BusinessMirror August 17, 2022 by BusinessMirror

Govt importationprivateoptionweighingforsugar

See “DOF,” A2 By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla THE government is open to allowing local manufactur ers to directly import sugar as a last resort to address their supply concerns of the sweetener. President Ferdinand “Bong bong” R. Marcos Jr. made the proposal during his meeting with the Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers Inc. (PCFMI) on MondayUnderevening. thesaid scheme, he said such an importation order will still need the approval of the Sugar Regulatory Administra tion (SRA) and will only be used as an “emergency measure.” Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri proposed a similar reform to combat the supposed kickbacks worth P50 to P100 per bag of sugar made by some unscrupulous gov ernment officials for the impor tation of such food commodities. Zubiri said that a companyspecific importation can prevent such illegal Currently,activity. theprices of local sugar are rising as local supply of the sweetener cannot keep up with its demand due to lower cane production and delay in import arrivals.

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T HE lockdowns imposed by the country’s trade part ners caused more damage to the country’s external trade performance than the local lock downs imposed by the national government, according to a study by World Bank economists. In a working paper, World Bank economists Guillermo Carlos Arenas and Angella Faith Montfaucon as well as University of Nairobi’s Socrates Majune said external lockdowns caused Philippine exports to suffer 7 percent monthly average declines in 2020, while imports plunged 56 percent on average monthly during the period. The data also showed that the country’s imports from coun tries that imposed lockdowns shrank by a monthly average of 56 percent in terms of value and 78 percent in terms of volume. The economists said this indi cated a drop in domestic demand and supply-side disruptions on imported inputs.

ALL SET Kindergarten pupils take part in a class simulation at Balingasa Elementary School in Quezon City on Tuesday (August 16, 2022), in preparation for the opening of classes on August 22. NONOY LACZA

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.8430 n JAPAN 0.4190 n UK 67.3467 n HK 7.1248 n CHINA 8.2419 n SINGAPORE 40.4982 n AUSTRALIA 39.2074 n EU 56.7532 n KOREA 0.0426 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8724 Source BSP (16 August 2022) A broader look at today’s business BusinessMirror See “PCFMI,” A2 See “WB,” A2 See “PSA,” A2 n Wednesday, August 17, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 313 FOREIGN INVESTMENT PLEDGES DOUBLE IN Q2 TRADE ALLIES’ LOCKDOWNS HURT PHL DEEPLY–WB

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM THE Department of Finance (DOF) proposed before the Senate the passage of key legislative measures to accelerate the country’s economic recovery and improve local government finance.Intwo separate Senate committee briefings on Tuesday, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno pushed for the passage of the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform bill which aims to broaden the tax base used for property and propertyrelated taxes of the government and promote the development of a just, equitable, and efficient real property valuation system. A priority bill of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform was one of the two remaining tax reform packages that were not passed under the Duterte administration. “Themeasure mandates the adoption of internationally accepted real property valuation standards, rationalization of the process of valuation, the establishment of a single valuation base for taxation. The bills’ urgent enactment will assist the LGUs in optimizing revenue collections which in turn will promote genuine local autonomy,” Diokno told the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, chaired by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian. Apart from the Real Property Valuation Assessment and Reform bill, Diokno also proposed the passage of the other pending tax reform package from the Duterte administration—the Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation (PIFITA). This measure is aimed at making the taxation of passive income, financial intermediaries, financial transactions, simpler, fairer, and more efficient and mandates the reduction in the number of tax rates on passive income and financial intermediaries. Moreover,Diokno said they are pushing for the passage of the measure on the imposition of value-added tax on digital goods and services, imposition of 20-percent excise tax per kilogram of single-use plastic bag, and the rationalization of the mining fiscal regime by imposing a single fiscal regime on mining agreements. Inaddition, the finance chief said they are also supporting the passage of the Military and Uniformed Personnel Pension Reform bill, Capital Market Development bill, Livestock Development and Competitiveness bill, and bills introducing amendments to the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation charter.

Diokno pitches PIFITA, reform bills to Senate

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario A SURGE in investments from The Netherlands allowed the country’s foreign pledges to more than double in the second quarter, according to the Philippine Sta tistics Authority (PSA). Investment pledges from the European country skyrocketed 2,522.32 percent to P19.04 bil lion in the second quarter in 2022, from P725.97 million in the same period in 2021. This accounted for 41.2 percent of the country’s total approved FDI in the April to June period of P46.23 billion. Total foreign in vestments surged 105.4 percent from P22.5 billion reported in the same quarter of 2021. “Foreign Direct Investments [FDI] are investments made to acquire a lasting interest by a resident entity in one economy in an enterprise resident in another economy. The purpose of the in vestor is to have a significant in fluence, an effective voice in the management of the enterprise,” PSA explained in the technical terms of its report. Apart from The Netherlands, Singapore and Japan also ac counted for 34.4 percent and 14.1 percent of foreign investments, respectively, PSA said. Singapore pledged P15.89 billion while Japan committed P6.51 billion worth of investments.Thereport is based on the ap provals made by Investment Pro motion Agencies (IPAs). For the second quarter, these IPAs were

The President, he stressed, had shown wisdom in taking the position to strike a balance between protecting consumers against rising prices of basic commodities and ensuring the viability of local industries.

CeMAP: Vigilance on sugar imports needed for cement

Cirilo Pestano, Executive Director of the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, said in a statement, “Like our peers in the sugar sector, we welcome the President’s action against the flood of imported products.” Added Pestano, “We hope that the Marcos administration would extend this policy to other local industries that are facing equal serious threats from the influx of imports.”

PHL investors FILIPINO nationals continued to dominate the approved investments during the quarter, posting P53.38 billion worth of investment pledges or 53.6 percent share. Total approved projects of foreign and Filipino investors in the second quarter of 2022 were projected to generate 19,094 employment.Outofthe total anticipated employment for the period, approved projects with foreign interest were projected to generate 12,626 employment based on the reports of IPAs.

By Andrea E. San Juan

“The move of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. to shoot down an attempt to allow sugar import should serve as a message to other industry sectors about the administration’s aversion toward ‘unusually high volume’ of importation,” Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) said in a statement on Tuesday. A local industry leader said on Sunday that the step encouraged the agriculture and other struggling domestic producers amid the unabated influx of foreign products to the country.

CeM AP had asked the Tariff Commission to impose antidumping duties against Type 1 and Type 1P cement imports from Vietnam, and to extend the safeguard measures slapped on cement imports in 2019 but which will expire in October. Supported by non-member local manufacturers, CeMAP told the Tariff Commission that despite the safeguard measures, the volume of imports increased.

A LOCAL cement manufacturer said the move of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to limit the amount of imported sugar should be applied to other local industries also facing serious threats from unabated imports.

In June, Republic Cement, another local cement firm, also decried the unabated influx of imports. Republic Cement’s Vice President for Strategy and Business Development Reinier Dizon noted that local manufacturers do not enjoy the advantages of imports, for instance, from Indonesia which has abundant coal resources; or from Vietnam where their electricity cost is subsidized— information that is based on the Philippines’s cement industry roadmap by LEK Consulting. According to CeMAP, Dizon told the Tariff Commission during the public hearings that despite constant innovation and operational improvements they made, imports coming at dumped prices caused sustained injury to his company. VicePresident for Sustainability Zoe Sibala of Holcim Philippines Inc.—also among the local cement firms affected by the influx of cement imports—disclosed at a public hearing in June that the volume of imported cement continues to increase and at lower prices at the retail level notwithstanding increases in the prices of fuel and Accordingenergy. toCeMAP, the share of imports to domestic production in terms of volume increased steadily from zero in 2013 to 5.3 million metric tons in 2019, increasing further to 6.88 MMT in 2021. Local cement manufacturers who were petitioners at the public hearings before the Tariff Commission noted that imports volume grew even if local demand for cement never outpaced domestic supply despite work stoppage caused by the pandemic. TheTariff Commission has concluded its hearings on CeMAP’s twin petitions. the Board of Investments (BOI), BOIBangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BOI-BARMM), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). “No foreign investment approvals were reported from Poro Point Management Corporation (PPMC) and Tourism Infrastructure Economic Zone Authority (TIEZA) for the second quarter of years 2021 and 2022,” the PSA said in a statement. In terms of sector, Real Estate Activities bested all other industries as it stands to receive P19.3 billion or 41.7 percent of the total FI Transportationpledges. and Storage came in second with investment commitments valued at P14.52 billion or 31.4 percent share, followed by Manufacturing with P6.15 billion or 13.3 percent FI contribution. The biggest chunk of the approved foreign investment in the second quarter of 2022 was intended to finance projects in Central Luzon amounting to P33.94 billion or 73.4 percent of the total FI. This was followed by Central Visayas with P3.94 billion or 8.5 percent and Calabarzon with P3.7 billion or 8 percent of the total. Meanwhile, approved investments of foreign and Filipino nationals reached P99.61 billion in the second quarter of 2022, or an increase of 17.4 percent compared with P84.85 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.

Currently, Marcos said there is still no need for the government to import sugar until October since there is still sufficient supply of sugar for now.

The importation, he said, may be needed to “stabilize the domestic price” of sugar. In the long term, he said he will also push to boost the local production of sugar. “We are doing all of these things to protect the jobs of workers in those industries,” Marcos said. “Our results reveal that domestic lockdown policies did not affect international trade in the Philippines; instead, exports and imports plunged due to external lockdowns,” the economists said in the paper. “Overall, the lockdown had a larger effect on imports than exports.”

BusinessMirrorWednesday, August 17, 2022 www.businessmirror.com.phA2 DOF. . . Continued from A1 WB. . . Continued from A1 PCFMI. . . Continued from A1 PSA. . . Continued from A1 Apart from the Real Property Valuation Assessment Reform bill, Diokno also presented before the Senate Committee on Local Government the DOF’s three other proposed legislative reforms to help LGUs attain fiscal sustainability. These include the proposed reforms on LGU income classification, LGU property insurance coverage, and amendments to the Local Government Code of 1991. Diokno said the proposed reform on LGU income classification will increase the thresholds for the income classification of all provinces, cities, and municipalities. Thecurrentincome classification was set in 2008 and is therefore severely outdated, according to Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) OICExecutive Director Ma. Pamela Quizon. “This bill will authorize the Secretary of Finance to set the income ranges and undertake the regular income reclassification of all provinces, cities, and municipalities once every three years, starting within six months from the effectivity of the bill,” he Onsaid. LGU property insurance, the DOF said it is seeking to widen the scope of the insurance coverage to include other events in a bid to protect the government against significant losses of scarce resources. Lastly,the DOF said they favor amending the Local Government Code of 1991 to simplify the rate structure of business tax, tax; revisiting the situs provision; assigning more revenue-productive taxes to LGUs; and providing a mechanism for administrative recourse in case of dispute related to LGU taxing power, among others. “We look forward to partnering with the Committee and its honorable members to push forward measures that will boost our LGUs’ revenue generation capacities for them to be truly fiscally resilient and sustainable,” Diokno said.

During his talk with PCFMI representatives, Marcos said the government is studying measures to increase local sugar supply to prevent disruption in operations of local manufacturers. “Hopefully, we can get some concessions with the traders so that at least the pricing will be reasonable. The concern is the supply right now. I’ll make sure that there is sufficient supply in the country so that you can operate at full capacity,” Marcos told PCFMI representatives.

The combined drop in Philippine exports of goods and services was larger than in the Asian financial crisis in 1998, at a contraction of 14.7 percent; and the global financial crisis in 2008-2009, with a decline of 11.8 percent. “While both exports and imports dropped upon imposition of the lockdown by trading partners of the Philippines, these affected import values more [over 50 percent average monthly drop] than exports [less than 10 percent drop],” the authors said in a blog post. The authors also said a number of products were the key drivers of the lackluster performance of the country in terms of exports and imports. They noted, however, that the country’s top trade partners such as China, Japan and the United States were among the major reasons for the decline in imports. In terms of commodity groups, intermediate goods, particularly Consumer Electronics, and Machinery transport equipment, were the key drivers of the drop in imports.Theauthors also stressed that Philippine exports to the country’s top 10 partners and shipments of intermediate goods were more resilient to foreign lockdowns. “In terms of measures, the impact on imports [was] driven by workplace closures, stay-at-home requirements, restrictions on internal movement, and international travel controls by trading partners. For exports, restrictions on internal movements and international travel controls in partner countries were the key driver,” the authors said in a blog post. Cai U. Ordinario

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

TRANSPORT groups failed on Tuesday to get an immedi ate relief from the Supreme Court (SC) after it held in abeyance its resolution on their plea for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) to halt the implementa tion of the controversial no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP) being implemented by several local govern ment units in Metro Manila. S C spokesman, lawyer Brian Keith Hosaka, confirmed the peti tion of four transport groups—Ki lusan sa Pagbabago ng Industriya ng Transportasyon Inc., Pangka lahatang Sangguniang Manila and Suburbs Drivers Association Nationwide, Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines, and Alliance of Concerned Transport Organiza tion—was tackled by the magis trates during their regular en banc session on Tuesday. However, the Court did not im mediately rule on the plea for the issuance of a TRO as it opted to give the respondents an opportunity to comment on the petition.

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie THE House Committee on Suf frage and Electoral Reforms on Tuesday voted to postpone the December 5, 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) to December 4, 2023. A t least 12 members of the committee approved the motions made by Dasmariñas Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. I n his motions, Barzaga also moved the setting the tenure of those who will be elected in December 2023 and thereafter for three years. Barzaga also said those elected during the December 4, 2023 elec tions will start their term at noon of January 1, 2024.

The bill will be presented to the plenary. Of course, there will be a bill incorporating all the provisions [filed by other lawmakers],” he added. Currently, there are 38 bills filed all seeking to postpone the Decem ber 5, 2022 BSKE. Authors of the bill said their pro posals are expected to generate sav ings of approximately P8 billion for the government, which could instead be spend for initiatives to keep the people safe and help the economy bounce back. ACT Teachers Rep. France Cas tro and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel of Kabataan, who voted for the post ponement, said the decision would deprive the voters of their right to choose their barangay officials.

The Court has required the re spondents to file their respective comments to the said petition and application for TRO within a nonextendible period of 10 days from receipt of the written notice from the Court,” Hosaka said. T he petitioners are questioning the legality of the implementation of NCAP, saying it has no basis under Republic Act 7924 that serves as the enabling charter of the Metropoli tan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the RA 4136, which created the Land Transportation Office (LTO). Named respondents in the peti tion were MMDA, LTO, the City of Manila, Quezon City, Valenzuela City, Parañaque City and Muntin lupa City.

vs NCAP

Priority programs MEANWHILE , Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto wants the savings from the election postponement to be allocated for priority pro grams of the Department of Ag riculture (DA). I n his House Bill 2185, Recto said the budget allocated for vari ous programs of the DA may not be enough to increase agricultural productivity. Thus,the government must prioritize these programs anew and increase the budget of the agency to address the global and domestic challenges that are expected to ac celerate the looming food crisis in the country,” he said. H owever, Recto said the cur rent administration is also fac ing fiscal challenges due to the ballooning outstanding debt of the national government, which now stands at P12.50 trillion as of end-MayTherefore,2022. the savings to be generated amounting to P8.4 bil lion from the postponement of the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections would significantly contribute in funding the priority programs of the DA to ensure food security and sufficiency for the 109 million Fili pinos,” he added. plea

Additional cost MEANWHILE , Commission of Elec tions (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia said postponing the BSKE would entail additional costs. He told lawmakers the postpone ment of the electoral exercise for at least year will cost the government an additional P5 billion. Garcia said postponing the elec tions will mean registration of vot ers will also have to be opened and more voters will mean more elections officers needed and more parapher nalia and materials to be bought by the government.Butwewill just abide by the decision of Congress and the Ex ecutive. But [we are appealing not to] schedule it in 2024, because by that time we will already be preparing for the 2025 elections,” he Esaid.arlier, Atty. Romulo Macalintal, a veteran election lawyer, said Con gress has no power to postpone the village polls, saying any postpone ment is unconstitutional. Macalintal said the Constitution only gives Congress the power to “fix” the term of office of barangay officials but not the power to “post pone” their election. Only the Comelec has exclu sive authority to postpone an elec tion after it has determined that any of the causes under Section 5 of the Omnibus Election Code warrant such postponement,’’ he said. However, Macalintal said, Con gress has the power to postpone the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls since SK is not created by the constitution and that SK officials are not barangay nor local elective officials.

House panel OKs postponement of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls to Dec ’23

T he five city governments have started implementing the NCAP in compliance with the February 2016 resolution of the MMDA for the re implementation of the NCAP. T he petitioners, however, argued that the MMDA, which is composed of the 17 Metro Manila mayors, has no legal authority to come up with a resolution adopting the implementa tion of NCAP. T hey argued that at the time the resolution was passed, there was no valid law or ordinance adopted by lo cal city councils allowing MMDA to expand traffic rules and regulations. T he petitioners added that the ordinances of the local government units allowing NCAP are invalid since there are no existing laws passed by Congress that allows the implemen tation of such regulation. R A 4136, according to the peti tioners, allows only face-to-face ap prehension of traffic violators and that traffic violations are liability of the erring drivers and not the regis tered owners. Transport groups are also com plaining against the “unreason able” provisions of the NCAP that include non-renewal of the vehicle registration until such time that the fines are settled and for includ ing innocent third persons liable for traffic violations.

SC orders MMDA, LTO, 5 Metro LGUs to answer

www.businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, August 17, 2022 A3BusinessMirror The Nation

At least P1.37 billion was collected from the seven licensed e-sabong op erators from January to March 15, 2022. When e-sabong was shut down, Pagcor projected a revenue loss of up to P5 billion for the rest of 2022. F ilipinos without jobs have reached 2.93 million in May, higher than 2.76 million in April, accord ing to the Philippine Statistics Au thority (PSA).

Miclat-Sonaco, the Department of Agricul ture’s National Livestock Program (NLP) Director, said it is possible that certain re gions in the country would be upgraded from yellow zones to green zones within theMiclat-Sonacoyear. ex pressed optimism that one of these regions could be Region I as the provinces of Pangasinan, La Union and Ilocos Sur have been undertaking repopulation efforts already. M iclat-Sonaco disclosed that the DA has a P4.1 bil lion fund for its repopulation program this year and an approximately P1.2 billion for its ASF eradication control efforts. Miclat-Sonaco pointed out that the budget for the government’s anti-ASF efforts would be even bigger next year compared to this year’s funding. T he Philippines may finally recover from ASF in two years’ time with pork output expected to return to 1.6 million metric tons (MMT), according to joint forecasts of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and De velopment and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (OECD-FAO). T he OECD-FAO, in its 10-year Global Agricultural Out look spanning 2022 to 2031, said the future is bright for global pig production as countries battered by ASF, such as the Philippines, China and Vietnam, may start to re cover their lost pig herd. Global pork production is projected to increase by 17 percent [18 MT] by 2031, relative to the ASF affected base period 2019-21. The sector is assumed to recover from ASF by 2023, so that almost all of the projected growth will come early in the next decade,” it said. “Most additional pig meat production is expected to originate in China by 2023, as well as in the Philippines and Vietnam, where production is expected to recover from the losses of the ASF outbreak in the next two to three years,” it added.

PHL gains ground in fight vs ASF as nationwide cases dip

Salceda also cited fast fashion brands that solicit used clothing from their customers, either for recycling as rags or reuse. “There is a niche but increasingly larger retro clothing industry as well. And there seems to be a potential for us to be a sorting ad reexport center for used but good clothing,” Salceda added. He added that such a repeal will “finally formalize a large but in-theshadows sector that so many of the rural and urban poor deem to be es sential businesses.” Putting health standards in place, Salceda added, will also reduce the health risks of such imports. “I would rather that we place DOH standards and allow ukay-ukay busi nesses to finally register, instead of having such a large underground sector that we just choose to ignore, because it’s big enough to provide jobs, but illegal.” Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz continued from a16

THE suspension of online cockfighting or e-sabong may have impacted the livelihood of about 3.2 million Filipinos that come from the various businesses built around the game fowl industry. A side from the employees of li censed e-sabong operators, many agricultural and blue-collar work ers from businesses like commercial farms and backyard breeders, game fowl buyers, feeds producers and veterinary services have been ex periencing a direct negative impact when their main source of livelihood was suddenly put to a halt. On the other hand, adjacent micro and small enterprises like sari-sari stores that used to thrive, especially during cockfighting derbies have seen their businesses dwindle. Online betting stalls that hired workers at the height of the popu larity of the game have found them selves unemployed since May. A mong those severely affected are employees of Elvira Tan whom she had to let go after the ban was enforced. “’Yung mga tauhan ko. Walo sila. Lahat tinanggal ko na kasi ano pa ib abayad ko sa kanila,” said Tan, who owns an online betting stall along Quirino Avenue in Quezon City. “Wala, hikahos talaga sila. Kung makikita nyo lang halos hindi na sila kumakain, kukurutin talaga puso nyo. Naawa ako kasi wala naman sila ginawa ng masama o nilabag na batas tapos sila ngayon nagdudusa,” she shared. A t its height, the e-sabong in dustry was estimated to be gen erating around P650 million per month in revenue for the Phil ippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).

SRA

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

DAR NortetoskillsprovidestrainingSurigaodelARBs

In the SRP bulletin released last May 11, DTI approved a minimum increase for 82 BNPCs. Prices of major raw materials like Tamban (for canned fish products), mechanically deboned meat (for processed meat products), buttermilk (for processed milk), and palm oil (for toilet paper and instant noodles) increased by 0.56 percent to 32.14 percent. Fuel prices also went up by 28.84 percent in May. In May, while DTI adjusted prices of 71 out of 82 SKUs, the department noted that the price increase only ranged from 2 percent to 10 percent.

DAR turns over P7.6M worth of machinery farm inputs to nine Ilocos Norte ARBOs

THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) recently turned over P7.6 million worth of farm machinery, trucks, and inputs to members of nine agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (ARBOs) in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte. T he turnover was led by DAR Un dersecretary for Filed Operations Atty. Kazel Celeste at the Catugu ing Multipurpose Cooperative in SanImplementedNicolas.

DTI releases SRP for 67 BNPCs; price hikes range 3.29% to 10% sugarSeraficaadministratorquitsamidimportmess ‘E-sabong ban may have affected livelihood of 3.2 million Pinoys’

A PHILIPPINE province or even a region may soon be declared free of African swine fever (ASF), indi cating that the country is slowly winning its fight against the fatal hog disease. A griculture officials are optimistic that an entire prov ince or region could transition from yellow zone to green zone within the year as the number of active ASF cases nationwide continue to dwindle. T he Philippines has been battling ASF since the second half of Hopefully,2019. yes of course. We are hopeful,” Bureau of Animal Industry Assistant Director Jonathan V. Sabi niano told reporters when asked if the country would see the first conversion of a yellow zone area into dark green zones. Under the government’s zoning plan, yellow zones are considered surveillance areas while green zones are ASFfreeTheareas.government has two types of green zones: light green which means a protected area that is free of ASF but is considered low risk as it is contiguous to yellow zones in terms of land mass and dark green zones which is totally free of the virus. As of August 4, the BAI has upgraded 33 municipali ties from pink zones (buffer zones) to yellow zones (sur veillance zones) while 203 cities and municipalities have been upgraded from red zones (infected zone) to pinkDr.zones.RuthS.

and

A TOTAL of 32 farmermembers of the San Juan Producers Association (SJPA) in Alegria, Surigao del Norte, are now ready for the much-needed upgrade from mere farmers to farmer-entrepreneurs as they finally graduate from the Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) Farm Business School (FBS). DAR OIC-Provincial head Maria Elizabeth De Guzman said the FBS aims to develop the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) into agricultural entrepreneurs to promote farming as one of the businesses where ARBs could draw big“earnings. Thisactivity aims to help the farmers upgrade their knowledge and skills in developing competitive farm enterprises that will open opportunities for them to earn more,” she said. De Guzman disclosed the 32 ARBs were trained on various entrepreneurial skills and advanced farming practices covering a total of 25 sessions. She said that the FBS has empowered the participants to make the lands awarded to them by the DAR change their lives and the lives of others by properly managing their lands and their products in terms of marketing their various crops. “Your active participation in this activity shows that you are now ready for the challenge that awaits you as you are now one step ahead to become Agripreneurs!,” sheThesaid.FBS can be compared to an educational system designed to provide the farmers with techniques to maximize their agricultural products to earn more profit, learn marketing strategies, and other opportunities to uplift their living conditions.

By Andrea San Juan THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has approved price increases ranging from 3.29 percent to 10 percent for 67 basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs) in its latest suggested retail price (SRP) list. In the latest SRP bulletin released on August 12, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said 151 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) or 69.27 percent maintained their prices in the May 11 SRP list, while 67 prod ucts adjusted their SRPs due to rising prices of raw materials and packaging and other costs globally. DTI said in a news statement is sued on Tuesday that prices of these BNPCs increased by 3.29 percent to 10 percent. “Those that increased by 10 percent were SKUs that have not raised their prices since last year.” For her part, DTI Consumer Pro tection Group Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo underscored the price in creases were kept at the minimum. “Amid these adjustments, the DTI remains steadfast in its commitment in ensuring that consumers have ac cess to reasonably priced goods in the market, hence increases were kept to a minimum,” said Castelo. According to the Trade depart ment, canned sardines in tomato sauce increased in price by 6 percent, while processed milk price increased by 3 percent to 10 percent. Increases in coffee refill were seen at 5.81 percent to 9 percent, and by 8 to 10 percent in coffee 3-in-1 mixes. Similarly, the prices of noodles and detergent soap went up by 3.70 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Bottled water prices increased by 3.53 percent to 10 percent, while candle prices rose by 6 percent. Meanwhile, the prices of bread such as the Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal have been retained. Earlier, the Philip pine Baking Industry Group (Philbak ing) requested for a P4 price increase. T he trade undersecretary em phasized that the DTI is regularly monitoring the price movements of raw materials of these BNPCs, and continuously monitors retail ers to make sure that prices of BN PCs are reasonable.

House panel eyes repeal of law against ‘ukay-ukay’ Vittorio V. Vitug

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas M ALACAÑANG has ac cepted the resigna tion of Sugar Regula tory Administration (SRA) chief Hermenegildo R. Serafica amid controversies surrounding the approval of an additional sugar import program. I n a letter dated August 15, Executive Secretary Victor D. Rodriguez told Serafica that his resignation has been accepted by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Serafica’s resignation was effec tive immediately. “ On behalf of President Fer dinand R. Marcos Jr. I wish to inform you that your resigna tion has been accepted, effective immediately,” Rodriguez said in his letter, a copy of which was ob tained by the BusinessMirror B ased on Rodriguez’s letter, Serafica tendered his resignation as SRA administrator through a letter submitted to the Palace last August 10. Serafica also confirmed to the BusinessMirror on Tuesday that the Palace has accepted his resigna tion last August 15. “ Today, I am officially leaving my post with a light heart and clear conscience knowing that I performed the functions of my office consistent with, or within the bounds of the law,” Serafica told the BusinessMir ror via SMS. “I never thought of becoming a public servant but I became one. It was a long and taxing job but defi nitely meaningful and I thank those who gave me this once in a lifetime opportunity to serve the sugarcane industry and the Filipino people,” he added, noting that he was just a “simple” farmer before becoming SRA administrator. P ress Secretary Trixie Cruz-An geles also confirmed on Tuesday that Marcos had accepted the res ignation of Roland B. Beltran, the sugar millers’ representative to the SRAMboard.arcosaccepted Beltran’s res ignation last August 15 through a letter penned by Rodriguez. Bel tran tendered his resignation last August 14.

