are funding a massive treasure hunt on the west coast of Greenland. “We are looking for a deposit that will be the first- or second-largest most significant nickel and cobalt deposit in the“Theworld.”Philippines produced 4,600 tons of cobalt in 2019, accounting for around 3.3 percent of the global share. The Philippines has the world’s fourth-largest known cobalt reserves.” “The Philippines could become a significant player in the global nickel industry after a moratorium on new mining was lifted last year.” And finally, “The state-run Social Security System (SSS) is bound to be among the topmost beneficiaries of the country’s revitalized mining sector. The earnings of the SSS help provide social security protection to 40 million covered Filipinos.” E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc. Mangun. from A10
The reforms are focused on the aspect of starting a new business. Not much has been said about simplifying the process and procedures in closing Businessone.closure in the Philippines is a long and tedious process. A company or even a sole proprietor will have to deal with various government agencies—barangay, LGU, BIR, and SEC. Other government agencies like SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG will also have to be notified. Dissolution has too many repetitive requirements. Documents that are supposed to be available and are in the possession of these government agencies are required to be submitted. Examples of these documents are the Articles of Incorporation, and proofs of payment of the taxes paid, the tax returns and financial statements previously submitted by the taxpayer. Every government agency also has its own specific requirements, which oftentimes are duplicates of each other. The requirements of the LGU and BIR may vary depending on the place or jurisdiction where the business of the company is registered.
Most of Japan’s oil power capacity is currently idled. The plants are old and expensive to restart, will only be running for a short time, and face environmental and political pushback, according to van der Velden. “Japan will still see year-on-year growth of fuel oil demand for the power sector, but its upsides are limited,” he said. Still, the cost incentives of fuel switching are hard to ignore, and FGE expects more countries to push for a restart of oil-fired plants. “The process will need to start now if they are to be ready and working to help meet winter demand,” Sawyer said. With assistance from Dan Murtaugh.
The EU Commission will continue to enable increased coal power generation this year and next, temporarily reversing the long-term decline in coal consumption in Europe, Fitch Solutions analysts said in an August 8 note. And higher LNG prices will encourage electricity generators globally to switch from gas to coal feedstock where possible. But there are limits to how much fuel-shifting may be possible. A lack of oil-power generation capacity is one issue, as it may be difficult to bring oil or coal power plants back online. “Restarting such plants will depend on just how well they were shut down and then maintained,” FGE’s Sawyer said. “Do not expect such plants to come on overnight.”
The June Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, which was conducted before Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act on Friday, shows majorities of US adults think the government and corporations have a significant responsibility to address climate change. The new law will invest nearly $375 billion in climate strategies over the next decade. Overall, 35 percent of US adults say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the impact of climate change on them personally, down from 44% in August 2019. Another third say they are somewhat concerned. Only about half say their actions have an effect on climate change, compared with two-thirds in 2019. Black and Hispanic Americans, women and Democrats are especially likely to be strongly concerned about the impact of climate change on them personally and about how their personal choices affect the climate. Many climate scientists told The Associated Press that the shifts are concerning but not surprising given that individuals are feeling overwhelmed by a range of issues, now including an economy plagued by inflation after more than two years of a pandemic. In addition to being outpaced by other issues, climate change or the environment are mentioned as priorities by fewer Americans now than just a few years ago, according to the poll.
Tax Law for Business atty. Mabel L. Buted
Tuesday, August 16, 2022 Opinion A11BusinessMirrorwww.news.businessmirror@gmail.com
Our country has been continuously pursuing reforms to attract foreign investments and to improve ease of doing business in the Philippines. We have recently seen the removal of the minimum number of incorporators to establish a corporation, the digitalization and streamlining of the registration process and requirements, the liberalization of foreign participation in some sectors, and the decrease of our corporate income tax. By Yongchang Chin & Elizabeth Low Bloomberg News W ith high natural gas prices showing no signs of abating and supplies becoming harder to obtain, cheaper and dirtier alternatives to the fuel are looking increasingly tempting for energy-hungry buyers.
. . Continued
Liquefied natural gas prices in Asia are now near $50 per million British thermal units. On an energyequivalent basis, gas was at about double the price of diesel as of Friday, with high-sulfur fuel oil and coal cheaper still, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. In Europe, the situation is similar, with natural gas at around $60, at least triple the price of HSFO and propane, according to energy consultancyNaturalFGE. gas has become the hottest commodity as Russia, a crucial source of piped gas to Europe and LNG to Asia, maintains a stranglehold on supplies amid a global energy crunch. There’s not enough to go around, and the situation is expected to worsen with the approach of winter. At the same time, the spike in prices is making the fuel unaffordable for some nations. The result is that buyers both rich and poor are increasingly eyeing the alternatives.“Withthe concern that supplies could become very tight this upcoming winter, various governments have recently announced they will allow more fuel oil and coal burning in power stations,” said Steve Sawyer, director of refining at industry consultant FGE. “If the flexibility to burn fuels other than natural gas is already installed, then we suspect it is already being used,” he said. The International Energy Agency on Thursday boosted its forecast for global oil demand growth by 380,000 barrels daily to 2.1 million barrels a day on the expectation that industry and power generators will switch their fuel to oil. The extra demand that prompted the revision is “overwhelmingly concentrated” in the Middle East and Europe, said theIEA’sagency.view was echoed by Damien Courvalin, head of energy research at Goldman Sachs, who expects gasto-oil switching to account for 1.5 million barrels a day of additional demand this winter, compared to a million barrels a day last year. Demand will come from the power sector as well as industries, he said in a Bloomberg interview. In Asia, Pakistan and Bangladesh are among countries with sizable facilities that can switch between natural gas and fuel oils for power generation.Pakistan and Bangladesh “have significant oil-generated power capacity and are facing severe budget constraints to keep buying expensive LNG,” said Wood Mackenzie principal consultant Max van der Velden. “They’re trying to keep the lights on and avoiding severe economic stress by using fuel oil.”
Many in US doubt their own impact on climate–AP-NORC poll
ROY DOMINGO
T he DOT has been pushing food tourism in the Philippines, and marketing the country as the cen ter of gastronomy in Asia, starting with the holding of Madrid Fusion Manila for three years. It has also sent Filipino chefs to participate in food and travel fairs abroad like Madrid Fusion and ITB Ber lin. For the last four years, it has partnered with the private sector for Kain Na, a food and travel fair featuring local delicacies from around the country, as well as ex changes with Filipino chefs based abroad.
T HE Department of Tourism (DOT) will be developing “tourism circuits” that will focus especially on local restau rants and cuisines in tourism des tinations, thus helping put Phil ippine flavors on the global food tourism map.
T he data, based on the results of the Family Income and Expen diture Survey (FIES), showed the average income of families declined to P307,190 in 2021 from the P313,350 average posted in 2018. At constant 2018 prices, which is obtained by adjusting the esti mates with the 2018 inflation rate, the average annual family income in 2021 was valued at P282,080,” the PSA said. Filipino incomes in 2021 were de rived from wages and salaries which accounted for 52.7 percent, followed by entrepreneurial activities; rent, 9.7 percent; cash receipts from abroad, 7.2 percent; and cash receipts from domestic sources, 5.3 percent. However, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said the in come derived from entrepreneurial activities and cash receipts from abroad saw the largest reductions in 2021.Income from entrepreneurial ac tivities declined 2.5 percent while cash receipts from abroad, which
PHL family incomes dip 2%on lower profits for entreps
Traditional fiesta celebrations return to barangays with the easing of massgathering restrictions.
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
The President’s approach will protect both the consumer and the farmer,” said Concepcion. “Sugar is now P5,200 to P5,500 per sack and I have no doubt that at this level, consumers are going to be affected,” he said.
By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573
T HE Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday announced that a probable cause has been found to indict four nuns and 11 others for allegedly soliciting funds intended to finance the terrorist activities of the Communist Party of the PhilippinesNew People’s Army (CPP-NPA). In a statement, the DOJ said 55 information for violation of Section 8 (ii) of Republic Act 10168 (Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012), as amended, was filed as of Monday before the Regional Trial Court of Iligan City against the respondents, mostly officers and staff of Rural Mis sionaries of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Region (RMP-NMR). T he said provision states that: “ Any person who, not being an ac complice under Section 6 or accessory under Section 7 in relation to any property or fund ... makes available any property or funds, or financial services or other related services to a designated and/or identified person, organization, association, or group of persons, shall suffer the penalty of reclusion temporal in its maxi mum period to reclusion perpetua and a fine of not less than Five hun dred thousand pesos (P500,000.00) nor more than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00).” TheDOJidentified the respon dents as Sister Emma Teresita Cupin, Sister Susan Dejolde, Sister Augustina Juntilla, Sister MaryJane Caspillo, Fatima Napoles Somogod, Melissa Amado Comiso, Czarina Golda Selim Musni, Maridel Solomon Fano, Jhona Ignilan Stokes, Hanelyn Caibigan Cespedes, Angelie Magdua, Emilio Gabales, Mary Louise Dumas, Aileen Manipol Villarosa, Evelyn Lumas Na guio and Aldeem Abroguena Yañez. T he Justice department, on the other hand, dismissed the complaint against Edgardo Naguio for insuffi ciency of evidence. D OJ spokesman, lawyer Jose Dominic Clavano said no bail was recommended for the respondents. C lavano also said the respondents failed to submit their respective counter-affidavits during the prelim inary investigation, prompting the DOJ to resolve the case solely based on the complaint filed by the AntiMoney Laundering Council (AMLC) and its witnesses and documentary evidence presented. Clavano said the case stemmed from the revela tions made by several former com munist rebels on the alleged illegal fund-raising by the respondents to support the CPP-NPA. T he CPP-NPA has been designated a terrorist organization by the Philip pine government, the United States Department of State and the Euro pean Union. O n the basis of the sworn state ments of two former members of the CPP-NPA, the AMLC inquired into the bank accounts of RMP-NMR with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). TheAMLC directed BPI to freeze these bank accounts for 20 days, which was later extended up to six months by the Court of Appeals upon finding that the bank accounts are related to the financing of terror ism and/or they are utilized as con duit to facilitate the commission of financing of terrorism. One witness was a former member of the CPP-NPA and a finance officer of various CPPNPA nongovernment organizations’ fronts, including RMP/RMP-NMR. Based on the affidavit of the wit ness, the RMP/RMP-NMR, through its officers and staff, prepare project proposals to be presented to foreign funders. Once the proposed projects are approved, these foreign funders will wire money to the bank accounts of RMP/RMP-NMR. Uponreceiptofthemoney, RMP/ RMP-NMR will allot 40 percent of the money for the proposed projects; and 60 percent will be channeled to the CPP-NPA as support for purchase of firearms, ammunition, etc. in the conduct of tactical offensives, the DOJ said. T he DOJ noted that Musni, Fano, Dumas and Villarosa, alleged mem bers of the CPP-NPA, were made payees in several checks issued by Somogod, Musni, and Fano under RMP/RMP-NMR’s BPI account. O n the other hand, cashiers Ces pedes and Magdua distributed funds according to the 60-40 scheme upon orders of Gabales. “Cespedes provided the 60 per cent to Fano by issuing checks. Fano gave funds to Yañez, who is one of the officers of NCMRC, CPP-NPA,” the DOJ said. T he DOJ said Cupin, Dejolde and Comiso, who are president, secretary and finance officer, respectively, of RMP-NMR, along with Caspillo and Juntilla, who are members of the board of trustees, are responsible for the operations of RMP/RMP-NMR. “They authorized Musni, Fano, Somogod and Stokes to issue checks under the RMP/RMP-NMR’s bank accounts to be received by Dumas, Villarosa, Evelyn Naguio and Yañez, who are members of the NCMRC, CPP-NPA,” the DOJ declared.
