percentage points to 35.3 percent of total family expenses in 2023 from 38.5 percent in 2021.
T his was followed by Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels the share of which to total family expenditure contracted 1.2 percentage points, or to 22.9 percent in 2023 from 24.1
and Routine Household Maintenance at 0.7 percentage points; clothing and footwear as well as recreation, sports and culture, 0.4 percentage points; and special family occasions, 0.3 percentage points. However, the largest decrease in share was food consumed at home which contracted 3.2
Highest spending in NCR MEANWHILE ,
BusinessMirror
GROWTH SEEN TO BOOST REVENUE TAKE FOR 2024
revenues reaching P2.216 trillion in the first seven months of 2024, Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said collections will further increase on the back of accelerated economic growth.
I n a social media post by the Department of Finance (DOF), Recto said the recent reduction of key policy rates by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the upgrade of the Philippines’s credit rating to A- by R&I will spur economic growth. The DOF said preliminary data showed the Bureaus of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Customs (BOC) generated P2.216 trillion from January to July 2024, or 58 percent of this year’s P3.820-trillion tax revenue target. Th is is 10.85 percent higher than the P1.998-trillion tax revenues recorded in the same period in 2023. Month-on-month, tax revenues grew by 21.96 percent from the P1.817 trillion collected as of end-June 2024. Broken down, preliminary data showed the BIR had collected P1.68 trillion from January to July 2024, higher by 13 percent from the P1.49 trillion recorded in the same period in 2023. R evenues from the BOC, meanwhile, rose by 6 percent to P536.42 billion in the first seven months of 2024 from the P506.49 billion posted the same period a year ago.
The DOF said that at the third Command Conference on August 16, Recto commended the two agencies for their “sustained efforts in strengthening” tax and customs administration to secure much-needed revenues to bankroll the administration’s programs and projects. Tax revenues from the BIR and BOC are pegged at P3.820 trillion this year, based on the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee’s fiscal program. The bulk or P2.849 trillion will come from the BIR and the remaining P939.694 billion will be raised by BOC. Meanwhile, about P31.679 billion in tax revenues will be generated by other offices. In meeting these revenue targets,
BBy Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573
EIJING, CHINA—The Ministry of Foreign Affairs-Department of Asian Affairs, (MFA-DAA) has urged the Philippine government to work with China in bringing back their relations “to the right track” in time for the 50th celebration of the diplomatic relations of the two countries next year.
In a meeting with a Philippine media delegation, former Ambassador to Brunei and now head of the MFA-DAA Yu Hong vowed China would exhaust all means to resolve the differences of the two countries through consultations.
“Next year we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of our bilateral relations, the establishment of diplomatic ties of the two countries. We hope to see a better future for our bilateral relations,
IBy VG Cabuag
NG Philippines said the country has been outperforming the region with solid foreign direct investment flows, pointing to a positive outlook from international investors.
“The Philippines could position itself as a key player in the ‘China plus one’ strategy, though infrastructure limitations and geopolitical tensions pose challenges,” Rob Carnell, head of research at ING Asia Pacific, said. For one, geopolitical tensions with China could result in trade frictions, he said.
The Philippines offers significant opportunities for investors, but it’s essential to understand the complexities of the local and global economies,” Carnell said.
He said the Philippine peso has improved on a quarterly basis to align with other Southeast Asian currencies. Carnell said the peso will be one of the more responsive Asian currencies to shift to the Japanese yen, which could impact performance against dollar-yen. He projects the peso could end at P55.50 to the dollar before yearend, and could hold the almost at the same position in much of 2025. Inflation in the country could go down to 2.9 percent in the third quarter and 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter. Growth outlook GROSS domestic product, meanwhile, could go down to 5.4 percent in the
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By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
Weak peso, balikbayans won’t help PHL hit ’24 arrivals goal
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
FULL recovery of the tourism sector will likely happen in 2026, instead of the government’s target of 2025, with a shortfall in foreign visitors occurring this year.
L eechiu Property Consultants Director for Hotels, Tourism, and Leisure Alfred Lay told the BusinessMirror , not even a bump in balikbayans (homecoming Filipinos) in December, nor the weak peso can lift visitor arrivals in the Philippines to reach the government’s target of 7.7 million this year.
There will be a bump in December, but a bump large enough to get us to 7.7 million, I think, is a bit optimistic,” he said. In previous years, the bulk of the balikbayan market arrives from December to February, helping boost total inbound tourists. Prior to the pandemic, December 2019 and January 2020 recorded the highest monthly arrivals at 723,390, and 796,164, respectively. A sked about the weak peso, Lay added, “Exchange rates are always a factor. But the reality is that we are already a fairly economic destination to visit.” The average foreign exchange rate from January to July 2024 was 57.11 versus the average of 52.06 in the same period in 2019, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data.
Arrivals from China behind 2019 level
USING the full seven-month tourists data from the Department of Tourism (DOT), the LPC executive noted that while China continues to show strong growth from 2023, arrivals in the country are “still significantly behind 2019.” The market accounted for almost 21 percent of the prepandemic arrivals of 8.3 million, but just 6 percent of 3.55 million arrivals from January to July 2024.
Based on the current pace of arrivals growth, full recovery to 2019 levels may not occur until 2026,” Lay stressed, with visitors each month growing by an average 10.6 percent. Using this, he projected inbound tourists will likely reach just a little over 6 million by December this year, up 10 percent from the 5.45 million arrivals in 2023. The sevenmonths arrivals were also 27 percent less than the 4.85 million in the same period in 2019.
A rrivals from mainland China continue to remain tepid owing to its slower post-pandemic recovery, and the Philippines’s stricter
tourist visa requirements. This has forced the DOT to finally rework its strategy to attract more international travelers from other key Philippine markets. (See, “DOT tweaks promotion tack to fill Chinese arrivals gap,” in the BusinessMirror, June 24, 2024.)
T he DOT has also invested heavily in its Bisita Be My (BBM) Guest Program, asking overseas Filipinos to encourage more family and foreign friends to tour the Philippines. The travel incentive program, launched on January 1, 2023 and ending on November 30, 2024, awards overseas Filipinos and their invited foreign tourists with travel packages, free airfare and accommodations, and a condominium unit.