T he OECD-FAO projected that the Philippines’s pork output next year would grow by 19 percent to 1.311 MMT from this year’s estimated total produc tion of 1.10 MMT. T he OECD-FAO added that the country’s pork produc tion would expand further by 22.8 percent, reaching preASF and pre-pandemic levels of over 1.6 MMT in 2024. From thereon, the OECD-FAO foresees that Philippine pork production would be on an upward trend until it hits 2.157 MMT by 2031. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

“All of these are a big help for my constituents. You can count on me to think of ways and work with govern ment agencies like the DAR for the advancement of agriculture in our district,” Marcos said. DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Vic Ines said the beneficiaries of the machines and farm inputs are members of nine ARBOs from the towns of Dumal neg, Burgos, Sarrat, Pinili, Banna, Dingras, Marcos, and Currimao. The Nanguratao Irrigators As sociation Inc., and the Sunrise Agrarian Reform Cooperative each received a farm tractor; the Banana Alliance of Cooperative and Buanga Agrarian Reform Cooperative were each provided with a hauling truck; the Pagwagan ti Gabon ARBs Co operative and Imelda Agrarian Re form Cooperative received one and two hand tractors, respectively; and the Agaga Agrarian Reform Cooperative, Golgol Rural Water works and Sanitation Association Inc., and the Lang-ayan Agrarian Reform Cooperative received a tribike chariot each. Ines said all nine ARBOs received farm inputs consisting of water pumps, bags of organic fertilizer, bags of 14-14-14, and bags of urea. Jonathan L. Mayuga

BusinessMirror www.businessmirror.com.ph Economy Wednesday, August 17, 2022 • Editor:

under the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Sup port Project (CRFPSP), the project aims to protect the environment, and reduce poverty levels by creat ing sustainable employment and income-generating opportunities for the farmers affected by climate change, Celeste said. “These farm implements will service more than 300 farmers here. And because the machines are mechanized, it would make farming easier and faster for them. It will also greatly improve their yield and in crease their income,” Celeste added. Celeste was joined by Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos, who graced the occasion and thanked the DAR for the machines and farm in puts. He assured the farmers of his support in working for the economic improvement of their district.

F ormer President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the termination of e-sabong last May 3. According to Ellaine Gorobao, HR Manager of Lucky 8 Star Quest, which is one of the seven e-sabong opera tors licensed by Pagcor, the company was forced to retrench 350 of their employees without the benefit of a 30-day notice as they complied with the suspension order. “The sudden order of Pagcor to stop our operations immediately caught us by surprise. Stop operations agad-agad. Wala ng trabaho bigla. Wala man lang 30-day notice,” Gorobao said. Before ending his 6-year term, however, Duterte expressed “regret” over his decision on e-sabong, even encouraging lawmakers to re-assess its possible resumption. “E-sabong gives the government P642 million a month. In one year, it gives the government billions,” Duterte said.

TO get rid lobbying and influ ence peddling, a House deputy speaker on Tuesday proposed that sugar demand and supply fore cast should be subjected to outside review by a group of experts from the academe and not exclusively by the Sugar Regulatory Administra tion (SRA) and the Department of Agriculture (DA). In a news statement, Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto said finding the “sweet spot” which will deter mine the right volume of sugar im ports that will both protect produc ers and consumers must be “solely based on science and insulated from lobby and politics.” “It should be multi-agency. Is Neda [National Economic and Develop ment Authority], for example, on board in determining production and consumption outlook ?” Recto said. Subjecting sugar data to third party vetting, Recto said, “Will not only strengthen the integrity of pro jections made, but will hush down unfair claims of data manipulation.”

DepEd and LGU receive radio repeater donation Recto proposes oversight body on sugar demand and supply

House probe IN a related development, House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability Chairper son Florida Robes said her panel and the House Committee on Agriculture and Food would continue their probe despite the resignation of SRA offi cials amid the issue of the unauthor ized issuance of Sugar Order No. 4. But the two committees have de cided to postpone their investigation scheduled this Thursday pending the publication of the committee rules by the House Committee on Rules. The two panels are expected to convert their briefing into a fullblown investigation to determine accountability of SRA officials on the invalid issuance of the resolution. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

www.businessmirror.com.ph Wednesday, August 17, 2022 A5BusinessMirror News

DAVAO CITY—The Depart ment of Education in Sa rangani and a school and local government in Davao del Sur were the recipients of a donation of radio antenna and repeaters to boost their respective communica tionIncapabilities.Alabeltown, Sarangani, the provincial government turned over 100 units of antennas to the Department of Education-Saran gani Division to boost the DepEd’s Learning Resources on Wifi Hub for Expanded e-Learning in Sarangani or LR on Wheels. The antennas cost P150,000 each and would be mounted on the vehicles of the DepEd used as LR on Wheels in Sarangani. LR on Wheels is an innova tion of DepEd Sarangani to make electronic, or online, learning possible for villages outside the service coverage of major tele communication companies and Internet service providers.

PHILIPPINE Red Cross staff and volunteers trek through a mountain to bring aid to residents of isolated quake-hit areas in Abra over the weekend.

PHILIPPINE Red Cross (PRC) volunteers and staff crossed two rivers and trekked through a mountain to bring aid to earthquake-hit Barangay Sabnangan and Sitio Pega in Luba town, Abra, over the weekend. The PRC said that 191 families received hygiene kits. The kit contains 12 body soap bars, five laundry soap bars, 40 pieces of sanitary napkins, three pieces 70 cm x 30 cm bath towels, two pieces 130 cm x 60 cm bath towels, six rolls toilet paper, two tubes of toothpaste, five toothbrushes, and four razors. It is estimated that these non-food items will be good for five persons in oneThemonth.PRCcontinues its North ern Luzon earthquake response in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). As of August 15, 2022, the PRC has provided the following humani tarian aid, among others: 1,091,427 liters of water through its water tankers, hot meals to 18,488 per sons, 12,568 bottles of water, 1,590 hygiene kits, 1,404 food packs, jerry cans to 1,223 families, and sleeping kits to 550 families. “Gaya ng dati, ang Red Cross ay lag ing nandyan upang ibsan ang sitwasyon

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) dis bursed an additional P1.4 bil lion to support the extended “Libreng Sakay” program that funds free rides for commuters along the Edsa Car ouselTheRoute. Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Service Contracting Program (SCP) was set to end on July 31, but was extended by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. until the end of the year. Apart from supporting the mobil ity requirements of students and the labor force amid the Covid-19 pan demic, the program aims to provide financial support to transport ser vice providers through performancebased payouts. “Ito pong paglagak natin ng ad ditional funds ay suporta natin sa hangad ni President Marcos na i-ex tend and programang Libreng Sakay ng Department of Transportation at ng Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board hanggang Disy embre,” Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said in a news state ment issued on Tuesday. The fund release for the SCP will benefit around 628 units of onboarded public utility buses on the EDSA Busway Route in the Na tional Capital Region. “Malaking tulong at ginhawa po ang Libreng Sakay sa bulsa ng mga com muter, lalo na para sa mga estudyante at mga kabilang sa labor force. This will support up to 50 million ridership from September 1 until December 31,” Pangandaman added. The DBM released the fund after Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista disclosed that they need an additional P1.4 billion allocation to sustain the free ride program until December this year.

The provincial information of fice said the antenna system “uti lizes an offline learning manage ment system broadcast over an access point through an intranet where learners can hook their gadgets in order to access learn ing materials like digital copies of learning modules, interactive worksheets, and videos.”

Palace, House and Senate aim for zero presidential veto goal

MEMBERS of the House of Representatives have been forging a tighter coordina tion with Malacañang and the Senate to prevent even a single presidential veto of bills to be approved by the 19thDuringCongress.theUgnayan sa Batasan Majority News Forum, House Major ity Leader Manuel Jose M. Dalipe said closer coordination with the Palace would smoothen the process and guarantee better linkages, synergy and coordination to fast-track, fa cilitate and harmonize the passage of vital measures. “We are closely coordinating with Malacañang and the Senate so that we can avoid vetoing of a measure, which is a waste of time and resourc es. Under the leadership of Speaker Martin [Romualdez], we are working with our counterparts to ensure the smooth passage of important bills,” DalipeCommitteesaid.

The LR on Wheels project in Sarangani was launched in 2020 to eliminate the problem of Inter net connection, and to support the digitalization of today’s learning process. This innovation was being replicated in other parts of the coun try like South Cotabato, Batangas andInPalawan.Davaodel Sur, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) XI distributed radio repeaters and immuno-analyzer equipment to Su lop town, Davao del Sur. The equipment were turned over to DOST XI’s partner, the Cor Jesu College-Br. Polycarp iComDev Foun dation Inc. (CJC–BPICDFI) and the municipal government of Sulop. The DOST and CJC–BPICDFI team installed the radio repeater at the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Of fice building of Sulop to provide information and safety advice to the public in times of emergency and disasters. A radio repeater extends the range of a portable or mobile radio system. If placed at a high elevation, it con nects two mobile stations that would otherwise be out of each other’s lineof-sight propagation range. The DOST XI said the equip ment hopes to strengthen the communication capability of Geo graphically Isolated and Disadvan taged Areas (GIDAs) and Margin alized Communities in Sulop to combat poverty and improve their quality of life. By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

The government spends P10 mil lion daily to implement the nation wide program, according to Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), an at tached agency under the Department of Transportation. AsofJune20this year, the pro gram already benefited over 71 mil lionThecommuters.free-ride program, together with service contracting, and fuel subsidies, were the measures used by the government to help the pub lic transportation sector cope with the impact of the pandemic and the recent increase in fuel prices.

By Manuel T. Cayon Mindanao@awimailboxBureauChief

DBM releases ₧1.4 billion to fund free rides at Edsa carousel route

ng ating mga kababayan matapos ang isang sakuna. [Just like before, the Red Cross is always there to give them assistance especially after a disaster]” PRC Chairman and CEO Richard J. Gordon said. Gordon said that the PRC is doing everything just to reach those who are in need of help in far-flung areas.

Under Section 9 of Republic Act 10659, or the Sugarcane Industry Development Act of 2015, SRA is mandated to establish a “supply chain monitoring system” that will track volume of “sugarcane at farms to refined sugar at stores.” To ensure sufficiency of supply, SRA’s monitoring covers registered firms from distilleries that use sugarcane, to warehouses of sugar importers, to sugar stockpiles of foodRectoprocessors.said“one foundation of any commodity outlook is the projected demand” as this is used as basis for import plans. He recalled “instances in the past when the computation of the annual per capita consumption of rice was allegedly inflated to justify jacking up import volume.” “It can be tweaked in a manner that it barely moves the needle, but it will have a tectonic effect on sup ply and therefore import intentions,” he said.“What I am proposing is that a group of experts, from the academe perhaps, should take a second look at our food import projections, not just on sugar, but on all commodities, so that we will not be importing more than what is needed,” Recto said.

on Appropriation Senior Vice Chairperson Stella Luz Quimbo bared that she attended the first Legislative-Executive Develop ment Advisory Council (LEDAC)Technical Working Group (TWG) last Thursday to expedite the approval of President Marcos’s priority bills and ensure that government resources will not be put to waste. “Speaker [Martin Romualdez] said it is very important at this point in time of course not only effective legislation but cost-effective legis lation. In other words, ayaw nating magkaroon ng veto, magastos ang ve toed bill. The Speaker said let us use the LEDAC as a platform to ensure that our legislation [will be approved with dispatch],” Quimbo said. “The first LEDAC-TWG meeting was held last week to ensure that we will be able to pass the swiftest pos sible time the 19 legislative priority measures that have been identified by the President. Kasama doon ang pagbabaliktanaw kung anong nangyari in the past Congress, at anong naging problema particularly doon sa vetoed bills,” Quimbo added. During the LEDAC-TWG meeting, Quimbo said eight of the 19 legislative priority measures of President Marcos were already approved on third and final reading by 18th Congress. She said these measures are eligible for swift approval under Rule 10, Section 48 of the House of Representatives.Quimbosaidtheuse of this par ticular rule would greatly hasten consideration and endorsement by any committee of any covered bill, and its eventual plenary approval. “At the same time, there are eight measures out of 19 that had already been approved on third reading by the last Congress,” Quimbo said. House Assistant Majority Lead er and Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta Party-list Rep. Margarita Ignacia Nograles said the super majority in the House has been very sup portive of Romualdez’s plan for a zero veto of bills to ensure that government resources are spent wisely and prudently. She assured that the House of Rep resentatives would pass well-crafted legislative measures where Cabinet members and other stakeholders will be given a chance to be heard. Meanwhile, the 19 priority mea sures enumerated by President Marcos in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) were the Valuation Reform Bill, Passive Income and Fi nancial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA), E-Governance Act, Inter net Transaction Act, GUIDE bill, Medical Reserve Corps bill, National Disease Prevention Management Authority bill, Virology Institute of the Philippines bill, Unified Sys tem of Separation, Retirement and Pension bill, Department of Water Resources bill, E-Governance Act, National Land Use Act, Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and National Service Train ing Program, Budget Modernization bill, National Government Rightsiz ing program, National Defense Act, Enactment of an Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry, Amend ments to the Electric Power Indus try Reform Act, and Amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law. The eight measures approved by 18th Congress were Valuation Re form Bill, PIFITA, E Governance Act, Internet Transaction Act, GUIDE, Medical Reserve Corps, National Disease Prevention Management Authority, and Virology Institute of theUnderPhilippines.Rule10, Section 48, it au thorizes the committees to dispose of priority measures already filed and approved on third reading in the im mediately preceding Congress. Rule 10 provides: “In case of bills or resolutions that are identified as priority measures of the House, which were previously filed in the immediately preceding Congress and have already been approved on third reading, the same may be dis posed of as matters already reported upon the approval of the members of the committee present, there be ing a quorum.”

PRC brings aid to remote areas in quake-hit Abra

PHOTO COURTESY OF PRC Tesda provides English language proficiency course to Tondo youth

TO provide them an opportunity to work in the business process ing outsourcing (BPO) sector, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) will soon train 50 young people in Tondo, Manila, in English skills proficiency. “Through this English proficiency training, these young people will make a difference for their families and community. We are looking for ward to their successful completion, and hopefully, we can have more learners who are interested to join the program,” Tesda Deputy Director General Aniceto D. Bertiz III said of the scholarship slots that have been granted to at least 50 young individ uals for the English Proficiency for Customer Service Workers Course under the Training for Work Schol arship Program (TWSP). Bertiz pointed out that Tesda would provide them training not only to provide them training in English language proficiency but also to help them gain confidence in speaking and using the language that they may use as an edge when applying for work upon graduation.

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

“Once they have achieved proficien cy in communicating in English, they will have not only the competence but also the confidence to apply for jobs in various industries, especially in busi ness process outsourcing,” he added. Last August 9, Tesda National Lan guage Skills Center (NLSC) Adminis trator Mitzi G. Samson-Endriano and her staff met with families living in Baseco, also popularly known as the Baseco Compound or Barangay 649, Zone 68, in Tondo, Manila. During their visit, they identified prospective beneficiaries for the TWSP, in coordination with Yaman, Kalinga at Pagmamahal ng Magulang Movement (YaKaP) and Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTF-NCR). “The NLSC and all of Tesda’s lan guage institutes nationwide heed the President’s call to improve the Filipinos’ proficiency in English and global languages. Soon we shall of fer more language courses that our kababayans can choose from,” Sam son-Endriano said. The NLSC Administrator explained that workers who have additional lan guage skills are also more likely to suc ceed in their endeavors as they can eas ily adjust to the foreign cultures they will encounter while working abroad.

Basic PhpSalarypresentationinterpersonalcommunication,Director,MandarinProvenQualification:experienceasMarketingexcellentandskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999

Basic ProvenQualification:experience as Mandarin Project Management Manager, excellent PhpSalarypresentationinterpersonalcommunication,andskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999

CSCEC STRAIT CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD (PHILIPPINES BRANCH OFFICE) Units A&b 20/f Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

27. LI, ChineseYUSENCustomer Service Brief Job Description: Assisting clients by providing information on services Basic FluentQualification:inwrittenand oral Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES PHILS. INC. U-5302, 53/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave., Cor., V.a. Rufino St., Bel-air, City Of Makati 28.

ProvideBriefConsultantJobDescription:consultancyservices for

CASIMIRO GT DEVELOPMENT CORP. 27th Floor High Street, South Corporate Plaza Tower 2,, 26th Cor St., Corner 9th Ave. Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

14. LU THIEN ANH Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Executive Brief Job InterpretsDescription:data,analyzes results using statistical techniques

20. ZHAN, JUNHUA Mandarin Project Management Manager Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Project Management Manager will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

Basic FluentQualification:andproficient in writing and speaking at least 2 of the ff languages: English, PhpSalaryandIndonesia,Malaysia,Cantonese,mandarin,Thai,BahasaBahasaKorean,SpanishPortugueseRange:30,000-Php59,999

Basic Qualification: With at least 4-year work experience as a senior service manager. Must have an experience in digital power product solution design. Graduated with a master’s degree in condense matter physics. Highly proficient in Chinese and English PhpSalarylanguage.Range:150,000- Php 499,999

Basic PhpSalary(technologyknowledgeBachelor’sQualification:degree,depthinthedomain/product)Range:150,000-Php499,999

Basic PhpSalarypresentationinterpersonalexcellentWorksMandarinProvenQualification:experienceasTechnicalSupervisor,communication,andskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999

Brief Job Description: General organization of the assigned part of the dredging works according to the predefined schedule, budget, and used methods while observing quality, safety, and environmental standards with a minimum risk for personnel and equipment.

21. LIN, MandarinXIONGHUATechnical Works Supervisor Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Technical Works 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.

32. VANSAET, OperationalTIMSuperintendent Dredging Works Brief Job Description: General organization of the assigned part of the dredging works according to the predefined schedule, budget, and used methods while observing quality, safety, and environmental standards with a minimum risk for personnel and equipment.

Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:fortheengineering and technical disciplines needed to complete a project works to plan projects, establish criteria, and coordinate project reviews.

Basic Qualification: At least 15 years’ experience in strategic IT project management. Excellent analytical & problem solving skills with strong strategic & business PhpSalarymindset.Range:500,000and above BIGCAT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, INC. 18/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Avenue Cor. Rufino Street, Salcedo Vill., Bel-air, City Of Makati7.

CHONG CHIN YANG Malaysian Language - Supervisor Fund Management Brief Job ManagingDescription:clients;meeting investors to discuss investment strategies. Basic FluentlyQualification:speakand write Malaysian language to cater foreign market. Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

DEXIN INTERNATIONAL IMPORT AND EXPORT CORP. Lot 3 E&e Cmpd., F. Santiago St., Parada, City Of Valenzuela 22. CHEN, ChineseRONGGENCargoOffice Agent Brief Job Description: Prepare airline and custom LIU, MandarinXUETINGSpeaking PhpSalarymandarinreadingProficientQualification:inspeaking,andwritinginRange:30,000-Php59,999 Malate Bayview Mansion, 1781 M. Adriatico Street. 076, Barangay 699, Malate, City Of Manila25. VAN HUAN Job Description: Assisting clients by providing information on services Basic FluentQualification:inwrittenand oral Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 26. LI, ChineseQUANZHOUCustomer Service Brief Job Description: Assisting clients by providing information on services Basic FluentQualification:inwrittenand oral Mandarin and English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

5. DANG QUOC CHUNG Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquires Basic Qualification: Able to Speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 BDO UNIBANK, INC. Unit G-1, G/f Bdo Towers Paseo, 8741 Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati

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 60,000 - Php 89,999

Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:forcompiling (complex) mechanical equipment in the workshop and ensuring proper operations of (complex) mechanical equipment/ installations of equipment.

BRIGHTLEISURE MANAGEMENT INC. 10/f Newport Entertainment & C Newport City, Manlunas, Barangay 183, Pasay City 10. KHOO BOO KHIM BRIAN Vip Marketing Manager Brief Job Description: Assists with the development of both gaming markets Basic StrongQualification:Interpersonal, Sales and Negotiation Skills Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Chinese Customer Service Brief

13. DO BOI Bi-lingualSANSpeaking Data Analyst Executive Brief Job InterpretsDescription:data,analyzes results using statistical techniques

CHROMELAB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 25/f Techzone Bldg., 213 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati

8. HOANG KHANH DUY Vietnamese Language - Officer Marketing Brief Job Description: Initiate conversation to uncover customer needs.

XU, ChannelRENBOManager For Philippines Huawei Digital Power Project Brief Job Description: Enhance the market insight for Philippines digital power market and select the product solution suitable for the Philippines. Communicate and identify valuable with digital power company and build strategic partnership.

documentations. Basic Qualification: Have skills PhpSalarydocumentations.inRange:30,000-Php 59,999 EASYTECH SUPPORT INC. 9-11/f, 14/f Capella Bldg., Asean Drive Filinvest, Alabang, City Of Muntinlupa 23. DONG, MandarinTIANSpeaking 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 24.

29. EDDIE CHEW LI XIAN Finance Specialist For Globe Customer Experience Management (cem) Project Brief Job Description: Responsible in assisting project manager in a project financial operation management. Responsible in preparing project-based budget according to company’s standard and original bidding estimation.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 BusinessMirrorA6 www.businessmirror.com.ph 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.phFriday, August 17, 2022 ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE ‘T’ ELECTRICAL SERVICES INC. U-2101 Cityland Pasong Tamo Tower, 2210 Chino Roces Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati 1. MATSUOKA, KENICHI Marketing Consultant (Japanese Speaking Clients) Brief Job Description: Prepare reports and deliver marketing presentations Basic Qualification: Can speak and write fluent Japanese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 AMAZON OPERATION SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. B21 Three E-com Moa Complex, Harbour Drive Cor. Bay Shore, Brgy. 076, Pasay City 2. NISHIZAWA, HIROTOSHI Hr Assistant Ii Brief Job Description: • Administers the initiation and adjudication of medical/background checks. • provides ongoing support to local HR teams and HR services colleagues. • responds to system access requests, questions, and troubleshoot program issues on behalf of employees, managers and hr. Basic PhpSalarylanguageFluencyQualification:inJapaneseRange:30,000-Php59,999 AMDOCS PHILIPPINES INC. 23rd, 25th, And 26th Floors Eco Tower, 32nd St. Cor. 9th Ave. Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig 3. GHOSH, PATHIK Scrum Master Brief Job Description: Expert on specific modules, applications or technologies and deals with complex assignments

16. KERK TIEN BOON Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Officer Brief Job InterpretsDescription:data,analyzes results using statistical techniques

12. FRANCIS HOU TAI YEW Bi-lingual Speaking Assistant Operations Manager Brief Job Description: Provide supports to operations manager in handling all gaming operations

JAN DE NUL (PHILS.), INC. 302 3rd/f Aseana Power Station Macapagal Blvd., Cor. Bradco Ave. Aseana City, Tambo, City Of Parañaque 30. KUMARA SWAMI, SATHEESH Heavy Equipment Specialist

15. VONG MY HA Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Executive Brief Job InterpretsDescription:data,analyzes results using statistical techniques

33. COPPENS, RUDOLF MARIA JOHANNES Operations Superintendent Brief Job Description: Acts as the company’s representative to support management and operations

FLYING DRAGON NETWORK PHILIPPINES INC.

Basic insight.analysisProficientQualification:infinancialwithbusinessWithexperience in various company policies and internal PhpSalaryBahasamandarin,communicationwrittencommunicatecourses.financeaccountancy,a(“sop”).operatingupinterpretationcontrolsandsetofnewstandardproceduresGraduatedwithbachelor’sdegreeinbusinessorotherrelatedAbilitytowellinandverbalinEnglishandMalaysiaRange:150,000-Php499,999

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Accounting Manager will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

6. ROSEN, STEVEN ALAN Information Technology Group focusing on IT Project Management and alignment of program delivery.

Basic internationalworkingMinimumQualification:10yearsofexperienceindredging projects as mechanic of all types of heavy equipment. Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999 31. IHUOMA, LUCKY ANDREW Operational Superintendent Dredging Works

Basic workingMinimumQualification:2yearsofoninternational dredging projects. Fluent in English and additional points for Dutch and PhpSalaryFrench.Range:90,000-Php 149,999

Basic workingMinimumQualification:2yearsofoninternational dredging projects. Fluent in English and additional points for Dutch and PhpSalaryFrenchRange:150,000- Php 499,999

Basic PhpSalarypresentationinterpersonalcommunication,Manager,MandarinProvenQualification:experienceasAccountingexcellentandskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999

17. LY HUE Bi-lingualPHANSpeaking Data Analyst Officer Brief Job InterpretsDescription:data,analyzes results using statistical techniques

19. WU, MandarinFAN Marketing Director

34. VAN KESTEREN, LOUISE MARIE J. Qhsse Advisor Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:forapplying, following up, and advising improvements for the defined policy concerning quality, safety, security and environment of the project sites.

Basic workingMinimumQualification:3yearsofexperiences on international dredging projects. Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

BOUNTY FRESH FOOD INC. 179 M. Ponce Street,, District 1, Barangay 134, City Of Caloocan 9. XIAO, ProvideBriefTechnicalCHUNMINGConsultantJobDescription:technicalexpertise for the implementation of a work plan to take care of hazards and repairs of plant machinery; train maintenance team on basic maintenance techniques to save time and improve performance; and conduct on-site visits, provide seminars and trainings to other maintenance personnel and other departments that may need technical expertise. Basic PhpSalarychinesecommunicatebecharacters;inmachinerymachinery;maintenanceoperation,ExperienceQualification:ininstallation,andofplantcanoperateandcomputersChinesemandarinandmustabletospeakandinfluentmandarin.Range:60,000-Php89,999

11. ZHANG, AODI Project Engineering Coordinator

Basic internationalworkingMinimumQualification:10yearsofexperienceondredging projects. Fluent in English and additional points for Dutch and French. Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic PhpSalaryVietnamesespeakDegreeQualification:holder,fluentlyandwriteLanguage.Range:30,000-Php59,999

4. KUMAR, SoftwareSANDEEPDevelopment Manager Brief Job Description: Manages and leads software development lifecycle projects. Basic Bachelor’sQualification:Degreeand has experience in software engineering role. Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 ANOC99 CORPORATION 5/f To 10/f Ayala Malls Manila Bay Building D., Macapagal Blvd. Cor. Aseana Street, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Marketing Director 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.

DUONG

18. WANG, MandarinXINGBINAccounting Manager

Customer Service Representative Brief Job RecommendsDescription:potential products or services to management by collecting information and analyzing customer needs Basic

Basic surveyingexperienceandDegreeQualification:incivilengineeringinternationalinquantityconstruction projects Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Burmese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 IndonesianANTONI Customer Service Representative Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service

89. SYLVIA IndonesianVERONIKACustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires. Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

61. ZHANG, JUERUI Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

90. IndonesianTONY Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

BusinessMirror A7www.businessmirror.com.ph Friday, August 17, 2022

49.