T his was the commitment of Tourism Secretary-designate Christina Garcia Frasco to a group of chefs, who have been passionate about Filipino dishes and the use of Philippine ingredients over the years, such as Happy OngpaucoTiu (Pamana Restaurant), Jessie Sincioco (Chef Jessie’s Place), Chele Gonzalez (Vask/Deli by Chele), Miko Calo (Metronome), Florabel Co Yatco (Florabel/Crisostomo), Tippi Tambunting (Tippi’s Special), Gilbert Pangilinan (Kai/Cervese ria), and Josh Boutwood (The Test Kitchen/Helm).“Werecognize the importance of gastronomy not only in our day-today sustenance but also in our iden tity as a nation,” said Garcia Frasco in her recent “listening tour” with the chefs. “We have identified food tourism as one of the anchor prior ity programs for the Department, moving forward. I am aware that we won’t be achieving any success in this endeavor if we don’t reach out and collaborate with those who have a wealth of knowledge in this industry, that is every one of you,” she underscored. Logistical issues IN a news statement, the DOT said among the concerns raised by the local food and restaurant industries include inadequate product promotions, the lack of vital information channels, the need to reintroduce the basics of Filipino cuisine, along with logi cal challenges that hamper the delivery of quality food ingredi ents to restaurants and other food establishments.Ongpauco-Tiu told the Busi nessMirror via Viber that there was a need to “[strengthen] the social-media platform to market locally and abroad, not only on sites [where you can] buy food.” She add ed that proper food presentation could help strengthen food tour ism: “Our food is similar to Thai land’s but there, even street food is presented beautifully because this is a practice in their culture. That’s one of the reasons why food tour ism is very strong there.” T he chefs also lamented that better quality ingredients have not been reaching restaurants “because of logistics…they should work on internal problems like these first, so the quality of food won’t get af fected,” she Ongpauco-Tiu hostedexplained. the lunch with Frasco and other chefs at her home, serving an array of Filipino comfort food favorites like Pancit Malabon; Batchoy; Lechon (Pork, Beef, and Chicken); grilled seafood; ginumis, etc. Going beyond the beaches BOUTWOOD added, “My num ber one concern was how do we get our tourists and visitors to know our restaurants, and not just our beautiful beaches and landmarks?” He added, “We have work to do to mirror what Singa pore and Hong Kong have done in the past, but with the DOT in very capable hands, we can turn our dream to be a world-class dining destination into reality.” For her part, Co Yatco stressed, “With all the inputs and sug gestions, I think that we’re hoping to have a better Philippines by sup porting our local farmers and sup porting our local restaurants. [With the support of the national govern ment], particularly the DOT helping us promote our own, I am optimis tic for a brighter future for culinary tourism in the Philippines.”
DOT chief to address challenges in food, restaurant industries
T he Go Negosyo founder said “a calibrated importation of 100,000 to 150,000 metric tons—as the Presi dent is planning—will allow us to see if price levels will start to go down, and doing this at a gradual level will let us adjust as harvest season approaches, then adjust it again as production comes into full swing.” Concepcion said there is never a perfect solution, but he stressed that “what you accomplish here is avoiding excessive swings in prices.” I n his vlog post, Marcos vowed against excessive importation, es pecially if there is adequate supply, but said that it may be necessary to keep goods affordable for consum ers. The President said that the im portation strategy will also apply to rice, seedlings and animal feeds. The importation plan that the President has directed is correct and can help us achieve a more in clusive economy. It will allow our small farmers to make a living,” said Concepcion. See “Imports,” A2
FIESTA TIME Miguelin Street in Sampaloc, Manila, is festooned with colorful fans as residents prepare to celebrate the Feast of San Roque.
A12 Tuesday, August 16, 2022
T he Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) registered the lowest average annual family income of P184,940.Among provinces and Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs), Makati City registered the highest average annual family income of P579,570 in 2021. The lowest average annual family income in 2021 was noted in Sulu at P159,300. In terms of growth in the average annual family income from 2018 to 2021, Lanao del Sur posted the highest growth rate of 42.9 percent followed by Camarines Norte at 27.6 percent; Apayao, 22.7 percent; Batanes, 22.2 percent; and Eastern Samar, 21.9 percent. Comparing the average annual family income in 2018 and 2021, the top five provinces and HUCs that posted the highest negative growth rate were, Mandaluyong City, Cebu City, Las Piñas City, Pa teros, and Bohol. By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
‘CALIBRATED
GO Negosyo founder Jose Maria A. Concepcion III said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s plan to import only a limited amount of sugar will protect both consumers andCfarmers. oncepcion said in a statement on Monday that the President, who concurrently heads the Department of Agriculture (DA), is correct in his plan to import only a limited amount of sugar and only if local supply has been exhausted. He add ed that this will protect consumers andTfarmers. his,after Marcos said in his vlog post on Sunday that he will consider importing sugar only if current stock from local produc tion and previous importations will be insufficient come October, adding that the quantity will be only as much as 150,000 metric tons or half the quantity put for ward by the Sugar Regulatory Ad ministration (SRA).
includes remittances from both Overseas Filipino Workers and mi grants, contracted 2.4 percent. There was a reduction of P133 billion from the households. The biggest is really cash received from abroad; of course we have a reduced number of OFWs, cash receipts from abroad reduced by P162 bil lion from 2018 to 2021. So these are actually the two major sources of reduction in the household in come,” Mapa explained. T he data also showed that the National Capital Region (NCR) retained its position as the region with the highest average annual family income in 2021 at P417,850. Four of the country’s 17 regions posted higher average annual fam ily income compared to the national average of P307,190. A part from NCR, these included Region IV-A at P361,030 in 2021; Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), P350,430; and Region III, P328,540.
LOWER income from entrepreneurial activities and cash receipts from abroad caused a 2-percent decline in the income of Filipino families in 2021, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
DOJ indicts 4 nuns on ‘fund solicitation for NPA’ IMPORTS PLAN ON SUGAR HELPS FARMERS, PUBLIC’
Figaro declares cash dividends
A ya L a Corp. President and CEo Fernando Zobel de aya la will relinquish his duties to some senior members of the conglomerate as he will be on a medical leave starting august 15. in a disclosure, the company said it convened a special board meeting on Sunday to discuss Zobel’s medical leave. Former banker Cezar P. Consing will serve as the conglomerate’s acting president and CEo Zobel, who is also the company’s vice chairman, will still remain as a member of the board but has stepped down as a member of the executive and finance committees. Delfin L. Lazaro was also appointed as vice chairman of the executive committee.BothConsing and Lazaro’s appointments were endorsed by ayala’s corporate governance and nomination committee, the company said in its disclosure.iwantto assure everyone that Fernando is in high spirits, but he has asked for some time to focus on his health and recovery. We all have so many responsibilities and commitments in all aspects of our lives, but first and foremost, we should all prioritize our health and well-being,” ay ala Chairman Jaime a u gusto Zobel de ayala, who is Fernando’s brother, said in his Facebook post. “a s a family, we’re fully supportive of Fernando’s decision to take a leave so he can do whatever is necessary to rebuild his strength,” he said. “Let us all give Fernando the support he needs to focus on improving his health, and Bong (Consing) and Del (Lazaro) our confidence as they take on their new roles.” Both Consing and Lazaro are members of the company’s board of directors, and also the other units of the ayala. VG Cabuag
Excluding fair value change in investment properties and the one-time gain on finance lease, the company said its income reached P1.61 billion. r e venues rose 67 percent to P2.36 billion from last year’s P1.41 billion. a reit said it recorded an average occupancy of 97 percent and a rental collection rate of 98 percent, reflecting high-quality tenancy across its properties. The company also approved the declaration of P0.49 per share in cash dividends from operations in the second quarter, following the P0.48 per share in the first quarter of the year. This declaration brings the total dividends to P0.97 per share for the first half of 2022, 10 percent higher year-on-year. i n June, a r eit filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission the deed of exchange for the infusion of six Cebu-based office buildings into the company. “ it is looking forward to securing regulatory approvals for this second property-for-share swap with its sponsor ay ala Land i nc. within the year,” the company said. This transaction will expand a reit’s gross leasable area to 673,000 square meters or assets under management to P64 billion, or double the size since its initial public offering. This month, a r eit will mark its second anniversary as the first Philippine r E i T since its listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange on a u gust 13, 2020. i n May, ay ala Land announced that it executed a property for share swap deal valued at P11.25 billion with a r E i T The deal involves the issuance of 252.13 million primary common shares of a reit to ay ala Land at an issue price of P44.65 per share in exchange for identified properties. The transaction, first announced in March, will see ay ala Land increasing its ownership in a reit to 66 percent from the previous 60.32 percent. By VG Cabuag @villygc
BusinessMirror
Ayala chief executive takes medical leave
FERNANDO ZOBEL DE AYALA
F igaro Coffee Systems i n c. (FCS i ), a unit of listed firm Figaro Coffee g r oup, said it declared cash dividends after it had a banner year in 2021, when it opened multiple stores. The company said it is optimistic that 2022 is another banner year for Figaro g r oup as they expect to end the year with at least 140 systemwide stores composed of all portfolio brands under the Figaro“Despitegroup.the pandemic crisis, the previous year has certainly been significant for us. Back when people were still restricted to their homes and the demand for food delivery was at its peak, our company’s immediate response was to keep our kitchens operational,” Figaro President Justin Liu asaid.ngel’s Pizza was among the strong food brands with a focus on high quality and service during the pandemic, making us one of the top choices for pizza orders. This is why our brand a n gel’s Pizza emerged as a front-runner, favored and recognized by many today.”Figaro said the performance of its unit enabled the company to open more a n gel’s Pizza stores as they see it as the growth driver both for its top line and for its profitability.Thecompany said it declared P90 million in cash dividends, or 59 percent of the net income after tax of FCS i for 2021. The unit last year made a profit of P152.84 million, a 51 percent growth from the previous year’s P101 million. i t s revenues more than doubled, driven by the 141 percent surge in systemwide sales and the net addition of 21 stores during the year making the total store count to 107 stores by end-2021, up from 86 stores in 2020. i t s average weekly unit sales also increased by 88 percent to P526,600 from P279,000 in 2020, brought about the by the increase in delivery sales. “Now that the pandemic restrictions have lessened and people are slowly starting to return to their pre-pandemic ways, living their lives outside of their homes once again, we are looking to continue our momentum through the expansion of our stores in various areas nationwide,” Liu said. Figaro group consists of flagship, homegrown brands such as Figaro Coffee, and also a n gel’s Pizza, Tien Ma’s and The Figaro g r oup Express. VG Cabuag
Areit inc., the real estate investment trust (reit) of Ayala Land inc., said its net income rose 64 percent to P1.62 billion in the first half from last year’s P1.31 billion.
Net income of Ayala REIT jumps by 64% in Jan-June
Companies B1Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Editor: Jennifer A. Ng PCCI, DOTr MEET TO DISCUSS BETTER TRANSPORT SYSTEM AND LOGISTICS FEES. Leaders of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) led by President George Barcelon (4th from left) recently paid a courtesy visit to Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista (5th from left) to present PCCI’s strategic agenda on infrastructure, transport and logistics. PCCI expressed its support to the DOTr’s programs and expressed appreciation for the commitment of Sec. Bautista that under his term, the DOTr will be more prudent on proposals to raise transport logistics-related fees. Sec. Bautista also committed to continue and finish the transport-related infrastructures that are already in the pipeline of Build Build Build Program for railway, road, seaport, and airport such as the Metro Manila Subway, LRT 1 extension, maintenance of MRT 3, MRT 7, North-South Commuter Railway of PNR, EDSA Busway, and completion of airports in Sangley and Bulacan. Photo shows (from left) DOTr Undersecretary for Road and Railway Anneli Lontoc, PCCI Honorary Chair and Treasurer Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., PCCI Honorary Chair Ma. Alegria SibalLimjoco, Barcelon, Sec. Bautista, DOTr Undersecretary for Maritime Elmer Sarmiento, PCCI Director Michael Tan, DOTr Undersecretary Bobby Lim, Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines president Pierre Carlo Curay; and PCCI Transportation Logistics Committee Co-Chair Agapito Capistrano, CEO, TMS Ship Agencies Inc.