Visitor receipts $5.7B as of July MEANWHILE , the DOT separately reported visitor receipts at some US$5.68 billion (P323.68 billion) from January 1 to July 31, 2024, a 9.44-percent increase from the estimated $5.19 billion (P286 billion) earned in the same period last year. The agency has targeted inbound receipts at P505 billion,
Growth…
the DOF said the BIR will ramp up the implementation of its digitalization programs, intensify its tax enforcement programs as well as run after delinquent accounts.
The BOC, meanwhile, will continue to improve its assessment a nd collection of duties and taxes on importation, ensure importers’ compliance with customs laws, and strengthen border protection to detect undervalued and misclassified commodities.
For 2025, the BIR and BOC are expected to collect P4.296 trillion in combined tax revenues. This is seen to expand by an average of P500 billion annually in the next three years.
T hink tank Congressional Policy
or $8.81 billion, this year. Visitor receipts amounted to $9.31 billion or P482.15 billion in 2019.
I ts latest data also showed some 3.77 million international travelers arrived in the country from January to August 12, 2024. Of the number, about 3.47 million were foreign tourists, and 298,698 were overseas Filipinos, who are defined as Philippine passport holders permanently residing abroad. The arrivals for said period is about 49 percent of the agency’s 7.7-million target arrivals for 2024.
T he top tourism markets for the period were: South Korea, from which 996,675 inbound travelers came, representing 26.46 percent of total arrivals; the United States, 604,721 (16.05 percent); Japan, 236,735 arrivals (6.28 percent); China, 229,736 (6.1 percent); and Australia, 156,789 (4.16 percent).
The rest of the top 10 tourism markets of the Philippines were: Taiwan, 144,470 (3.84 percent of total); Canada, 136,500 (3.62 percent); the United Kingdom, 103,319 (2.74 percent); Singapore, 96,039 (2.55 percent); and Malaysia, 59,969 (1.59 percent).
Continued from A1
and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) said the government’s goal of increasing tax revenue collection, which has yet to be proven, puts pressure on the BIR and BOC to improve their efficiency (See: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2024/08/09/projectionsof-p500-b-growth-in-tax-revenue-a-tall-order-cpbrd/).
Th is is because of the “notable divergence” between non-tax revenues outperforming tax revenues. N on-tax revenues surpassed the P215.1-billion target by 46 percent to P313.949 billion, while tax revenues fell short of the P1.86-trillion target by posting P1.83 trillion in the first half of 2024.
Continued from A1
third quarter and down to 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter.
ING projects the global growth trajectory to slow down to 5.4 percent by the third quarter, prompting central banks, including the US Federal Reserve, to consider rate cuts of 50 basis points in time for the September Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
However, inflation remains a persistent concern, it said.
It said signs of a recession are becoming more apparent as the economy slows rapidly. Despite this, financial conditions show little stress.
“All the warning signs are right, after all. The economy is slowing rapidly, and the Fed is behind the curve—cuts could come in 50s [basis points] even after September,” he said.
Continued from A10
“They’re saying they will reduce the lead time, that’s not the point. The point is that’s a redundant policy. Our logistics providers have a GPS system so that’s being tracked, and secondly, I’ve told them this: in the 50 years of the electronics industry, there has been no incidence of technical smuggling,” the Seipi chief added. (Full story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/08/05/ seipi-pushes-exemption-from-bocsict-system/) Andrea E. San Juan
R ecto admitted that revenue projections are “high targets” but remained firm in the DOF’s stance on not imposing new taxes. “Assuming there’s a shortfall in that, then w e just manage the expenditures,” Recto said.
T he Finance chief has repeatedly affirmed that the government is on track to meet the fiscal program of the year.
T he Command Conference was attended by Internal Revenue Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr., Cu stoms Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio, DOF Chief-of-Staff and Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati Dorotan Tiuseco, Revenue Operations Group Undersecretary Charlito Martin Mendoza, Fiscal Policy a nd Monitoring Group Assistant Secretary Karlo Fermin Adriano and other senior officials.
we hope to see better management of our differences,” Yu said.
The conflict between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea have intensified under the administration of the President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos which resulted in the most violent confrontation to date at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal or the Ayungin Shoal, where a Philippine Navy officer was injured.
The incident prompted foreign diplomats from Beijing and Manila to come up with a provisional arrangement last June for the transfer of supplies and personnel to the BRP Sierra Madre, the Philippine’s outpost in the area.
However, the Philippine government filed another diplomatic protest against Beijing last week following hostile actions of its air force jets against the former’s light transport plane over the Scarborough Shoal, another disputed area in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippine government said Chinese jets flew dangerously close to and fired flares in the path of the Philippine Air Force patrol plane.
Although there were no reported injuries or damage, the Philippine military stressed that the incident could have serious repercussions.
“I think it is important that we should not drift apart, psychologically and emotionally. We should build confidence, we should not allow hot feelings come out because of any kind of frictions, differences or interference from outsiders,” Yu stressed.
“I think the relation of our two countries should stick to the right track of friendly cooperation,” she added.
Yu acknowledged that the two countries are currently facing difficulties in terms of bilateral relations. She identified these challenges as the
South China Sea (SCS) dispute, the Taiwan issue and the deployment of a US mid-range US missile system in the Philippines.
Yu acknowledged that the SCS dispute has caused “serious disturbance” to ChinaPhilippines bilateral relations.
The diplomat blamed the Philippines for the intensified conflict in the SCS, insisting that it violated their consensus, broke its promise and adopted some unilateral actions but did not specify.
H e noted that the provisional arrangement in Ayungin Shoal was a result of c onsultation and cooperation between the two countries.
“So at this moment the good thing is the two sides have already reached a provisional agreement for the humanitarian resupply of the living necessities and this shows that conflict, confrontation has no way out, and consultation is the right track ,” Yu said.