78. HERNANDIO PRADANA HARDWI Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

read and write

80. JECLYN IndonesianLIMIANTOCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

79. IndonesianJACKSON Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires. Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

98. CHUNG YIUN HONG Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

100. JOSEPH LAU KONG SENG Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

92. WILLY IndonesianCHANGCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 64. ZHAO, ChineseXIAOGUANGCustomerService Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

KEYWORDS ASIA PRIVATE LIMITED Ortigas Technopoint, Don. F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Julia Vargas Ave., Ugong, City Of Chinese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php Qualification: Able to speak, Chinese Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php Qualification: Able to speak, read Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php NYI NYI

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 CHENG, JIE Chinese Customer Service Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 54. LIN, ChineseYUANDICustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquires

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

88. IndonesianSUWANDI Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

51. GUO, ChineseZHANWEICustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquires

Brief

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

96. CHIN KEN HOE Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: At least 12 years of proven experience in Market research or Consumer Insights within agencies or end-users with Domain expertise in projects in areas of Brand, Innovation, Media or Creative research. Experience in leading a team and mentoring. PhpSalarynewforecastingfuturefinancialopportunitiesprofitabilityaccountpresentationcommunicationsStrongandskills.Reviewandprojecttounderstandtomaximizeperformanceforproject.AccountofaccountandbusinessRange:150,000-Php499,999

48.

inquiries

85. RICO IndonesianIRAWANCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

58. REN, ChineseJUANCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

KANTAR PHILIPPINES, INC. 23rd Floor, The Podium West Adb Avenue Corner, Julia Vargas Avenue, Ortigas Center, Wack-wack Greenhills, City Of Mandaluyong

82. IndonesianKEVIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

95. ALICE YAP WEI LEE Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 IndonesianAGUSTINA Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 IndonesianANDREW Customer Service Representative Job Description: Maintain accurate sales record

81. IndonesianKENDRI Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

97. CHONG HUI YEONG Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

and write

35. SCHEEPERS, WILLEM JOHANNES Shore Technician - Heavy Equipment Brief Job Description: He is in charge of the watch in the workshop for heavy equipment.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 CHANG, XIYANG Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

60. XIONG, ZHAONI Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls

Brief

inquiries

84. IndonesianMICHAEL Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

87. STEPHEN IndonesianHALIMCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

65. ZHU, ChineseGUANGYICustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

93. IndonesianYANTO Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires. Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 94. YUSTINA AGUSTIN TANTONO Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

37. ZANDBERG, CHRISTIAAN Shore Technician - Heavy Equipment Brief Job Description: He is in charge of the watch in the workshop for heavy equipment.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

59. SONG, ChineseXIAOHUICustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

36. VISSER, JOHANNES BOTHA Shore Technician - Heavy Equipment Brief Job Description: He is in charge of the watch in the workshop for heavy equipment.

55. LIU, ChineseYONGDONGCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquires

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

69. ANDI

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

59,999 45. NYEIN

52. HU, ChineseHE Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

75. IndonesianDELVIN Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

Pasig 39. CHEON, YAE HEE Bilingual Player Support Agent Brief Job Description: Provide answers to game players in a responsive manner Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Korean and good in PhpSalaryspokencommunication,EnglishbothandwrittenRange:90,000-Php149,999 MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 4th-11th Flr. Nexgen Tower, C4 Rd. Edsa Ext., Barangay 76, Pasay City 40. AH BurmeseYAR Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires. Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 41. AUNG KO HEIN Burmese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires. Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 42. CHAW BurmeseCHEINCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write

73. BETY IndonesianCLASTIANICustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

77. HANDOKOWIRA TASLIM Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquires

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

68.

Salary

Basic Qualification: Can speak mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 ANTON IndonesianSUWANDICustomer Service Representative Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service

59,999 46. SAI HTUT HTUT Burmese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

53. JIANG, ChineseLUMINGCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquires

50. CHEN, ChineseBAILINGCustomer Service Representative

70.

Brief

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

83. IndonesianMEILISA Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquires

Basic MinimumQualification:of10years of working experience on international dredging projects. Fluent in English and additional points for Dutch and French. Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

and write

66.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 IndonesianAHAU Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 BurmeseSOE and customer service inquiries

63. ZHAO, ChineseQINGCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

74. BONG SIAU FEN Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

67.

Basic MinimumQualification:of10years of working experience on international dredging projects. Fluent in English and additional points for Dutch and French. Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

57. QIN, ChineseHUAFEICustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

62. ZHANG, MINGJIE Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

language

Basic Qualification: Able to Speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

and write

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief

59,999 43. HTIKE BurmesePHYINCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries Basic

Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

language

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

71.

76. EDY IndonesianKELVIANTOCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquires

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

47. TIKE

Wednesday, August 17, 2022BusinessMirror A7www.businessmirror.com.ph

86. IndonesianSHELLY Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic MinimumQualification:of10years of working experience on international dredging projects. Fluent in English and additional points for Dutch and French. Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

inquires.

inquiries

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

91. VANESA YOVA KENCANA Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

99. JARVIS CHAI KANG WEN Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

56. NI, ChinesePEIPEICustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

72.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. 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 ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 IndonesianEFENDI Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

59,999 44. MAI BurmeseHUE Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries Basic

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 IndonesianDESRIANCustomer Service Representative Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

38. EVANS, DAVID GLYN Account Director Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:fortherevenue growth on a yearly basis and building strong client relationships, making a proven difference to the client’s business, and for overall client satisfaction. An Account Director manages a high performing team with responsibility for its people, clients and business delivery and growth. You are also accountable for overseeing the entire delivery process, deliverables, client engagement and consultancy, providing insightful, value-added market intelligence to new and existing clients. As part of the senior management Team, responsibilities include business development, people management and financial management along with business strategy implementation.

questions

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

120. LOAN THI VietnameseTAMCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

114.

106. NIGEL TING HUONG CHOON Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

125. NGUYEN THU CHAM Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires. Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

inquiries

inquires.

127. PHAM NGOC THINH Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service

107. PUAH JIN MalaysianJIACustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

129. PHAN VAN VietnameseCHIENCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 132. TRAN NGOC PHUONG Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Brief

give customers information about product and services Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer experience/goodservice in oral communication and PhpSalarywrittenRange:30,000-Php 59,999 NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION Sky Garage Bldg., Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Tambo, City Of Parañaque 1331 Pearl Plaza Bldg., Quirino Ave., Tambo, City Of Parañaque 8/f Ecoplaza, 2305 Don Chino Roces Ave., Magallanes, City Of Makati 145. LIAO, ChineseMINGCONGCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 146. LIU, ChineseJIAYOUCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 147. LIU, ChineseXINGCAICustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 148. XU, ChineseZIJIANCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 149. YANG, ChineseJUNJIECustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 150. ZHANG, DAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 151. ZHANG, LONG Chinese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 152. ZHONG, HUAN Chinese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 153. IndonesianANDI Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 154. CHANDRA IndonesianBUDIMANCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 155. DEWI IndonesianKOMALASARICustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 156. IndonesianFENNY Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 157. IndonesianFRENKY Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 158. IndonesianHENDIKO Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 159. HENDRI IndonesianMARGONOCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 160. HENDRO IndonesianMARGONOCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 161. IndonesianHENRI Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 162. IndonesianHERIYANTO Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999

105. MICHAEL TSIA FOO LEE Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires. Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

119. LE THI LE VietnameseTHUCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

128.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

137. VU THI VietnameseHIEN Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

136. VI VAN VietnameseCHANCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic PhpSalarysolvingthinkingdegreeGraduateQualification:4yearsbachelorwithcriticalandproblem-skillsRange:30,000-Php59,999

117.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

113. DINH VAN VietnameseSONCustomer Service Representative Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service

Brief

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief

116.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

126. NGUYEN VAN THUAN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

141.

Basic PhpSalaryProblemCriticalBachelorGraduateQualification:of4YearsDegreeWithThinkingandSolvingSkillsRange:30,000-Php59,999

121. NGO DUC VietnameseTHUANCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

111. CHAC TRUNG NGUYEN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

123. NGUYEN CONG NHI Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

inquiries

122. NGUYEN CHI BAO Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

109. WEE XIAN QING Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

112. DINH KIEN VietnameseQUOCCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

139. RENDY IndonesianCANDRACustomer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Provide product/services, information, answer questions and resolve emerging

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 LE DINH VietnameseANHCustomer Service Representative Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquires

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic PhpSalarysolvingthinkingdegreeGraduateQualification:4yearsbachelorwithcriticalandproblem-skillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 IndonesianRICHARD Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Provide product/services, information, answer and resolve

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

104. LING SU MalaysianHOWCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquires

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 MPOTECH DIGITAL SYSTEM INC. 2/f 331 Bldg., Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic PhpSalarysolvingthinkingdegreeGraduateQualification:4yearsbachelorwithcriticalandproblem-skillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 WICAKSONO BAGUS SASONGKO Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Provide product/services, information, answer questions and resolve emerging problems

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

130. TRAN KHAC THANH Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 DO VAN VietnameseDINHCustomer Service Representative Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

131. TRAN NGOC NAM Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

problems

103. LEONG CHEE PING Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

143. LEONARD IndonesianWIJAYALanguage Customer Service ProvideBriefRepresentativeJobDescription:product/services, information, answer questions and resolve emerging problems

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

124. NGUYEN THI DAN THUY Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquires

102. LAU CHEE HUA Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 LE KHAC VietnameseBANGCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 133. TRAN NGUYEN KHANH Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

142. ANGEL IndonesianTANDIANLanguage Customer Service ProvideBriefRepresentativeJobDescription:product/services, information, answer questions and resolve emerging problems

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

138. AKNES HARTATI MANULLANG Indonesian Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Provide product/services, information, answer questions and resolve emerging problems

Basic PhpSalarysolvingthinkingdegreeGraduateQualification:4yearsbachelorwithcriticalandproblem-skillsRange:30,000-Php59,999

115.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 LE QUANG VietnameseGIANGCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

Basic PhpSalaryProblemCriticalBachelorGraduateQualification:of4YearsDegreeWithThinkingandSolvingSkillsRange:30,000-Php59,999

108. TENG CHEE WEE Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

101. KHOR CHIN HAN Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires. Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 134. TRAN THI VietnameseLUYENCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

NEO NorthINCORPORATEDTowerCentrum Bldg., Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque144.WU,ChineseCHENGXIAOSpeaking Admin Associate Brief Job Assist/helpDescription:customers,

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 BusinessMirrorA8 www.businessmirror.com.ph 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 ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE BusinessMirrorA6 www.businessmirror.com.phFriday, August 17, 2022

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 PHAM THUY AN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

135. TRIEU THI VietnameseOANHCustomer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:incomingcalls and customer service inquiries

110. YUKI YONG CHENG TENG Malaysian Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires. Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

118. LE THI HONG SAM Vietnamese Customer Service Representative Brief Job ManagingDescription:Incomingcalls and customer service inquires.

140.

emerging problems

skills

215.

Services. Basic

Basic PhpSalarydataCustomerQualification:supportandbaseservicesRange:30,000-Php59,999 PHAM THE VietnameseHIEUCustomer Job KnowledgeableDescription:incomputer application with good oral and written communication

Service Brief

skills

Brief

Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999

data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 200. HUA THI VietnameseTHAOCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 201. LE QUYNH VietnameseHUONGCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 202. LE TRUNG VietnameseHIEUCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 203. LUAN VAN VietnameseHUNGCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 204. LUNG QUAN THANH Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base Services. Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 205. LUONG VAN SON Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 206. LY VAN VietnameseTHINHCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 207. NGUYEN BA CHIEN Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base Services. Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 208. NGUYEN MINH HOANG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base Services. Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 209. NGUYEN THI MINH HAU Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 210. NGUYEN THI THEM Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 211. NGUYEN THI THUY TRANG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 212. NGUYEN TIEN NAM Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job KnowledgeableDescription:incomputer application with good oral and written communication skills Basic PhpSalarydataCustomerQualification:supportandbaseservicesRange:30,000-Php59,999 213. NGUYEN VAN HOANG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 214. NGUYEN VAN THUC Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base Services. Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication

217.

218.

Services.

Service Brief

198. HOANG VAN DIEP Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base Services. Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 HOANG VAN HIEN Vietnamese Customer Service Job CustomerDescription:supportand with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 NONG VAN VietnameseCHICustomer Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 VAN VietnameseHANHCustomer Job KnowledgeableDescription:incomputer application with good oral and written communication

with

199.

Service Brief

Basic PhpSalarydataCustomerQualification:supportandbaseservicesRange:30,000-Php59,999 PHAN VAN VietnameseNAMCustomer Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base

Wednesday, August 17, 2022BusinessMirror A9www.businessmirror.com.ph 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 ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE BusinessMirror A9www.businessmirror.com.ph Friday, August 17, 2022 163. IndonesianHERMAN Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 164. HESTI IndonesianYOHANACustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 165. LIDYA IndonesianCHRISTINECustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 166. IndonesianMULIADY Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 167. IndonesianNERIYANTI Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 168. RABIN IndonesianWIJAYACustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 169. IndonesianSOFIATI Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 170. IndonesianSUPENDI Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 171. IndonesianTOMMY Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 172. VERLIUS IndonesianLIMCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 173. KIM, KoreanYEONGSUKCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 174. HENG KHANG WEI Malaysian Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 175. MUHAMMAD ALIHISYAM SENG Malaysian Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 176. SIEW JIN MalaysianWEICustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 177. MyanmariARLOH Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 178. KWE MyanmariKHITECustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 179. KYAW MYO NAING Myanmari Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 180. LA MyanmariJA Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 181. NAR MyanmariPHA Customer Service Brief Job KnowledgeableDescription:incomputer application with good oral and written communication skills Basic PhpSalarydataCustomerQualification:supportandbaseservicesRange:30,000-Php59,999 182. SAI NYI NYI LWIN Myanmari Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services. Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 183. SAI TUN MyanmariTINCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 184. SOE SOE MyanmariMYINTCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 185. SOE MyanmariWAR Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 186. THAE MyanmariMAUNGCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 187. YOON SHWE YEE Myanmari Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 188. JIPOE, SIRIPORN Thai Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 189. BIEN VAN VietnameseKHANHCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 190. BUI VAN VietnameseANHCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 191. DANG VAN VietnameseTHINHCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 192. DINH VAN VietnameseTHANGCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base Services. Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 193. DIP VA VietnameseCUONGCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 194. DUONG THI HIEN Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 195. DUONG THI HUONG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 196. GIAP VAN VietnameseLOICustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 197. HOANG THI HUONG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base Services. Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999

216. NONG

Service Brief

245. OO JAY HAN Host, Premium Marketing Services Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:forperforming extraordinary service experience during membership enrollment, rewards redemption events and promotions

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and written in Mandarin. Proficient in MS Office, with exceptional knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TELEPHILIPPINES INCORPORATED Edsa Central It Center 2, United Street Corner Edsa, Greenfield District, City Of Mandaluyong241.ENSMINGER, GAIL Executive Vice President, Operations Brief Job Description: level

Basic Qualification: Must have lived studied and worked in Malaysia for at least 10 years and is accustomed to its culture Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

237. LIN, MandarinSHAOBINSpeaking - Marketing Specialist Brief Job ResearchesDescription:anddevelops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and written in Mandarin. Proficient in MS Office, with exceptional knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must be able create prototypes for the new materials. Knowledgeable in research and keeps track/ logs PhpSalaryandMustforinformationpertinentandfindingsproductdevelopment.befluentinEnglishMandarinLanguageRange:30,000-Php59,999

236. FAN, MandarinWEIWEISpeaking - Marketing Specialist Brief Job ResearchesDescription:anddevelops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas.

240. LIN, MandarinHUIYUESpeaking -business Development Analyst Brief Job Description: Develop, implement, and communicate metrics reporting processes and documentation across plants and companies in collaboration with operations, marketing and sales functions.

Basic PhpSalarynewpositionsofcustomersstrategicestablishenvironment.energy,aasThrivesQualification:&flourishesateamplayerinfast-paced,high-change-orientedAbilitytoandmaintainrelationshipswithforthepurposegrowingcurrentandpositioningsolutions.Range:150,000-Php499,999

SPRING DRAGON TRADING LTD. INC. 35th Flr. Penthouse 1,2 & 4 Manila Eco Tower, 9th Ave. Cor. 32nd St., Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig230.

253. YU, MandarinHANG Quality Inspector Brief Job Description: The mandarin quality inspector 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.

248.

Brief Job Description: The mandarin technical 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.

Basic PhpSalarymust.fluencyanalysisstatisticalresearchunderstandingrelatedcommunicationsbusinessBachelor’sQualification:Degreeinormarketing,orfield.Haveagoodofmarkettechniques,anddatamethodsandinMandarinisaRange:30,000-Php59,999

Basic positiveAbilityQualification:tomaintainaworkclimate that is conductive to attracting, retaining and motivating top-quality employees at all levels. Ability to promote, implement and ensure adherence to corporate policies.

Basic PhpSalaryindustry.analystaPreviousmarketing,businessBachelor’sQualification:Degreeindevelopment,orsimilar.experienceasbusinessdevelopmentinarelatedRange:30,000-Php59,999

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above TENERITY PHILIPPINES CORP. 12th Floor, W Fifth Building, 32nd St. Cor. 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig 243. SANTAMARIA DANIEL, EDGAR ALFONSO Team Leader, Service Delivery Brief Job Description: Establish effective and timely two way communication with customer care specialist to ensure issues are addressed Basic PhpSalaryskills.verballistening,ExcellentQualification:interpersonal,writtenandcommunicationRange:60,000-Php89,999 TIGER RESORT, LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT, INC. Okada Manila, New Seaside Drive, Entertainment City, Tambo, City Of Parañaque 244. CHAI WAI Coordinator,HUAIPremium Marketing And Vip Services Brief Job Description: Handle enquiries and reservations from casino guests through membership hotline and VIP service emails, supports promotion and events through inbound

Basic HighlyQualification:proficientin written and oral French language is a must. Well-versed in the French culture to better address the agent and customer’s character, disposition, etc. Maternal French language is highly required as lots of issues involve Money Transfer and Financial Transactions Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

232. NIRAJ ResearchKUMARAnd Development Specialist Brief Job Description: Ability to formulate, develop, improve, and reformulate products Basic tasking.PositiveQualification:towardsmulti-Mustbefluent in English and Vietnamese PhpSalarylanguage.Range:30,000-Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must have lived studied and worked in Malaysia for at least 10 years and is accustomed to its culture Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Brief Job ResearchesDescription:anddevelops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas.

247. YEH, BilingualLI-CHIAField Marketing Officer Brief Job Description: Define a region-specific marketing plan that supports the regional sales strategy

239. WANG, MandarinKEJUSpeaking - Marketing Specialist Brief Job ResearchesDescription:anddevelops various marketing strategies for products and services and implements marketing plans and works to meet sales quotas.

PIERRE

Basic PhpSalarystrategicexperiencebyandawarenessfamiliarity,commissioningmandarinProvenQualification:experienceaselectricalanalyst,knowledgeandonmachineryheavyequipmentusecompany.Demonstrableindevelopingbusinessplan.Range:30,000-Php59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and written in Mandarin. Proficient in MS Office, with exceptional knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic PhpSalaryMandarinReadingProficientQualification:inSpeaking,andWritinginRange:30,000-Php59,999

231. INAH, LEOFISHER S Product Development Specialist

Onyx

XINCHUAN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL PHILIPPINE PROJECT LTD 16/fCORP.Tower 6789, 6789 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic PhpSalarystrategicexperiencecompany.heavyonknowledgesupervisor,mandarinProvenQualification:experienceastechnicalfamiliarity,andawarenessmachineryandequipmentusebyDemonstrableindevelopingbusinessplan.Range:30,000-Php59,999

Basic *DatePhpSalaryComparativeTranslator,UnderstandingEducation;ProperCollegeQualification:GraduatewithJapaneseLanguageProvenWorkasaInterpreter,orJobRange:30,000-Php59,999Generated:Aug16,2022

242. ANKLESARIA, BEHEZAD MINOO Vice President, Client Services Brief Job Description: Ensure that the day-to-day business affairs of the company are appropriately managed by developing and implementing processes that will ensure the achievement of the company’s financial and operating goals and objectives.

Basic PhpSalarystrategicexperiencecompany.heavyonknowledgeinspector,asProvenQualification:experiencemandarinqualityfamiliarity,andawarenessmachineryandequipmentusebyDemonstrableindevelopingbusinessplan.Range:30,000-Php59,999

238. WANG, MandarinGUANGJIESpeaking - Marketing Specialist

meetings and site visits. Evaluates and implements ideas and suggestions for new solutions, makes critical decisions.

TROY

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 BusinessMirrorA10 www.businessmirror.com.ph 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 ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No. NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE BusinessMirrorA6 www.businessmirror.com.phA10 Friday, August 17, 2022 219. PHAN XUAN KIEU Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base Services. Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 220. PHUNG THI CHUYEN Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 221. TO THI VietnameseNINHCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarycommunicationwithcomputerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplicationsgoodoralandwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 222. TRAN THI VietnameseBACCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base Services. Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 223. TRENH GIA VietnameseHUANCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base Services. Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 224. TRUONG NGOC TRINH Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic PhpSalarySkillsWrittenWithComputerKnowledgeableQualification:inApplicationGoodOralandCommunicationRange:30,000-Php59,999 225. VI VAN VietnameseSU Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:Supportand Data Base Services. Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskills.Range:30,000-Php59,999 226. VO THI HOAI SAM Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 227. VY QUOC VietnameseCHUNGCustomer Service Brief Job CustomerDescription:supportand data base services Basic computerKnowledgeableQualification:inapplication with good oral and PhpSalarycommunicationwrittenskillsRange:30,000-Php59,999 QISO INC. Unit 2502-c, 25th Flr., West Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange Road Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig 228. MOON, KI TAE Assistant Manager Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:forimplementing workflow procedures directed from the company, supervising employees during day-to-day tasks, providing customer support in escalated situations and managing the overall workflow Basic PhpSalaryExperienceHangul,inCollegeQualification:Graduate,FluentEnglish&KoreanatLeast1yr.WorkRange:60,000-Php89,999 R1 RCM PHILIPPINES, INC. Unit 3001 30/f 88 Corporate Center,, Valero Cor. Sedeño St., Bel-air, City Of Makati 229. BARROW, IVANA LYNNE Manager For Customer Resource Center Brief Job Description: Ensure calls from patients for multiple client hospital sites are answered with in the client services

SUNTOUCH TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION 747 N Padilla St., 067, Barangay 646, San Miguel, City Of Manila

UNIONDIGITAL BANK INC. 41f Union Bank Plaza,, Meralco Ave. Cor. Road,, City Of Pasig NEIHOUSER, Head Quezon City 251. JANGHA, JOSEPH NKWENTI Specialist, Customer Care Brief Job Description: Resolve money transfer and technical issues as well as provide customer calls to primarily Frenchspeaking customers and agents of Western Union. Provide first-level support for customer complaints. Respond to agent and customer’s requests in English and French language.

254. LI, MandarinTAO Technical Supervisor

YAMAHEI TRAINING AND ASSESSMENT CENTER CORPORATION 10, San Mauricio St., Batis, City Of San Juan 255. SHIMOKATA, HIDEMASA Japanese Interpreter - Translator Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:forallinterpretation tasks i.e. reading through the original documents and objective language, ensuring that the importance of the source content is retained. Proficient with proofreading, editing, and copywriting

235. ZHU, HumanZHENGRONGResourceOfficer (mandarin Speaking) Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:forhiring, developing and looking after employees.

Basic Qualification: 3-5 yrs experience in delivering customer services in a hospital or health care center PhpSalaryenvironmentRange:150,000- Php 499,999

234. ZHAN, HumanTAOResource Officer (mandarin Speaking) Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:forhiring, developing and looking after employees.

233. FANG, HumanPEIResource Officer (mandarin Speaking) Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:forhiring, developing and looking after employees.

San Antonio,

In the ad material of Notice of Filing of Application for Alien Employment Permits published on AUGUST 13, 2022, the positions of KIM, SEUNGHYUN , PARK, HYUNGEON, JEONG, BYEONGJUN, SUL, MINKI, NA, KYUNGJAE, KIM, JIN-HO and LIM, JAEHYUN under the SMARC GROUP ASIA INC., should have been read as CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE and not as Anypublished.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.

Brief Job Description: Conducts research and keep the track/ logs pertinent information and findings. Report update/ result of efficacy testing done on exploratory raw materials/ concepts to the Product Development Supervisor. Review the product stability and testing results. Excellent communication skills both written and verbal. Must be fluent in English and Mandarin Language

Of Cyber defense And Cybersecurity Operations BriefCenterJob Description: Manage the cyber security operation center as a service (CSOCaaS) inclusive of incident response (IR) while defining, building & managing Uniondigital bank’s internal cyber defense program Basic computerBachelor’sQualification:deginscienceor any related field. At least 6 yrs.’ experience in field related to cybersecurity Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above VERTEX DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 1439 Adriatico Cor. Sta. Monica St., 072, Barangay 669, Ermita, City Of Manila 249. HOANG DANH HUNG It MaintainBriefSpecialistJobDescription:theoperation of electronic device Basic PhpSalaryMandarinGamingExperienceCollegeQualification:GraduateWithinMaintainingDevices;FluentinandEnglishRange:30,000-Php59,999 VPC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 11/f 100 West, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Cor., Washington St., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati 250. TRAN VAN Vietnam-speakingLONG Customer Service Officer Brief Job ResponsibleDescription:toresolve queries of the malacustomers through email and chats. Basic PhpSalaryVietnamesewritingExcellentQualification:inreading,andspeakingRange:30,000-Php59,999 WESTERN UNION SERVICES (PHILIPPINES) INC. 6th & 7th Floors, Vertis North Corporate Center, Tower 1, North Avenue, Bagong Pag-asa,

BAHADORAN BAGHBADERANI, MORTEZA Product Development Specialist Brief Job Description: Conducts research and keep the track/ logs pertinent information and findings. Report update/ result of efficacy testing done on exploratory raw materials/ concepts to the Product Development Supervisor. Review the product stability and testing results. Excellent communication skills both written and verbal. Must be fluent in English and Mandarin Language Basic Qualification: Must be able to create prototypes for the new materials. Knowledgeable in research and keeps track/ logs PhpSalaryandMustforinformationpertinentandfindingsproductdevelopment.befluentinEnglishMandarinLanguageRange:30,000-Php59,999

Provides executive level interaction between companies including c

TOTAL CREST BUSINESS SUPPORT, INC. 26/f & 27/f Alphaland Corporate Tower, Ayala Ave. Extn. Cor. Malugay St., Bel-air, City Of Makati 246. LIM WAN CHIN Bilingual Field Marketing Officer Brief Job Description: Define a region-specific marketing plan that supports the regional sales strategy Basic PhpSalaryMandarinReadingProficientQualification:inSpeaking,andWritinginRange:30,000-Php59,999

252. CHEN, MandarinSHENGElectrical Commissioning Analyst Brief Job Description: The mandarin electrical commissioning analyst 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.

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O IL declined for a third day as a deepening global slowdown looked set to coincide with an increase in supply from Opec producers. West Texas Intermediate futures slid below $89 a barrel after falling around 5 percent over the previous two sessions. Mounting signs of an economic downturn swept through markets on Monday as bearish US data including rapidly cooling manufacturing followed weaker-thanexpected Chinese numbers. Investors are also facing the prospect of rising supply as demand moderates, while prompt time spreads are signaling concerns over tight global markets are easing. Libya is pumping more and Iran is edging closer to reviving a nuclear deal that will likely see higher crude flows. “Oil prices are being weighed down by a weaker macroeconomic outlook due to poor data from China as well as possible new supply from Iran,” said Sean Lim, a Malaysia-based oil and gas analyst at RHB Investment Bank Bhd. “However, even if the Iran deal passes, any ramp-up in oil production could still take time, so its immediate effect might not be too strong.” Crude is trading near the lowest level in six months after giving up all of the gains following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which upended trade flows and drove prices as high as $130 a barrel. The market has also been gripped by bouts of volatility recently, exacerbated by the lower levels of liquidity. While the market is backwardated, a bullish pattern marked by near-term prices commanding a premium to later-dates ones, the gap has narrowed significantly. Brent’s prompt spread was 67 cents in backwardation, compared with $2.08 at the start the month. Iran sent the European Union its official response to the bloc’s proposal for reviving the 2015 nuclear accord after signaling it may be nearer a deal with the US. Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said an agreement can be reached with Washington to restore the beleaguered accord in the next few days “if the US shows a realistic approach and flexibility.”