CPI [consumer price index] and [Fed Chairman Jerome] Powell remains focused on ‘vanquishing the foe.’” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe M. Medalla has said the July inflation print “raises the possibility of a 50 basis points rate hike rather than 25 basis points” in their next policy meeting. July’s inflation hit 6.4 percent, the highest recorded since the 6.9 percent recorded in October 2018. This brings the Philippines’s average inflation from January to July this year at 4.7 percent, beyond the government’s 2022 target range of 2 percent to 4 Meanwhile,percent.USinflation climbed at a slower pace than expected at 8.5 percent in July, lower than the 9.1 percent for June. The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) fully sold P15 billion in T-bills during the auction, which ended up more than twice oversubscribed with total bids reaching P40.5 billion.The 91-day T-bills capped at an average rate of 1.874 percent, higher than the previous auction’s 1.85 percent but lower than the benchmark secondary market rate at 2.077 percent. For the 182-day T-bills, the average rate reached 3.226 percent, higher than both the previous auction’s 3.211 percent and the comparable benchmark secondary yield at 3.025Thepercent.364-day T-bills’ average rate hit 3.712 percent, settling above the rates from both the previous auction and the secondary market at 3.635 percent and 3.657 percent, respectively.Forthis month, the Treasury aims to borrow P215 billion through the local debt market. About 140-billion in Treasury bonds (Tbonds) and P75-billion worth of Tbills will be offered.
Interest-income rise lifts Security Bank’s bottom line
BusinessMirror Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Tuesday, August 16, 2022 B3www.news.businessmirror@gmail.com
Former President Duterte ended his term ended his term with the national government’s debt stock soaring to another record-high of P12.79 trillion as of end-June this year. This was more than double than the P5.948 trillion debt level when Duterte assumed office in mid-2016. By the end of 2019, a few months before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, the national government’s debt stock was at P7.73 trillion. The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio slightly eased to 62.1 percent in the second quarter of the year from 63.5 percent in the first quarter. However, this remained above the economy.60-percentinternationally-recommendedthresholdforahealthy
Credit card issuers unite versus ‘budol’ fraudsters China Bank to extend loans for e-vehicles
What to do during periods of high inflation
By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM ALL tenors of Treasury Bills (T-bills) on offer on Monday fetched higher rates as monetary authorities are expected to raise interest rates at their policy-setting meeting this Thursday.
3. Phishing, vishing and smishing. These are fraud tactics to trick victims into divulging card information. Phishing is done via email, vishing by phone, and smishing via SMS. Fraudsters pretend to be from the bank and offer fake promotions, services, or security verifications. Once the victim divulges their card information, the fraudster can now perform unauthorized online purchases.Keepyour card details (especially your CVV and OTPs) confidential, even from callers pretending to be from your bank. Banks will never ask for your CVV and OTP via a call, text, or email links. If you accidentally divulged your CVV and OTP to a third party, call your bank immediately. 4. SMS spoofing. This is an advanced type of smishing fraud in which the fraudster is able to mimic and send fake SMS messages using the target bank’s actual SMS sender ID or name. Using SMS aggregators or gateways, fraudsters are able to trick victims into believing that the SMS is legitimate and really came from the bank. Do not click on unfamiliar links sent via SMS even if the sender ID seems to be from your bank. Your bank will never request for your CVV2 and OTP over SMS text links. If you get a text that seems to be asking for your credit card data, ignore it; it’s not “Combatingreal. financial crime is a shared responsibility. Thus, we are enjoining everyone to help us in our continuous fight against these progressive fraudsters,” CCAP said.
BANKING ON STRENGTH
By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM SECURITY Bank Corp. reported on Monday that it has posted a 100-percent growth in its net income in the first six months of the year, on the back of expansion in core businesses, lower credit provisions and normalized income tax provisions.Thebank’s net income in January to June hit P6.2 billion. Broken down, Security Bank’s net interest income increased 6 percent to P14.4 billion. Total non-interest income, meanwhile, was at P4.8 billion. Service charges, fees and commissions grew also 22 percent to P2.6 billion, led by increase in fees from deposits, credit cards and capital markets. Other non-interest income excluding securities trading gains and fee income rose 47 percent to P2.2 billion, driven mainly by foreign exchange income and recovery on charged- off assets. Security Bank also reported a 4-percent increase in its operating expense, which the bank attributed to improvements in technology and manpower.Cost-to-income ratio was 55.9 percent compared to 56.4 percent a year“Weago.are very pleased by the continued improvement in our core businesses. Our growth in loans and investment securities is a tangible manifestation of our commitment to clients to support the reopening of the economy and address the impact of inflation,” Security Bank President and CEO Sanjiv Vohra was quoted in a statement as saying. The bank’s non-performing loan (NPL) reserve cover increased to 92 percent from 90 percent in the previousReturnquarter.onassets increased to 1.7 percent from 0.92 percent in the first half of 2021. Return on shareholders’ equity, meanwhile, increased to 10 percent from 5.05 percent a year ago. On the deposit front, the bank reported that its low-cost savings and demand deposits grew 18 percent and increased to 59 percent of total deposits from 55 percent a yearThisago.drove total deposits to grow 9 percent to P569 billion. Net loans, on the other hand, increased 15 percent to P490 billion, driven by wholesale loans which grew 18 percent and retail loans which grew 6 percent. Retail loans are 23 percent of total loans compared to 26 percent a year ago. For its capital, Security Bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio was 16.7 percent and Total Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) was 17.2 percent both above local and international regulatory standards.
“Rates climbed on all tenors with markets expecting Monetary Board to raise rates this Thursday,”
T-bills fetch high rates on awaited policy tweak
5. Cut back on recurring expenses. if you don’t need a gym membership, country club membership, postpaid plan or Spotify monthly subscription, then you can save a lot of money.
6. Pay off debts. The fastest way you can save money and increase your net worth is to eliminate all debts since these carry a hefty interest, plus penalties should you pay late. Interest rates for borrowing money are often higher as compared to lending it.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters. “Similarly, Fed seems unswayed with softer July anniversary personal finanCe raymond
7. When you have exhausted all your expense reduction options, find ways to increase your income. Cutting down expenses does help in the short-term; and it is a good virtue to be thrifty. However, even if you remain frugal, inflation will inevitably make your wants and needs higher year by year. Hence, you should build your additional income streams as well. Aside from your fulltime work, get a sideline work such as sales. You can also invest in rental properties in order to earn passive income (or income derived outside of active work). For more financial advice, do follow my FB Page at OhMyFinancePH. I will be launching soon my very own financial awareness course for Filipinos. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6 ESV Raymond Anthony Quisumbing is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about investment planning, attend the 97th batch of RFP program this August 2022. To register, e-mail info@rfp.ph or text at 0917-6248110.
2. Account takeover. This is when a fraudster calls up the customer service of the bank, aiming to take over and gain access to a victim’s account. The fraudster will pretend to be the customer, try to answer all the positive ID verification, and request changes on the account such as mobile number and card delivery address. These changes are meant to intercept the One Time Passwords (OTPs) sent by banks for e-commerce transactions. Be alert and read bank notifications about any changes made on your credit card account. If you received such notification or OTPs for transactions which you did not perform, call your bank immediately.
DUE to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as burgeoning oil prices, the entire world has been experiencing periods of high inflation (increase in prices of goods and services). Central Banks of various countries, including ours, have been doing what they can to lower the inflation rate by increasing key interest rates. With those in mind, we shall first discuss how increasing interest rates affect us, and what we can do during these difficult times. In the investing world, the US is still considered the safest form of government security. It is after all, a risk-free investment, for a government almost never defaults on its loan obligations. When the US Federal Reserve decides to increase its key interest rate, consumer spending ought to slow down because more people will keep their money in the bank rather than spend it. There will be a greater incentive to keep money in a time deposit or in short-term treasury bills and less appetite for riskier investments that include stocks both in the US and abroad, cryptocurrencies and others. Prices of these riskier assets would then fall due to lesser demand. In addition, when interest rates of banks rise, borrowing becomes more expensive for both consumers and companies. The latter, planning to launch their initial public offering (IPO), may get lower than expected demand—therefore, lower IPO price and less capital proceeds—because people will be more cautious in investing. Furthermore, expansion plans may be put on hold or delayed because consumer demand would decrease. On the side of the consumer, buying a house or a car using a bank loan might be postponed because of higher loan rates and uncertainty. Even if consumers had the cash to spare, it would be prudent for them to keep their assets liquid (easy to convert to cash), rather than risk it being stuck in a property that is hard to sell during an unexpected emergency. The abovementioned scenarios show what could happen in a period of high inflation and increasing interest rates. What then should we do in response to this type of environment? Let me enumerate my suggestions below: 1. Hold back on big ticket purchases. If you are considering borrowing to buy a car or taking out a loan to buy land, you may want to postpone it and keep more cash in your portfolio. 2. Be efficient in travel. Since fuel is pretty expensive nowadays, you should plan your daily route. Drive your vehicle, preferably at night, without air conditioning and with minimal baggage load. Go to the farthest location first, then on to the next, until you finally go back to your home base.
4. When doing groceries, follow a strict checklist and budget. Avoid spending on new unnecessary food products. If you are looking for essentials, look for the products that are nearing their expiry date. Those products are usually sold at a substantial discount.
This photo courtesy of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shows Governor Felipe M. Medalla (left) at a recent online forum organized by the University of the Philippines School of Economics Alumni Association (UPSEAA). During the forum, the Central Bank governor said that the Philippine economy is strong enough to accommodate the recent policy rate increase implemented by the BSP. According to Medalla, the BSP’s monetary policy settings will remain supportive of economic growth and financial stability. UPSEAA President Jeffrey Ng (right) also attended the forum.
Photo courtesy Bangko sentral ng PiliP nas
By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio R ETAIL lender China Bank Savings (CBS) has joined the green financing campaign recently announcing it will provide auto financing to help transition consumers towards climate-friendly mobility.CBS,the thrift bank arm of China Banking Corp., made the announcement during the road test of a selfcharging electric sports utility vehicle (SUV). The SUV called “Kicks,” is expected to steer more Filipino car owners closer to sustainable driving. Nissan Motors Philippines Inc. launched “Kicks” last August 12. The SUV is a 100-percent electric motor-driven system, using Nissan’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) technology. A gasoline engine charges the high-voltage battery pack when necessary for another model, “Leaf.” The SUV was used on a 141-kilometer test drive from Manila Bay, Pasay City, to Tagaytay City last August“Climate-friendly11. business practices and eco-friendly mobility are among the long-term goals of the initiative of CBS China Bank Savings,” a statement read. “Promotion of financial inclusion, entrepreneurship and consumer confidence are needed to spur rapid economic recovery.”
3. Since electricity is going up, try to cut back usage of highwattage appliances (i.e. freezers and chillers), shift to natural cool air rather than AC. Turn off your water dispenser cooler and heater. Use a thermos instead and a water container for chilling. Use energy efficient LED lightings.