Meanwhile, Yu said ,the Chinese government has a “very deep concern” over the Taiwan issue following the Philippine government’s move to give the United States access to four military base sites in the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela, which she noted are very close to Taiwan.
So we have very deep concern about it. Because the Taiwan issue is purely internal affairs of China…it is a high-tension cable that must not be touched,” she added. She said the Chinese government wants a peaceful unification with Taiwan, but claimed separatist forces inside the island and external forces who are supporting them are out to sabotage their move.
Yun said the deployment of mid-range missile system by the US in the northern Philippines is a “serious threat” to the peace and stability in the Asian region.
She noted that the Philippines is the first country to agree to US deployment of this kind of mid-range missile.
“ With the range of 2,000 kilometers...[it] not only threatens China’s security but also the whole of South East Asia,” Yu said.
Asked what possible action China might take if the Philippine government reneges on its promise to pull out the missile system, Yu said the Chinese government would only consider its options when that happens. We do believe that with this deployment it really threatens China’s security,” she asserted. P hilippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo earlier said his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, expressed China’s concern over the presence of the mid-range missile in the country during their talk in Laos on the sidelines of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations meetings last month. Manalo, however, assured Wang that the deployment of the missile system was only temporary and it will be withdrawn by the US next month.
T he Philippine government have been blaming China for the escalating tension in the SCS, saying that its assertive actions are intended to strengthen its territorial claims. A side from the Philippines, those with overlapping claims over the SCS are Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
“So this Taiwan [issue] is not something between China and the Philippines. So if our friends from the Philippines really wish peace and stability over, across these Taiwan straits, then you should support One-China principle and if you wish to maintain the safety of the Philippines, then you should avoid to be involved in any risk of war or conflict,” Yu pointed out. So, think many Filipino people already realized it that they don’t want to shed blood for the United States and to become [an] enemy against China,” she added.
House quad-panel eyes probe on another Davao City official
By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
MEMBERS of the House of Representatives quad-committee want to further investigate the involvement of a local Davao official in the reported largescale illegal drug importation and vowed to summon all the personalities mentioned by its “star witness.”
Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, a member of the quad-committee, said that he finds credible the testimony of Jimmy Guban, who claimed that Davao City Councilor Nilo “Small” Abellara Jr. is a business partner of Michael Yang, the former presidential adviser on economic affairs under former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I know councilor Small Abellera is very close to the personalities mentioned. It is important to invite him to the next hearing,” Pimentel said.
In his testimony, a former customs intelligence officer has implicated Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, lawyerManases “Mans” Carpio, Davao City Rep. Paolo “Polong” Duterte, and Yang in the smuggling of P11 billion worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu hidden in magnetic lifters discovered at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) in 2018.
Guban testified before congressional committees called the Quadcomm and confirmed his affidavit naming Abellera as the conduit for Duterte, Carpio, and Yang, who wanted the Customs intelligence section to turn a blind eye to their shipments that mostly contained “palaman,” slang for illegal drug shipments disguised as importations of agricultural products like sugar, rice, and vegetables.
The quad committee is investigating alleged links between Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos), the illegal drugs trade, and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) tied to the Duterte administration’s “war on drugs.”
In his affidavit, Guban stated that Abellera introduced him to the smuggling operation in early 2017.
Abellera described himself as the “business partner and trusted man” of Duterte, Carpio, and Yang, Guban added.
Guban narrated that in early 2018, he was introduced to Abellera by a certain Henry, a Chinese importer of various goods who is a known fixer at the bureau. Abellera told him that he is the business partner and trusted man of Yang, Duterte, and Carpio and requested that he “not be so strict with their shipments.”
Upon questioning by Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, Guban clarified that not being strict actually meant not looking into the
shipments at all and turning a blind eye on the importations.
Guban further narrated that between the months of May and June 2018 Col. Eduardo Acierto of the National Police shared an intelligence report about a forthcoming shipment of illegal drugs consigned to Vecaba Trading, owned by Vedasto Cabral Baraquel, Jr. and his live-in partner Maria Lagrimas A. Catipan. They were identified as dummies by Calapan-based importer Poney Chen.
Meanwhile, the head chairman of the quad-comm, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, said joint committee will summon all the personalities mentioned by Guban in the hearing.
For Barbers, the testimony of Guban has significance in the alleged connections between illegal drugs and the proliferation of Pogos.
“Well, there’s a revelation na may drugs that were in the magnetic lifter that was a subject of the investigation in the House and Senate noong 2018. Meron palang nagpapalusot. Iyon ang significance, at ang mga taong nasa likod na nagpapalusot,” Barbers said.
“He never thought twice about saying kung sino yung mga iyan, contrary to his previous statement to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee,” he added.
Barbers said that in the next hearing, they are expecting more revelations that will complete the puzzle and substantiate the story of Guban.
Polong: what ‘star witness’?
DAVAO City Rep. Paolo “Polong” Duterte strongly denied any connection with former Customs intelligence officer Guban.
In a statement, Duterte said that he does not know Guban and has never had any dealings with him.
“I do not know Jimmy Guban, and I am certain he does not know me. We have never had any transactions or connections, so there is no reason for me to threaten him even if he mentions my name,” Duterte said.
Duterte also questioned Guban’s credibility, noting that the former BOC officer had previously been held in contempt by the Senate Blue-Ribbon Committee for lying under oath.
“I would like to remind the public that the term ‘star witness’ should only apply to those who speak the truth and have credibility,” Duterte said. “He has no credibility, as he has been caught lying before, so I don’t understand why he is suddenly being treated as a star witness now.”
He said he will review Guban’s sworn statements with his legal counsel, adding,
“I would like to see his sworn testimony so that my lawyer and I can study it.”
Legislator seeks PNP, PDEA records of top 50 ‘drug’ cities
IN a bid to erase the tag of Iloilo City as “the most shabulized city” in the Philippines, a leader of the House of Representatives called on the National Police and the Drug Enforcement Agency to provide records of the top 50 localitiess with the highest number of illegal drug incidents.
House Deputy Majority Leader Julienne Baronda emphasized that Iloilo City, known for its stable economic growth and improved business-investment environment, is an ideal investment destination in the South.