Bloomberg News OIL EXTENDS

• Editor: Angel R. Calso A11

LOSSES ON GLOBAL SLOWDOWN AND RISING SUPPLY

By Grant Peck

American admiral decries ‘unsafe’ China military actions in Pacific MYANMAR COURT CONVICTS SUU KYI ON MORE CORRUPTION CHARGES

The new exercises were intend ed to be “resolute response and solemn deterrent against collusion and provocation between the US and Taiwan,” the Defense Ministry said earlier. It was not clear if the new drills had already started since the min istry gave no details about where and when they would be conduct ed, in contrast to previous rounds. The US lawmakers, led by Dem ocratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massa chusetts, met with President Tsai Ing-wen, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and legislators, according to the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy on theAtisland.their meeting, Tsai said her administration was working with allies to ensure stability in the Taiwan Strait and maintain the status quo—a reference to the is land’s self-governance, separate from“Russia’sBeijing.invasion of Ukraine earlier this year has shown the threat that authoritarian na tions pose to the global order,” TsaiMarkeysaid. responded by saying Washington and Taipei had a “mor al obligation to do everything we can to prevent an unnecessary con flict and Taiwan has demonstrated incredible restraint and discretion during challenging times.”

The senator also highlighted legislation intended to boost polit ical and economic ties with Taiwan, especially in the critical semicon ductor industry. Taiwan is a crucial provider of computer chips for the global economy, including China’s high-tech sectors, and beyond the geopolitical risks of rising tensions in the region, an extended crisis in the Taiwan Strait could have ma jor implications for international supply chains at a time when the world is already facing disruptions andMarkeyuncertainty.isone of the few mem bers of Congress still serving who voted for the 1979 Taiwan Rela tions Act that ensured continued relations with the island following the switch of US diplomatic recog nition from Taipei to Beijing. The other members of the delegation are Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, a delegate from American Samoa, and Dem ocrats John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal from California and Don Beyer from Virginia. In a statement from his Senate office, Markey cited the 1979 law in saying the US must maintain its commitment to “help Taiwan withstand cross-Strait coercion” and avoid conflict. China says it wants to use peace ful means to bring Taiwan under its control, but its recent saber rat tling has emphasized its threat to take the island by military force. The earlier drills appeared to be a rehearsal of a blockade or attack on Taiwan that would force the cancellation of commercial flights and disrupt shipping to Taiwan’s main ports as well as cargo passing through the Taiwan Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. The exercises prompted Taiwan to put its military on alert, but were met largely with defiance or apathy among the public used to living in China’s shadow. The American “visit at this time is of great significance, because the Chinese military exercise is [in tended] to deter US congressmen from visiting Taiwan,” Lo Chihcheng, the chair of the Taiwan legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, said after meeting with the US lawmakers. “Their visit this time proves that China cannot stop politicians from any country to visit Taiwan, and it also conveys an important message that the American people stand with the Taiwanese people,” Lo Asaid.senior White House official on Asia policy said last week that China had used Pelosi’s visit as an excuse to launch an intensi fied pressure campaign against Taiwan.“China has overreacted, and its actions continue to be pro vocative, destabilizing, and un precedented,” Kurt Campbell, a deputy assistant to US President Joe Biden, said on a call with re porters on CampbellFriday.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.

Bloomberg News

China announces more drills as US delegation visits Taiwan

Pelosi was the highest-level member of the US government to visit Taiwan in 25 years, and her trip prompted nearly two weeks of threatening military exercises by China, which claims the island as its own. In those drills, Beijing fired missiles over the island and into the Taiwan Strait and sent warplanes and navy ships across the waterway’s midline, which has long been a buffer between the sides that split amid civil war in 1949.China accuses the US of encour aging the island’s independence through the sale of weapons and engagement between US politi cians and the island’s government. Washington says it does not sup port independence, has no formal diplomatic ties with the island and maintains that the two sides should settle their dispute peace fully—but it is legally bound to ensure the island can defend itself against any Americanattack.andTaiwanese of ficials have accused China of us ing Pelosi’s visit as a pretext for intimidating moves, and a senior US official said recently that Wash ington would continue to deepen its ties with Taiwan in the coming days and weeks. The latest trip began Sunday with little notice ahead of time— and drew more ire from China. The delegation was due to leave late“ChinaMonday.will take resolute and strong measures to defend na tional sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese Foreign Min istry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing Monday, after Beijing announced new drills in the seas and skies sur rounding Taiwan. “A handful of US politicians, in collusion with the separatist forces of Taiwan independence, are trying to chal lenge the one-China principle, which is out of their depth and doomed to failure.”

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Meanwhile, the Russian FSB, the KGB’s main successor agency, said that it had thwarted a “sabo tage and terrorist attack” on an oil pipeline in Russia’s southern Vol gograd region, which it blamed on two Russian citizens colluding with Ukrainian security forces. The claims could not be imme diatelyElsewhere,verified.Russian and Ukrai nian officials traded more accusa tions Monday about renewed shell ing of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, with each side alleging that the other was responsible for the attacks that have raised fears of aThecatastrophe.pressoffice of the Krem lin-backed administration in En erhodar, the Russian-controlled city where the plant is located, told the Interfax agency that Ukrainian forces were carrying out “massive shelling” of the fa cility, as well as Enerhodar’s resi dential and industrial areas. According to the statement, the shelling came from nearby Nikopol, a Ukrainian-held city that faces the plant across the Dnieper River.

TAIPEI,announcedTaiwan—Chinamoremilitary drills around Taiwan as the selfgoverning island’s president met with members of a new US congressional delegation on Monday, threatening to renew tensions between Beijing and Washington after a similar recent visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi angered China.

In the same post, the military said Russian forces had staged an unsuccessful assault on Bakhmut, a strategic town in the Donetsk re gion whose capture would pave the way for Russia to take Kramatorsk and the de facto Ukrainian admin istrative capital, Sloviansk. The Donetsk region is one of two provinces that make up the Don bas, where the fighting has largely been focused in recent months, since Kremlin forces retreated from around the capital, Kyiv. Russian officials announced the full capture of the Luhansk re gion, the second of the two, early last month, though its Ukrainian governor has repeatedly claimed that Kyiv’s forces are holding out in a small area near the regional boundary.Inthesame update, the mili tary claimed that Russia had tried and failed to break through Ukrai nian defense lines in the northern Kharkiv region, home to Ukraine’s second-largest city, but were “met harshly and thrown back.”

By Paul Byrne The Associated Press K YIV, Ukraine—The Ukrai nian military said Monday that it had repelled more than a dozen Russian attacks in the country’s east and north, including attempts to advance on key cities in the eastern industrial heartland known as the Donbas. In its regular Facebook update, the military’s general staff said Russian troops had attempted to push towards Kramatorsk, one of two major cities in the eastern Do netsk province that remain under Ukrainian control, but “they failed completely and chaotically retreat ed to their previous positions.”

The mayor of Nikopol later said that Russians were shelling Enerhodar themselves. Mayor Yevhen Yevtushenko and other municipal authorities in Nikopol have repeatedly accused Russian troops stationed at the plant of shelling the city, knowing that Ukrainian forces there were unlikely to fire back. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his call for fresh sanctions against Moscow and its nuclear industry in response to the situation. He described Russian forces’ actions there as “nuclear blackmail” that may embolden malign actors worldwide. As Russian forces kept up their artillery barrages around Ukraine, at least three Ukrainian civilians were killed and 20 others wounded, Ukrainian officials said. The deaths and 13 of the wound ed were blamed on Russian shell ing that hit towns and villages in the Donetsk region, regional of ficials said. In the country’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, seven civilians were wounded by Russian shelling that hit residential buildings and an area near a bus stop. Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Synyehubov said the wounded in cluded a 80-year-old woman. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konash enkov said Monday that Russian warplanes have struck Ukrainian army positions in the southern Kherson region and in the Do netsk region. He added that the Russian air force also hit a facil ity in the Kharkiv region, killing at least 100 and wounding 50 “mercenaries” from Poland and Germany. His claims could not be independently verified. Speaking at the opening of an arms show outside Moscow, Rus sian President Vladimir Putin hailed the military, which he said was “liberating the Donbas step by Hestep.”also vowed to expand arms sales to Russian allies, whom he praised for continuing to offer firm support to Moscow in the face of Western pressure. For its part, the Ukrainian mili tary claimed to have destroyed more than 10 Russian warehous es with ammunition and military equipment in the past week. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian par liament extended martial law and the country’s general mobilization for another 90 days. Zelenskyy dismissed the heads of three regional branches of Ukraine’s top security agency, SBU, in the Kyiv, Lviv and Tarnopil re gions. Zelenskyy’s office didn’t elaborate on the reasons behind the move. Last month, he dismissed SBU chief Ivan Bakanov and a chief prosecutor, saying their depart ments had too many people who faced accusations of collaborating with the Russians.

Ukrainian military says it repelled more than dozen Russian attacks

T HE top American naval commander in Asia criticized what he said were unsafe and provocative actions by Chinese warplanes, reiterating US complaints about behavior that officials argue could prompt a clash. Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, commander of the US Navy’s Japan-based Seventh Fleet, expressed concern Tuesday about increasingly assertive efforts by the People’s Liberation Army to intercept US and allied military aircraft in the skies over the Pacific. He cited the firing of flares near planes and shortening the distance between aircraft as they pass as risky actions. “There has been an increase in what we would consider unsafe, unprofessional or non-standard intercepts, and it’s not just United States aircraft, it’s also our allies and partners aircraft,” Thomas told reporters in Singapore, where the US was taking part in a regional training exercise. “It’s the provocative nature of the intercepts that’s got our attention.” The admiral’s warning comes as China ramps up drills and patrols around Taiwan in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei earlier this month. As part of its efforts to hit back at Washington over the trip, Beijing canceled three separate military-to-military talks intended to, among other things, set up systems to reduce the risk of escalation and miscalculation between the two nuclear powers. While Thomas broadly characterized interactions with the PLA as “fairly professional,” he also said the Chinese military had become more aggressive during the US’s freedom-of-navigation operations or when allied aircraft approach areas that Beijing considers sensitive. Earlier this year, Australia and Canada similarly accused China of conducting dangerous intercepts of patrol aircraft during surveillance and sanctions-monitoring missions over the East and South China seas. If you’re trying to send a flare out of your plane to get somebody’s attention because maybe they’re going to go into your territorial airspace or something, that might be one thing, but if you’re operating in international airspace, that’s another thing,” Thomas said. “When you start doing things—eject things from your aircraft—you start crossing lines that are unacceptable, quite frankly.”

By Johnson Lai The Associated Press

The Associated Press B ANGKOK—A court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on more corruption charges on Monday, adding six years to her earlier 11-year prison sentence, a legal official said. The trial was held behind closed doors, with no access for media or the public, and her lawyers were forbidden by a gag order from revealing information about the proceedings.Inthefour corruption cases decided Monday, Suu Kyi was alleged to have abused her position to rent public land at below market prices and to have built a residence with donations meant for charitable purposes. She received sentences of three years for each of the four counts, but the sentences for three of them will be served concurrently, giving her a total of six more years in prison. She denied all the charges, and her lawyers are expected to appeal. She already had been sentenced to 11 years in prison on sedition, corruption and other charges at earlier trials after the military ousted her elected government and detained her in February 2021. Analysts say the numerous charges against her and her allies are an attempt to legitimize the military’s seizure of power while eliminating her from politics before the military holds an election it has promised for next year. Suu Kyi and her co-defendants have denied all the allegations and their lawyers are expected to file appeals in the coming days, said the legal official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to release information and feared punishment by theOtherauthorities.topmembers of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party and her government have also been arrested and imprisoned, and the authorities have suggested they might dissolve the party before the next election. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a civil society organization, says more than 12,000 people are in detention after being seized by the security forces. “The more the terrorist military council deliberately imprisons people’s leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with various arbitrary charges, the stronger the people’s determination to destroy the military dictator becomes,” said Tun Myint, a member of the underground central working committee of Suu Kyi’s party. The army seized power and detained Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, the day when her party would have started a second-five year term in office after it won a landslide victory in a November 2020 general election. The army said it acted because there had been massive voting fraud, but independent election observers did not find any major irregularities.Thearmy’s takeover sparked peaceful nationwide street protests that security forces quashed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that some U.N. experts now characterize as civil war. The military government has been accused of human rights abuses including arbitrary arrests and killings, torture, and military sweeps that include air attacks on civilians and the burning of entire villages.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says it has verified that 2,191 pro-democracy activists and other civilians have been killed in crackdowns by the military, though the actual total is probably muchSuuhigher.Kyi, 77, has been the face of opposition to military rule in Myanmar for more than three decades. She won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize while under houseHerarrest.fiveyears as its civilian government leader were marked by repression and military dominance even though it was Myanmar’s most democratic period since a 1962 coup. Suu Kyi has been charged with a total of 11 counts under the Anti-Corruption Act, with each count punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine. In Monday’s verdicts, the legal official said Suu Kyi received a three-year prison sentence for building a residence for herself in Naypyitaw, allegedly with money donated for a charitable foundation named after her mother that she chaired. She received a three-year sentence for allegedly taking advantage of her position to rent property in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, for the same foundation, the official said. The two other cases decided Monday involved parcels of land in Naypyitaw for which she allegedly abused her authority to rent at below market prices for the foundation. She received a sentence of three years for each of those cases. The three cases pertaining to offenses in Naypyitaw are to be served concurrently. The former mayor of Naypyitaw, Myo Aung, was a co-defendant in both cases relating to granting permits to rent the land. Ye Min Oo, the former vice mayor, is a co-defendant in one case and Min Thu, a former member of the Naypyitaw Development Committee, in the other. Each received sentences of three years.

IN this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen pose for photos with US Congress members and other Taiwan officials during a meeting at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Taiwan, on Monday, August 15, 2022. The delegation of US Congress members visited Taiwan parliament on Monday in a further sign of support among American lawmakers for the self-governing island.

TAIWAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE VIA AP

U NITED

crisis can be justified,” he said. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced Guterres’ appointment of Stiell as executive security of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, succeeding Patricia Espinosa of Mexico. He said the appointment was made after consulting with the 197 parties to the convention, which is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris agreement aimed at tackling climate change. The Paris agreement called for global temperatures to rise a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, compared to pre-industrial times, and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). The world has already warmed 1 degree Celsius, so the goal is really about preventing another 1 or 0.5 degrees Celsius (1.8 or 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) increase from now. Although he doesn’t know Stiell personally, former US State Department negotiator Nigel Purvis said Stiell “as a representative of a vulnerable small island country has the right kind of background.” His new post is an important job running the primary forum under the United Nations in which countries spur each other to do more and the key is to find someone “who is going to push for action,” said Purvis, chief executive officer of Climate Advisers. “Having hard-charging diplomatically astute people in this role has made a huge difference in the past,” Purvis said.

Police in New York have offered no motive for the attack, though District Attorney Jason Schmidt alluded to the bounty on Rushdie in arguing against bail during a hearing over the “Evenweekend.ifthiscourt were to set a million dollars bail, we stand a risk that bail could be met,” Schmidt said. In his remarks Monday, Kanaani added that Iran did not “have any other information more than what the American media has reported.” He also implied that Rushdie brought the attack on himself. “Salman Rushdie exposed himself to popular anger and fury through insulting the sacredness of Islam and crossing the red lines of over 1.5 billion Muslims and also red lines of followers of all divine religions,” Kanaani said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while not directly blaming Tehran for the attack on Rushdie, denounced Iran in a statement Monday praising the writer’s support for freedom of expression and religion. “Iranian state institutions have incited violence against Rushdie for generations, and state-affiliated media recently gloated about the attempt on his life,” Blinken said. “This is Statedespicable.”Department spokesman Ned Price, speaking to reporters in Washington on Monday, condemned the Iranian government for blaming Rushdie for the attack. “It’s despicable. It’s disgusting. We condemn it,” he “Wesaid.have heard Iranian officials seek to incite to violence over the years, of course, with the initial fatwa, but even more recently with the gloating that has taken place in the aftermath of this attack on his life. This is something that is absolutely outrageous.”

By Kim Tong-Hyung The Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea—The United States and South Korea will begin their biggest combined military training in years next week in the face of an increasingly aggressive North Korea, which has been ramping up weapons tests and threats of nuclear conflict against Seoul and Washington, the South’s military said Tuesday.

AP/ALBERTO PEZZALI UN chief Guterres names Grenada’s Simon Stiell as new UN climate head

The allies’ summertime drills, which will take place from August 22 to September 1 in South Korea under the name of Ulchi Freedom Shield, will include field exercises involving aircraft, warships, tanks and potentially tens of thousands of troops.Thedrills underscore Washing ton and Seoul’s commitment to restore large-scale training after they canceled some of their regu lar drills and downsized others to computer simulations in recent years to create space for diplomacy with Pyongyang and because of Covid-19 concerns. The US Department of Defense also said the US, South Korean and Japanese navies took part in mis sile warning and ballistic missile search and tracking exercises off the coast of Hawaii from Aug. 8 to 14, which it said was aimed at furthering trilateral cooperation in face of North Korean challenges. While the United States and South Korea describe their exer cises as defensive, Ulchi Freedom Shield will almost surely draw an angry reaction from North Korea, which describes all allied trainings as invasion rehearsals and has used them to justify its nuclear weapons and missiles development.Beforethey were shelved or downsized, the US and South Ko rea held major joint exercises every spring and summer in South Korea. The spring ones had been high lighted by live-fire drills involving a broad range of land, air and sea assets and usually involved around 10,000 American and 200,000 Ko reanTenstroops.of thousands of allied troops had participated in the summertime drills, which had mainly consisted of computer simulations to hone joint decision making and planning, although South Korea’s military has em phasized the revival of large-scale field training this time.

Those were important vows from a man once mentored by former President Daniel Arap Moi, who ran Kenya as a repressive one-party state for almost a decade. The 55-year-old Ruto portrayed himself during the campaign as the brash outsider, playing up his chicken-selling days from childhood. He told voters the election was a contest between “hustlers” from modest backgrounds and the “dynasties” of Kenyatta and Odinga, whose fathers were Kenya’s first president and vice president.

SOUTH KOREA DEFENSE MINISTRY VIA AP

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By Cara Anna The Associated Press N AIROBI, Kenya—In a chaotic announcement that could foreshadow a court challenge, Kenya’s electoral commission chairman on Monday declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner of the country’s close presidential race over five-time contender Raila Odinga. The outcome was a triumph for a candidate who shook up the East African nation’s politics by appealing to struggling Kenyans’ economic concerns instead of their ethnic allegiances. Ruto received about 50.5 percent of the vote to nearly 49 percent for Odinga in last Tuesday’s balloting, the chairman said. But just before the declaration, four of the seven electoral commissioners told reporters they could not support the “opaque nature” of the final steps, without givingScreamsdetails.and scuffles broke out in the auditorium, the lectern was tossed from the stage, and police rushed in to restore order as a choir continued to sing. Minutes later, commission chairman Wafula Chebukati announced the official results and said the two commissioners who stayed behind with him had been injured.Odinga’s campaign alleged that unspecified “electoral offenses” were committed and that a winner was illegally declared without a quorum of commissioners.“Itisnotover until it is over,” Odinga’s running mate, Martha Karua, a former justice minister, tweeted. Crowds of people across Kenya exploded in jubilation in some places, and in anger in others. Odinga supporters shouted “No Raila, no peace!” and burned tires in the crowded Nairobi neighborhood of Kibera as night fell. Religious leaders pleaded for calm. Odinga’s campaign has seven days to file a challenge in court, extending the uncertainty in Kenya, a country of 56 million people that is seen as crucial to regional stability. The Supreme Court will have 14 days to rule. This is likely to be the final run for Odinga, a 77-year-old longtime opposition figure who had the backing of outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta. Kenyatta fell out with his deputy, Ruto, years ago. Ruto told reporters that the divisions among the electoral commissioners were just a “sideshow” and “pose no threat at all to the legality of the declaration.” “What happened this evening is an unfortunate situation, I think an attempt by our competitors to roll back what we have achieved as a country,” Ruto said. He praised a election that for many Kenyans represented a leap forward in transparency and peace, largely free from ethnic divisions that in the past played out with deadly results. In his acceptance speech, Ruto promised a “transparent, open, democratic government” and said people who had acted against his campaign “have nothing to fear.... There is no room for vengeance.”

“I was expecting him to come back motivated, to complete school, to get his degree and a job. But instead he locked himself in the basement. He had changed a lot, he didn’t say anything to me or his sisters for months,” Silvana Fardos said. Village records in Yaroun show Matar holds Lebanese citizenship and is a Shiite, an official there said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns, said Matar’s father lives there but has been in seclusion since the attack. Flags of the Iranian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah, along with portraits of Hezbollah and Iranian leaders, hang across the village. Israel has bombarded Hezbollah positions near there in the past.

Kim Jun-rak, spokesperson of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the South Korean and US mili taries were maintaining a close watch on North Korean military activities and facilities. Animosity has built up on the Korean Peninsula since US-North Korea nuclear negotiations de railed in early 2019 over exchang ing the release of crippling US-led sanctions against the North and the North’s disarmament steps. Kim Jong Un has since declared to bolster his nuclear deterrent in face of “gangster-like” US pressure and halted all cooperation with the South. Exploiting a division in the UN Security Council over Russia’s war on Ukraine, North Korea has dialed up weapons testing to a record pace this year, conducting more than 30 ballistic launches. They have included the country’s first demonstrations of interconti nental ballistic missile technology since 2017 and further tests of tac tical systems designed to be armed with small battlefield nukes. Kim has punctuated his testing binge with repeated warnings that the North would proactively use its nuclear weapons in conflicts with South Korea and the United States, which experts say indicate an escalatory nuclear doctrine that could cause greater concerns for its Southneighbors.Korea and US officials say North Korea is also gearing up for its first nuclear test since September 2017, when it claimed to have developed a thermonuclear warhead to fit on its ICBMs.

Officials at Seoul’s Defense Ministry and its Joint Chiefs of Staff did not comment on the number of US and South Korean troops that would be participating in Ulchi Freedom Guardian Shield. The drills, which will kick off along with a four-day South Kore an civil defense training program led by government employees, will reportedly include exercises simulating joint attacks, frontline reinforcements of arms and fuel, and removals of weapons of mass destruction.Theallies will also train for drone attacks and other new warfare developments shown during Russia’s war on Ukraine and practice joint military-civilian responses to attacks on seaports, airports and major industrial facilities like semiconductor factories. “The biggest meaning of [Ulchi Freedom Shield] is that it normal izes the South Korea-US combined exercises and field training, [con tributing] to the rebuilding of the South Korea-US alliance and the combined defense posture,” Moon Hong-sik, a Defense Min istry spokesperson, said during a briefing.Someexperts say North Korea may use the drills as an excuse to stir up tensions. The North has already warned of a “deadly” retaliation against South Korea over its Covid-19 outbreak it dubiously claims was caused by anti-Pyongyang propa ganda leaflets and other objects flown across the border by bal loons launched by southern ac tivists. There are concerns that the North Korean threat, issued last week by the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, portends a provocation, which may include a nuclear or major missile test or even border skirmishes. In an interview with Associ ated Press Television last month, Choe Jin, deputy director of a think tank run by Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry, said the United States and South Korea would face “unprecedented” security challenges if they don’t drop their hostile military pressure campaign against the North, including joint military drills.

US, South Korea to begin expanded military drills

The Associated Press writers Bassem contributedMroueinBeirutandMatthewLeeinWashingtontothisreport.

measuresbeworldwide,affectingaboutmostandupnationshandfulPlesseycorporations,Valleyindustryholdingspentandservinggovernmentthere,KingdomtacklingtruetheCaribbeanMondayannouncedGeneralNATIONS—Secretary-AntonioGuterrestheappointmentofSimonStiellfromtheislandnationofGrenadaasnewUNclimatechief,callinghim,“achampion”ofcreativeapproachestotheglobalclimatecrisis.Stiell,whooriginallytrainedintheUnitedasanengineerandearnedanMBAwasaseniormemberinGrenada’sfrom2013untilJune2022,asministerforclimateresiliencetheenvironmentforfiveyears.Priortojoiningthegovernment,he14yearsinthetechnologysector,seniorexecutivepositionsinleadingcompaniesfromSilicontechnologystart-upstomajorincludingNokiaandGECTelecommunications.InrecentyearsStiellhasbeenamongaofprominentfiguresfromvulnerabledemandingthatrichcountriessteptheireffortstocombatclimatechangehelpthosearoundtheworldthatarevulnerable.Reactingrecentlytoascientificreporttheeffectsofclimatechangealreadymorethan3billionpeopleStiellwarnedthatinactionwould“catastrophic.”“Nothinglessthanthemostextremetocutemissionsandadapttothis

By Jon Gambrell The Associated Press D UBAI, United Arab Emirates—An Iranian official Monday denied Tehran was involved in the stabbing of author Salman Rushdie, though he sought to justify the attack in the Islamic Republic’s first public comments on the bloodshed. The remarks by Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, came three days after Rushdie was wounded in New York state. The writer has been taken off a ventilator and is “on the road to recovery,” according to his agent. Rushdie, 75, has faced death threats for more than 30 years over his novel “The Satanic Verses,” whose depiction of the Prophet Muhammad was seen by some Muslims as blasphemous. In 1989, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or Islamic edict, demanding the author’s death, and while Iran has not focused on Rushdie in recent years, the decree still stands. Also, a semiofficial Iranian foundation had posted a bounty of over $3 million for the killing of the author. It has not commented on the“Regardingattack. the attack against Salman Rushdie in America, we don’t consider anyone deserving reproach, blame or even condemnation, except for [Rushdie] himself and his supporters,” Kanaani said. “In this regard, no one can blame the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added. “We believe that the insults made and the support he received was an insult against followers of allIranreligions.”hasdenied carrying out other operations abroad against dissidents in the years since the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, though prosecutors and Western governments have attributed such attacks to Tehran. Rushdie was attacked Friday as he was about to give a lecture in western New York. He suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm and an eye, according to his agent, Andrew Wylie. Rushdie is likely to lose the eye, Wylie said. His alleged assailant, Hadi Matar, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder andMatar,assault.24, was born in the US to parents who emigrated from Yaroun in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border, according to the village’s mayor. Matar had lived in recent years in New Jersey with his mother, who told London’s Daily Mail that her son became moody and more religious after a month-long trip to Lebanon in 2018.

Iran denies involvement but justifies Rushdie attack

SIMON STIELL from Grenada attends a plenary session at the COP26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland on November 12, 2021. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment on Monday, August 15, 2022, of Simon Stiell as the new UN climate chief, calling him “a true champion” of creative approaches to tackling the global climate crisis.

Ruto declared winner in Kenya’s presidential polls marred by chaos

IN this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, a missile is fired during a joint training between US and South Korea at an undisclosed location in South Korea on May 25, 2022. The United States and South Korea will begin their biggest combined military training in years, starting August 22, in the face of an increasingly aggressive North Korea, which has been ramping up weapons tests and threats of nuclear conflict against Seoul and Washington, the South’s military said Tuesday, August 16.

The streets of central Tijuana were busy Monday after an unusually quiet weekend of canceled medical appointments and closed restaurants.

DennisPeyupsGorecho

Some were quick to brand the arson and shooting attacks as terrorism, while the government denied it. Interior Secretary Adán Augusto López said, “They are not terrorist attacks; you don’t have to exaggerate the facts.” But it is not clear what the goal was.“I think that the orders that were given to these gunmen was to cause chaos,” said Mexican security analyst Alejandro Hope. “Generate chaos, generate uncertainty, generate fear, shoot at anything that moves. That is something that generates terror.” But, Hope added: “Terrorism implies a political goal. I don’t know what the political goal is in this case.” López Obrador suggested Monday the attacks were part of a political conspiracy against him by opponents that he describes as “conservatives” and he argued that “there is no big problem” with security.