THE Credit Card Association of the Philippines (CCAP) announced the launch of its “Fight Budol” campaign to “further strengthen its advocacy towards the responsible use of credit cards and enhanced protection of cardholders.”Thecountry’s 18 major credit card players comprising CCAP said it marked Fraud Awareness Week last July 18 to 22 by simultaneously mounting social media campaigns that aimed to educate and raise awareness among Filipino consumers on fighting credit card fraud. CCAP figures showed fraudulent credit card activities via remote and other digital payment channels increased by 21 percent in the country since the start of the global pandemic, which forced customers to shift to remote and other digital payments to deal with face-toface“Fraudrestrictions.caseshave been on the rise due to the growing acceptance of various digital payment platforms, causing financial detriment to the industry,” CCAP Executive Director Alex G. Ilagan was quoted in a statement as saying. CCAP’s statement read that consumers must watch out for these four modi operandi or new ways scammers or fraudsters use to lure their victims: 1. Surrendered cards scam. This is a type of fraud in which the fraudster tricks the victim into surrendering the card by posing as a bank personnel and offering higher credit card limits and lifetime waiver of annual fees. Never surrender your card to anyone. Banks will never ask you to submit your credit card for replacements or upgrades. Dispose of your old credit cards properly by punching holes on their magnetic strip or chip to ensure they cannot be reused by anyone.
Banking&Finance
THE Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank) announced it recently launched its 60th Anniversary Car and Home Loan 16 until September 30, 2022, Metrobank is offering its lowest car and home loan rates ever and is waiving fees as much as P60,000 as it celebrates its 60th Anniversary,” the country’s thirdlargest bank by total asset said in a statement.“Aswecelebrate [our] 60th year, we are ramping up our offerings for our clients,” Metrobank Senior Vice President and Consumer Business Sector Head Ramon Jaime LV Del Rosario was quoted in the statement as saying. “It’s the best time for everyone to take advantage of this opportunity to achieve their goals of owning their car and home.”The lender said the car loan carries a rate of 9.11 percent per annum for a 60-month term while the home loan carries a 1-year fixed rate of 4.88Thepercent.lender said that once the loan gets approved, the borrower will also pre-qualify for a Metrobank credit card, which can help pay “for accessorizing your new car or furnishing your new home.”
Metrobank launches home, car loans promo to celebrate 60th
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ACROSS 1 Industry honcho 5 Place for pampering 8 0.5 fl. oz. 12 Rome’s ___ Fountain 13 Word after “stand” or “down” 14 Jump ___ (double Dutch item) 15 Online session for an aspiring sommelier? 18 Suffix with
HHH i SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Break down your options before making a decision. It’s essential to understand the mechanism behind what you do and how it benefits you and others. Make your health and emotional well-being your priorities and your happiness your objective.
HH AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Get things up and running; don’t lose sight of your goal. Look at the big picture and plan your victory march. Recognize what’s best for you, and don’t stop until you reach your destination. Physical improvements, romance and long-term plans are encouraged. HHHH SCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Change begins with you. Don’t follow what works for someone else. Find a plan that’s in sync with what you want to pursue. Consider how you can use your attributes to accomplish something you feel destined to follow. Embrace life aggressively. HHH RTHDAY BABY: ou are passionate, flexible and creative. You are outgoing and opportunistic. : Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. HH: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others. HHH: Focus and you’ll reach your goals. HHHH: Aim high; start new projects. : Nothing can stop you; go for gold. “senior” a of the WNBA’s Dream 24 Some hospital drama sets: Abbr. 27 Daily task for an egg farmer? 31 ___kwondo 32 ___/they pronouns 33 Prefix with “dynamic” 34 Academy Award 37 Pupil’s place 38 “Have an open mind!” 39 Genuine 40 ___ Arbor, Michigan 41 Black Lives Matter co-founder Tometi 42 Dress-up activity inspired by a nymph in the “Odyssey”? 47 Words between “cool” and “cucumber” 48 That thing’s 49 Luau instrument, for short 50 OB-GYN, e.g. 52 Turn sharply 54 Cousin ___ Visits the Addams Family 55 “Hey there!” 56 Woe for a grounded child? 59 The Little Mermaid prince 60 Console with a Sports Resort 61 Avis competitor 62 Garden entryway 63 Finale 64 Anna’s sister in Frozen DOWN 1 Professional reviewer 2 Acme 3 Wide streets: Abbr. 4 Curved bone 5 Water fairy, e.g. 6 Future queen, perhaps 7 Devoured 8 Unimportant thing 9 ___ fide 10 One might be hidden in a fake rock 11 According to 12 Either protagonist in Sister, Sister 16 Up and at ‘em 17 Soak in a tub 22 Mark from surgery 23 Sore feeling 25 “Desperado” singer, to fans 26 Annoying person 28 Sicily’s country 29 “Bye Bye Bye” band 30 Holiday delivery? 34 Whale with a saddle patch 35 Homes for 34-Downs 36 Dia de los Muertos skull 37 Biblical name found backward in “plus-one” 38 Use a keyboard 40 Houston baseball pro 41 Invite along for 43 Puncture 44 Best at an auction 45 Nike competitor 46 Cello virtuoso who founded the Silkroad collective 51 Hard-to-spot pattern, briefly 53 Menu with Undo 54 Hacker’s cry of success 55 “___ come around eventually!” 56 Entreat, or seek a treat 57 Need to pay 58 Insecure star Issa ‘second shift’ BY BROOkE HUSIC The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg Solution to today’s puzzle:
HHHHH j CApRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Put your energy where it counts. If you waste time arguing, you will miss an incredible opportunity. Trust your intelligence to help you overcome temptation. Evaluate your current position, and adjust your lifestyle to fit your budget.
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Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last z CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Cameron Monaghan, 29; Steve Carell, 60; Angela Bassett, 64; Madonna, 64. HAppY BIRTHDAY: Expand your mind and interests. Go on a pilgrimage to discover what’s new and exciting that you can incorporate into your life. Accept change, but don’t let go of what’s important to you. By learning all you can and mastering what you enjoy doing most, you will find a way to update and use your skills to advance. Personal growth and patience are encouraged. Your numbers are 5, 18, 24, 26, 32, 37, 43. aARIES (March 21-April 19): Networking will allow you to provide suggestions that encourage others to help you make your dreams come true. Don’t hesitate to sweeten offers to ensure you get the desired results. HHH b TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Use intelligence to wade through the ups and downs you face. It’s OK to change your mind and head in a different direction. Be precise and carry on knowing you can deliver your best and collect your rewards. HHH c GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Go where the action is and participate. Get involved, do your own thing and use your skills to help others. The way you reach out and the people you touch will turn into your most significant resources. HHHH d CANCER (June 21-July 22): You should do your own thing instead of paying for something someone else is trying to do or sell. A spirited attitude and creative mind will help you find the path to self-satisfaction.
B4 Art Tuesday, August 16, 2022 •
❶ TerresTrial MM Yu, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 36”x36” ❷ Nurse Core (Grinning in the Papers), Nicholas Grafia, 2022, acrylic on 51.2”x43.3”canvas, ❶
AYALA Museum, under the management of Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI), and Globe Telecom Inc. held a signing ceremony on June 28 to mark a new milestone in their partnership with the launch of the Globe Digital Gallery. The Globe Digital Gallery enables Filipinos to access and interact with 1,000 pieces from the Ayala Museum and the Filipinas Heritage Library’s permanent collections through this newest experience. Made up of 8 sprawling touchscreens located in the museum’s lobby, the Globe Digital Gallery allows onsite guests to “touch the art” and even zoom in on the finer details of each art piece. Some of the pieces that guests can enjoy in the Digital Gallery are from the Ayala Museum’s pre-colonial gold collection, indigenous textiles from its ethnographic collection, rare prints from the Filipinas Heritage Library, works from National Artists, and so much more. The 1,000 pieces currently featured is only the beginning, as Ayala Museum intends to upload more of its collection to the Globe Digital Gallery for more to enjoy. The Globe Digital Gallery is a manifestation of Ayala Museum’s omnichannel approach—combining the physical, defined by refreshed exhibitions and a rich collection, and digital technology—to complete a new museum experience. Present at the signing were Ayala Museum senior director Ma. Elizabeth “Mariles” Gustilo, Ayala Foundation CFO Rosallie Dimaano, and Globe chief sustainability and corporate communications officer Yoly Crisanto. “Technology has become a huge part of our lives, especially these last few years,” said Crisanto. “We are grateful to have the opportunity to partner with the Ayala Foundation in bringing a new cultural experience to our fellow Filipinos through the Globe Digital Gallery. We hope that this exhibit helps us further appreciate our vast art collection and the richness of our culture.” More information is available at www.ayalamuseum.org/ visit.
M OTION characterizes the latest round of presentations at Silverlens in Makati City—in terms of visuals for a group show and the concept of a one-man exhibition. Aquifer presents the works of Dina Gadia, Jenifer Wofford, and MM Yu. Each having established their distinctive styles, the artists “explore the affinities that spring from the well of their respective practices:” Three different streams that, in this show, somehow intersect at the point of liquefication. The artworks bear a certain sense of fluidity in colors and patterns. Gadia is recognized for exploring social issues through a visually arresting style that’s also playfully representational. In Aquifer, her series of paintings and drawings circle on the idea of water and its related commonplace objects. Yet boiling beneath the mundane is a commentary on how we are wired to default to pretensions—on scouring for meaning where there is none. Instilling humor in her works as well is San Francisco-based artist/educator Jenifer Wofford, who tackles themes of hybridity, history, calamity and global culture. Here, she takes us back to the flamboyance of ‘80s pop culture, featuring colors that pop and patterns charged with zing. The period is where art has seemingly ceased to take itself seriously, which perhaps stems from a light atmosphere of hospitality that embraces diversity. The idea is fleshed out in Wofford’s parody video of the vibrant era, titled Klub Rupturre. These concepts of liquidity and movement are likewise showcased by MM Yu. Her artworks across photography and painting have always framed the subject front and center. But in this show, she favors process over expression in a series of “drip paintings.” Yu performs as a mere detached composer, allowing art to form on its own, as if it were an act of denouncement to “stubborn assumptions” about what is accepted as the subject in a painting. In Aquifer, what we consider as established notions are melted, liquified into something with as much the same form as paint flowing freely. Alongside the group show is the Silverlens solo exhibition debut of Nicholas Grafia, titled Comeback Kid. Movement defines this show as well, but in terms of how the artist’s journey across the world informed his featured artworks. Grafia was born in Angeles City, Philippines, in 1980 and currently moves between Düsseldorf, Germany, and Paris, France. His multidisciplinary practice covers paintings, videos and performances, juxtaposing historical events and current global events.“Looking at the history of my home country, the Philippines, and comparing it to the increasingly neo-liberal, xenophobic and right-wing tendencies I have encountered while growing up in Europe, I came to realize new examples for mainly two things: How many national government systems have radically exploitative, alienating and marginalizing agendas; Continued on B5 Editor: Gerard S. Ramos
HH e LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take the edge off. Sit back and reflect, and you’ll see things differently. Don’t buy into someone’s dream when you have your dreams to bring to fruition. Love who you are and what you can do for yourself and others. HHHHH f VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Put a big push behind your plans. Discuss your ambitions, and engage in whatever it takes to get things done correctly. Don’t let a partnership go sour because you don’t follow through with your plans after a discussion regarding what’s next.
Ayala Museum, Globe bring new cultural learning experience
HHH g LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Get in touch with your feelings and do what excites you, and you’ll be happy with the results and the connections you make along the way. A push to be fit will show results and encourage a healthy lifestyle. Romance is favored. HHH h SCORpIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Relax, sit back and enjoy the scenery. Let your mind wander and engage in new possibilities that allow you to use your skills more efficiently. Let your attributes grow, and adjust to keep current and spark personal growth.