Baronda represents Iloilo City in the lower chamber.
However, the city continues to struggle with the stigma of being labeled as the “most shabulized city,” a tag given by formzer President Rodrigo Duterte.
During her interpellation at the joint public hearing of the House Committees on Dangerous Drugs, on Public Order and Safety, on Human Rights, and on Public Accounts last Friday, Baronda said the negative impact the label has had on the Ilonggos. She expressed concern that
House set to allot ₧50 billion for military modernization
THE modernization program of the Armed Forces is set to receive a record P50 billion in fresh funding in 2025, a lawmaker said on Sunday.
Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said that this amount has been allocated in the 2025 national budget specifically to cover the capital outlays needed for the military’s ongoing modernization projects.
“The amount is 25 percent, or P10 billion, higher than the P40 billion appropriation for the acquisition and upgrading military
hardware and systems in the 2024 national budget,” Pimentel said.
“Congress is absolutely determined to keep up the funding for projects that are meant to build up the military’s national defense capabilities,” Pimentel added.
Pimentel previously served as chairman of the House Committee on Strategic Intelligence and is a strong supporter of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States.
He is also the author of House Bill 1782, which seeks to appropri -
ate P5 billion for the installation of new naval forward operating bases to secure the West Philippine Sea’s vast natural gas and oil deposits that have the potential to supply the country’s energy demand in the decades ahead.
Under the Revised AFP Modernization Program Law of 2012, the Secretary of the Department of National Defense (DND) administers the release and use of the money for modernization projects.
Allotments for the purpose would be issued only upon submission by the DND of the recommen -
dation by the appropriate bids and awards committee for the grant of contracts.
Last April, the Department of Budget and Management released the fourth milestone payment of P6 billion for the DND’s order for two brand-new, multi-role missile corvettes from South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. Worth a total of P28 billion and
Estrada: Coast Guard ships must stay at Escoda Shoal
By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
ENATE President Pro Tem -
Spore Sen. Jinggoy Estrada
on Sunday rejected China’s demand to the Philippines to pull out Philippine Coast Guard ships from Escoda Shoal, stressing that the land feature is well within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
“There is no infringement of China’s territory in the Escoda Shoal. The area where the Philippine Coast Guard ship, BRP Teresa Magbanua has been stationed for nearly four months now... [Escoda] falls within our exclusive economic zone [EEZ] as defined by international law. Therefore, there is no reason for us to withdraw our vessel which was anchored in response to suspected reclamation activities of China,” Estrada said in a statement.
In fact, he argued, “It is China [that is] encroaching on our EEZ, not the other way around. Their primary objective seems to be to establish full control of the shoal with their own Chinese Coast Guard [CCG] vessels and maritime militia, without any presence from us.”
Estrada, the Senate defense committee chairman, said he stands “by our troops on this matter. Our sovereign rights over this particular area is non-negotiable and any attempts to challenge it are baseless. Atin ito at ipaglalaban natin ito. [This is ours and we will fight for it].”
the stigma has unfairly sullied the image of both the city and its residents.
In addition to seeking the records of local governments, Baronda also requested the law enforcement agencies provide a list of local politicians involved in the illegal drug trade in 2017.
This, she believes, will help clarify the allegations against former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, who faced threats to his life owing to his alleged involvement in the narcotics trade.
Former President Duterte, in a speech, branded Iloilo as the “most shabulized” province, naming several local government officials and other personalities from the province who were allegedly linked to the illegal drug trade. This label has since cast a shadow over the city, despite its ongoing efforts to shed the negative image.
Baronda’s call for transparency aims to restore the reputation of Iloilo City and highlight its progress as a thriving economic hub, inviting investors to see the city for its true potential rather than the negative label that has plagued it for years. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
He added, “Our claims are backed up by the 2016 Arbitral Court ruling which already invalidated China’s nine-dash line claims and upheld our EEZ rights in the West Philippine Sea. We urge China to respect these boundaries and engage in peaceful dialogue to resolve disputes.”
BRP Teresa Magbanua was deployed to Escoda Shoal solely to protect the country’s sovereign rights and run after illegal fishing activities, not to provoke or escalate tension in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Estrada also said.
Sovereignty, anti-poachers
mission
COMMO. Jay Tarriela, Coast Guard spokesman for the WPS, responding to reports that China has reportedly lodged a formal protest over the presence of the BRP Teresa Magbanua at Escoda Shoal, a coral reef formation just some 70 nautical miles off mainland Palawan, said that Escoda is “deep within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone,” citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and the 2016 arbitral award.
“Our Coast Guard vessels have the right to operate within the lagoon of Escoda Shoal for as long as
necessary, without requiring permission from any other country,” Tarriela said.
He also advised China to stop citing the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in its statements “as the Chinese have not honored or followed a single provision of that declaration.”
“As far as the region is concerned, it is only Beijing that constantly violates this declaration. They have been deploying their
large Coast Guard vessels there, complemented by their numerous Chinese Maritime Militia,” Tarriela said.
He also noted China’s deployment of naval assets in Escoda Shoal that “undermine stability in these waters and contribute to escalating tensions.”
“Moreover, the Philippine Coast Guard has deployed there not to provoke or escalate tensions; rather, it aims to protect and safeguard our sovereign rights over these
waters, particularly against illegal poachers engaged in IUUF [Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing] and activities that damage our marine environment,” he said. The 97-meter multi-role response vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua, PCG’s most expensive vessel and one of its largest ships, was deployed mid-April amid reported reclamation attempts of China, part of its aggressive expansionism in the WPS and the entire South China Sea. With PNA
Meralco sees rate hike in October
By Lenie Lectura @llectura
AN official of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) confirmed over the weekend that power rates in October are likely to go up by “almost 30 centavos per kilowatt hour” after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has allowed it to collect pass-through costs from its natural gas-fired power plant suppliers.