By Elliot Spagat & Fabiola Sánchez | The Associated Press

woman’s right to choose to have an abortion falls within that right to privacy. A state law that broadly prohibits abortion without respect to the stage of pregnancy or other interests violates that right. The case discussed abortion rights in three periods of the pregnancy.Inthe first trimester, the state may not regulate the abortion decision; only the pregnant woman and her attending physician can make that Indecision.thesecond trimester, the state may impose regulations on abortion that are reasonably related to maternalInhealth.thethird trimester, once the fetus reaches the point of “viability,” a state may regulate abortions or prohibit them entirely, so long as the laws contain exceptions for cases when abortion is necessary to save the life or health of theHowever,mother. the US Supreme Court recently overturned the Roe doctrine in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. It was a legal challenge to Mississippi’s 2018 Gestational Age Act, which had banned abortions after 15 weeks with exceptions only for medical emergencies or fetal abnormalities.Inupholding the Mississippi law, the Court has effectively ended the constitutional right to an abortion for American women. The Court stated that Roe has “enflamed debate and deepened division” and that overruling it would “return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” The majority opinion relied on a constitutional historical view of abortion rights, saying, “abortion couldn’t be constitutionally protected. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.”

“I don’t know if there was a connection, a hidden hand, if this had been set up,” he said. “What I do know is that our opponents, the corrupt conservatives, help in the black propaganda.”DefenseSecretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said later that the cartels had lashed out because they have been weakened. “They want to still feel like they’re strong and they generate violent situations where by way of publicity they send messages that they are still strong,” he said. Tijuana Mayor Montserrat Caballero sounded very different when she issued a strange public appeal Friday to the cartels to stop targeting innocent“Todaycivilians.we are saying to the organized crime groups that are committing these crimes that Tijuana is going to remain open and take care of its citizens,” Caballero said in a video. “And we also ask them to settle their debts with those who didn’t pay what they owe, not with families and hard-working citizens.”

Aside from politics, nothing has polarized nations more than the issues of population growth control, abortion and contraception and their perceived consequences. As in every democratic society, we might be expecting more discussion on diametrically opposed views. The other winners for the full length films section include: “ The Baseball Player ” by Carlo Obispo won as best film along with three other awards, best editing by Zig Dulay, best screenplay by Obispo, and best actor by Tommy Alejandrino; Ma-an L. Asuncion Dagñalan (Blue Room) as best director; Ruby Ruiz (Ginhawa) as best supporting actress; Soliman Cruz ( Blue Room) as best supporting actor; Neil Daza ( Blue Room) for best cinematography; Marxie Maolen Fadul ( Blue Room) for best production design; Isha Abubakar (Retirada) for best original music score; Pepe Manikan (Bula Sa Langit) for best sound design award; “Kargo” by TM Malones as audience choice award and Blue Room for the special jury award. See “Gorecho,” A15 See “Mexico,” A15 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 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

A MiDDLe AgeD woman riddled with indecision as she is confronted by maternity, including undergoing abortion, gave Max eigenmann her best actress award for “12 Weeks” in this year’s Cinemalaya independent film festival. ‘12 Weeks:’ Abortion and motherhood in Cinemalaya 2022 Alice (Eigenmann) is a single 40-year-old woman who discovers she is pregnant after breaking up with her boyfriend (Vance Larena). With her age and current relationship status, her first instinct is to have the pregnancy terminated. As her body undergoes dramatic changes, Alice struggles and needs to decide whether she wants to be a mother or not. The fetus is most vulnerable during the first 12 weeks. During this period, all of the major organs and body systems are forming and can be damaged if the fetus is exposed to drugs, infectious agents, radiation, certain medications, tobacco and toxic substances, in addition to emotional stress. 12 weeks also won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) award. DirectorAnna Isabelle Matutina said that the film aimed to tell modern Filipinas that they and they alone should decide about their bodies, certainly not the men in their lives.She added that it is a story on modern Filipino women who continue to struggle in a highly conservative and deeply patriarchal country where anti-woman laws continue to exist and misogyny is blatant and common. I had a discussion with Matutina on abortion in view of the recent overturning by the US Supreme Court of the doctrine enunciated in the 1973 landmark case of Roe v. Wade (410 US 113). I first encountered Roe vs Wade in my constitutional and criminal law classes at the UP College of Law in the early 1990s. The US Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that the US constitution generally protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an Theabortion.case noted that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects against state action the right to privacy, and a Mexico’s week of drug violence shakes administration

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José Andrés Sumano Rodríguez, a professor and security specialist at the Northern Border College in Matamoros, a city on the border with Texas, said the decision of targeting civilians was a considered one. The cartels “have learned that when they pressure on the side of generating terror and attacks on civilians, it gives them good results,” he said. “Often it is much more effective

editorial Delay in SRA action is injurious to PHL BefoR e the issuance and eventual recall of the infamous Sugar order 4, which called for the importation of an additional 300,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar, there was So 1 that came out before September 2021. Prior to the start of a crop year for sugarcane, the Sugar Regulatory Administration issues So 1, which indicates the projected output as well as the allocation of the domestic production. The SRA Board consults sugar producers before So 1 is crafted and released.

SO 1 for crop year (CY) 2021-2022 was issued on August 27, a few days before the end of the previous crop year for sugarcane. SO 1 had already signaled the possibility that sugar supply would be tight. It indicated that sugarcane output for the current crop year, which will end on August 31, would reach 2.099 million metric tons, nearly 2 percent lower than the 2.138 MMT produced in CY 2020-2021 (See, “SRA order allots 20212022 sugar output for domestic consumption,” in the BusinessMirror, August 31, 2022). The expected decline in sugarcane output prompted the SRA Board to allocate the entire production volume to domestic use, classifying it as “B” sugar. In recent years, the classification of local sugar was whittled down to only 2-A (for export to the United States) and B (for domestic use). Classifying the entire production volume as “B” meant that the Philippines will not export sugar to the US under the tariff rate quota system. A paper released by the Philippine Competition Commission indicated that the sugar order of the SRA mandates mills to divide all planters’ shares and mill shares into various classifications according to given percentages. The paper noted that the classification is justified under the SRA mandate of maintaining a balanced relation between production of sugar for local consumption, exports, and strategic reserve, as well as ensuring price stability. La Niña was blamed for the expected lower sugarcane output in CY 2021-2022. In SO 1, the SRA Board noted that the state weather bureau had announced the reemergence of the La Niña phenomenon in the country either in late October or November 2021 until the first quarter of 2022. La Niña, the SRA said, would affect almost all sugar-producing provinces at their start and peak milling for the current crop year and result in low sugarTyphoonrecovery.Odette, which devastated the Visayas region, compounded the production woes of the local sugar sector. Odette, regarded as the strongest storm of 2021, ravaged sugar plantations in major sugar-producing areas. Official government data indicated that more than 50,000 hectares of sugarcane plantations were hit by Odette, causing planters and millers to incur P1.5 billion in losses (See, “Skyrocketing sugar prices stoke industry liberalization stakes,” in the BusinessMirror, August 4, 2022). SRA data reveal the extent of the damage caused by climate change and other challenges such as rising fertilizer prices. As of July 31 this year, the country’s raw sugar output declined by 16 percent to 1.792 million metric tons, from 2.138 MMT recorded in CY 2020-2021. The country ended the month of July with significantly lower stocks—raw sugar inventory was down by nearly 50 percent, while that of refined sugar fell by nearly 26 Thepercent.SRA Board is supposed to issue SO 1 again for CY 2022-2023 before September 1, or the start of the new crop year. We hope that the resignation of the SRA chief and other members of the sugar board as well as the controversy generated by SO 4 would not delay the crafting of new policies. A delay would be costly to many industries as well as consumers who are now shelling out more for basic goods and commodities.

www.businessmirror.com.phWednesday, August 17, 2022 • Editor: Angel R. Calso Opinion BusinessMirrorA14

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TiJUANA, Mexico—Days of widespread drug cartel arson and shootings in four states last week have left Mexicans asking why the drug cartels exploded and what do they want.

On Monday morning, pedestrians waited more than three hours to enter the United States at the San Ysidro border crossing connecting Tijuana and San Diego. There was no visible stepped-up security presence in central Tijuana. Omar García, who runs a clothing souvenir stand near the border crossing in Tijuana, said tourism evaporated over the weekend. He was encouraged by Monday’s heavy traffic but said the violence could turn into an economic jolt to his business. “They are blows that come occasionally,” said García, 34, who has sold souvenirs at the border crossing since he was a young boy. “We are 100 percent dependent on tourism. If they get scared, they don’t come.”

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The attacks killed 11 people, including a young boy and four radio station employees who were randomly shot on the streets of the border city of Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas, on Thursday. Two days earlier, more than twodozen convenience stores owned by a well-known national chain were set ablaze in the northern state of Guanajuato. Cars and buses were commandeered and burned in neighboring Jalisco state. And two-dozen vehicles were hijacked and set on fire in cities on the California borderTheFriday.federal government deployed soldiers and National Guard troops to calm residents’ fears, but the outbursts of violence raised questions about President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s approach of putting all responsibility for security in the hands of the military rather than civilian police forces.

UN supports Bangsamoro peace agreement

Mark T. Lapid Chief Operating Officer TIEZA TIEZA to comply with COA requirements

ON August 12, 2022, I witnessed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administer the oath to the 80 members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) in a ceremony at Malacañang Palace. The United Nations welcomes the President’s prompt appointment of the BTA members, which indicates his prioritization of the peace process and its successful implementation.Thecomposition of the BTA with newly and re-appointed members is expected to allow for a smooth transition process and continuity of BTA programs, projects, and legislative measures on the one hand, and greater inclusivity representing all the major MILF and MNLF factions and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (BARMM) diverse communities for the first time, reiterating the President’s call for unity. We also welcome the experienced and well-qualified women BTA members. Following this important milestone, the expected appointment of members to the peace process mechanisms, including the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB), the Government of the Philippines Peace Panel, the Normalization Joint Taskforces and the Amnesty Commission, will also contribute to the accelerated joint implementation of the political and normalization tracks of the peace agreement. More women appointees here—and there are many qualified and experienced women to choose from—would also contribute to sustainable peacebuilding as the best peacebuilding practice around the world has demonstrated.Asalongstanding partner of the Bangsamoro, the United Nations and its partners remain committed to continue promoting peace in the Bangsamoro by strengthening the foundations for inclusive institutions, and sustainable development, and respect and protection of human rights.UN support to BARMM comprises the contribution of more than 10 resource partners, including the UN Peacebuilding Fund, as well as joint work and coordination with the Office of Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, which has significantly contributed to the consolidation of peace efforts in the region. I n 2021, the UN system represented by 15 agencies and more than 200 staff members in BARMM provided direct support and technical assistance to relevant government agencies in a wide range of development, peace and state building sectors through projects in Marawi City, Cotabato City, the “SPMS Box,” Butig, Malabang, Lamitan City, Jolo, Bongao, Upi, South Upi, Talayan, among others. The deployment of an Area Coordinator to Cotabato in November 2021 formally established the UN’s Joint UN Coordination Office in BARMM, and will reinforce the UN’s work in theTregion.heUNcongratulates all the national and local stakeholders who have contributed to this important milestone and looks forward to supporting the joint implementation of the political and normalization tracks of this landmark Bangsamoro peace agreement.

The happiest little beings of the country will hit the road and enter schools on August 22—the day of liberation for the learners who for two years were trapped in their small home and digital spaces deprived of the traditional classroom. The incoming kindergarten, Grades one, two and three share something in common. They are all entering schools for the first time in their lives. The schools have been prepared for them, and the teachers experience the mixed emotions of anxiety and excitement. The parents? Relieved! Finally, they are reassured that their children will be learning enough, and their teacher-substitute role is soon over. The highly sociable schoolers and teens are once again ready to fulfil their interpersonal developmental milestones of industry (versus inferiority) and identity (versus confusion) in the social dynamics of a school. The classroom is an invention of humanity to formalize and socialize the learning experiences of children in a confined and controlled space, which in itself is a diverse yet a representation of the society in itself. The beloved teachers assume various roles for many situations in a highly dynamic learning space of unique individuals complicated by their intervening families and communities. The classroom is probably where one may find the most complex human interaction given the interplay of individualities influenced by the social structures within and around the school systems. But what can be more complex than the business of preparing young boys and girls for the future, which they barely understand and which we as adults barely have fixed well for ourselves, more so for them? Education, dubbed as the great equalizer, is regarded in the bottom of the hierarchy of needs. It provides security of competencies for future jobs and productivity, nurtures opportunity for love and belongingness in its social dynamics, enhances selfesteem and facilitates self-actualization in the journey of having, being and becoming. It ensures the “learning to know” of the essential knowledge, the “learning to do” of skills for living and working, the “learning to be” towards the envisioned future self, and “learning to live together” as one collective humanity of global citizens achieving our shared destiny. The challenge of ‘learning to change’ evolves as essential competencies especially in the world that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.Theopening of classes should remind us of the following major concerns that we may need to address not only as individuals and families but also as a society and country. We cannot teach a hungry child with undernourished brain. Many of our children are malnourished. The Unicef Data indicates that in 2020, 29 percent of under-two children are stunted relative to height for age. This may have worsened considering the pandemic economic crisis. Only 57 percent mothers had initial breastfeeding with only 52 percent sustaining this best infant nutrition to two years. The worst indicator is the death of 26/1,000-births before celebrating their 5th birthday. While water is a right, water is not available in many schools. DepEd reports in 2021 that only 61 percent of schools have available drinking water from its ground, leaving 39 percent without a source. In the archipelagic Philippines, with the world’s 5th longest coastline and with 421 rivers (50 are biologically dead) Wateroam web site indicates that only 36 percent of these rivers are public water supply source, while only 42 percent of its underground water sources are free of contamination. This leaves 1 out of 10 Filipinos without access to improved water source, or 7 million still consuming water from unsafe and unsustainable sources, or 24 million with lack of access to improved sanitation. The implication is the sustainability to waterborne diseases, which statistics supports that one of the leading causes of deaths remains to be water-borne diseases, like diarrhea, affecting mostly children. Early Childhood Development is neglected. This is evident from the data that only 29 percent of the under-five children attended early childhood education program, according to Unicef data. The DSWD and LGUs behind these programs may need to align with the Department of Education to ensure the seamless transition to academic preparation towards basic education. Bullying is real and devastating. The PISA reports that 65 percent of the 15-year-old respondents in 2018 experienced bullying a few times a month. This is high compared to the global average of 23 percent. There were reports that over half, about 56 percent, of all students have witnessed bullying taking place while at school. A reported 15 percent of all students who don’t show up for school out of fear of being bullied. Other recent bullying statistics reveal that 54 percent of students reported that witnessing physical abuse at home can lead to violence in school. Mental Health Issue is a serious issue, pre-pandemic and beyond. Suicide continues to be one of the leading causes of death among children under the age of 14. Bullycide is a term used to describe suicide as the result of bullying. Bullying statistics in 2010 report that there is a strong connection between bullying, being bullied and suicide, according to a new study from the Yale School of Medicine. Suicide rates are continuing to grow among adolescents, and have grown more than 50 percent in the past 30 years. Initial investigation of news articles and media reports into youth suicide rates in the Philippines found that from January to October 2020, there were 44 cases of suicides every month. The PSA said from 2,810 deaths by intentional selfharm in 2019, the number spiked to nearly double or 4,420 in 2020. A research said 16.9 percent of respondents had “moderate to severe” depression, 28.8 percent had “moderate to severe” anxiety and 13.4 percent had “moderate to severe” stress. Sexual abuse must have escalated during the pandemic. In The 2015 Child Protection Network Annual Report, 87 percent of all cases of sexual violence are girls, 11.7 percent of which occurred in the family home. While victims of sexual exploitation for commercial purposes are predominantly 13 to 18-year-old girls, some of them were forced into prostitution from age 10 for the youngest ones and 98 percent of rape victims are women. The incest percentage is another alarming data at 33 percent. The school may serve as a refuge for these young children to escape their confined environment, but such may only be a relief if appropriate and sustainable action may be taken from the reporting of their ordeal to teachers and other school authorities who are now more accessible to them, or who may see the red-flags of these abuses. Boys are abused too. There is also a growing data that boys are also sexually abused too in many ways. And their cases are neglected and ignored. But they are also suffering in silence and need to be helped. Such abuse affect their lives in the same way one can imagine. The smaller number of victims and reports is not reason for authorities to turn a blind eye on their ordeal as they suffer in silence. While some isolated cases have reported abuses happening in schools, the hope remains that the school is a safe place for young boys and girls, whose memory of childhood are nurtured in the learning environment they are now excited to see and be their second home. There is no doubt, education is something we should all take seriously not only for our children, but for our humanity. And there is more into education than just bringing together the diverse learners within the four-cornered learning environment facilitated by the teacher, in loco parentis. We need to act fast to save, not our education, but our children. For feedback, please send e-mail to drcarlbalita@ yahoo.com. to do this than have direct confrontation with the armed forces, where they are almost always going to lose.”

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 Opinion A15BusinessMirrorwww.news.businessmirror@gmail.com

“The latest batch of labor market data carried mixed news. The UK economy added more jobs than expected in July and wage growth came out particularly strong. This leaves little room for doubt that the labor market remains incredibly tight. But demand might be cooling, as vacancies dropped for a second straight month. We think that for now the Bank of England focus will be on the strength of nominal wage growth. Our base case is for a 25 basis-point hike in September, but today’s data keeps the possibility of a 50-bp move firmly on the table,” said Bloomberg economist Ana Luis EmploymentAndrade. increased by 160,000 in the second quarter, 46% less than the three months through May. The wage figures using the Consumer Prices Index measure instead of CPIH showed a 4.1 percent drop, also a record decline. “There is evidence that the cost of living crisis is starting to lower demand for workers,” said Jake Finney, economist at PwC UK. “This will ease pressure on the Bank of England to deliver another 50 basis points hike to interest rates next month.” The central bank’s Governor Andrew Bailey is concerned that tightness in the labor market is fanning upward pressure on wages. He’s signaled plans to keep raising interest rates to prevent rampant inflation causing a wage-price spiral. Further out, the prospects are less bright, with the BOE predicting unemployment will rise to over 6 percent as the cost of living crisis weighs on the economy. For now, most measures of the labor market remained tight. The number of employees on payrolls rose 73,000 in July, almost triple the pace expected. Average weekly earnings including bonuses rose 5.1 percent in the second quarter, stronger than the 4.5 percent pace that had been expected by economists. “Today’s stats demonstrate that the jobs market is in a strong position, with unemployment lower than at almost any point in the past 40 years—good news in what I know are difficult times for people,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi said in a statement.

UK real wages plunge most on record as job vacancies fall Gorecho. from A14

Since 2005, the Cinemalaya has continued “to discover, encourage, and support the cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity.” Peyups is the moniker of the University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@ sapalovelez.com or call 0917-5025808 or 09088665786. MAIL

By Andrew Atkinson & Celia Bergin Bloomberg Opinion UK job vacancies fell for the first time since August 2020 as real wages dropped at the sharpest pace on record, indicating a tightening inflation squeeze on consumers and businesses. The number of jobs employers are seeking to fill fell by 19,800 to 1.27 million in the quarter through July, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. Pay excluding bonuses and adjusted for inflation fell by 3 percent in the three months through June, the most since records began in 2001. The figures add to evidence the economy may be slowing under the weight of inflation at a 40-year high. The Bank of England is raising interest rates to prevent a wage-price spiral and expects a recession will lift unemployment to 6 percent over the next three years from 3.8 percent in the most recent month. “The labor market could ease further as the economy weakens,” said Yael Selfin, an economist at KPMG. “This will weaken the bargaining power of employees. A more forceful response from the Bank of England to tame inflation should also help lessen pay demands.”

Dr.FootprintsCarlE.Balita

Gustavo Gonzalez Resident Coordinator of the United Nations and Humanitarian Coordinator in the Philippines

On teaching hungry, malnourished learners in crisis

The spark that set off the chaos in Jalisco and Guanajuato last week was apparently the military coming upon a meeting involving a boss from the Jalisco cartel. Sandoval, the defense secretary, said the soldiers hadn’t known about it and were just trying to intercept a cartel convoy. “The narco terrorism of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is a reaction to the president’s change in strategy,” Saucedo said. “If the Mexican president continues with this strategy of capturing high-ranking members of the Jalisco cartel, the Jalisco cartel is going to respond with acts of narcoterrorism in the states it controls as part of its vast empire.” Sandoval said there has been no change in strategy. “It’s not that we’re looking for the leader...it’s not that operations are centered on certain levels of the organization,” he said. “We have to know where to employ that force, where to use it, the quantity of people we have to send to reinforce, the specific places and know where we have to act to be able to guarantee security,” Sandoval said. He denied the government was not being reactive, noting that in 19 of Mexico’s 32 states the National Guard already has superior numbers to state authorities. “It is part of a strategy that is already laid out and that we are going to apply accordingly.” There have been such terrorist acts before. In June of last year, a faction of the Gulf cartel entered Reynosa on the border with Texas and killed 14 people authorities identified as “innocent citizens,” as part of a bid to unseat a rival faction that controlled Reynosa. Ana Vanessa Cardenas, coordinator of the international relations program at Anahuac Mayab University in Merida, said that with any other president half the security Cabinet would have been ousted, there would be consultations with international experts and work would be underway on new security strategy. But she expects no change from López Obrador, who she considers to be in denial. “We’ve seen a total militarization of security and of the country, which is the last rung,” Cardenas said. “If having already reached the last rung in security we have an increase in violence, in murders, in narco control, then where do we go?” Sánchez reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writers Mark Stevenson and Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report Mexico. . . continued from A14

Entrepreneurs’

IT takes a village to raise a child! True, but there is more than just a village that can raise a child. And when the village itself is in chaos, how can the village “train up a child in a way he should go that when he is old, he will not depart from it,” as the bible assures?

For security analyst David Saucedo, the attacks were “narco terrorism,” and he said the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was behind the violence in the states of Guanajuato and Baja SaucedoCalifornia.saidthere has been a change in Mexico’s drug policy since last year, when soldiers at roadside bases simply watched as cartels battled for control of the western state of Michoacan with bomb-dropping drones, IEDs and land mines. Saucedo said the change may have angered the cartels. Mexico has made more attempts to capture drug lords, something López Obrador previously said he wasn’t interested in. Mexican marines captured fugitive drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero in July after years on the run for the 1985 killing of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. And Mexico’s seizures of meth labs and the synthetic opioid fentanyl have risen sharply in recent months. “There has been a change in the strategy in fighting drug cartels. Andrés Manuel (López Obrador) has been very much criticized recently for his ‘hugs, not bullets’ strategy,” Saucedo said. “I think that due to pressure from Joe Biden, he is changing that and agreeing to capture highprofile drug traffickers.”

I N response to the article “TIEZA water unit fails to pay income taxes for 12 years,” which the BusinessMirror published on July 18, 2022, we wish to inform you that pursuant to the observations made by the Commission on Audit (COA) in its 2021 Annual Audit Report of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), all of which had been addressed by the Management in the Exit Conference held with its auditors on May 30, 2022, the Authority resolves to continue its initiatives to further seek improvement of its processes and introduce innovations based on client feedback, third-party audits and observations made by overseeing government agencies. All concerned sectors and offices are directed to commit to these initiatives, to prepare pertinent documentation and responses to comply with the requirements of COA as warranted.Weaffirm that TIEZA is fully committed to its core values of excellence, integrity and innovation.

. . continued

P anayfed recommended a 300,000 MT import volume with 150,000 going to industrial users while the remaining volume going to farmers, traders and other sugar industry stakeholders.

D uring the Ugnayan sa Batasan Majority News Forum, House Ma jority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, House Committee on Appropria tion Senior Vice Chairperson Stella Luz Quimbo, and Pwersa ng Bay aning Atleta Party-list Rep. Mar garita Ignacia “Migs” Nograles all sounded hopeful that the national budget or the General Appropria tions Bill (GAB) would have smooth sailing in the chamber, which has the power of the purse. T he National Expenditure Pro gram (NEP), the precursor of the GAB, will be submitted to the lower chamber on Monday, August 22. Q uimbo said the appropria tions committee, chaired by Rep. Zaldy Co, commits to the swift approval of an economic recovery budget aligned with the Executive’s 8-point economic agenda. “Chair Co’s vision is to have an effective review and expedient ap proval of the budget while devoting equal attention to the subsequent monitoring of the budget execution itself, upholding both Congress’ power of the purse and oversight function,” said Quimbo. To ensure timely approval of the national budget, she said the appropriations committee has de ployed more budget sponsors for the upcoming deliberations. We need to ensure that the budget truly embodies the new ad ministration’s Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF). This economic recovery budget supports the Presi dent’s agenda, beginning with the return to face-to-face classes for our students. The comprehensive framework contains the general principles that will serve as an an chor in crafting the budget for 2023 and the years to come,” Quimbo added.While a number have pointed out that the increase in our 2023 budget ceiling from last year is pegged at 4.4 percent and see this as a limitation, Chairman Co challenged us in the committee, through our oversight functions, to be steadfast in ensuring that the 2023 Budget will be effectively absorbed and implemented. Effec tive budget utilization is even more important than a budget increase,” she said. Recess BY September 30, the House will begin its first recess in the 19th Congress and won’t convene until over a month later on November 6. We made it last Congress, we were able to beat the September 30 deadline, giving all members of the House of Representatives time to deliberate, interpellate intelli gently with all the departments. This is where the process began, and we wanted all members to have a chance to scrutinize the budget. And we were able to do that,” Dalipe said. I can confidently say, we can make the September 30 deadline,” underscored the Zamboanga City 2nd district congressman. Q uimbo, a senior vice chairman of the House Committee on Appro priations, gave an idea of how the House will tackle the NEP. August 22 is when we expect the NEP to be submitted to us by the executive and basically...this is merely a ceremonial turnover. After that, we will now have the budget briefings. So ito na ‘yung sequential budget briefings with every agency and this will start on August 26 with a briefing by the DBCC (De velopment Budget Coordination Committee),” she said. A ccording to Quimbo, the com mittee plans to finish the per-agen cy hearings by September 16. That means that the House plenary will have around two weeks to have the GAB approved on third and final reading before the scheduled recess. Nograles, for her part, said the appropriations panel will hold a meeting this week to prepare for the NEP’s submission. “ We already have a meeting this week for the Committee on Appro priations to be able to really buckle down and talk about the budget that we will be handling. We aim to finish that before [the start of the recess] on September 30,” Nograles said. By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM THE new management of the embattled Procurement Ser vice-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) sus pended its procurement of noncommon use supplies and equip ment “until further notice,” more than a week after the issue of its procurement of supposedly “pric ey” and “outdated” laptops for pub lic school teachers arose. I n a statement on Tuesday, PSDBM Executive Director Dennis Santiago said the suspension will allow them to focus on their main mandate—to procure commonuse supplies and equipment, in cluding ballpens, papers, staplers, paper clips, folders, among others. PS-DBM, an attached agency of the DBM, handles the centralized procurement of CSE for the whole government. “Iissueda directive suspend ing the procurement of non-com mon use supplies and equipment, effective immediately,” Santiago said. During the suspension, the PS-DBM shall not accept new re quests for Non-CSE procurement until further notice. This will al low us to focus on the fulfillment of our primary mandate, which is to procure CSEs,” Santiago added. C ommon-use supplies refer to those materials and equipment that are necessary for the trans action of official business of the procuring entity and are used in its day-to-day operations. O n the other hand, non-com mon-use supplies pertain to those required by an agency for a specific project only. Santiago said they will just complete the ongoing procurement of non-CSE. We will just finish the procure ment of the non-CSE items that are ongoing or in the pipeline. But we’ll go until that point only. After that, we’re done. All procurements will just be limited to CSE,” Santiago said. To recall, the Commission on Audit questioned the allegedly hefty price of the laptops for pub lic school teachers, were procured by the Department of Education (DepEd) through the PS-DBM at P58,000 each. T he PS-DBM, headed by San tiago, recently turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) documents related to the procurement of DepEd’s laptops, as well as other contracts entered into by PS-DBM in previous years which were the subject of Commis sion on Audit (COA) findings. S antiago added that the move to request the NBI to step in was made after the examination showed alleged discrepancies in the initial findings, similar to COA’s observations. T he issue once again rekindled calls from lawmakers to abolish PS-DBM, which was also previ ously the subject of controversy for its procurement of alleged overpriced Covid-19 medical sup plies, a task outsourced to it by the Department of Health.