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Defined by movement
CONTINUED FROM B4 and how interconnected national histories and issues in political power dynamics are on a global level,” Grafia writes in his artist statement for the show. The exhibition’s title takes cue from the artist’s intention to counter victimhood culture, to enunciate his practice of subverting systematic oppression through manifold elements and emotions. Thus, presented in Comeback Kid is Grafia’s vignetted compositions where historical, anonymous and alter ego figures converge as empowered shapeshifters. There’s writer and activist James Baldwin, nurse heroes, as well as the artist’s mother all standing in images of powerful symbolism. As the artist puts it: “Employing non-linear dialogue styles, theatrical disguise, masks and ambiguous physical shapes throughout my multidisciplinary practice, I wish to irritate and subvert established power relations and conventions within my heteronormative western surrounding and positively familiarize it with previously othered subjects.” Comeback Kid and Aquifer are on view at Silverlens until September 10. More information is available at www. silverlensgalleries.com. MOVEMENTBY Anne Heche, star with troubled life, dies of crash injuries
RAIN YAMSON’S DOWNPOUR OF PROJECTS ANGKAS, an entry to this year’s Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, is Rain Yamson’s full-feature debut as a director. An award-winning cinematographer who is well-loved by many filmmakers, it’s about time Yamson spread his wings and call the Whenshots. he found out that his tale about habal-habal drivers who pick up dead bodies from the rugged terrains of Compostela Valley and transport these to the city, made brought me to places I never imagined to visit and allowed me to connect with people from many parts of the world. And the best thing about it, the learning never stops.” Yamson is also the cinematographer for the movie Maid in Malacañang. “I’ve collaborated with director Darryl Yap many Festival and Awards (AIFFA) for many years. “I am crossing my fingers that AIFFA, which showcases and honors the best in filmmaking this side of Asia, will be back very soon, so we can send the best of the Philippine cinema for the Asia Pacific region to see, discover and experience.”
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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos
Hotshot filmmakers flex their artistic muscles
FILMMAKERS GB Sampedro (left) and Rain Yamson
GMA Network continues to show its dominance on various platforms after scoring numerous nominations at the TikTok Awards Philippines. The annual award event recognizes creators who have embraced the value of TikTok and have created a big impact on the platform in the past year. GMA Network and YouLOL are both nominated for the Top Entertainment Award, under the Judges’ Pick Category. Some of the most-loved content in the network’s official account are “Kapuso Showbiz News” and the #GMAPaNoticeChallenge. GMA currently has 1.2 million followers and over 16.8 million likes on TikTok. YouLOL, which serves as the users’ go-to source for all things comedy, has garnered 2.2 million followers and 16.7 million likes. In turn, three of the network’s news and public affairs accounts—Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS), Unang Hirit, and 24 Oras—are nominated for Top Media Publisher. Award-winning TV program KMJS has amassed 598 million views in 2022 alone, with over 3.2 million followers and 43.4 million likes. Unang Hirit has 1.4 million followers and 27.4 million likes, while 24 Oras also has 1.4 million followers and 16.5 million likes as of writing.
L OS ANGELES—Anne Heche, the Emmywinning film and television actor whose dramatic Hollywood rise in the 1990s and accomplished career contrasted with personal chapters of turmoil, died of injuries from a fiery car crash. She was 53. Heche was “peacefully taken off life support,” spokeswoman Holly Baird said in a statement on Sunday night. Heche had been on life support at a Los Angeles burn center after suffering a “severe anoxic brain injury,” caused by a lack of oxygen, when her car crashed into a home August 5, according to a statement released on Thursday by a representative on behalf of her family and friends. She was declared brain-dead on Friday, but was kept on life support in case her organs could be donated, an assessment that took nine days. In the US, most organ transplants are done after such a determination. A native of Ohio whose family moved around the country, Heche endured an abusive and tragic childhood, one that helped push her into acting as a way of escaping her own life. She showed enough early promise to be offered professional work in high school and first came to prominence on the NBC soap opera Another World from 1987 to 1991, winning a Daytime Emmy Award for the role of twins Marley and Vicky Hudson, who on the show sustained injuries that anticipated Heche’s: Vicky falls into a coma for months after a car crash. By the late 1990s Heche was one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, a constant on magazine covers and in big-budget films. In 1997 alone, she played opposite Johnny Depp as his wife in Donnie Brasco and Tommy Lee Jones in Volcano and was part of the ensemble cast in the original I Know What You Did Last Summer. The following year, she starred with Ford in Six Days, Seven Nights and appeared with Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix in Return to Paradise played one of cinema’s most famous murder victims, Marion Crane of Psycho, in Gus Van Sant’s remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic. Around the same time, her personal life led to even greater fame, and both personal and professional upheaval. She met Ellen Vanity Fair Oscar party, fell in love and began a three-year relationship that made one of Hollywood’s first openly gay couples. But Heche later said her career was damaged by an industry wary of casting her in leading roles. She would remember advisers opposing her decision to have DeGeneres accompany her to the premiere of Volcano “We were tapped on the shoulder, put into her limo in the third act and told that we couldn’t have pictures of us taken at the press junket,” Heche said in 2018 on the podcast Irish Goodbye. After she and DeGeneres parted, Heche had a public breakdown and would speak candidly of her mental health struggles. In the fall of 2000, soon after her break-up with DeGeneres, Heche was hospitalized after knocking on the door of a stranger in a rural area near Fresno, California. Authorities said she had appeared shaken and disoriented and spoke incoherently to the In a memoir released the following year, Call Me , Heche talked about her lifelong battles. During a 2001 interview with TV journalist Barbara Walters, Heche recounted in painful detail alleged sexual abuse by her father, Donald Heche, who professed to be devoutly religious and died in 1983 from complications of AIDS. Heche described her suffering as so extreme she developed a separate personality and imagined herself descended from another planet. In the final days of his life, Heche said, she learned he was secretly gay and that she believed his inability to live honestly fueled his anger and hurtful behavior. Not longer her father died, her brother Nathan—one of her four siblings—was killed in a car crash. “I’m not crazy. But it’s a crazy life. I was raised in a crazy family and it took 31 years to get the crazy out of me,” Heche told Walters. In an effort to escape the past, “I drank. I smoked. I did drugs. I had sex with people. I did anything I could to get the shame out of my life.”
News and Public Affairs’ campaigns on the #24OrasChallenge. The voters’ education campaign followed suit as the first of
THE GMAmulti-awardednewsmagazine Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.
Various GMA Network accounts, artists among TikTok Awards PHL nominees
YOUNG directors GB Sampedro and Rain Yamson have unique interesting features and distinct personalities to be “on cam” talents, but they chose to be behind the cameras and create their respective impressions of art and outputs of cinema.GBSampedro is on a roll these days. After his much talked-about series High on Sex, which follows the sexual adventures of high-school students, now comes his new movie Purificacion, which has also found widespread favor when it started streaming recently. Sampedro directed both of these chartbusters for Vivamax, and more projects are being entrusted to him and his Five 2 Seven Entertainment company by his many clients. “It just feels good that after an almost two-year pause, production work is back on track. More and more people are beginning to go back to the jobs they love and have been trained for, and it is definitely a good sign that work for many has resumed,” he said during a recent chat. Although most of his projects with Vivamax delve on sexual themes, Sampedro clarifies that he will only take on a project if the material excites him. “As a filmmaker, I need to be able to creatively visualize my output during the early stages of material development. If a concept or the script doesn’t excite me, then I won’t force myself to do it just for the sake of my take-home pay.” At 46, Sampedro has had his share of awards. He had won the Cinemalaya Best Director trophy in 2009 for the movie Astig, which also got recognition at the Busan International Film Festival that same year. He is also a much sought-after director for live events. He will be directing the show Beks 2 Beks 2 Beks at the New Frontier Cinema on August 26 and the widely awaited Dutdutan Tattoo Festival, participated by tattoo enthusiasts from all over the world.
• Tuesday, August 16, 2022 B5 Show BusinessMirrorwww.businessmirror.com.ph
Contributing to these numbers are various News and Public Affairs’ campaigns on the platform, particularly the #eLeksyonSerye and the #24OrasChallenge. The voters’ education campaign #eLeksyonSerye raked in over 28.8 million views on the platform, while the #24OrasChallenge started a major trend and racked up over 54 million views. 24 Oras was also the first live newscast on TikTok Philippines. Unang Hirit morning program to be livestreamed on TikTok. Meanwhile, in the People’s Choice Category, GMA artists Kyline Alcantara, Althea Ablan, Cassy Legaspi, and Dasuri Choi are some of the contenders for Celebrity of the Year. GMA girl group XOXO has also been nominated for the PPOP Group of the Year. XOXO is composed of Riel Lomadilla, Dani Ozaraga, Mel Caluag and Lyra Micolob. The TikTok Awards PHL will be streamed live on the platformsocial-mediaonAugust 20 at 7 pm.
S AVOY Hotel Manila and Belmont Hotel Manila have officially launched a heartwarming campaign that establishes its commitment to be the ‘home away from home’ for Filipino migrant‘’Belmontworkers.Hotel Manila and Savoy Hotel Manila have long been home to local and international travelers that require accommodation for business or leisure. This, of course, has always included Filipino migrant workers. We have always served them and will continue do so. ‘Home for Every Filipino’ is sort of a love letter to them. Not only do we commit to providing convenience and well-appointed facilities but most importantly a thoughtful Filipino hotel experience that they will always remember. From service, food to amenities, we endeavor to give them a memorable stay,” says Savoy Hotel Manila and Belmont Hotel Manila, Area Director of Sales and Marketing, Loleth So.
The two Megaworld Hotels & Resorts (MHR) properties are local city hotels located in the progressive Newport World Resorts across the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, often serving as gateways to warm reunions and homecomings. But more than their proximity to Terminal 3 they have proven their consistency in service excellence and in delivering Filipino hospitality. Both hotels have reaped international awards as well as high ratings from actual travelers and OTA review sites which are clear testaments of their passion to serve. Filipino migrant workers who wish to stay at either Savoy Hotel Manila or Belmont Hotel Manila can soon expect a special room package that is created for their needs. As homegrown brands, both hotels take pride in serving elevated signature Filipino dishes and warm hospitality that will be much experienced during their stay.
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To officially introduce the ‘Home for Every Filipino’ campaign, an intimate media launch was held recently at Savoy Hotel Manila’s Connect Lounge. Department of Tourism NCR Regional Director, Sharlene Batin, graced the event as the Guest of Honor and delivered an inspiring opening message that honors the sacrifice of our Filipino “kababayans” abroad, “I believe that DOT and hotel industry have been successful in the past two years in giving a home to our fellow Filipinos. While we dream of keeping our people closer to home, closer to us and their family & friends, we cannot keep them as much as we want to. We cannot hinder them in finding greener pastures and we can only wish them well and success. Meanwhile, the challenge for us is to make a steady and fast recovery to make it work for our collective advantage. Let us keep the momentum going for tourism and stay on top of the game” Local talents, Jino Labatigan, a violin artist and winner of Eat Bulaga’s ‘Music Hero’ and RJ Jimenez ,singer-songwriter and all around music producer, set the tone for the event with their respective heartwarming renditions of OPM hits to serenade our media guests. With this campaign, Filipinos living and working abroad can experience the warm hospitality which they truly deserve within the comforts of two homegrown hotels they can call their “home”. To know more about Savoy and Belmont Hotel Manila’s ‘Home for Every Filipino’ offers, visit their respective websites at www. belmonthotelmanila.com and www. savoyhotelmanila.com.
C ANON recently announced the launch of the imageRUNNER ADVANCE (iR-ADV) DX 4800i series, iR-ADV DX 6855i and imageRUNNER (iR) 2700i series, an extensive lineup of A3 monochrome laser multi-function devices (MFDs) designed to support varying hybrid workstyles and create more efficient workflows for small and medium sized companies, as well as large enterprises. The new MFDs offer businesses of all sizes the connectivity, productivity, and security benefits of Canon’s existing A3 MFD portfolio, alongside greater output capabilities.“AsFilipinos call for streamlined operations and flexible work arrangements, Canon is committed to helping businesses become more efficient by offering new features that allow them to easily connect, print, and scan whenever, wherever. With our wide range of leading technology features, advanced security, and uniFLOW Online print management solution, the updated lineup of multi-function devices is created to increase productivity in the new hybrid work environment,” said Kenichiro Kitamura, Office Imaging Products (OIP) Director of Canon Marketing (Philippines), Inc.