In a Viber message, Meralco utility economics head Lawrence Fernandez explained that the ERC’s notice of resolution will result in two scenarios:
“One is that Meralco will amortize the deferred amounts, paying an equivalent of P0.12 per kilowatt hour [kWh] starting October 2024 up to September
2025,” he said, citing the ERC resolution that allowed First Gas Power Corp. and FGP Corp. to recover the difference between the previously approved passthrough costs and the landed cost of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the new Gas Sale Purchase Agreement (GSPA). “Meralco is authorized to reflect
the adjusted rates from the gas plants starting October customer billing period. Further, FGPC and FGP are hereby allowed to recover, and Meralco is authorized to collect from its customers, the difference between the previously approved pass-through costs and the costs resulting from the clarifications, particularly as such pertain to the landed costs of LNG and the new GSPA, over a period of 12 months commencing from the October customer billing period of Meralco,” stated the ERC notice of resolution dated August 13 and publicly released last August 15.
FGPC and FGP are affiliates of Lopez-led First Gen Corp. Prior to this, First Gen was only limited to collect pass on costs from the landed cost of LNG but not for other factors such as storage and processing. The ERC resolution now allows First Gen to collect previously uncollected and future charges involving storage and processing of LNG supply that it will use.
“The other thing that will happen is that Santa Rita and San Lorenzo can already charge higher natural gas supply cost resulting from the new GSPAs. If the First Gas plants reflect this higher natural gas cost in the August supply month bill to Meralco, the higher natural gas cost will impact the September bills to end users,” Fernandez explained.
The rate impact of the second scenario is around P0.15 per kWh. “Hence, together with the settlement of deferred cost, the total generation charge impact starting October will be almost P0.30 per kWh,” Fernandez said.
The ERC resolution was released late Thursday. ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said then that the rate impact will likely reached P0.32 or P0.33 per kWh for 12 months based on initial estimates. “Our estimate is about P0.30 per kWh because of the LNG use and re -
based gas price, and an additional two to three centavos on the differential to be collected over 12 months,” she said via Viber.
She stressed that the final cost will depend on “actual blend of LNG and natural gas.”
Based on estimates, Dimalanta said those with a monthly consumption of 200 kWh will likely see an increase of P66 in monthly bills starting October. Also, she warned that these numbers are just solely from the supply of natural gas. Other components that will determine the generation cost are the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market prices, Reserve Market price, and coal prices, among others.
Meralco earlier warned of a possible increase in generation costs from the Santa Rita and San Lorenzo gas plants, as the pricing formula will be applied under the new GSPA.
“While we have yet to complete the final computations, rest assured that Meralco will duly inform the ERC and the public about the actual impact of this order on power rates,” the power distributor said in a statement late Thursday.
First Gen President Francis Giles Puno last week said the company has already informed the ERC and the Department of Energy (DOE) on its plight related to the costs that it needs to recoup.
“We have defended our case with the DOE and with the regulators, they know it’s a project of national significance but it’s a little strange when you have a project of national significance and then you cannot get the recovery,” said Puno.
First Gen owns and operates four natural gas-fired power plants: the 1000MW Santa Rita, 500MW San Lorenzo, 97MW Avion, and 420MW San Gabriel.
Think tank: Ensure national security in proposed Konetakdong Pinoy Act
INTERNATIONAL think tank Stratbase Institute on Sunday said that the Konektadong Pinoy Act should be aligned with the safeguard provisions of the Public Services Act (PSA) wherein critical infrastructure, defined as public services that significantly affect national security, public health, or safety, is subject to rigorous regulatory oversight by the National Telecommunications Commission and other agencies.
Victor Andres Manhit, President of Stratbase Institute, expressed serious concerns about the implications of the bill, urging lawmakers to rethink its provisions.
“We want to be connected, but not at the cost of our security,” Manhit said. He emphasized the need to carefully re-examine the bill’s provisions cutting the regulatory powers of government that may open the country’s radio frequencies—a strategically critical natural resource—to abusive and malicious players.”
He said Stratbase Institute urged legislators to practice caution on Senate Bill 2699, or the “Konektadong Pinoy Act,” warning that the bill, aimed at improving internet connectivity, could compromise the integrity of the Philippines’s internet infrastructure amid escalating Indo-Pacific tensions.
The “Konektadong Pinoy Act” aims to establish a comprehensive and inclusive data transmission and connectivity framework across the Philippines. However, the bill’s proposal to eliminate the requirement for a legislative franchise for the use of the country’s radio frequency spectrum—a strategically critical national resource—has raised alarms among the telecommunications industry, cyber-security, and geopolitical experts.
Manhit pointed out that removing this requirement would weaken the regulatory oversight of the National Telecommunications Commission, potentially leading to a chaotic scenario wherein the country’s telecommunications networks can be exploited
by hostile entities, posing significant risks to national security.
“While the bill’s goals are well-intentioned, its implementation could inadvertently expose the nation to significant security risks, particularly in light of the current geopolitical tensions,” Manhit said. On the other hand, the PSA restricts foreign ownership in sensitive areas particularly where national security is concerned.
Manhit explained that by bypassing the legislative franchise requirement, the bill at its current version would weaken the regulatory framework that ensures the safe and secure management of the country’s telecommunications infrastructure. This could open the door for foreign actors with malign intentions to legally gain access to our digital infrastructure and launch cyberattacks against government institutions, private enterprises, and all internet users.
“The direction should be to strengthen the security and robustness of our critical infrastructure which includes telecommunications networks which carries the nation’s broadband internet services that has become an indispensable utility for the productivity of all industries and people at all levels of society,” Manhit explained.
Although digital inclusivity is essential for nation-building, Manhit underscored “that it must be balanced with robust security measures to ensure that the country’s connectivity infrastructure does not become a weak point in the face of geopolitical threats.”
As the Philippines continues to navigate the complexities of the Indo-Pacific region’s security landscape, the need for a secure and resilient telecommunications network has never been more critical. Although the Konektadong Pinoy bill has good intentions, “it must be carefully reconsidered to protect against potential national security compromises in the pursuit of digital connectivity,” Manhit said. Rizal Raoul S. Reyes
Editor: Jennifer A. Ng
Fall armyworms damage corn in W. Visayas
FA FALL armyworm crawls along the corn stalk after a farmer in Caraga region— earlier hit by infestation—opens the node where it is hiding. FILE PHOTO/ERWIN MASCARIÑAS
capabilities to enable farmers implement timely interventions, such as applying biological control agents (BCAs), use of chemical controls, and employing other effective measures.