A16 Wednesday, August 17, 2022 Continued on A4

THE leadership of the House of Representatives is confident of the September 30 deadline that they have set in approving the proposed economic recovery budget for 2023. 30 deadline for House approval of ’23 budget

T he NFSP proposed 300,000 MT, with half going to the domes tic market and the remaining half being allocated to industrial users.

T HE House Committee on Ways and Means will move to repeal Republic Act No. 4653, or the law which prohibits the importation of used clothing or ‘ukay-ukay,’ which is estimated to be a P18 billion industry. A lbay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, in a statement, cited the potential of the ukay-ukay industry. “ We will take it up and move to repeal the bill, subject to standards prescribed by the Department of Health,” said Salceda, who added that he will file a bill on the matter.

Most industry groups OKd importing sugar, but sked, timing varied House panel eyes repeal of law ukay-ukayagainst

“ It’s time for the law to recog nize what is real and legal to the ordinary Filipino anyway,” Salceda added.Infact, the lawmaker said the county has tariff lines for ukayukay—“15-20 percent for used clothing from countries we do not have trade agreements with, and zero percent for ASEAN countries. Major sources will include the Unit ed States and Europe, which we do not have free trade agreements with, and Japan, with which we do,” he said.Law enforcement does not raid ukay-ukay stores. Ukay has always been available as an op tion. For humanitarian reasons, we import ukay-ukay. Even appre hended ukay imports are eventu ally donated to disaster victims. And no one thinks it’s a bad idea to do these things. Ukay-ukay has been legal in all but the law itself,” he Aadded.ccording to Salceda, “a locator in Clark even imports used cloth ing that they sort. They reexport the usable clothes and use the rest as rags. There is a US$28-bil lion market for used clothing. In fact, supermarkets there already sell used branded clothing. These fashion stores already accept used clothing.”Salceda cited supermarkets such as Walmart that already sell “excel lent used clothing” of top brands.

T he groups and federations that made their recommendations were Confederation of Sugar Pro ducers Associations Inc. (Confed), Philippine Sugar Millers Associa tion (PSMA), Luzon Federation of Sugar Producers Inc. (Luzonfed), United Sugar Producers Federation (Unifed), National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP), and Pan ay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers. T he Philippine Sugar Millers As sociation (PSMA), the Philippine Association of Sugar Refiners Inc., and Delmax Corp. also advanced proposals for a second round of sugar importation this year. Confed proposed an import vol ume of “not more than 300,000” metric tons (MT) to be equally divided between raw and refined sugar. The PSMA also made the same import proposal of 300,000 MT (150,000 MT of raw sugar and 150,000 MT of refined sugar). L uzonfed and Unifed made a joint proposal of allowing the im portation of 300,000 MT of refined sugar alone. Luzonfed and Unifed have opposed the importation of raw sugar, noting the nearing start of local harvest in the country.

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

stays

PS-DBM SUSPENDS BIDS FOR ALL NON-CSE ITEMS

Sept.

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas V ARIOUS sugar industry groups were unanimous— before the “unauthorized” importation fiasco blew up last week—in proposing for a second round of sugar importation pro gram to salvage a dwindling local supply and arrest rising prices. However, they differed on the volume, schedule and type of sugar to be allowed to enter the country.

PASRI proposed the smallest im port volume at 200,000 MT, point ing out that the utilization of the volume should be “left to the bet ter judgment of parties that will be authorized to import.” Meanwhile, Delmax Corp. pro posed a 250,000-MT import vol ume, with 100,000 MT being raw sugar and the remaining 150,000 MT, refined sugar.

T he SRA conducts industry stake holders’ consultations prior to an approval of a sugar import program. The SRA board last week approved an additional 300,000 MT of sugar imports for the year, which has been now the subject of controversy. Government and industry sourc es told the BusinessMirror that the approval of the 300,000-MT second sugar importation program was above board and was based on facts and data. The proposed sugar importa tion was based on SRA’s official data and supply/demand analysis, as well as prevailing high market prices, which established a clear ba sis for additional imports,” Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama Jr., the act ing sugar planters’ representative to the SRA board, said. This is supported by resolu tions from industry stakeholders themselves, including those who now demand our resignation; the resolutions are on record,” he added. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. recently disclosed that the country may still have to import sugar, par ticularly in October when supply is projected to be tight, but only to the tune of 150,000 MT.

T he industry groups—from planters to retailers—made their respective sugar importation pro posals to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) prior to the approval of the controversial Sugar Order (SO) 4, documents obtained by the BusinessMirror showed.

AllDay’s performance A LLDAY Marts Inc., the operator of AllDay supermarket, said its income in January to June reached P11.6 million, or just a fraction of the P179.6 million it earned last year. The decline was partly due to the fire that burned down one of its stores in Alabang, Muntinlupa earlier this year. VG Cabuag

SOLANA Solar Alpha, Inc. (Solana Solar), a subsidiary of Alternergy Holdings Corp., will supply 10 megawatts (MW) to Peninsula Electric Cooperative Inc. (Penelco). Under the 20-year power supply agreement they both signed, Solana will source the 10MW from its proposed Solana solar power project to be located in Hermosa, Bataan. Gerry Magbanua, president of Alternergy and director of Solana Solar, said the renewable power from the proposed solar project will reduce Penelco’s dependence on power supply using imported fossil Moreover,fuels.theSolana solar project will provide competitively-priced electricity to Penelco with no fuel charges over the contract period. As an embedded power generation within its franchise area, the Solana solar project will yield savings to its consumers through avoided transmission fees and zero-VAT on the purchased power. Estimates made by Penelco indicate substantial savings of up to P90 million a year. Penelco’s supply mix is currently dominated by coal supply which is exposed to fuel price increases.

The BESS network will be key to ensuring reliable power supply nationwide, even in far-off areas. It is designed to minimize wastage by storing and redistributing excess capacity to ensure even underserved regions can have the same sufficient, reliable electricity enjoyed by larger cities.SMCGP’s BESS facilities are also crucial to wider use of renewable energy in the country. Currently, the main challenge of renewables is intermittence, or the unreliable nature of renewable sources such as wind, solar, and hydropower. Battery technology will enable renewable capacity to be stored, ready to be deployed even when solar or wind farms or hydropower plants areSMCGP,down. which previously said it would no longer pursue new coal power investments, is also planning to increase capacities coming from cleaner fuel sources as well as renewables.Itisinvesting in new LNG plants, utilized by developed countries as a cleaner “bridge” fuel that facilitates an exit from coal, and transition to renewables. It is also putting up additional solar and hydropower plants.

Ng Companies B1Wednesday, August 17, 2022

V ista Land and Lifescapes inc., the Villar-led property development firm, said its income grew 11 percent to P4.2 billion in January to June, from last year’s P3.84 billion.

By VG Cabuag @villygc

SMC Global Power Holdings, Corp. (SMCGP) said Tuesday over P133 billion has been authorized for capital projects but the amount has yet to be disbursed. “The outstanding purchase commitments of the Group amounted to P134,750,238 (P134.75 billion) as at June 30, 2022. Amount authorized but not yet disbursed for capital projects is approximately P133,667,802 (P133.67 billion) as at June 30, 2022,” the power arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. said in a filing with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. It said funding will come from available cash and proceeds from outstanding long-term and issued Senior Perpetual Capital Securities.

Gross revenues came in at P7.97 billion for the six-month period, or just half of last year’s P16.12 billion. “We remain optimistic about the industry for the rest of the year, especially against an economic backdrop that I consider is on a rebound given the strong GDP growth which is forecast to reach 7 percent to 9 percent for 2022,” Vista Land Chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr. said. “We have also seen sustained growth in overseas Filipino (OF) remittance which is projected to grow 4 percent this year. Demand from OF remained strong which is a factor in the 8 percent growth in our reservation sales of P32 billion for the first half.”

Income of Vista as from site

THE Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has reduced the level of fuel surcharge that airlines are allowed to impose, following the lowering of jet fuel prices in the international market. CAB Executive Director Carmelo L. Arcilla said the regulator has lowered the fuel surcharge level from Level 12 to Level 9 for domestic and international flights between September 1 and September 30. The reduction in fuel surcharge stems from the agency’s monitoring of jet fuel prices between July 10 and August 9. Average jet fuel prices reached P46.73 per liter, lower than the previous month’s P54.73 per liter. Under Level 9 of the passenger fuel surcharge matrix, airlines are allowed to impose fuel surcharge rates between P287 and P839 for domestic flights, and between P947.30 and P7,044.27 for international flights. “Airlines wishing to impose or collect fuel surcharge must file its application with this office on or before the effectivity period, with fuel surcharge rates not exceeding the above-stated level,” Arcilla said. Fuel surcharge is an optional fee imposed and collected by airlines to recover fuel costs and stem losses caused by upward spike in fuel costs. It is not part of the basic fare and is reduced or even removed depending on the market prices of jet fuel. Data from the International Air Transport Association showed jetfuel cost was at $305.26 per barrel as of August 5, still 65.1-percent more than the year-ago price, but is 12.3 percent lower than the month prior. Fuel accounts for over 60 percent of the expenses of carriers. Philippine Airlines (PAL) Spokesperson Cielo C. Villaluna said the airline views the reduction in fuel surcharge as a positive development. “We welcome this positive development and we will carry out the corresponding adjustments in our fuel surcharges. The new fuel surcharge rate will be applicable to tickets that will be purchased in September,” she said in a text message. AirAsia Philippines Spokesperson Steve F. Dailisan added that this will provide relief to travelers, especially those who wish to fly during the start of the Christmas season in the Philippines, a period that typically begins in September.“Thiswill benefit many of our guests who are now planning their travels in time for the ‘ber months,” he said.Cebu Pacific Chief Commercial Officer x a nder G. Lao echoed this sentiment, noting that the lower costs for passengers will help stir up demand for travel. “This is a welcome development. We look forward to the lower fuel surcharge which should help make fares more affordable and stimulate air travel,” he said. Lorenz S. Marasigan

economy recovers SMC power unit allots ₧133B for capital projects Max’s H1 income down 28% AllHome income hits ₧222.11M in Jan-JuneSolana supplyPenelcoSolar,inkdeal Regulator trims jet fuel surcharge level Photo

of smC Global Power

ALLHOME Corp., the Villar Group’s listed retail arm, said its income in the first half reached P222.11 million, down 65 percent from the previous year’s P640.96 million. The company recorded sales of P6.26 billion for the period, 7 percent down from the previous year’s P6.72 billion, mainly as a result of the decline in foot traffic due to the Covid-19 Omicron infection surge in the early part of the year, it said. Despite the improvement in foot traffic, sales declined due to lost sales from three Alabang stores and weakened sales in the hard categories, the company said in its report. On January 8, the company’s store outlets in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, were burned down when fire struck the entire Starmall Alabang. The estimated losses on inventory and property and equipment amounted to P83.8 million and P219.3 million, respectively. As of the date of issuance of the financial statements, insurance claims are in process and are expected to be settled within the year, the company said. “The country at large has successfully demonstrated and sustained its optimism in the post-pandemic scenario. The return to normalcy— as can be seen in the consistent pandemic alert levels and the brisk increases in footfall to malls and centers of commerce,” said AllHome Chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr. “While AllHome still continues to feel the effects of prevailing circumstances in the country, our current performance still shows marked improvement over pre-pandemic levels of 2019, and is an increasingly tangible and welcome sign that things are only going to improve for AllHome. People are returning to stores and spending more, and we fully intend to capitalize on this sustained optimism.”Anotable trend observed by regional thinktank Euromonitor during the pandemic was the migration from urban city centers to the countryside, with consumers—including the upper class—seeking space further from identified centers of activity, shifting their sights on rest houses and holiday homes away from the“Thecity. shift of home building and making away from the city, a trend identified by Euromonitor International in its February 2022 report on consumer trends—especially in the home improvement and home and garden industries—is something we have paid close attention to in our expansion strategy,” Camille Villar, the company’s vice chairman, said. “Part of the AllHome experience of elevated customer journeys is making it accessible where our customers are—or want to be. This trend has informed our strategy of locating not only in the country’s historically urbanized centers, but in the emerging ones as well that still give the flavor of the more relaxed Philippine countryside. This can be seen in our latest location in Davao, and soon, in Cebu.” AllHome adds five locations, as it move towards 100-store milestone by 2026Thecompany said basket sizes in AllHome stores are up 5 percent versus the same period last year—an indicator that its customers continue to be confident in their spending.

The company launched a total of 5 projects in the second quarter valued at P11 billion. These include three Vista Estate projects named Aspen in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan; Vidarte in Antipolo, Rizal; and Stanza in Tanza, Cavite. The project launch value to date already exceeded the 2021 figure, it said. Two years of not having new malls, the company opened Vista Mall Davao, a 21,000 square meter in gross floor area mall, which houses the retail concepts of the group. As of end-June, the group now has over 1.6 million square meters of gross floor area of investment properties consisting of 32 malls, 69 commercial centers and 7 office buildings.Capital expenditure for the period reached P11 billion mainly for construction and land development. Land acquisitions remained muted as the company disclosed that it is looking at maximizing its existing land bank. The company has 2,925 hectares of land as of Meanwhile,end-June.VistaREIT Inc. (VREIT), Vista Land’s real estate investment trust, recorded a net income of P802.67 million for the first half. Since the injection of the 10 community malls and two PEZAregistered office buildings of the company, rental revenues were at P934Themillion.company was listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange on June 15. “We are pleased with the strong performance of our 12 commercial assets—the majority of which are community-based malls—as we take advantage of the so-called ‘revenge retail’,” Manuel Paolo A. Villar, VREIT president said. “VREIT is poised to hit its target for the year. Footfall has been improving and our system-wide occupancy as of June 30 stood at 97 percent. We remain optimistic for the remainder of the year as the economy continues to open up and businesses are now able to navigate through this pandemic.” The company also declared its first dividend amounting to P157.5 million or P0.0210 per share for shareholders of record as of August 302 to be paid on September 20. The dividend represents 100 percent of the distributable income for the two-month period ending June 30. A.

Real estate revenues for the first half fell 20 percent to P8.8 billion from last year’s P11.11 billion, but rental income rebounded at P4.93 billion, a threefold increase from last year’s P1.63 billion. For the second quarter alone, the company’s net income grew 10 percent to P1.91 billion from last year’s P1.73 billion, while revenues came in flat at P7.3 billion. “The pandemic also provided a venue for the company to review its strategies and implement various operational efficiency measures, which resulted in an improvement in our margins. We have also announced our push for the upscale, vertical and commercial projects in our existing developments through our Vista Estate in various areas around the country, which we are now launching,” Villar said.

Land rises in H1

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

the web

MA x ’S Group Inc., the country’s largest casual dining restaurant operator, said its income fell 28 percent to P280.67 million in the first half from last year’s P392.01 million. The company said the weaker income was a result of last year’s oneoff gain of P377 million from the sale of a subsidiary whose primary asset is Excludingland. the one-off gain, its income would have increased by P266 million, the company said. “We committed to our stakeholders throughout the ongoing global health crisis that we would deliver a business model tuned to be as pandemic-proof as possible,” Max’s CEO Robert F. Trota said. “Regardless of any volatility in our various markets across the world, we have been disciplined in optimizing both demand for our deep, diverse portfolio of brands, and the efficiency in which we are able to convert revenue into profit. Our second quarter results prove yet again that our architecture works, even in sub-optimal operating conditions.” Systemwide sales for the period reached P8.09 billion, a 41 percent growth from last year’s P5.74 billion, despite strict lockdown measures in January due to the Omicron surge. Relaxation of dine-in restrictions from February onwards caused a significant boost in sales of dine-in brands Max’s Restaurant and Pancake House, supporting the performance of other core brands Yellow Cab Pizza Co. and Krispy Kreme, whose resilience in both delivery and take-out keyed the group’s performance earlier on in the pandemic. Consolidated revenues of the group reached P4.98 billion, a 38 percent growth from P3.62 billion last year. Local market sales jumped 45 percent from last year as consumer confidence, mobility and the economy continue to revive. Meanwhile, the international business reported a 27 percent growth despite labor challenges in the North America market, with new agreements in place to further expand global reach in other markets. As of end-June, the company’s store network totaled 14 territories, with 597 Philippine sites and 63 stores situated across various locations in North America, the Middle East and Asia. “We are cautiously pleased with the results of the group throughout 2022 thus far,” Max’s President Ariel P. Fermin said. VG Cabuag

“The group’s material commitments for capital expenditure projects involve the construction of power plants, mostly utilizing high efficiency low emission technologies, LNG [liquefied natural gas] and BESS [battery energy storage system] in line with the Group’s expansion projects and acquisition of fixed assets needed for normal operations of the business,” it said. SMCGP has completed the set up of 500 megawatt hour (MWh) of installed power storage capacity coming from new BESS facilities it is putting up nationwide. By the end of this year, SMCGP expects to bring total battery capacity to 700 MWh, and 1,000 MWh by the end of 2023, once all 32 BESS facilities come online. This is the very first and largest battery network in the Philippines by far.

Lenie Lectura

BusinessMirrorEditor: Jennifer

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor BUYING a furniture is like purchasing a car given the buyers’ mindset of having the need to see, touch, feel and test it out first. With the ever-evolving e-commerce landscape, however, it has paved the way for consumers to now shop for furniture pieces at a push of a button. “It happens in Europe and in the US. People just click and add to cart whatever furniture [they like to buy]. So we are looking for that transition here as well,” shopITOOH Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Andrew Orlan S. Bercasio told reporters during their recent briefing in Makati TogetherCity.with his colleagues, they established and started operating such e-commerce platform for anything and everything homestyle in July 2021, the time when mobility of people was highly restricted amid the government-imposed lockdowns at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Seeing that more Filipinos were turning into the digital space for their daily necessities, they realized also their need for some home improvements to make their living space more healthy and conducive to stay or work in as they were stuck at their abodes due to community quarantines. “What we know so far is that there are 26 million households in the Philippines, growing at an average rate of 2.6 percent per year. And in 2025, we’ll hit nearly 29 million households. Fifty-two percent are those in the lower middle income to upper income households, including the rich. These are households that have increasing disposable income, and they represent our serviceable, addressable market,” shopITOOH Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jules Veloso said of the computations from microdata of the family income and expenditure survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority.Thisholds true with data from Fitch Solutions, which show that furniture spending in the Philippines is expected to grow faster at 8.1 percent than any other key consumer goods category; and Euromonitor International’s sales projection for local home furnishing retail to increase by double-digit in 2023, reaching a total of $4.6 billion. Despite these positive outlooks, however, consumers still experience several pain points, including the lack of assortment, poor vetting, and slow delivery. “With our online showroom of carefully-curated furniture pieces, shopITOOH has transformed the way Filipinos shop for their homes. Our culture of product obsession coupled with industry trends will help us grow further and even expand our reach,” she said.

“All heads of government offices and instrumentalities, including government-owned and -controlled corporations, as well as local government units, and employers in the private sector, shall encourage and afford sufficient resources, time and opportunities for MSMEs to engage and participate in any and all activities to mark the month,” said Villar. MSMEs, she added, are a vital component to the development of our nation’s economy. They account for 99.6 percent of registered businesses in the Philippines and employ over 67 percent of the Filipino labor force.

The most searched home furniture in the portal at present falls under the living room category, which are made out of wood and rattan. shopITOOH Cofounder and Business Development Head Enah B. Igual revealed: “It’s really the accent chair and the sofa. That’s the two most-purchased pieces on the platform.” Proudly Filipino AS a homegrown start-up, shopITOOH has made it its mission to support local craftsmen and artisans considering that the furniture industry is now competing head-to-head with Indonesia and Vietnam in terms of exportation. “Vietnamisreally a big competitor and Indonesia is the place to go right now [when it comes to] value for money for furniture for the big, big importers from America,” said Matthew Brill, director of Prizmic & Brill, one of the merchant-partners of shopITOOH. “And what’s happening now is we really all move up to the high-end market. There’s very few Filipino exporters that are selling to K-Mart or there’s only a couple left on the side of the Target. We‘re really super high-end now because we can’t beat cost-wise and in the middle markets.”

THE shopITOOH founding team (from left): Jules Veloso, chief executive officer; Andrew Orlan S. Bercasio, chief operating officer; and Enah B. Igual, business development head. Contributed photo ALON Lounge Chair from Jed Yabut Furniture & Design. Contributed photo

The “Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy” concept is a welcome initiative to help our MSMEs thrive as we aim to move towards a truly progressive economic growth, she added.

Elevated home shopping experience

W HILE most small and medium enterprises (SME) in the Philippines still face untold hurdles with the pandemic and persistent inflation, some of the more persistent and resilient ones are unfazed by the challenge. Starkaffea Corporation is one such SME, which is thriving and trying to earn a niche in the beverage industry. To Ms. Cheng Pabilonia, Starkaffea Corporation’s CEO, the challenges are enormous but the business managed to sign up with more than 100 new store partner distributors and finalized export transaction with a Singapore distributor for its signature healthy coffee company. “Our sales dropped by about 36 percent in 2020 versus our 2019 sales, but government agencies such as the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Agriculture (DA) provided the much-needed support to bridge their economic situation,” she said. Kaffea also managed to optimize its digital marketing platforms and embarked on a social-media campaign during the Morepandemic.thananything else, she attributed the survival of the enterprise to her staff who are committed to providing a healthy alternative coffee and chocolate drink to the Filipinos. “We have always wanted to provide our patrons with quality alternative healthy product. Other than coffee, Starkaffea is proud to introduce Chocolea, the first chocolate drink using coconut sugar in the Philippines.”

As a vital pillar of the Philippine economy, MSMEs certainly show strong potentials to grow and significantly contribute to job generation, national development and economic advancement, the senator said.

Bill Pinoy’Pinoy,Novdeclaresas‘BuyBuildmonth

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, August 17, 2022 B3 Entrepreneur BusinessMirrorwww.businessmirror.com.ph

While local furniture players are competing with its neighbors—pricewise—they still have competitive advantage to remain ahead of the game, according to Yabut. He said: “In terms of the design, I think the Philippines is very competitive, especially with the young furniture designers that we have right now… I wish that more, with ITOOH, for example, when you’re trying to democratize and digitizing furniture ecommerce, this will lead to more open arenas as well for young designers to at least help and give more pride to the Philippines in terms of competitive advantages in designs.” True enough, shopITOOH brings a holistic home design experience by working with interior designers, architects, and the best craftsmen. It has also partnered with various groups, like the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines, to ensure that each piece of furniture showcased is the best in the market. This portal also offers interior design services in partnership with Grupo Santamaria.“IfmoreFilipinos know the value of locally-designed furniture pieces, then more and more young generations will be interested to get into that space because they see the value for it. So, hopefully, as we work with local merchants we become like the conduit for them,” Igual pointed out. Future endeavors TO continue to reshape the Filipino furniture shoppers’ journey, shopITOOH keeps on providing them a hassle-free and frictionless customer shopping experience. One of which is its soon-to-belaunched enhanced catalog that will provide 3D product visualization and image scripting. Customers can also look forward to its upcoming venture into arts, gift registry, and product customization.MoreFilipino craftsmen and artisans are poised to join the platform that will soon serve beyond Metro Manila and Luzon as it’s set to expand to other cities like Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro. “We are excited to roll out our growth plans and strategies. We believe that there is a huge demand for our service in many parts of the country and we’re targeting to bring shopITOOH to key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao very soon. We also have an ambitious goal of expanding our reach to other territories in the region,” the CEO said, while sharing their target to hit 100 merchants by end of the year and 250 in 2023. “In the next three to five years, we also plan to take over the world as we do because that’s what millennial start-ups think. But that’s something that we feel strongly that we will be able to fulfill,” Bercasio added. “I think Europe is particularly very attracted with anything that’s essentially made of wood or Southeast Asian-like furniture. So we’re looking at that for B2B in particular for the buying market. But the expansion for B2C [business-to-consumer] is definitely Southeast Asia.” To celebrate its first birthday, shopITOOH is offering up to 50-percent off on select products. Installment options are also available for shoppers on a budget. “Our first anniversary is a celebration of design, our local roots, and our ambitious goals. We are excited to bring in more partners into our platform and provide more products and services to our shoppers,” the COO stressed.

T O entice the public and private sectors to prioritize Filipino products, Senator Cynthia A. Villar has moved to declare November “Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy Month.” In her Senate Bill 357, Villar likes our people to prioritize the purchase and utilization of Filipino products, labor and services.“Patronizing our own Filipino products strengthens the Philippine economy,” said Villar who has been known for espousing local products from her various livelihood programs. Shesaid the month of November was chosen due to the increased consumer spending that occurs during the ChristmasAccordingseason.toVillar, while we often hear the saying “Tangkilikin ang Sariling Atin,” we normally take it for granted and/or seldom do it. She attributed this to the lack of concerted efforts of the government and stakeholders to effectively bring the benefit of this practice to the consuming public’s consciousness. Due to this, Villar said it is imperative that we empower our resourceful Filipino entrepreneurs to promote their development and competitiveness. The bill also aims to inculcate in each Filipino the wisdom of supporting Filipinomade products, and recognize Filipino producers, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Online furniture shop turns one, seeks to up Pinoy craftsmanship to next level

Impressive milestone CURRENTLY, shopITOOH caters mostly Bohemian or eclectic designed furniture pieces to customers between 25 and 45 years old in the National Capital Region and Greater Manila“They’reAreas. really those people who are transitioning, meaning settling down, moving up in the corporate ladder, moving to like a bigger apartment, or looking for like a more investment pieces,” the COO said of their main target markets considered as digital natives who are adept in using their online shop and a variety of secure payment gateways, such as Paymongo, Paymaya, and Atome. Open to a broader pocket size market, the web site offers the most affordable item that is a ceramic vaulted candle holder at P40 up to investmentworthy P270,000 bed frame. “That’s full range. You don’t have to be like on a certain spending trajectory in your life to be able afford what we have on the web site,” Bercasio said. “What we’re trying to do is essentially put together all these very unique brands and sort of give people that option and opportunity to shop for one place.” While the platform services individual consumers, corporate clients looking for the best quality of furniture pieces for their offices, hotels, and other establishments can also find well-crafted designs suited for every“Weroom.arenow getting a lot of organic orders. We haven’t launched B2B [business-to-business] yet, but obviously we’re now getting inquiries from B2B and it’s about talking to interior designers, talking to procurement officers. So in terms of where we are in this part of journey, we’re obviously profit making. We’re now entering growth phase. We’re now getting month-on-month increase in terms of transactions and also in traffic,” Veloso bared, while citing their 60 percent average monthly growth rate in terms of gross merchandise value.