Highly Efficient Workflows BUILT with a smaller footprint, the iR-ADV DX 4800i series offers three different print speeds of up to 45 pages per minute (ppm) to meet varied operational needs in hybrid work environments. Expanding on the success of the iR-ADV DX 6800i series, the iR-ADV DX 6855i prints up to 55 ppm and comes with new options to support C and Z folding. In addition to swift print speeds, the MFDs provide hybrid workers with advanced scan functionality to perform inoffice scanning tasks with greater workflow flexibility and information security. The MFDs also integrate seamlessly with uniFLOW Online, a cloud-based print management solution that drives hybrid work efficiency.
Canon provides efficient hybrid workflow
Savoy Hotel Manila and Belmont Hotel Manila salute Filipino migrant workers in heartwarming campaign
Creating Productive Work Environment OFFERING quick print speeds of up to 45 ppm, the iR2700i series combines a wide range of practical features to boost productivity in the hybrid workplace. Equipped with a user-friendly 7-inch color touch panel display, the MFDs provide excellent visibility and easy navigation through various intuitive touch operations. The iR2700i series comes with McAfee Embedded Control, a standard security feature that effectively blocks the execution of unauthorized applications, and prevents tampering of existing firmware to better protect businesses against malicious attacks. The new MFD models are also compatible with Canon’s highly touted PosterArtist software that enables users to intuitively create stylish posters, banners, flyers, and other print collateral with its new UI/UX design. Business owners or staff can use the Auto Design templates, texts, and images to customize materials for multiple work requirements such as posters, banners, menu, calendar, banners and more.
EPARTMENT of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco eyes bringing improvements to the country’s air and seaports to encapsulate the “Filipino Brand” and give tourists a good first and last impression when they visit The Philippines. In a meeting with Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime J. Bautista recently, the tourism chief noted that as the primary gateway to the country, airports and seaports play an integral role in the overall tourist experience and the tourism value chain. “Aside from improving convenience to travelers and tourists, the DOT also looks at putting a ‘Filipino Brand’ to our ports, a good image of the Philippines that would remain in the memories of visitors to the country before touring different destinations in the Philippines and long after they have left,” Sec. Frasco said. Some of the DOT’s recommended enhancements include the installation of signages that will have a uniform look in all air and seaports, as well as the use of lighting, backdrop, and furniture that will distinctly reflect the “Filipino Brand”. Frasco noted that the DOT wants "the experience to be positive for all senses” and that there will also be interactive displays that will feature various artists and artisans to make the airport experience extraordinary and experiential for “Traditionally,travelers.the Department of Tourism has been involved in the promotion and marketing purely and mostly in ads but this time around we wanted a tacit manifestation of our brand as the Philippines because this is what the President very clearly said in his SONA, that he wants us to promote the Filipino brand to the world. This is something we would like to herald in the Philippines beginning with our pride, and our culture, our heritage, our identity as Filipinos. And that is why the elements of the aesthetic improvements that we wish to introduce are all made in
DOT eyes visitor-friendly, “distinctly Filipino” air, seaports in the Philippines the Philippines and distinctively Filipino,” enthused the DOT chief. The DOT is also pushing for a passenger experience that is stress-free with more efficient service and reduced passenger waiting time. DOT recommends a One-StopShop for land, air, and sea connectivity with provision for digitalized service to facilitate efficiency. The Department also committed a tourism assistance desk with trained personnel to facilitate visitors’ concerns. Frasco likewise underscored the need to provide appropriate features and facilities in gateways and transport hubs for persons with disabilities (PWDs) as part of the Department’s advocacy for Barrier Free Tourism. Availability of wheelchairs, elevators with PWD-friendly features, clearly designated PWD parking slots, and check-in counters with low and recessed or split-level counters that can accommodate persons seated on wheelchairs were among the proposals of the DOT. “While we understand that introducing major infrastructure changes to the existing airports and seaports is something that cannot be done in the short-term, in answer to the call of the President to improve the overall tourist experience, we have identified ways where we can introduce enhancements that do not necessarily entail long-term actions,” the tourism chief added. For the airport and seaport enhancement program, the DOT recommends the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 (NAIA-T2), Davao International Airport (DVO), and Cebu City Pier 1 as pilot projects. The program, to be led by the DOT with the support of the DOTr, will be a joint partnership between the two agencies. During the meeting, Transportation Secretary Bautista agreed to the DOT’s proposal to create a Technical Working Group (TWG) that would oversee a smooth and comprehensive facilitation of the enhancement program.
PosterArtist QR Code AS an all-in-one business solutions provider, Canon remains guided by its values of creativity, efficiency, productivity, and security. The latest A3 monochrome multi-function devices provide seamless and productive hybrid working in the new normal for businesses of all sizes. The latest iR-ADV DX 4800i series, iR-ADV DX 6855i and iR2700i series will be available at authorized Canon distributors and dealers in August 2022. To know more, follow Canon Philippines (@canonphils) on Facebook and Instagram or email customer_assistance@canon.com.ph.
GCASH, the leading e-wallet app in the country, has partnered with major entertainment content platforms, including Spotify, Netflix, Viu, and Apple to provide every Filipino access to the most streamed content. As the most convenient payment option to a variety of streaming platforms, GCash enables everyone to finally enjoy their favorite shows, artists, songs, and movies worldwide – even if they don’t have a creditGCashcard. partnered with Indie Manila to deliver a good live music experience with #GToChill: A Night to Unwind. Content creators and GCash users were treated to live musical performances from the country’s upand-coming and rising Spotify artists while enjoying free-flowing drinks and food, all hosted by long-time GCash content creator JoaodiaConstancia.matéopened the night with her songs Faded and Fantasy while singer-songwriter Elise Huang, brought the audience to a chill mood with her live rendition of Lonely, Blind and Call Me What You Want. Rising indiepop icon fern. charmed the crowd with his rendition of Whatever This Is, Faith and Lost. Closing the night is One Click Straight with hits Velvet, Paraiso, and She, along with the newest single Hahayaan. GCash and Indie Manila also partnered with Tomorrow Label and Strange Mercy to create limited edition merchandise you can wear when you’re #GToChill wherever you go. Tote bags and t-shirts can be ordered through Indie Manila website: https://indiemanila. live/ and Tomorrow Label website: https:// tomorrowlabel.com/ and can be checked out throughCheckingGCash.out new releases or wanting to expand your music discovery? GCash is a safe and hassle-free way of paying for your Spotify Premium to replay your favorite G to Chill? GCash offers access to major entertainment content platforms
NATURAL EUROPE. The EU-financed campaign NATURAL EUROPE is a great B2B Event & Presentation that took place on August 5, 2022, at TCEV club house facilities at Mahogany Avenue along Marcos Highway, Lower MayamotLower Antipolo. The participants, DELCOF S.A from Greece and the Panagrotikos Farmers Union of Cyprus both leaders in food industry in their countries, had the opportunity to learn more about the program products to develop further business collaborations. Natural Europe campaign aims to promote the delicious canned peaches from Greece and extra virgin olive oil and fruit juices from Cyprus, in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Philippines. To learn more, http://www.naturaleurope.eu/ and social media sites: https://www.facebook.com/naturaleuropeeu and https://www.instagram.com/naturaleuropeeu/
AT THE DOT AND DOTR MEETING, FROM LEFT: Capt Manuel Antonio L Tamayo DG, CAAP; Usec Elmer Sarmiento, Usec. for Maritime; DOT Usec. Shalimar Tamano; DOTr Sec. Jaime J. Bautista; DOT Sec. Christina Garcia Frasco; DOT Usec. Shereen Pamintuan; Cesar Chong, GM MIAA; Usec. Roberto O. Lim, Usec for Aviation and Airports; DOT Asec. Verna Buensuceso; and DOT Asec. Rica Bueno.
“I think our experience working with airlines and now working with government will now allow us to solve the problems and the issues and working with the Department of Tourism we can better improve the experience of our tourists. I am very happy we started this conversation and I agree that we need to further discuss the details of the project, let’s organize a working group. This is a very good collaboration between the DOT and the Department of Transportation. Let’s make it happen,” said Bautista. In addition to its recommendation to reinstate identified domestic and international flights, the DOT also proposes to strengthen its partnership with the DOTr on the aspect of air and sea routes development.
JOAO shares the stage with Zo Canaria, GCash Head of Growth Marketing for Ecommerce Usage songs and discover new ones. Beyond music, GCash can also be used to pay for entertainment streaming platforms. No need to miss out on the latest series, K-Drama or movie online because you can now pay with GCash for your subscriptions on your favorite streaming platforms such as Netflix for as low as P149. Now you can use GCash to pay for almost everything! With GCash being available in 139,000+ merchants in-store and online, not only will you find shopping more convenient, but also more rewarding with exclusive promos and flash deals that GCash has to offer. Kids and teens can also have the opportunity to kick-start their digital financial journey. Ready, Set, G with GCash Jr. The time to finally achieve financial freedom also means getting easier access to watch their favorite shows and non-stop listening to music when they pay with GCash. Whatever your kind of fun, and wherever you want to unwind, you’ll always be #GToChill with GCash, available on the App Store and Google Play.
By Nick Perry The Associated Press W HANGANUI, New Zea land—The Whanganui River is surging into the ocean, fattened from days of winter rain and yellowed from the earth and clay that has collapsed into its sides. Logs and debris hurtle past as dusk Sixty-one-year-oldlooms.Tahi Nepia is calmly paddling his outrigger canoe, called a waka ama in his Indigenous Māori language, as it is buffeted from side to side. Before venturing out, he makes sure to first ask permis sion from his ancestors in a prayer, or karakia. It’s the top item on his safety list. He says his ancestors inhabit the river and each time he dips his paddle into the water he touches them. “You are giving them a mihi mihi, you are giving them a mas sage,” Nepia says. “That’s how we see that river. It’s a part of us.”
Groundbreaking law IN 2017, New Zealand passed a groundbreaking law granting personhood status to the Whan ganui River. The law declares that the river is a living whole, from the mountains to the sea, incorporating all its physical and metaphysical elements. The law was part of a settlement with the Whanganui Iwi, compris ing Māori from a number of tribes who have long viewed the river as a living force. The novel legal ap proach set a precedent that has been followed by some other coun tries including Bangladesh, which in 2019 granted all its rivers the same rights as people. In June, five years after the New Zealand law was passed, The Associated Press followed the 290-kilometer (180-mile) river upstream to find out what its sta tus means to those whose lives are entwined with its waters. For many, its enhanced standing has come to reflect a wider rebirth of Māori culture and a chance to re verse generations of discrimina tion against Māori and degrada tion of the Whanganuiriver.Māori have a say ing: Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au: I am the river, and the river is me. Nepia, a caretaker at a Māori im mersion school, is among a group of expert waka ama paddlers who have been training for the World Sprint Champs that are currently taking place in Britain. He was due to compete in the over-60 age group both solo and as part of a crew of Nepiasix.learned how to swim on the river when his uncle threw him in at age 8. Roll on your back and float with the current, his uncle told him, and Nepia did, grind ing to a stop where the water ran shallow over the stones beneath. “You get back up, jump off the bank and float down again. That’s how it was,” he says. He first paddled on the river in a traditional Māori long canoe in 1979, when he and about 20 of his buddies at the slaughterhouse where they worked got together for a regatta celebrating Waitangi Day, which commemorates the 1840 treaty signed between the British andConsideredMāori.