“BCAs are available for free at the BPI-Crop Pest Management Division and Regional Crop Protection Centers (RCPCs) nationwide,” the report read.
this cropping season’s infestation is unprecedented compared to previous years. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/06/09/a-war-onworms-in-warm-weather/)
With lower corn production due to fall armyworm, imports of both corn and wheat are expected to rise to meet growing feed demand.
Figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that corn production in April to June fell by 20.3 percent to 1.174 million metric tons (MMT), from last year’s 1.473 MMT. PSA data also showed that corn production in the first half reached 3.706 MMT, or 7.17 percent lower than the 3.993 MMT recorded a year ago. Output of yellow corn used in animal feeds declined to 3.030 MMT from last year’s 3.258 MMT. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, fall armyworm infestation causes stunting and destruction of developing tassels and kernels, which reduces grain quality and yield.
By Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
ALL armyworms have damaged P57 million worth of standing corn crops, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
In its initial report, the DA said the volume of production losses incurred in Western Visayas was pegged at 734 metric tons (MT) planted by 5,279 farmers.
The DA reported that the affected area reached 3,237 hectares (ha), but corn planted in 2,820 ha may still be recovered.
The department said it provided interventions to affected farms, such as the distribution of biocontrol agents and registered insecticides to farmers for immediate pest control, continuous
production of biocontrol agents and maintaining a buffer stock of recommended insecticides, and the conduct of training sessions on pest management strategies, among others.
The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) also released management strategies to combat the infestation of FAW.
Among these recommendations are the inspection, quarantine, destruction of infested material, and the conduct of early planting, weed management, proper fertilization, irrigation, cultivation, crop rotation, and avoidance adjacent sequential planting.
It added the installation of adult pheromone traps to attract (usually) male insects to monitor pest populations and provide early detection
The United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila (USDA-FAS Manila) said in its recent report that the country’s corn production in the marketing year (MY) 2024-2025 may decline due to fall armyworms infesting local farms. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/07/12/phl-cornproduction-seen-declining-on-fallarmyworm-damage-report/)
“FAS Manila forecasts lower MY 2024/25 corn production as multiple producers and industry contacts report reduced area planted and ongoing issues with Fall Army Worm,” the report read.
The USDA-FAS Manila projected that local corn production in MY 20242025 would decline by 2.38 percent to 8.2 million metric tons (MMT) from 8.4 MMT in the previous MY.
In June, BusinessMirror carried a special report on the fall armyworm devastation of corn fields in the Caraga region, which a regional crop protection specialist attributed to temperature changes.
Though they have monitored the fall armyworm in the region in 2020,
PHL all set to export raw sugar to US–SRA
THE Philippines will soon ship sugar to the United States to fill part of its quota allocation for fiscal year (FY) 2024, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said he inspected the loading of raw sugar bound for the US at the BREDCO port in Bacolod City over the weekend.
As stipulated in Sugar Order (SO) 3, the Philippines allowed the export of 25,300 metric tons (MT) of raw sugar to fulfill its US quota allocation.
“It will take about 15 days to load the shipment provided we have good weather,” Azcona said, adding that it would take another 30 days for the cargo to reach US soil.
The agency noted that the loading of sugar is being done manually and an estimated 1,500 MT is loaded every day.
He said the timing of the shipment will balance out the supply of raw sugar in the country when milling starts this September.
The SRA chief also thanked the traders who participated in the program even if they are exporting sugar now at an estimated loss of P900 to P1,200 per bag of sugar.
According to the agency, about 30 sugar traders heeded the call of the administration last year to buy domestic sugar to stabilize farmgate prices that dropped to as low as P2,400 per bag. In exchange, the program allowed these traders the opportunity to import and export when needed. It added that these traders bought raw sugar then at an average price of P2,700 per bag and sold it at the US export price of P1,800 per bag or a loss of P900 per bag.
“Given that these traders will also be given the chance to import refined sugar, the cost of money and other fees they incurred will probably give them just a little profit to recoup their expenses,” the SRA said.
Meanwhile, Azcona expressed his gratitude to Bacolod City Mayor Albee Benitez
for lifting the truck ban for sugar-loaded trucks en route to the port to hasten the loading of US-bound sugar.
The SRA said Bacolod has a standing truck ban in the city proper from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM on weekdays but accommodated the agency’s request to allow uninterrupted loading of sugar within 15 days. This is because the exporters will be charged additional fees for each day of delay unless disruption of loading is weather-related.
Despite the country’s failure to fill its allocation for more than three years, the Philippines recently secured a raw sugar quota for FY 2025 from Washington. (See: https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2024/07/29/ phl-gets-us-raw-sugar-quota-despite3-yr-non-compliance/)
The US Trade Representative announced the allocation of 145,235 metric tons raw value of raw cane sugar under the tariff-rate quota system for FY 2025, which will start on October 1, 2024. Ada Pelonia
Bicol Medical Center to buy produce from ARBs
TBy Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga
HE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has partnered with the Bicol Medical Center (BMC) to support local farmers in the Bicol Region.
The partnership between DAR Provincial Office of Camarines Sur II and BMC, the largest hospital in the region, was sealed last August 14. It is expected to benefit both the farmers and the employees and patients of the health institution.
Under the agreement, BMC will directly source agricultural produce from agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) for its over 3,000 patients and employees. This means that the 1,000-bed hospital will purchase rice, vegetables, root crops, and other products directly from three local farmer organizations in the region.
This gives the groups economic opportunity while giving BMC a steady supply of fresh, affordable food, according to DAR.
Hospital Medical Chief Dr. Ronnie Gregorio B. Gigantone III said the hospital, with 1,300 beds now and 300 more upcoming, requires daily agricultural products to feed patients and staff.