Proudly-Philippine made, Chocolea had to undergo a total of 50-trial formulation to ensure that it has the quality ingredients that best suit the Filipino tasteEachbuds.chocolate goodness is best consumed by kids who are aged four years old and above. But Chocolea is also good for parents and even grandparents. There is no limit to chocolate wellness!

THE Filipino-owned vertical e-commerce start-up has marked a breakthrough year of changing furniture shopping in the country, with its technology constantly evolving to provide better customer experience and, at the same time, elevate the status and standards, as well as broaden the market of the local furnitureBuyersindustry.cannow search from a wide array of meticulously curated categories from shopITOOH’s 69 merchants—of which 40 percent are locals—and over 3,000 furniture pieces and home decor handcrafted by local artisans and expert furniture makers nationwide. These products are vetted by designers and artists assuring only the finest and best quality pieces are sold on the platform. “[So if] you want to finally invest in a dining table that you can use for the next 30, 40 or 50 years that you can pass on to the next generation in your family, we might probably have a piece or two that you can look into. So that’s really where we stand,” BercasioChangingsaid.the way Filipinos furnish their homes, this marketplace offers a comfortable and elevated experience of shopping chic designer home pieces that befit their discriminating tastes and budget. Its photo gallery presents stylish pieces in stunning detail to help consumers visualize how each of them would look in their homes, complete with descriptions, exact measurements, and even maintenance instructions. “Like how they have done the curation, how they have presented all their furniture pieces in their web site is actually very, very well thought out, which to me is also a burning experience because I just launched my new web site as well,” said Jed Yabut, CEO of Jed Yabut Furniture & Design, one of the local furniture makers onboard the“That’splatform.how we actually do it for furniture e-commerce business. There’s a lot of things that can be improved in my side in terms of the merchant side which have already fulfilled on their end, and I think that’s what we need in the Philippines as well.”

Healthy features AS Chocolea has coconut sugar, its signature sweetener, it helps regulate blood sugar levels and blood pressure and is rich in calcium and potassium. It also helps manage diabetes and boosts the immune system. Each cup of Chocolea is fortified with Vitamins A, C, calcium and iron. This chocolate drink is now available in select supermarkets, DTI Go Lokal stores and through Fintech companies such as Shopee and Lazada. It will soon be distributed through export partnerships of DTI-Ka local projects and is getting ready for its global expansion. Pabilonia said that Starkaffea Corporation would in the meantime focus on the recovery and growth in its domestic transactions. “We would endeavor to look for opportunities on how our products such as Kaffea and Chocolea can be made available to our OFW heroes and their families. We remain true to our commitment to provide an alternative healthy product that will promote a healthy lifestyle and advance the quality of life of our consumers.”

How a small enterprise thrives amid the pandemic and persistent inflation

Investments IN 2021, new and long-time investors were able to access through the OFBank mobile app medium-term and long-term government investment products, such as the Bureau of the Treasury’s Retail Onshore Dollar Bonds (RDBs) and the 25th and 26th tranches of the Retail Treasury BondsThese(RTB).low-risk, fixed-income investments allowed the bank’s members to invest as low as P5,000 for RTBs and $300 for the RDBs. They also offered attractive interest rates: RTB-25 with an annual interest rate of 2.375 percent (three-year maturity), RTB-26 with a gross interest rate of 4.625 percent per annum (5.5-year maturity), and RDBs with interest rates of 1.375 percent (fiveyear maturity) and 2.250 percent (10-yearOFBankmaturity).saidit was also able to raise a total of P8.275 million through RTB-25 from February 9 to March 4, 2021; P10.286 million, RDBs, from September 15 to October 1, 2021; and P17.485 million, RTB26, from November 16 to 26, 2021. Sales generated from these investment instruments contributed to the government’s pandemic recovery and resiliency programs. The bank said it also offers clients money management advice via online and offline financial literacy webinars. It has facilitated a total of 759 webinars and 99 face-to-face pre-departure orientation seminars (PDOS) in 2021, followed by 240 online seminars and 43 PDOS from January to April 2022. “For the past two years, we have seen to it that digital banking financially empowers all Filipinos, especially those working overseas,” Martin said. “Serving them has made our anniversary even more meaningful. We will continue to innovate our products and services relevant to their needs towards building better lives.”

P partnershiplishedincorporateAugustsilverCSB)SavingslistedStockHILIPPINEExchange-CitystateBank(PSE:celebrateditsanniversarylast8,2022atitsheadofficePasigCity.Estab-in1997asabetweenthe

The senator raised the issue during the Senate Committee on Ways and Means’ organizational meeting that included a briefing from Finance Department officials led by Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, who assured that the country has “always been careful in its borrowings.” Diokno also credited the tax reform laws passed by Congress, saying these were “critical in keeping the economy afloat” amid the Covid-19 pandemic.“Icanassure you, your honors, that we will not go the Sri Lanka way,” the Finance chief told the Senate panel. Tax evaders, smugglers IN the same hearing, Senator Maria Lourdes “Nancy” S. Binay also sought affirmation whether the government is winning the campaign against tax evaders and smugglers. Binay said she was curious to know whether the BIR and the BOC have been successful in snaring “big fishes” in their respective campaigns. “I asked this because there’s this impression that our campaign against tax evaders and smugglers are not deterrent simply because no one knows how many have been convicted for these crimes.” Binay observed that “it is easy to file a case but the actual conviction of smugglers and tax evaders, I think that’s something lacking in our campaign.” This promptly elicited a response from attending BOC and BIR officials who assured they will “submit a detailed report” on the cases filed by their respective agencies, including the “actual number of cases won” by the two agencies. At the same time, Senator Pia S. Cayetano pressed for tax-free importation of hospital equipment during the organizational meeting of the Senate Ways and Means Committee also on Tuesday.

ALC Group of Companies and a Singaporean investment holding firm, CSB went public 20 years ago. The thrift bank obtained its trust and foreign currency deposit licenses from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in 2006. ALC Group Chairman Dominic Edgard A. Cabangon led the ceremonial toast during the 25th anniversary commemoration of CSB. He emphasized “pagmamahal at pagtitiwala” (love and trust) as the guiding principles of his late father, Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua, who founded the bank as part of the ALC Group, which has become a conglomerate engaged in various industries aside from banking and finance. CSB President Benjamin V. Ramos lauded the foresight of Amb. Cabangon Chua who opened the bank’s first branch on August 8, 1997—the very next day after the BSP granted its license to operate.

Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, presiding over the organizational meeting of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means Tuesday, also affirmed the panel will perform its mandate as the “taxpayers’ legislative guardian.” As such, Gatchalian vowed to “balance the interests of government and stakeholders, and to ensure that government revenues” will be effectively allocated for economic and social“Withdevelopments.thepassage in the past decades of numerous tax measures that upheld and enhanced the right of the government to demand and collect taxes from the people,” Gatchalian said, “the time has come to legislate and adopt policies that would promote and protect the rights and privileges of those where taxes emanate, and these are no other than our dear taxpayers.”

With CSB’s mandate to enable Filipino consumers, households and entrepreneurs to attain financial success, it offers consumer loans to small and medium enterprises as well as corporate and commercial loans. For the most pressing requirements, it has jewelry loans for customers who need immediate funds and lending facilities focusing on teachers. The bank now has 30 branches nationwide and a growing auto loans portfolio with a varied network of accredited premium motorcycle brand dealers. Over the past quarter of a century, CSBank has focused on the ever-changing demands of its clientele. Soon it will embark on aggressive plans that include online and mobile banking to address its customers’ needs. Corporate earnings rebound FINTECH company DFNN Inc. earned P144.9 million in the first half of 2022, reflecting a turnaround from a net loss of P76.9 million during the corresponding period last year. In a disclosure to the PSE, the publicly-listed firm stated: “This is a direct effect of the significant increase in the operations of all the company’s technology platforms as more Covid restrictions were eased by theDFNN’sgovernment.”earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) zoomed up 671 percent during the first six months this year to P230.7 million from the year-ago loss of P40.4 million. Its impressive Ebitda performance traces the path of sustained recovery mirrored by revenues of P675.1 million compared to P268.9 million posted in the first half of 2021. Most of the firm’s revenues were attributed to share-based income generated from interactive technology platforms, which rose by 189.7 percent to P617.4 million from last year’s P213.1 million. With no significant long-term debt, DFNN’s cash position remained liquid throughout the six-month period amounting to P98.2 million. Last June, the company signed an agreement with Silicon Valley-based Nautilus Data Technologies Inc. to collaborate in projects involving the development of a green data center at the Freeport Area of Bataan. This is in line with its vision to create a leading digital infrastructure that is both sustainable and globally scalable to complement the government’s inclusive strategies aimed at leapfrogging the Philippine economy.

THE Overseas Filipino Bank Inc. (OFBank) announced recently its online banking transactions from more than 80,000 accounts in 119 countries have reached P7.22 billion over the past two years. The country’s first branchless digital-only bank, likewise, reported that it attained the required P1 billion minimum capitalization set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for virtual banks last May 26—one year after it secured the very first digital banking license from the BSP on March 25, 2021. In its Circular Letter 2022-044, the BSP said that the Monetary Board, in its Resolution 358 dated March 25, 2021, approved the application of the OF Bank to convert its banking license from a thrift bank to a digital bank. The BSP said the bank started its operations under a digital bank license on April 20, 2022.

Long tenors still preferred by investors

Gamboa

As solons quizzed DOF execs on finances, debt crisis fears allayed

FInEx FrEE EnTErprIsE Joseph

BusinessMirrorWednesday, August 17, 2022 • Editor: Dennis D. EstopaceB4 www.news.businessmirror@gmail.com

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM FEARS of a looming debt crisis were promptly allayed last Tuesday by Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara after eliciting firm assurance from Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno the Philippines will not go the way of Asian countries, including Sri Lanka and other downgraded Asian neighbors. “There have been a lot of speculations regarding our debt, with the cases of Sri Lanka and some of these downgrades,” Sen. Angara had noted but quickly sought firm reassurances “from our finance officials and economic managers that we will not go that way, and that the debt is still at a manageable level?”

By Roderick Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

Reminding that in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Marcos had stressed the need to establish specialty hospitals in other parts of the country. “I support that; I have a bill on that,” the senator said. “But the most efficient way to do that is to attach these specialty services to existing regional hospitals instead of building new ones.”

afterhitonlineOFBank’sdeals₧7.22B2yrs

FOR operating as money service businesses without the Central Bank’s registration, several entities have been disqualified from registering with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). In a statement issued last Tuesday, the BSP said that the monetary board has disqualified Nanay Melpops Money Changer in Pasay City and Sports Den Money Changers in Angeles, Pampanga, from registering with, or obtaining a license from, the central bank to engage in any activity supervised by the BSP. The Central Bank has also disqualified Asle-Elise Enterprise and CJT Money Changing and Remittance Services —both operating in Baguio City—from obtaining a BSP license to operate for the sameNanayreasons.Melpops is located in Unit S-7, Corcel Arcade Building, Domestic Road Street, Barangay 190, Pasay City Metro Manila with Magdalena E. Narisma as the listed owner. Sports Fen Money Changers, meanwhile is in 12 Pasilio Rosal Santo Rosario, Angeles City, Pampanga, and is owned by Maria Carmela Tayag-Arceo. Asle-Elise Enterprise has a business address at Stall 208 Sari Sari Proper, City Market, Kayang Hilltop, Baguio City, owned and operated by a certain Elsa B. CJTLee.Money Changing and Remittance Services is operating from Stall 148 Sari Sari Proper, City Market, Kayang Hilltop, Baguio City and is owned and operated by a certain Cherry Jane P. Tolidan.TheMB disqualification also includes any sole proprietorship owned and/or controlled by the listed owners and operators of the affected entities. The BSP said the disqualification is pursuant to Section 901-N of the BSP’s Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions and is part of BSP’s efforts to crack down on illegally operating money service businesses. Just last month, the BSP also announced that it has imposed a similar disqualification on Feb Thirdy 1 Money Changer and Maruel Money Changer, both located in Pasay City. Bianca Cuaresma

Joseph Gamboa is the chairman of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) Media Affairs Committee and director of Noble Asia Industrial Corp. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these institutions and the BusinessMirror . #FinexPhils www.finex.org.ph.

VIRTUAL- A SSET service provider (VASP) Moneybees Forex Corp. recently announced a partnership with Tambunting Pawnshops Inc. to make cryptocurrency exchange buy and sell services available in select pawnshops of the latter in the country’sIncapital.astatement issued on August 16, Moneybees said Tambunting is now one of their partner over-the-counter (OTC) outlets to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. “The landscape in the money-service business has evolved over time from the traditional to the digital way of doing things. The taste and preferences of our customers have likewise changed,” the statement quoted Tambunting Compliance Officer Nora Daileg as saying. “Our company sees the need to keep up with the times and learn to adapt to changes otherwise, we will not be able to continue as a going concern. We have to cross-sell and add more products and services.” According to Moneybees, the partnership allowed for the activation of crypto exchange services at ten selected Tambunting branches across Metro Manila. The firm added the partnership will enable customers to buy or cash out crypto from any wallet, such as Metamask, Binance, PDax and Trust Wallet, among others. Transaction limits are up to P5 million in one day. “Since this is the age of the cryptos, we want to expand our market and serve the needs of the Gen Z and Millennials who are heavily purchasing the cryptos,” Daileg added. “We see this as an opportunity to augment our income and be able to expand our market.” Tambunting branches that carry the crypto exchange service provider include those in: P Tuazon, Sta. Ana, Gil Puyat Ave Makati City, McArthur Cubao, Retiro, Marimar Paranaque City, Kakarong Makati City, GuadaMall, Junction Rizal and Sucat. Moneybees CEO Paulo E. Del Puerto was quoted in the statement as saying the partnership is a “ground-breaking opportunity” for the virtual asset service provider as Tambunting is a “reliable institution trusted by Filipino families.” The company, however, didn’t disclose the value of the partnership. “The crypto ecosystem is at a critical growth juncture and we are committed to helping accelerate its trajectory by providing a simple and secure way of buying and selling crypto via OTC,” Del Puerto added. Aside from Tambunting, Moneybees partner OTC outlets are BSPlicensed money exchangers, remittance agents and pawnshops that can be found in strategic locations such as malls, casinos and business centers. Moneybees is duly registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) as a VASP. The firm offers the first cryptocurrency over-the-counter service in the Philippines. Established in 2017, it aims “to make the exchange between fiat and virtual currencies more accessible to many.”

Banking&Finance

Moneybees, Tambunting ink deal in crypto trading

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM THE Bureau of the Treasury sold P35 billion in reissued 10-year Treasury Bonds (T-bonds) at rates lower than the benchmark secondary market’s as investors showed strong demand for the long tenor. Board],” National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters following theTuesday’sauction. auction was more than thrice oversubscribed, with total bids reaching P128.8 billion. To take advantage of the strong demand for the tenor, the Treasury also opened the tap facility window for an additional P15-billion offering.Earlier this month, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe M. Medalla said the July inflation print “raises the possibility of a 50 basis points rate hike rather than 25 basis points” in their policy meeting on InflationThursday.in the Philippines in July hit 6.4 percent, the highest recorded since the 6.9 percent recorded for October 2018. The July rate brings the Philippines’s average inflation in the first seven months of the year to 4.7 percent. To note, the government targets inflation to range this year at a low of 2 percent to a high of 4Forpercent.this month, the Treasury is aiming to borrow P215 billion through the local debt market next month. Of the total, 140 billion in Treasury Bonds (T-Bonds) and another P75 billion worth of T-bills will be Thisoffered.year,the government is set to borrow a total of P2.21 trillion, of which 75 percent will be sourced locally while the remaining 25 percent will come from foreign sources. This is lower than the government’s actual P2.55 trillion gross borrowings last year as it needed to borrow more to finance its spending requirements amid the Covid-19 pandemic.Former President Duterte ended his term in June this year with the national government’s debt stock soaring to another record-high of P12.79Thistrillion.wasmore than double compared to the P5.948 trillion debt level when Duterte assumed office in mid-2016. By the end of 2019 or 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 but remained above the internationallyrecommended 60-percent threshold for a healthy economy.

OFBank President and CEO Leila C. Martin was quoted in a statement as saying that the products and services of the digital bank of state-run lender Land Bank of the Philippines Inc. “reflect the collective gratitude of the nation to our modern-day heroes who have significantly contributed to the country’s growth.” “We are also paving the way to expand financial inclusivity for our kababayans here at home,” Martin added.The bank’s mobile application allows for cashless payments and fund transfers from several locations and time zones. The bank said the app has been downloaded 148,000 times. This is expected to increase as mobility restrictions ease, according to theApartbank.from facilitating online transactions, the bank has also leveled the investment playing field, enabling Filipinos to grow their hardearned money, it added.

BSP bans several money changers for operating without licenses

Synergizing digital

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jaime Valentin L. Araneta disclosed CSB’s plan to synergize digital and branch transformation for customer fulfillment and service delivery. “We are working on a digital-first platform, automated credit decisions and other support systems for our core lending business, subject to regulatory approval,” Araneta said. “This aims to provide easier access to bank services, enhancement of products and simplified processes to enhance customer experience.”

Exemptions considered ON that note, Cayetano added: “On the tax issue, my question is, would the DOF [Department of Finance] at least be willing to consider for a limited time, a tax-free, duty-free importation of medical equipment?” In turn, Diokno assured that the DOF “will consider the importation of equipment for specialty hospitals as an exemption to the rule against giving tax exemptions.”

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

With a remaining life of 9 years and 10 months to maturity, the debt papers’ average yield settled at 5.813 percent.This is lower than the original coupon rate of 7.25 percent set last June and the benchmark secondary market rates of 5.964 percent for the 10-year tenor and 5.95 percent for the security itself. “Another impressive auction markets preference for long tenor at rates lower than secondary level even with expected rate hikes by MB [Monetary transformation Araneta

I N a previous organization, I was asked to stack rank my team, and I thought it was only natural to do so because we needed to know our top performers. Our head then explained that by identifying what made them perform well, we could learn how to duplicate those knowledge and skills to the underachievers to help them perform better. However, he also cautioned us not to tell our teams that we were doing it because it might cause conflict. Later, we discovered that the exercise was meant not just to see how our team members were doing, but also how well we knew our team. “Stacking,” “forced ranking,” or “stacked ranking” is a practice where managers are asked to force-fit their team’s performance into a normal distribution. This means that a team member’s performance evaluations are compared with others and set in percentages and categories. And like in a normal distribution, there will be fewer achievers and low performers. Some organizations have used stack ranking to keep their workforce at the top of their game. Probably the most famous champion of this is Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric (GE) who enforced a system of removing the bottom 10 percent of the employees every year. He attributed the success of GE to this system because he kept the best employees onboard.However, not all organizations have successfully implemented this practice. For stack ranking to yield its benefits, the organization needs to have an equitable and objective performance management system so that the workforce is monitored and evaluated fairly, not just based on their scorecards, but also based on their potential. There should also be rewards for top performers and performance improvement plans for underachievers. Managers need to be competent in coaching their team members to become more efficient, and for employees to know and agree to what is expected of them. Once these are in place, stack ranking makes it easier to weed out non-performers and slackers by sending out a clear message that everyone needs to contribute to the organization’s goals. Your role is to let your team know what is expected of them and from the team, and how they are going to be evaluated. It will also motivate them if they know the rewards and bonuses they could get for exceeding expectations, and, conversely, the effects if they do poorly. Another advantage of using stack ranking is that managers become more attuned to their team’s needs because they will be forced to look for effective ways of addressing their team’s opportunities for improvement. When I was asked to rank my team, I realized there were so many things I could have done to help other team members, like spending more time coaching them, or even holding best-practice sessions so they could learn from each other. On a bigger scale, stack ranking forces organizations to systematically address weaknesses in the company’s culture and performance management. When an efficient and effective performance management system is in place, it helps the organization identify what to focus on and improve. This in turn helps Human Resources to develop programs and interventions to close these gaps, and eventually improve the organization’s overall performance. This will then provide the needed justification for promotions, bonuses, raises andHowever,training.managers will also be forced to put people on the distribution curve even if it means putting them in the lower ranks though they are performing well. Just like the hardworking team members who get a rating of “meets expectations” when, in fact, they have done more than what was required in their job descriptions. This could lead to low morale and may even reduce productivity. If those in the “meets expectations” know that however hard they work, they could never be “highly satisfactory” or “excellent” because the margin is too high, then they will just give up and do the bare Ultimately,minimum.itwill become counterproductive. Those in the upper ranking will find it hard to maintain their ranking because of the extreme demands to maintain it. If not for the low morale, this could lead to unhealthy competition where your team thinks of ways to keep a leg up, more than what is beneficial for the entire team. This leads to minimized teamwork as employees see each other as rivals more than contributing to a common goal. When individual members are pitted against each other, it is but natural to preserve their own position. Instead of working together on a problem, team members will fight to have their manager’s attention. This could lead to a stressed and overworked workforce that could lead to increased attrition.Theelimination of the bottom rank also begs the question if these employees are necessarily holding back your team’s performance, or it just so happens that your team is a team of overachievers, and your bottom ranks are actually high performers. There are several factors to take into consideration in evaluating performance. Maybe the bottom rank is new to the role and could benefit from experience, or by shadowing a top performer. Maybe they have concerns with other team members that you have yet to address. Maybe you have not set clear expectations of what they are supposed to do. Maybe the best thing you need to ask yourself is how sure are you that the replacement would be better. Coming from an academic background, I see nothing wrong with using stack ranking because students are ranked all the time. But in an organization, your team is not only evaluated on what they know, but also on their skills and attitude. Performance evaluations need to be holistic and should factor in how your team members interact with others in the workplace. Stack ranking can only work if the organization’s performance management focuses on not just developing individual strengths, but on promoting collaboration and synergy. Otherwise, it becomes an excuse for incompetent leadership, weak influence, or inadequate mentoring. n

To break unhealthy habits, stop obsessing over willpower

ADELAIDA AHADDAS, a Yakan from Basilan Province, conducted a weaving demo during the launch. ALBUNG slah, a handwoven blue and red top accented with white beads from South Cotabato. TINGKOP from Palawan, an elongated trapezoidal basket with a lid used to store grains or ready-to-plant rice seedlings.

IF you’re like many Americans, you probably start your day with a cup of coffee—a morning latte, a shot of espresso or maybe a good ol’ drip brew. A common explanation among avid coffee drinkers is that we drink coffee to wake ourselves up and alleviate fatigue. But that story doesn’t completely hold up. After all, the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee can vary wildly. Even when ordering the same type of coffee from the same coffee shop, caffeine levels can double from one drink to the next. And yet, we coffee drinkers don’t seem to notice. So what else might be driving us in our quest for that morning brew? That’s one question we set out to answer in our recent research. The answer has far-reaching implications for the way we approach major societal challenges such as diet and climate change. As behavioral scientists, we’ve learned that people often repeat everyday behaviors out of habit. If you regularly drink coffee, you likely do so automatically as part of your habitual routine—not just out of tiredness.Totest whether people underestimate the role that habit plays in their life, we asked more than 100 coffee drinkers what they think drives their coffee consumption. They estimated that tiredness was about twice as important as habit in driving them to drink coffee. To benchmark these assumptions against reality, we then tracked these people’s coffee drinking and fatigue over the course of one week. The actual results starkly diverged from our research participants’ explanations. Yes, they were somewhat more likely to drink coffee when tired—as would be expected—but we found that habit was an equally strong influence. In other words, people wildly overestimated the role of tiredness and underestimated the role of habit. Habits, it seems, aren’t considered much of an explanation. The gap between the actual and perceived role of habit in our lives matters. And this gap is key to understanding why people often struggle to change repeated behaviors. If you believe that you drink coffee because you are tired, then you might try to reduce coffee drinking by going to bed early. But ultimately you’d be barking up the wrong tree—your habit would still be there in the morning. The reason that habits can be so difficult to overcome is that they are not fully under our control. Of course, most of us can control a single instance of a habit, such as by refusing a cup of coffee this time, or taking the time to offer directions to a lost tourist. We exert willpower and just push through. But consistently reining in a habit is fiendishly difficult. When asked what stops them from making healthy lifestyle changes, Americans commonly cite a lack of willpower. Granted, willpower is useful in the short term, as we muster the motivation to, for example, sign up for a gym membership or start a diet. But research shows that, surprisingly, people who are more successful at achieving long-term goals exert—if anything—less willpower in their day-today lives. This makes sense: As explained above, over time, willpower fades and habits prevail. If the answer isn’t willpower, then what is the key to controlling habits? Changing habits begins with the environments that support them. Research shows that leveraging the cues that trigger habits in the first place can be incredibly effective. For example, reducing the visibility of cigarette packs in stores has curbed cigarette purchases. Another path to habit change involves friction: in other words, making it difficult to act on undesirable habits and easy to act on desirable ones. For example, one study found that recycling increased after recycle bins were placed right next to trash cans—which people were already using—versus just 12 feet away. Effectively changing behavior starts with recognizing that a great deal of behavior is habitual. Habits keep us repeating unwanted behaviors but also desirable ones, even if just enjoying a good-tasting morning brew. THE CONVERSATION

The highs and lows of stacking

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Commissioner Dr. Emmanuel Franco Calairo of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines graced the event launch along with NHCP’s OIC executive director Carminda R. Arevalo; OIC deputy executive director for administration Rosario V. Sapitan; chief of historic sites and education division Gina C. Batuhan; and chief of materials, research and conservation division Lie Zar Montilla. They were welcomed by SM Megamall Mall manager Brian So. The launch, which also featured weaving demonstrations, showcased the Filipino’s amazing talent with a performance by the Kammerchor Manila, who won the top Grand Prix prize in the recently concluded Queen of the Adriatic Sea International Festival and Competition in Italy; and spoken poetry by actor RR Cagalingan.

• Wednesday, August 17, 2022 B5 Image BusinessMirrorwww.businessmirror.com.ph

PHOTO UNSPLASHCOWORKINGSMARTWORKSBYON

WEAVING ENDURING MAGIC WOVEN wonders and accessories from South Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Ilocos Norte, Sarangani and Cordillera were recently showcased at the Hinabing Buhay: Living Traditions of Weaving and Embroidery at the SM Megamall Fashion Hall. The exhibit also had a later run at The Podium, where shoppers had the rare opportunity to view and purchase these exquisite fabrics. A joint project of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Likha-an Resource Center, and SM Megamall, the exhibit curated by socialistrealist painter Edgar “Egai” T. Fernandez, highlights traditional artists, their works, materials, and the process of creating the crafts that gives emphasis on the legacy, experiences and ingenious knowledge of traditional artists.

By Asaf Mazar University of Pennsylvania

DESTILERIA Limtuaco President Olivia Limpe-Aw

Referral organization makes headway, generates over P71-M in revenues

A 37-year old business group — BNI or Business Network International — is the world’s largest business referral organization with over 284,000 members; 10,640 chapters and $19.2 billion in membergenerated business in the last 12 months. One of its chapters in the Philippines has generated significant revenues from May 2021 until August 2022 despite the uncertainty brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic on the Philippine economy, a remarkable P71-M total revenue between 32 members. BNI RISE, a newly launched chapter in BNI Philippines - Taguig Region, reported last week August 10, 2022 that it generated P71.02 million in TYCFB or “Thank You For Closed Business,” a BNI term for actual revenues collected through a referral from another member during the 15-month period. With 32 members, BNI RISE had 2,490 passed on referrals over the same period. This tight knit young group has elevated their businesses to a whole new playing field by committing to provide referrals to each other by introducing their businesses to a new market every single week at their Wednesday business meetings. Talk about productive meetings. One of the key core principle of this group is its passion of Giver’s Gain, allowing one member be introduced in another member’s business network as a preferred and vetted organization/ service provider or supplier of their respective field. The group allows exclusive marketing rights to one industry per chapter. Making each other the “top of mind” supplier of that particular business category/trade/profession. BNI Global counterparts also provides networking opportunities via Zoom Webinars with other countries allowing some of the businesses to introduced to its worldwide presence in 76 countries. Unlocking an abundance of business opportunities for the chapters. BNI Global is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. BNI Philippines currently has 1,380 members and recorded P2.9 billion in member-generated revenues in the last 12 months.