Albert has been involved in an other, much bigger river project, a refurbishment of two wharves and other improvements at the Whanganui Port costing about 50 million New Zealand dollars, or $31 Thismillion.timethe tribe is leading the project with the Whanganui District Council and others work ing with them. The council has said all decision-making will be guided by the river’s legally enshrined value system, and has pledged “to work collaboratively for the river’s benefit.”Before personhood, Albert says, the tribe constantly had to make the case for protecting the river before an ever-changing cast of local councilors and politi cians in the capital, Wellington. The people who made the rules, he says, were the planners, the lawyers and the businessfolk. Now, he says, the tribe is more able to act like the native New Zea land pigeon, or kererū, which likes to perch contentedly after gorg ing on berries instead of scratch ing around for crumbs. Now it’s the rule-makers who are legally obliged to come to the tribe and the community with their plans and to prioritize the health of the river. Such treaty settlements have generally been supported by both conservative and liberal lawmak ers, seen as a way to redress co lonial wrongdoings and improve outcomes for Māori, who long have lagged behind in economic, social and health statistics. The Whanganui River settle ment, which also included about NZ$80 million ($50 million) in fi nancial redress and millions more for the river’s future health, was championed by conservative law maker Chris Finlayson and passed in a voice vote without objection. But more recently, some voices are saying change risks going too far. Many conservative lawmak ers oppose proposals like renam ing New Zealand with its Māori name, Aotearoa, or granting Māori co-governance over the nation’s waterAlbertinfrastructure.saysnational politics is by nature adversarial, but that’s just another construct and it doesn’t need to be that way on the river. His latest project is work ing as part of a group of 17 stake holder organizations to chart the river’s“Thisfuture.istruly about giving pow er back to the community,” he says. Focus on river’s health TO follow the river as it wends inland, motorists turn off State Highway 4 and take the hilly and narrow Whanganui River Road.
BusinessMirror Tuesday, August 16, 2022 World Features www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso B7
THE Whanganui River winds through the town of Whanganui, New Zealand, on June 15, 2022. In 2017, New Zealand passed a groundbreaking law granting personhood status to the river. The law declares that the river is a living whole, from the mountains to the sea, incorporating all its physical and metaphysical elements. AP/BRETT PHIBBS
Nothing much seems to have changed here since 75 years ago, when rural towns and farms were ascendant in New Zealand. At the Rivertime Lodge, where cyclists and walkers stay in sim ple cabins or pitch tents on the riverbank during the summer, manager Frances Marshall is put tering about in fluffy orange slip pers. She prefers the feel of the soil beneath her bare feet most of the time but makes concessions on colder winter days. On her chin, Marshall wears a traditional Māori tattoo, a moko kauae. She considers it an integral part of her spiritual being and her connection to the river. Although her nephew did the tattooing just a few months ago, on Marshall’s 61st birthday, she feels like it has been a part of her for much longer. “It’s hard to describe. It’s like this person inside you wanting to get out,” says Marshall. Marshall has been around the river all her life. Her father and grandfather were of British de scent and were one of the last fami lies to venture into the relatively difficult terrain to clear brush for farming and breeding sheep. She remembers horseback rid ing along the river at age 5. Some days she’d help her mother take lunch to the sheep shearers and would watch in fascination as the men deftly threw a whole fleece across a table and plucked out the rough wool before rolling it and putting it into a press. Marshall says that in addition to the erosion, there have been problems in the past with people dumping stolen cars and trash into the river. Now, with an increased focus on the river’s health, land owners and tribes are replanting the hills to reduce further erosion and restore the natural habitat her own family once cleared. Around the lodge, Marshall has been planting flax bushes and na tive trees like the distinctive, yel low-blossomed kōwhai. Across the road, her brother planted 10,000 native manuka trees, which he plans to turn into a honey farm. Marshall was elated when the river, or awa, was recognized. “Over the years, our awa, she’s been sick,” Marshall says. “And so that happening, for a lot of us, means that things can be done now to help heal her.”
New Zealand river’s personhood status offers hope to the Māori
the nation’s found ing document, the Treaty of Wait angi has long been a source of con tention. For the past 30 years, New Zealand’s government has been negotiating with tribes that have brought grievances under the trea ty, which guaranteed sovereignty over their traditional lands and fisheries. The Whanganui River deal is among dozens of settle ments forged in recent years. At its mouth in the town of Whanganui, the river is perma nently discolored these days from the erosion that has come from turning what was once forest along the banks into farmland. The ex cessive sediment suffocates fish and plant life. The remains of weirs that Māori once built to fish for eel-like lamprey can still be seen, but the lamprey are gone. “It’s the raping of the land. It’s simple. We need a reality check. We need to grow trees instead of chopping them down,” Nepia says. “The water shouldn’t be like that.”
River’s biggest problem GRANT Cooper is land and part nerships manager at Horizons Re gional Council, which has worked for 18 years with farmers along the river on reversing erosion and other improvements. They include f encing off streams to contain cattle and sheep waste, which increases the levels of unwanted nitrates and bacteria. It’s a balance, Cooper acknowl edges, because farmers still need to make money. One solution has been to convert dairy and sheep farms into forests for harvesting, usually pine, redwood or manuka trees. Planting trees can reduce soil erosion into the river by 90 per cent, Cooper says, although it does leave land vulnerable for several years between the time a stand of trees is felled and when new seed lings take Councilhold.figures show about 51 percent of the land around the river is currently native forest. About 31 percent is used for graz ing livestock, 8 percent for com mercial forestry and the rest for otherTheuses.council’s water-quality monitoring shows that suspended sediment is the river’s single big gest problem, followed by nitrate toxicity.Mike Cranstone, president of the local chapter of the lobby group Federated Farmers, acknowledges that decades-ago clearing led to erosion and silting. But he says blaming multigenerational farm ing families for all the river’s prob lems is not overly helpful. “Most farmers’ ambition is to improve the land and leave the land in a better state for their next generation,” Cranstone says. Fish and game FARTHER inland, through the Whanganui National Park, the river winds through forest. Gone are the farms, and the water runs cleaner. Tourists ride jetboats or paddle canoes to the famed “Bridge to Nowhere,” built across the river in 1936 to provide access to farm land given to soldiers after World War I. But the soil wasn’t suitable and the last farmers walked away in 1942, and the concrete arched span stands eerily alone today after decades of forest regrowth. As the river loops toward Ton gariro National Park, it becomes all but inaccessible due to dense forest and ravines—but not for Adam Daniel, a scientist and ad venturer, a kind of Indiana Jones of the river. At the end of a remote road, he straps into the four-seater off-road buggy he’s been towing and speeds off along an impos sibly narrow track, careening over downed trees, up banks and throughOriginallystreams.from Washington state, where he studied Columbia River dams’ impact on salmon, Daniel now monitors the Whan ganui and dozens of other rivers for Fish & Game New Zealand, which collects license fees from hunters and anglers to safeguard theWorkhabitat.often merges with play for Daniel, 48, who likes nothing more than to bring along fly-fishing gear and cast a line. “It’s our best backcountry river, and it has amazing trout fishing, great scenery, and I personally come here and do a lot of hunting as well,” he says. But go downstream just 40 kilometers (25 miles), and the trout and other fish can’t survive because it’s too muddied and too warm in the summer, he says.
Ancestral settlement A HALF-HOUR drive inland from the mouth, Gerrard Albert points to the bucolic riverbank spot where his people live, an ancestral settle ment that was never sold and is home to about 120. He says the river and the sur rounding lands have their own authority, or mana. “They dictate the terms for hu man use and occupation,” he says. “And for too long, we’ve assumed it’s been the other way around.” Albert, 54, was the lead nego tiator for Whanganui Māori in getting the river’s personhood recognized by lawmakers after his tribe battled for the river’s rights for over 140 years. Albert says the status is a legal fiction, a construct more common ly used to give something like a corporation legal standing. While the law states that the river enjoys the same rights, pow ers, duties and liabilities of any other person, there are limita tions. For instance, Albert points out, the river can’t be sued if some body drowns in its waters in the way a homeowner might be sued for not fencing a pool. But Albert also sees it as an op portunity for a permanent shift in thinking.“Thisisa political rearrange ment of values,” he says. “This is Indigenous rights. Indigenous people leading toward better change for everybody.” So what has personhood, or Te Awa Tupua, meant in practi cal terms? Albert points to one example.Afterthe law passed, he says, the local council assumed it was business as usual when they tried to build a bridge across the river for cyclists and pedestrians. They hadn’t considered they now needed to consult first with the tribe and theAscommunity.aresultthe bridge structure ended up sitting in a field during two years of delays before it was finally dropped into place and opened in 2020. Albert says the hapū—the affected tribal clan— and the community pushed for im provements like protected fishing areas, speed limits on nearby roads and the addition of restrooms. “These are small things, and the hapū didn’t really have a problem with the bridge going across. They had a problem with the process in the lead-up,” Albert says. “Now the expectation is that the process will never happen in that way again.”
Daniel’s monitoring has found more sediment even in the river’s upper reaches than in nearby wa terways. Forestry, four-wheeldrive trails and other human impacts are factors, but there’s something else as well. Near the Whanganui’s source, Daniel points out where a power company is sucking out water as part of the Tongariro Power Scheme. Built about 50 years ago, the scheme draws from some 36 area rivers and streams to gener ate electricity and deposits most of it into a lake. The water from this particular intake isn’t always used directly for generation but sometimes to cool a manmade lake that’s part of the scheme, Daniel says. When the wa ter is returned to the river, it can come back warmer and muddier. Last year 81 percent of New Zealand’s electricity came from renewable sources, thanks in large part to this and other big hydro schemes. It’s a positive story the government likes to tout, but today such projects would be unlikely to get regulatory approval because of their environmental toll. Genesis Energy, which owns the Tongariro Power Scheme, says it draws on average 20 percent of the Whanganui’s flow from sev eral intakes to power over 30,000 households.Chiefoperations officer Re becca Larkin says Genesis tries to mitigate the environmental im pact, avoiding taking water from certain areas and implementing weekslong “zero water-take peri ods” each year when the river is low and warmer. She notes the com pany is among the groups working alongside Albert on stewardship of the river. But Daniel says water is taken for cooling even when Genesis pauses removal for electricity gen eration. He and others hope the company will be forced to make major improvements—or leave the river entirely—when its regula tory license for the power scheme expires in 2039. Daniel had mixed feelings at first about the river being declared a living being. “As a scientist I always try to rely on rules and regulations to protect a river. So the personhood status was a real foreign concept to me,” Daniel says. “But what it has done is attract a lot of attention to the river, which has been really helpful in highlighting the issues.” “I’m certainly coming around to it,” he adds. “I’m hoping that it really will turn the tide and help save the river.”