“The BMC has more or less 3,000 employees that will constitute a combined food market that would be of great help to the farmers. This collaboration is very favorable on our side because we need the farmers produce
to feed all these people every day,” he said. In 2022, BMC purchased over P1.4 million worth of produce through a similar agreement, as reported by the hospital’s Nutrition and Dietetics Section. Gigantone III sees the partnership as mutually beneficial, providing farmers with a reliable market while supplying BMC’s significant daily food and dietary needs.
The three supplying farmer groups— Panicuason Farmers Association, Siembre Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organization, and May-Ogob Agrarian Reform Cooperative—are ready to meet the food and dietary demands of the hospital.
“Our farmers will get fair prices for their products as BMC coordinates directly with them for food requirements and modes of delivery,” said Engr. Renato C. Bequillo, DAR’s agrarian reform chief in Camarines Sur II. Bequillo said the mutually beneficial partnership aligns with DAR’s six-point agenda to support farmers through government and private collaboration. It also enables the hospital to access fresh, affordable locally-grown food.
“I am very glad that there are groups like BMC that are after the welfare of our farmers,” said Bequillo, adding that his office will look further for ways to expand the partnership and help the organizations thrive.
Insurance
DAR also said 476 farmers from Bacong, Tu -
lunan are now insured. The farmers are ARBs who were provided with free insurance under the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) in Cotabato province through a partnership between and among the DAR, PCIC, and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).
Victor Acac, a leader of the tribe and Chairman of Barangay in the area described the insurance as “a great blessing and opportunity” given to the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the area.
“This is the first time that many IPs were able to avail of the crop insurance benefits. hope that this effort will continually be implemented in our barangay to encourage more ARBs to farm and get protected from the insurance benefits,” Acac said.
Aside from the crop insurance, the B’laan people were also provided with life insurance with coverage ranging from P20,000 to P100,000 providing them and their families financial security.
Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer Luzel Marie Antes reported that aside from the B’laan ARBs, a total of 119 ARBs had also availed for the first time of life insurance benefits, which include accident and dismemberment security schemes.
Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Evangeline Bueno said the PCA’s free insurance for the coconut farmers is in line with their plan under the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development.
Israeli strikes kill 19 in Gaza as Blinken heads to Mideast to try to help close cease-fire deal
By Wafaa Shurafa And Samy Magdy
The Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip—Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 19 people overnight, including a woman and her six children, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to the region on Sunday to try to seal a cease-fire deal after months of contentious negotiations.
The US and fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar appeared to be closing in on a deal after two days of talks in Doha, with American and Israeli officials expressing cautious optimism. But Hamas has signaled resistance to what it says are new demands by Israel, and the long-running talks have repeatedly stalled.
The evolving proposal calls for a three-phase process in which Hamas would release all hostages abducted during its October 7 attack, which triggered the deadliest war ever fought between Israelis and Palestinians. In exchange, Israel would withdraw its forces from Gaza and release Palestinian prisoners.
The mediators hope to end a war that has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, displaced the vast majority of the territory’s 2.3 million residents and caused a humanitarian catastrophe. Experts have warned of famine and the outbreak of diseases like polio.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted
around 250. Of those, some 110 are still believed to be inside Gaza, with Israeli authorities saying around a third are deceased. More than 100 hostages were released in November during a weeklong cease-fire. The latest Israeli bombardment included a strike early Sunday on a home in the central town of Deir al-Balah that killed a woman and her six children, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. An Associated Press reporter at the hospital counted the bodies. A strike in the northern town of Jabaliya hit two apartments in a residential building, killing two men, a woman and her daughter, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Another strike in central Gaza killed four people, according to the Awda Hospital. Late Saturday, a strike near the southern city of Khan Younis killed four people from the same family, including two women, according to Nasser Hospital.
Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militant group conceals fighters, weapons, tunnels
and rockets in residential areas. But the monthslong Israeli bombardment has wiped out entire extended families and orphaned thousands of children.
The mediators have spent months trying to halt the fighting, efforts that gained new urgency after the targeted killing of two top militants last month, both attributed to Israel, brought vows of revenge from Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah, raising fears of an all-out war across the Middle East.
An American official said Friday that mediators were beginning preparations for implementing the latest cease-fire proposal, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office expressed “cautious optimism” a deal could be reached.
An Israeli delegation is set to travel to Cairo on Sunday for further talks, and Blinken is expected to meet with Netanyahu on Monday.
Ukraine advances in Kursk region as Russian assault continues; Russian troops captured
By The Associated Press
ru SS A kept up its assault on u kraine on Saturday even as u krainian forces pushed into r u ssia’s Kursk border region.
A r u ssian missile sparked a blaze in the city of Sumy that injured two people and also damaged cars and nearby buildings, said u kraine’s State e mergency Service. i t said that the hit had involved an i sk ander-K cruise missile and an aerial bomb.
u kraine’s air force also said it had shot down 14 r u ssian drones overnight, including over the Kyiv region.
m eanwhile, fighting continued in r u ssia’s Kursk region, where u krainian troops have been deployed since August 6 in a bid to divert the Kremlin’s military focus away from the front line in u kraine.
o n t h ursday, u krainian forces said they had seized the town of Sudzha, 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border. With a prewar population of roughly 5,000, it is the biggest town to fall to u kraine’s troops since the incursion began.
Associated Press journalists traveled to the area Friday on a u krainian governmentorganized trip. Artillery fire had blown chunks out of a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir l e nin in the town’s central square, while the bright yellow facade of a local administration building was scorched and pockmarked with bullet holes.