ELIXIR PLACENTA CAPSULE LAUNCHED. David Tan, GFoxx International CEO and President at the Edsa Shangrila Hotel. GFoxx recently launched Elixir Placenta, a stem cell therapy in a capsule. Made from New Zealand Deer Placenta, the combination of stem cell therapy, DNA therapy, and anti-inflammatory therapy has proven to be an effective treatment for arthritis, multiple sclerosis, heart attack, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and other chromic diseases. Gfoxx Elixir Placenta contains 14 high-quality ingredients—New Zealand Deer Placenta, Angelica Sinesis, grape and olive extract, D-Ribose, yeast extract, Squalene oil, MCT, fermented red ginseng, rice bran oil, sea buckthorn oil, Rhodiola Rosea, Black currant seed oil, Fenugreek and Nigela seed oil. Visit xxx. gfoxxint.com, GFOXXCompanyOfficial on Facebook and GFOXXOfficial on Instagram.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022B6

“We take pride in providing good quality of service. Being the number 1 TripAdvisor hotel in the Alabang area is an honor for us, and I believe that this achievement is proof of the quality of hospitality that we have always strived to provide our guests,” said Ms. Glennis Narciso, Hotel Manager of B Hotel Alabang during a media get together. One aspect of their service that they are highlighting is their very own restaurant – Prime Café. This restaurant offers an impressively wide variety dishes and of particular note is the top-notch Filipino cuisine that it is known for. Their chefs headed by Sous Chef Andrea Urcia put their heart into every dish that they serve, especially the ones that boast rich flavors.

IT'S NATIONAL SIOPAO DAY ON AUGUST 22 WITH A BUY 1, TAKE 1 PROMO! And what better way to celebrate this day than indulging in the country’s number one Asado Siopao? Pulling out all the stops, Chowking will offer a buy 1, take 1 promo for their bestselling Chunky Asado Siopao. From 2 PM to 4 PM on August 22, customers can enjoy this promo in any Chowking branch nationwide, through the Chowking Delivery website (chowkingdelivery.com), via the Chowking App, or even on food delivery platforms. Known for its Hong Kong-style Asado filling packed in a soft, fluffy bun, the Chowking Chunky Asado Siopao boasts of its full-bodied roasted flavor. Each siopao is infused with a generous amount of sauce, guaranteed to satisfy every customer. Follow the Chowking Facebook page. National Siopao Day – B1T1 DTI Fair Trade Permit No. FTEB-148685, Series of 2022

Prime Café offers buffets and Bistro a la carte and is open daily from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm. Lunch buffets are scheduled every Friday from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm and cost only Php 750 per person. They also offer breakfast buffets every weekend from 6:00 am to 10:00 am which only costs Php 650 per person. And even if you are in the North area, you Complete the ‘Premium’ Experience at B Hotel Alabang may still get to taste the best Filipino and also international cuisine at B Hotel in Quezon City headed by Executive Sous Chef Vincent Odejar. The Lobby Café in B Hotel Quezon City is known for specializing in international cuisine that will surely give you a delicious journey for your taste buds. Serving ala-carte dishes and buffet breakfasts, the Lobby Café is also a feast for the eyes as it is to the tummy. It has also a cool vibe that perfectly matches the hotel’s industrial architecture. B Hotel Alabang and B Hotel Quezon City are 4-star hotels that are both managed by The Bellevue Hotels & Resorts. If you are looking for great amenities and exceptional service at a price that won’t break the bank, these hotels are definitely your best choices. For inquiries and reservations, you may contact B Hotel Alabang at (+632) 8828 8181 or visit www.bhotelalabang.com, and B Hotel Quezon City at (+632) 8990 5000 or visit www.bhotelqc.com.

O N its 29th year, Hotel Sogo remains resilient and steadfast amidst the pandemic’s challenges by not only providing excellent service to clients but also expanding its branch network to a total of 46 as of this year and extending augmented charity efforts to various communities nationwide through its Corporate Social Responsibility program, “Sogo Cares.” Hotel Sogo management and employees recently gathered together in a heart-warming celebration in Eurotel, North Edsa. The management acknowledged and expressed its gratitude for the contributions of the employees to the company, all these years. A total of 176 loyalty awardees were honored and accorded with cash incentives during the event. CEO Reynaldo M. Malaca took the opportunity to urge the employees to continue to dream with God’s guidance and not just be content with less than what they deserve. He reminded everybody of the lessons of the pandemic and to use these as guiding principles even in the absence of a crisis. Hotel Sogo’s distinction in the industry lies in its service, with the value of “pagmamalasakit”, not only to its guests but to all clients it serves. The company strongly believes that it is this unique kind of service that will lead the company to achieve the massive but realistic goal of 100 branches.

Hotel Sogo continues serving with ‘pagmamalasakit’ on its 29th year Bubblegum and Ube Crème. From an initial six flavors, it now has over 20 unique flavors, with more coming especially with the five new ones from the Philippine Craft Spirits line. The new flavors are Chocoholic made from Very Old Captain Rum, the mango-cashew Paradise Mango Rum Liqueur gelato, the coffeecacao nibs Amadeo Coffee Liqueur gelato, the calamansi-basil Manille Liqueur de Calamansi gelato, and the tablea-chocolate chip Intramuros Liqueur de Cacao gelato. These special spirit gelatos are already available in Destileria Limtuaco Museum in Intramuros and online, while major supermarkets wil be selling it during the fourth quarter of 2022.

HOTEL Sogo management and employees gathered together after the two-year pandemic to celebrate its 29th founding anniversary.

T HE Philippines’ oldest distillery, Destileria Limtuaco and a young, local dairy company Karabella, recently collaborated for the creation of gelato desserts inspired by the distillery's craftThespirits.distillery’s president Olivia LimpeAw shared at the collaboration‘s recent launch at the company’s bahay na bato museum in Intramuros, Manila, that it was Destileria Limtuaco‘s first partnership with a dessert brand. She added that choosing Karabella was to further push the use of localTheproducts.170-year-old distillery which has been handled by six generations now, headed by Limpe-Aw calls the five new flavors as “adult-spiked ice-cream”. She said that the collaboration was prompted by the Department of Trade and Industry, now headed by Alfredo Pascual who dropped by at the launch, and hopes that it will lead to more exotic and uniquely FilipinoKarabella‘sflavors. president Alfred Ng reminisced the company‘s young beginnings as a social enterprise in 2015. Karabella primarily uses a gelato machine — and uses 100% carabao milk which has less cholesterol and is higher in calcium and protein than cow’s milk. Karabella gelato is known for its premium flavors like the highly-saleable Salted Caramel and party favorites Bazooka Destileria Limtuaco, Karabella offer spirited gelato

F OODIES need not look any further if they want to enjoy the best of Filipino food and more. B Hotel Alabang’s Prime Café offers the Philippines’ most sought-after dishes as well as other favorites from around the Thiscountry.boutique hotel in Alabang may not be the largest in the area, but it is packed with everything you need in the city. A relaxing and homey accommodation, an outdoor Jacuzzi for ultimate relaxation, a gym, a function room that can accommodate up to 80 persons, a wellknown Filipino restaurant, and a Pastry Corner for the best-baked concoctions in the Metro.

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

Major green developer arthaland is offering businesses the Savya Financial Center, its next generation premium sustainable office building.

CORPORATE OCCUPIERS SEEKING GATEWAY TO SOUTH FLOCKING TO ALABANG’S NEW BUILDINGS

Providing sustainable green offices in ARCA South

Located at the corner of Pulse s t reet, Anchor s t reet and Tandem Road, the building is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and sustainable solutions that help create safe and more produc tive working environments there by improving the profitability of companies.Inhispresentation

I T- Bus I ness Process Man agement (IT-BPM) firms are not the only ones taking up spaces in key Metro Manila busi ness districts today. Traditional corporate occupiers engaged in manufacturing, construction, finance, retail and the like also take credit for 55% of the live requirements or transactions in various stages of the leasing pro cess as of Q2 2022, according to a recent study by Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC). In fact, 235k sq m of the 451k sq m of current live requirements are actively being sought out by traditional occupiers. This is in comparison to the 212k sq m or 44 percent of live requirements from IT-BPMs. In business districts like Ala bang, for instance, traditional occupiers are filling up recently completed buildings like the 12-story 1210 Acacia at the Mad rigal Business Park in Alabang, a preferred location for medium and large corporations seeking a strategic address in southern Metro Manila and a gateway to Calabarzon.PhillipAnonuevo, LPC execu tive director for commercial leas ing, points out that the Alabang area is particularly preferred by companies that have manufac turing facilities or business ac tivity in Laguna and Batangas because a number of new and upgraded expressways in the re gion have made these sites even moreMidwayaccessible.between Calabarzon and the larger business districts of Metro Manila, Alabang offers upgraded telecommunication and other infrastructure, hotels and a wide range of food, enter tainment and lifestyle options. Master planned with corporates in mind, Alabang’s buildings like 1210 Acacia offer lower densities than the office towers of Maka ti and BGC. “This means more exclusivity for its occupants, shorter waiting time in eleva tors, more personalized building management services and other benefits,” according to Miguel Manipol, LPC director for com mercial leasing. The self-contained Alabang community and surrounding cities also offer a range of resi dential options for corporate ex ecutives as well as mid-managers and rank and file. Moreover, corporations are realizing that Alabang’s proximity to the rich labor pools of Cavite, Laguna and Las Piñas-Parañaque make it an attractive work destination for its Theemployees.strategic location of 1210 Acacia Alabang was one of the key considerations of Amaia Land, which has taken up 70 percent of the building’s floor area. Amaia is a subsidiary of Ayala Land focused on affordable housing nationwide.Manipol points out that be cause Alabang occupiers have global clients, a number of them have also began using their of fices to showcase their vibrant work environments. “It matters to global clients that a supplier’s employees are cared for and have loyalty to the firm. s e eing welldesigned work areas in suppliers’ offices drive home a firm’s con cern for its work force.” The penthouse floors of 1210 Acacia with typical floor plates of 1092 sq m are particularly suitable for “showcase offices.” The building also offers four passenger elevators, VRF airconditioning and telco services from PLDT, Globe and Converge. Better yet, 1210 Acacia, like other developments in the area, are perceived to offer better qual ity of life in this modern, selfsufficient but contained business district, points out Manipol.

Jones Lang La s a lle (JLL) Philippines senior director, office leasing advisory Antonio s a barre said moving to s a vya Financial Center will bring a lot of benefits to locators such as low operating cost as it is 40 percent more energy and water efficient than conventional build ings. “It will also be powered by renewable energy to decarbonize the building’s operational energy,” s a barre Meanwhile,said. the building’s sus tainable features such as doubleglazed low-e glass, energy effi cient lighting, low-flow plumbing fixtures and rainwater harvesting and recycling system are proofs of Arthaland’s commitment to sus tainability.sabarre said employee well ness has also been given a premi um in s a vya Financial Center. It will have a potage garden on the rooftop where organic plants and vegetables can be grown. It will have bicycle lanes and parking for people who want to use a sustain able form of transportation going to and from their place to work. It has shower facilities and bicycle racks for bikers. There is also a bridgeway garden on the fifth floor where a tenant can take a leisurely walk among all the greenery. He said it would also be a touch less journey for the future tenants as the faucets and doors will use sensors when they are opened by theApartusers.from wellness and pro ductivity benefits, research has shown that well-designed green buildings appreciate more in value and command higher rental rates. TelTrends, a wholly Filipinoowned, I s O -certified, leading IT hardware supplier and s y stems Integrator of the country’s larg est telcos and utility companies is going to be one s a vya’s marquee locators. Marco said the offers cutting-edge products and worldclass service on a turnkey basis. Knowing the importance of good indoor air quality in improv ing productivity and health of the staff, Marco said s a vya Financial Center has operable windows and uses a M e RV 13 air filtration sys tem, which is the same type of system being used in hospital op eratingThroughrooms.its Building Manage ment s y stem (BM s ), s a vya Fi nancial Center becomes a smart building that controls and moni tors various technical systems and services such as air conditioning, lighting and ventilation to ensure safety, comfort and efficiency. In order to increase the level of pro tection from the threat of virus cross-infection among the build ing’s occupants, s a barre said the building subscribes to contact less technologies such as the re mote virtual concierge, touchless turnstiles,, hands-free bathroom fixtures and RFID-operated el evators.savya Financial Center has four rating standards. It has been precertified for Leadership in e n ergy and e nvironmental Design (L ee D) Gold Certification, and on-track for thePhilippine Green Building Council’s B e RD e Certification, International W e L L Building In stitute’s W e L L Building st andard, and the International Finance Corporation’s e x cellence in Design for Greater e f ficiencies ( e D G e ) Advanced Certification. “We invite everyone to make the move to s a vya Financial Cen ter. Companies, big and small, can find their perfect space in this multi-certified green office build ing as it offers a lot of flexibility through adaptive office unit cut ups and attractive financing op tions. And with the health and wellness of employees becoming the top priority among employers, they will discover that every detail is designed with the well-being and productivity of businesses and in dividuals at its heart,” Marco said.

In partnership with japan’s Mitsubishi Estate Company Ltd., arthaland’s Commercial Project Channel Director ana Marco said in a recent press briefing that Savya Financial Center is now welcoming locators to the first premium green office development in highly connected arCa South in Taguig City. right now, Marco said 60 percent of the units in Savya are sold out.

S Av YA facade S Av YA facade at night S Av YA driveway entrance

Wednesday, August 17, 2022Editor: Tet Andolong B7BusinessMirror

UNIVERSITY Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 85 President Fr. Aldrin Suan (seated, center) and Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara (seated, second from left) with UAAP board members and officials (standing, from left) Sergio Lim and Nilo Ocampo of National University, Em Fernandez of Ateneo, Mark Molina of Far Eastern University, Rod Roque of Uni versity of the East, UAAP Season 85 Secretary Treasurer Fr. Andrew Bayal also of Adamson University, Nonong Calanog of De La Salle, Dean Francisco “Kiko” Diaz of University of the Philippines, UAAP Execu tive Director Rebo Saguisag, Edwin Reyes also of De La Salle; and (seated, from left) Lady Gudmalin of the UAAP Secretariat. Seated at right is PNVF Secretary General Don Caringal.

The Meralco-San Miguel Beer series turned out as a seesaw battle with the Beermen winning Game 1, 121-97, Game 3, 96-91 and Game 5, 89-78, and the Bolts claiming Game 2, 99-88, Game 4, 111-97 and Game 6, 96-92.Game 7 is all about who wants it more,” San Miguel Beer shooter Marcio Lassiter said. “Both teams are very familiar with each other, so we have to play a full 48 minutes the San Miguel Beermen way.” Japeth Aguilar, Arvin Tolentino and Scottie Thompson of Ginebra, Ian Sangalang and Jio Jalalon of Magnolia, Calvin Oftana and Kevin Alas of NLEX and Robert Bolick and Jamie Malonzo of NorthPort are so far in the Gilas pool.

By Josef Ramos

launched‘SupervolleyballSchool-basedLeague’

T HE Congress of Philippine Aquatics Inc. (COPA) will resume its nationwide program and activities including the second leg of the Reunion Swim Challenge on August 27 and 28 at the newly-refurbished Teofilo Ildefonso Swimming Pool inside the historic Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila. S wimming icon Eric Buhain, now a congressman from the First District of Batangas, said the event is open to all Filipinos, teams or clubs regardless of it as COPA embarked on its thrust as a unifying organization in the swimming community.Regardless of your affiliation, COPA welcomes everybody with an open arms. Our goal and interest is to propagate swimming,” Buhain said. “We have to train the trainers and the development and improvement of our swimmers will follow.”

SMB OR DO-OR-DIEMERALCO?SEMISUP

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, sponsor of the resolution, described De Vega-Mercado as a woman of pride, prowess, persistence and faith who chose the longest path of being an athlete and a public servant. Let us learn from Ma’am Lydia de Vega-Mercado that life isn’t measured by meters or kilometers but by the number of finish lines we have overcome trying to make a difference in this World,” Villanueva said. The resolution praised De VegaMercado for being the first Filipina and Asian to win back-to-back gold medals for the 100-meter dash at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, India, and in Seoul, South Korea in 1986. She also represented the Philippines twice in the Olympics-1984 Los Angeles and 1988 Seoul Olympics. S he firmly cemented herself as the best in the track-and-field arena in Asia after consistently winning gold in the 100 meters at the 1987, 1991, and 1993 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games while also winning the 200-meter event in 1981, 1983, 1987 and 1993 of the meet. “ Truly the best in the field, she held the 100-meter and 200-meter national records for over three decades,” the resolution stated. Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, in his co-sponsorship speech, also expressed his admiration for the late sports legend who put the Philippines on the world map as Asia’s fastest woman. E strada said De Vega-Mercado served as an inspiration to Filipino athletes and lifted the level of women in Philippine sports. She is considered a national treasure and one of the greatest athletes the country has ever produced. Rest well, you fought a good fight. Rest well, Lydia De Vega,” Estrada said. Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, chairperson of the Committee on Sports, also joined his colleagues in expressing his condolences for the demise of De Vega-Mercado whom he considered as one of the pillars of Philippine sports. Lydia may have run her final lap on this lifetime, but she will always be remembered as one of the most decorated and adored athletes of our country,” Go added. S enate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros for her part said De Vega-Mercado’s excellence on the track has encouraged women and girls to seek greatness in their own pursuits.“Hervictories earned her the well-deserved title as Asia’s fastest woman and have inspired a generation of athletes. May we remember and embody the values that propelled Lydia De Vega to her place in our history, discipline, perseverance and tenacity,” Hontiveros said as she asked to be a co-sponsor of the resolution. V illanueva also moved that all senators be made co-authors of the resolution.

WHEN a Game Seven arrives, expect mayhem. There would be no more science—practically. Odds become obsolete. No one is favored anymore. E ach is equally capable of winning. Toss the stats out the window; they mean nothing. It’s anybody’s ballgame now. Th at’s how it would be in the San Miguel Beer (SMB)Meralco win-or-goodbye game starting at six tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. So, to the Beermen buffs, check your blood pressure. Your beloved bets have just lost their boisterous billing as heavy favorites. This, after being forced to a 3-3 stalemate after the bold Bolts’ 12-2 windup produced a 96-92 Sunday shocker before a sizable crowd that went home shaking their heads in disbelief. The best Bolt that night was Aaron Black, who recovered from his measly five points in Game Five on 2-of-11 shooting to bang home 17 points that he capped with flawless free throws at endgame to seal the Game Seven decider. “ He begged me at timeout to field him and ‘I’ll get the job done,’” said Norman Black of his son Aaron, who could shoot from either hand with equal deadly accuracy. But Aaron exhibited uncanny humility after Sunday’s game, saying it was not he alone that helped push Meralco on the cusp of a coveted Finals stint in the Philippine Basketball Association All-Filipino Cup, the league’s most prestigious party. My teammates gave me the space to execute my plays,” said the younger Black. “It was not me but everybody that made it happen. In short, the team won this one.” It was crystal clear, indeed, that it was teamwork that brought Meralco miraculously this far. It showed even in defense as its triple-teaming strategy against SMB’s 6-foot-10 June Mar Fajardo did wonders during crucial stretches of every encounter. So that SMB needs to readjust radically not just on its defense that, on several occasions, got caught napping, but also on offense that heavily relies on Fajardo attacking the paint by his lonesome most of the time. Still and all, where the mayhem will lead us, only the gods of the game know. Breaks or no breaks. THAT’S IT Ten thousand bucks to see Jordan Clarkson up close aka from a ringside seat? That’s how expensive Clarkson has become. That’s almost equivalent to a year of writing my columns (boo-huu). So, I’m begging off. Surrender. Will settle for a TV treat when the National Basketball Association’s prized Sixth Man awardee in 2020 plays for Gilas Pilipinas against Saudi Arabia on August 29 at the MOA Arena in Pasay City. Cold beer on the side—make that San Mig.

The swimming Olympian and former Southeast Asian Games record holder formed COPA with Chito Rivera, Darren Evangelista, Joel Esquivel and Richard Luna in 2020. Today, the group boasts of more than 200 teams or clubs in 11 clusters made up of the 17 regions of the Icountry.thasclose to 300 coaches with a membership of 3,500 swimmers. “ I remember we started the year with organizing a coaches’ technical seminar through Samahang Manlalangoy ng Pilipinas or SMP,” Buhain said. “We’re about to roll out a series of seminars in different parts of the country for the benefit of our coach friends, but the pandemic hit and we had to postpone all the plans.”

DREAMS of making the national team take the back seat as Meralco and San Miguel Beer go to war in a notomorrow Game 7 of their semifinals series in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The winner of that 6 p.m. game will advance to the best-of-seven Finals against defending champion TNT Tropang Giga. A s nine PBA teams agreed to loan their players to the men’s national pool for the fourth window of the International Basketball Federation World Cup Asia Qualifiers later this month, the priority of San Miguel Beer and Meralco’s top guns—including those from TNT—is to get there job done in the all-Filipino confence. “Everybody wants to play for Gilas, that’s for sure, including me. It’s an honor. But our priority for now is to enter in the Finals and win our first ever championship in the PBA,” the Bolts’ Aaron Black told BusinessMirror after team practice on Tuesday. “Gilas training can wait for now if I’ll be invited or not, but the opportunity to be in the finals isn’t.” Black, son of Meralco coach Norman, carried the Bolts with his magnificent final two-minute performance for a close 96-92 win over the Beermen in Game 6. He nailed 11 of his 17 points at crunch time to send the series to a Game 7. I want our team to have control of the game up to the final second. It’s better to have a good lead up to the end than chasing your opponent’s lead in the closing seconds,” Black said. “What’s important is to come out victorious at the end of the game.” San Miguel Beer’s CJ Perez agrees with Black, noting that Gilas practice can wait, but not his opportunity to be in his first PBA Finals and a possible championship since he turned pro in 2018. It’s going to be a difficult game, more of mental toughness. It will be my first time to be in the Finals if we win,” said Perez, who’s been averaging 21.1 points in the semifinals. “I don’t want to think about practicing with Gilas. The game against Meralco is the mostWeimportant.”needtolearn to close out the game at the last buzzer,” the former national player said. “Gilas is just there while playing in a championship and winning it is once in a lifetime.”

ACES Chairman and CEO Dr. Philip Ella Juico (second from left) shakes hands with Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (SPAVI) President and CEO Vicente Gregorio. With them are (from left) ACES President and COO Dr. Adrian Paolo Laurel, Commission on Higher Education Sports Department head Ana Yango and SPAVI General Manager Jorge Concepcion. ROY DOMINGO

PHILIPPINE swimming icon Eric Buhain is at the helm of a swimming movement.

Mayhem at Big Dome

The SEAGF is meeting on Cambodia’s first-time hosting of the SEA Games’ 32nd edition set from May 5 to 16, 2023.

SEAG FEDERATION HONORS ‘DIAY’ Just how indelible Lydia de Vega’s footprints are in the region is shown in this photo of a video tribute for the late Asian Sprint Queen shared by Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino during the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) meeting on Tuesday at the National Olympic Committee of Thailand Building in Bangkok.

PNVF draws UAAP’s commitment on FIVB, national team program

Senate adopts resolution honoring Asia’s fastest woman Lydia de Vega

T HE Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) drew the commitment of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) on the national team program the thrust of which is to establish a wide pool of young potential players for major international competitions.

GRASSROOTS volleyball gets a big boost with the partnership forged on Tuesday between Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (SPAVI) and the Athletics Events and Sports Management Group of the Philippines (ACES Philippines). The agreement, rejuvenating SPAVI’s involvement in the sport, gives birth to the Shakey’s Super League (SSL) which will involve the country’s top amateur teams from the leading schools and universities. A ll teams of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), led by Season 97 champion College of Saint Benilde and runner-up Arellano University, will be joined by teams from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) led by Season 84 champion National University and runner-up De la Salle University. This was announced by ACES Chairman and CEO Dr. Philip Ella Juico, the leading figure in the Philippine Superliga which took a leave after sports leagues were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2019. The SSL will also be Shakey’s second involvement in the sport as it was also the title sponsor of another volleyball league until 2016. The SSL is a reaffirmation of Shakey’s authentic commitment to grassroots and collegiate volleyball,” said Vicente Gregorio, adding that SPAVI’s corporate social responsibility is aligned fully behind youth development and nation building. Grassroots development is an important advocacy we have because it aligns with our values,” Gregorio told a big audience in the signing ceremony held at the Shakey’s Aseana branch along Macapagal Boulevard in Parañaque City. “ The new league will feature two conferences, starting with the Collegiate Pre-Season Event set next month and with the top teams of the NCAA and the UAAP participating,” Juico said. A National Invitational Tournament featuring 12 grassroots-based squads competing to earn the right to represent the country’s 17 Administrative Regions and Metro Manila will follow in February next year.

T he commitment was forged in a PNVF-UAAP board meeting on Tuesday morning at Adamson University, host of the UAAP’s 85thYes,season.theUAAP is very supportive of the national team program,” said Adamson University’s representative to the UAAP board Fr. Aldrin Suan, also the president of UAAP Season 85. “ The PNVF is thankful for the commitment of support from the UAAP,” said PNVF president Ramon “Tats” Suzara, who was accompanied in the meeting by his secretary general, Don Caringal. “With this, we have a secured future for the national team.” The commitment borders on the UAAP aligning its volleyball schedule with the International Volleyball Federation’s (FIVB) program of world calendar and the league lending its players to the national team. The national team to the Cambodia 32nd Southeast Asian Games campaign, however, won’t have UAAP players because of its proximity to the end of the UAAP volleyball season. The Cambodia games are set May 5 to 16, 2023, the same period when the UAAP is about to conclude its season. The Vietnam and Cambodia SEA Games were scheduled in May, not the traditional SEA Games schedule of November up to December because of the offshoot of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Suzara said. “But come 2023, the SEA Games return to its traditional schedule and the UAAP players would be free for the national team by then.” T he FIVB’s world calendar starts in May and ends in October of each year for the so-called national team window.Alsopresent in the PNVF-UAAP meeting were National University’s Sergio Lim and Nilo Ocampo, Ateneo’s Em Fernandez, Far Eastern University’s Mark Molina, University of the East’s Rod Roque, UAAP Season 85 Secretary Treasurer Fr. Andrew Bayal also of Adamson University, De La Salle’s Nonong Calanog and Edwin Reyes, University of the Philippines’s Dean Francisco “Kiko” Diaz, University of Santo Tomas’s Gigi Kamus and UAAP Executive Director Rebo Saguisag.

Buhain-led COPA resumes swimfest

T HE Senate adopted on Monday a resolution expressing its profound sympathy and sincere condolences to the family of Philippine sports legend and “Asia’s fastest woman” Lydia de Vega-Mercado. Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 127 (adopted Resolution No. 10) introduced by Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. was unanimously adopted by the Senate, taking into consideration SRNs 129, 130, 131, 132, 135, 137, 138 and 140 honoring De Vega-Mercado who succumbed to breast cancer at the age of 57 last August 10.

Sports BusinessMirror B8 Wednesday, august 17, 2022 Editor:mirror_sports@yahoo.com.phJunLomibao