CASTRO GETS THINGS –COACHDONECHOT Sports
C limate change will continue to have an unfortunate impact on event schedules, and athletes’ health and wellness.Apaper published on www.un.org says “In a cyclical manner, the sport sector is impacted by the consequences of rising temperatures. Heavier precipitations, higher sea levels, and the increase in the number of extreme weather events are having disruptive consequences on sport.” In addition to all of its other dangers, climate change poses a serious threat to sports. The 2020 Australian Open had to stop play due to excessive smoke from brush fires. Cricket, the world’s second most popular sport, had to deal with record-breaking heat on the Indian subcontinent this spring,” from news.wosu.org O ne organization that has factored in climate change into its business model are the National Hockey League’s Seattle Kraken. T he name of the home ice of the Seattle Kraken is the “Climate Pledge Arena.” It is the first zero-carbon arena in the world and is powered exclusively by renewable energy including both on-site and offsite solar, instead of the widespread standard use of natural gas found in other arenas.
for contribution
By Josef Ramos JAYSON CASTRO and his TNT Tropang Giga head Coach Chot Reyes have been through joy and pain, building not only the TNT franchise’s title runs in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) but also in the national team. Now that TNT is returning to the Philippine Cup Finals after eliminating Magnolia last Sunday in Game 6, 87-74, of their series, the flamboyant 36-year-old combo guard has nothing but praises and gratitude for Reyes. “It’s really great to feel and see my career as a basketball player bloom under his mentorship since he drafted me as a rookie,” said Castro, a member of the 2008 rookie draft where Reyes made a stunning move by trading Anthony Jay Washington to San Miguel Beer to get the third overall pick before tabbing Castro. “I really need to pay his trust back,” Castro, known in the league as “The Blur,” said. “He’s my mentor so I really need to play my best during games.” Reyes and Castro have won five PBA titles since 2008— they’re now hoping to make it sixth together. Overall, the Tropang Giga have a 22 finals appearances and are hoping to tie Toyota’s nine PBA crowns. For Reyes, he cannot say anything more about Castro— not only as a great player but a true leader. “He is a true mark of a leader,” Reyes said of the former Philippine Christian University point guard who averaged 16.3 points, 4.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds in six games in the semifinals. “It’s the positive leadership we built throughout the years, it’s contagious.” “I can give him a sermon inside the court and that’s fine with him,” Reyes added. Reyes, Castro and the rest of the Tropang Giga will face either San Miguel Beer or Meralco in the best-of-seven Finals. The Bolts extended their series with a 96-92 escape in Game 6 on Sunday night. “It’s very big for us. As you can see, we’ve got a lot of players who are banged-up. So that extra break would really come in handy,” said Reyes, adding that he’s expecting Mikey Williams, Roger Pogoy, Kelly Williams, JP Erram, Troy Rosario and Castro to recover 100 percent for the Finals. “Not only to rest but also to prepare. I haven’t really taken a look at the other series. I caught glimpses, here and there, but now at least, we can take a look,” Reyes added. After nine years outside the PBA, Reyes returned to coach TNT anew in 2021 and didn’t disappoint. He steered the franchise to the Philippine Cup with Castro also at the helm in the Bacolor bubble in Pampanga.
JAYSON especiallyproduction—andCASTRO’Smosthisleadership—isdoingwondersforTNT.
Explosive launch for Penong 5150 Davao
B8 Tuesday augusT 16, 2022 Editor:mirror_sports@yahoo.com.phJunLomibao INTENSITY
T HE Penong’s 5150 Davao gears up for an explosive launch on September 4 in a test of endurance and mental limits on a challenging course in Tagum City, Davao del Norte. C lose to 500 entries make up the initial roster of the 1.5-km swim, 40-km bike and 10-km run event marking the organizing Ironman Group/Sunrise Events Inc.’s first race in Mindanao after the pandemic. The Penong’s 5150 was originally slated to take off in 2020 but was put on hold, along with a couple of top Ironman races, due to lockdowns. B ut with Covid-19 on the wane, the ever-growing multi-sport has flourished the last few months with the successful staging of the full Ironman in Subic last March, the Sun Life 5150 Bohol last month and the Ironman 70.3 Philippines in Cebu two weeks ago. The tri-sport’s return to Cebu also featured the Ironkids. We have been coordinating with the local government to ensure the safe conduct of the event. With the success of our past races, we can guarantee another smooth and trouble-free staging of this short course race set over the premier Olympic distance,” said Princess Galura, general manager of The Ironman Group/Sunrise Events Inc.
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T he National Atmospheric Administration projects that sea levels will go up by 2.5 meters. Rising sea levels will make hurricanes and tsunamis more intense in the coming years. E xtreme weather changes may lead to scheduling adjustments, postponements and possible cancellations of sports events be it indoor or outdoor. A step towards the direction of factoring climate change into the business model of sports organisations is to be a signatory of the UN’s Sports Climate Action Framework. W hat is the UN’s Sports Climate Action Framework? From the aforementioned article, “Encourages sports organizations to agree to a set of principles that will make them climate leaders.”
BusinessMirror
Cool Smashers looking steps ahead, eye Reinforced title for PVL sweep C REAMLINE is already setting its sights on what could be the crowning jewel to a first “grand slam” in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL)—the Reinforced Conference that’s two months away. A nd with the system in place, coach Sherwin Meneses can’t help but lookActually,ahead. it’s a continuous system. The longer the system goes, the more it is improved,” said Meneses after steering the Cool Smashers to a straight-set (25-21, 25-19, 25-8) victory over KingWhale-Taipei (KWT) in their winner-take-all match for the Invitational Conference crown at the SM Mall of Asia Arena last Sunday.That should make the Open Conference champions stronger and fiercer when the season-ending Reinforced Conference fires off on October 8. “ You can’t work out a system in one or two years. so, it’s a continuing process and there’s a lot of work to do,” said Meneses while stressing the need for his wards to stay healthy. “Of course, if we are healthy, the job becomes a lot easier.”
FIDE honors chief Tolentino to world chess
ORMER world title challenger Jeo Santisima broke the hearts of the Japanese fans after posting a fifth-round technical knockout win over veteran Hiroshige Osawa in a non-title featherweight bout on Sunday night at the Edion Arena in Osaka. Santisima’s victory snapped a 30-fight losing streak for Filipinos who fought Japanese opponents in their home ring. A fter being battered by foreign rivals the last time, the 26-year-old warrior from Masbate City rekindled his world title bid by pummeling his 37-year-old opponent’s body to bring him down in the third round. A nother left hook onto the body in the fifth forced the referee to stop the fight to avoid further damage on the Japanese.Ireallyneeded this win, I want to prove to everyone that I’m not done yet,” Santisima told BusinessMirror via Internet call from Japan. “I’m coming for those who beat me before. This is a big win for me.” If opportunity comes, I’ll have my revenge soon against Gonzalez and Emmanuel Navarette,” he said. Santisima lost to American Joet Gonzales via a controversial ninthround technical knockout decision last March 4 in Fresno, California. “I was surprised when the referee stopped that fight. I wasn’t badly hurt,” he said. “If our path crosses again, I will make sure to knock him out.” He took an 11th-round knockout loss to World Boxing Organization super bantamweight champion Emmanuel Navarrete in February 22, 2020, in Las Vegas. Santisima, fighting for Sanman Promotions and represented by ZIP, improved his win-loss record to 22 against four losses with 19 knockouts.Osawadropped to a 37-6-4 winloss-draw record with 21 knockouts. Josef Ramos Tamaraws end elims with win against Bombers
Climate change and sports
T HE International Chess Federation (FIDE) conferred Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino as Honorary Member during its congress concurrent with the 44th Chess Olympiad recently in Chennai, India. Tolentino, president of both the Philippine Olympic Committee and PhilCycling, was accorded the FIDE recgnition for his “special contribution to the world of chess.” It is the highest honor given by FIDE General Assembly, one of the largest international sports organizations with 195 membernations.It’san honor to be conferred such award from the FIDE, but this honor is not for me personally, but for Philippine chess, Philippine sports and the entire country in general,” Tolentino said. “It was also an honor to have served the FIDE, one of the international federations with the most number of member-countries.” Tolentino served as FIDE general secretary during his term as president of the FIDE Southeast Asian Zone. He was a long serving general secretary of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines having yielded the post “to give way to young blood” during the national sports association’s recent elections. FIDE recognized his service and accomplishment as head of the POC as well his presidecy of the SEA Games Federation when the country hosted the games’ 30th edition in 2019. Tolentino is a three-term congressman from the Eighth District of Cavite and is currently the mayor of Tagaytay City. He was the Grand Master of the Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines in 2017. The other FIDE awardees are Prof. Kurt Jungwirth of Austria, European Chess Union President from 1990 to 1998; Jorge Vega of Mexico, American Confederation cresident from 2002 to 2022; and Grandmasters Vlastimil Hort of Germany and Slim Bouaziz of Tunisia.
W ith the next tournament to feature imports, Meneses pointed out the need to tap a reliable and explosive reinforcement although he could conveniently rely on his deep and intact local bench that continues to get better and stronger each passing conference. It is very important to get a good import because almost 50 percent, she’ll deliver the points,” Meneses said. “We already have one and we’re trying to bring her in early to practice with the team.” He, however, wouldn’t disclose which position their import would play and how she would fit in in a team teeming with talent. But one thing is sure though, Creamline will still rely on its vaunted attacking game anchored on heavyhitters Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza and Alyssa Valdez while expecting to raise the level of their floor defense following their two-game matchup, including their five-set loss in the semis, with the young but talented Taiwanese.Strikehard the Cool Smashers did as back-to-back conference MVP Carlos and Galanza combined for 23 of the team’s 43 attack points, 13 more than the KWT side. H e also took notice of his wards’ never-say-die attitude, citing Michelle Gumabao and Kyle Negrito’s breakout games while coming off the bench. Gumabao scored four points and provided the spunk in their stirring second set rally from way down while Negrito came through with a slew of digs that had led to a series of Creamline’s attacks and helped overturn a huge deficit into a resounding triumph. The Taiwanese never recovered from that meltdown and played listlessly and disorganized in the third that set the stage for the Cool Smashers’ romp to a second straight pro championship and the franchise’s fifth in the league organized by Sports Vision. The one-game title duel also produced a new star in Ced Domingo, who finished with 11 points, highlighted by four blocks, in a stint that netted her the Finals MVP honors. He also commended Valdez for delivering the game expected of her despite being bothered by an ankle sprain, but Meneses reserved his last remark on Carlos. She deserved to be the MVP again since she worked hard for that,” he said.
POC
inforRedemptionSantisimaOsakafight
FAR Eastern University (FEU) ended the elimination round of the 2022 Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup on a winning streak after dropping a 34-point hammer on Jose Rizal University (JRU), 76-42, Monday inside San Juan’s Filoil EcoOil Centre. Xyrus Torres was the lone Tamaraw in double-digits with 11 points, including the triple that detonated an 11-1 blast to blow up a one-point edge to a 19-8 advantage late in the first quarter. FEU’s double-digit lead remained until the final buzzer. The Tamaraws handcuffed the Heavy Bombers to 19.7 percent shooting from the field, while also forcing 20 turnovers that they turned into 24 points. “All of us are happy with the win, and the way we played, more importantly,” said head coach Olsen Racela whose wards improved to 4-3 won-lost in Group B. Patrick Sleat also added nine points while Chiolo Anonuevo had three points and six rebounds in his first game back from a right foot injury that derailed his University Athletic Association rookie year. The Tamaraws now await the results of the remaining assignments of Lyceum of the Philippines University (4-1), Colegio de San Juan de Letran (2-2), San Sebastian College-Recoletos (2-2), and San Beda University (1-3). J RU, winless in four games, recorded the lowest scoring output in the Atournament.rellanoUniversity entered the winners’ circle courtesy of a victory via forfeiture opposite Mapua University. Romania’s Simona Halep packs intensity in her two-fisted backhand return on her way to beating Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, in the final of the National Bank Open in Toronto, on Sunday. AP THE Creamline Cool Smashers are dominating the Premier Volleyball League. With the champions are Premier Volleyball League president Ricky Palou (right) and commissioner Tony Boy Liao (left) and Mico Halili, head of Cignal Sports Content.
YOU don’t usually hear climate change said or written in the same sentence nor mentioned in the same breath unless it’s a cause for alarm because it’s making an environmental impact on soccer fields, baseball diamonds, football pitches, cricket grounds and other areas where outdoor sports are played. It is imperative, now more than ever, for sports organizations to incorporate climate change into their business models. A ccording to brinknews.com, “For example, unprecedented bushfires in Australia caused residual smoke that drifted into Melbourne during the qualifying rounds of the 2020 Australian Open Tennis Tournament. The poor air quality forced some players to withdraw from the tournament and at least one match to be suspended.”Morefrom brinknknews.com, “A 2018 study led by the University of Waterloo concluded that ‘if global emissions of greenhouse gases are not dramatically reduced, only eight of the 21 cities that have previously hosted the Winter Olympics will be cold enough to reliably host the Games by the end of this century.’”