Alexander Kots, military correspondent with the pro-Kremlin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, said that u krainian pressure in Kursk “is not weakening yet.” i n the main sections of the ragged front, the situation has stabilized. b u t there are areas where the enemy continues to try to expand its bridgehead,” he wrote on his te legram channel.
r u ssian Foreign m nistry spokeswoman m a ria Zakharova said Friday that u kraine had destroyed a bridge across the Seim r i ver in the Glushkovsky district with uS -made him A r S r ockets, marking their first use in the Kursk region. Zakharova’s statement couldn’t be independently confirmed, although the Washington-based think tank the i nstitute for the
Study of War said that geolocated footage published on Aug. 16 showed that the bridge had collapsed following the strike.
r u ssian military bloggers said that the destruction of bridges would impede deliveries of supplies to r u ssian forces, but not cut them off completely.
n o o ne has canceled the pontoons,” said Kots, stressing that the Seim r i ver is smaller than ukrainian waterways such as the d nieper r ver. “And there are still smaller bridges.”
r u ssia has seen previous raids on its territory in the war, but the Kursk incursion is notable for its size, speed, the reported involvement of battle-hardened u krainian brigades and the length of time they have stayed inside r u ssia. As many as 10,000 u krainian troops are involved, according to Western military analysts.
t h e incursion, which r u ssian authorities say has led to the evacuation of more than 120,000 civilians, came as a shock to many, Yan Furtsev, an activist and member of local opposition party Yabloko, told the AP.
n o o ne expected that this kind of conflict was even possible in the Kursk region.
Hamas has cast doubt on whether an agreement is near, saying the latest proposal diverged significantly from a previous iteration they had accepted in principle.
Hamas has rejected Israel’s demands for a lasting military presence along the Gaza-Egypt border and a line bisecting Gaza where Israeli forces would search Palestinians returning to their homes. Israel says both are needed to prevent militants from rearming and returning to the north.
Israel showed flexibility on retreating from the border corridor, and a meeting between Egyptian and Israeli military officials was scheduled for next week to agree on a withdrawal mechanism, accordi ng to two Egyptian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private negotiations. Magdy reported from Cairo.
t hat i s why there is such confusion and panic, because citizens are arriving (from front-line areas) and they’re scared, very scared,” he said.
r u ssia’s e mergency Situations m i nistry said in a press conference Saturday that approximately 10,000 evacuees from the Kursk region, including 3,000 children, were staying in 171 temporary accommodation centers across the country.
u krainian forces have also captured a number of r ussian troops as they have moved across the region.
o n F riday, the AP visited a detention center in u kraine, the location of which cannot be disclosed due to security restrictions. d o zens of P oWs were seen, some of them walking with their hands tied behind their backs while a guard led them down a corridor. Some had rations of a thin soup with cabbage and onions.
o n S aturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked u krainian soldiers and commanders for capturing r u ssian military personnel and said the country’s “exchange fund” that it would use to bargain for the return of u krainian P oWs was being replenished.
“ i thank all our soldiers and commanders who are capturing ru ssian military personnel, thereby advancing the release of our warriors and civilians held by r u ssia,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra becomes Thailand’s youngest prime minister after royal signoff
By Jintamas Saksornchai The Associated Press
BANGKOK—Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of the divisive former leader Thaksin
S hinawatra, became Thailand’s prime minister after receiving a royal letter of endorsement Sunday, two days a fter she was chosen by Parliament following a court order that removed her predecessor.
She replaces another leader from the same Pheu Thai Party, at the head of a coalition that includes military parties associated with the coup that deposed the party’s last government.
Paetongtarn is the third Shinawatra to hold the job, after her billionaire father and her aunt Yingluck S hinawatra. Both were removed from office and forced into exile in coups, although Thaksin returned to Thailand last year as Pheu Thai formed a g overnment.
She received the letter of appointment in a ceremony at the party’s he adquarters in Bangkok, attended by senior members of parties in the governing coalition and her father, who has no formal role but is widely seen as de facto leader of Pheu Thai. The father and daughter held hands as they walked in with beaming smiles. Both wore white civil s ervants’ uniforms, which are used for royal and state ceremonies.
Paetongtarn thanked the king, the T hai people and lawmakers, saying she will perform her duties “with an open mind,” and will “make every square inch of Thailand a space that allows Thai people to dare to dream, dare to create and dare to dictate their own future.”
Paetongtarn became prime minister days after the Constitutional C ourt removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, after less than a year in office. The court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach for appointing a Cabinet minister who had been jailed for contempt of court after an alleged attempt to bribe a judge.
Paetongtarn is also Thailand’s second female prime minister after her aunt, and the country’s youngest leader at 37.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Paetongtarn said she is determined to push forward key policies such as economic stimulus, improvement for universal healthcare a nd promoting cultural “soft power” on the global stage.
She did not initially mention Srettha’s signature proposal for a digital cash handout of 10,000 baht (about $275) to 50 million citizens to spend at local businesses in order to boost the economy
The project has been criticized as an ineffective way to contribute to sustainable economic growth, and has faced several hurdles that include its sources of funding. When pressed by reporters, Paetongtarn said she still has an intention to p ush forward a major economic stimulus for Thailand, but she will need t o “continue to listen to opinions.”
She also said she will ask for her father for advice when she needs, but insisted that she would make her own decisions. “I am my own person. I have my own things and my own goals that I have to achieve in the future, but of course all the comments from him (have) value to me,” she said.
Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of populist parties affiliated with Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup, which triggered nearly two decades of deep political divisions that pitted a mostly poor, rural m ajority in the north that supported Thaksin against royalists, the military and their urban backers. P arties linked to Thaksin won the most seats in every national election from 2001 until 2023, when it lost to the more progressive Move Forward Party.
P heu Thai was able to form a government after Move Forward was blocked by the military-appointed Senate, partnering with former rivals in what was widely interpreted as a political bargain with t he conservative establishment to stop Move Forward from forming a government.
The same day, Thaksin returned from exile and briefly reported to prison to for an eight-year sentence on charges related to corruption and abuse of power. He was moved almost immediately from prison to the hospital on grounds of ill health, and about a w eek after that the king reduced his sentence to a single year. He was released on parole in February after spending six months serving time in the hospital.
Since his release, Thaksin has maintained a high profile traveling the country, making public appearances. On Saturday, Thaksin’s lawyer Winyat Chatmontree posted on Facebook t hat Thaksin was among the convicts granted a royal amnesty by the king on the occasion of his birthday in late July. It took effect Sunday, which means Thaksin is free ahead of his original parole schedule. However, the amnesty does not protect Thaksin from an ongoing case for defaming the monarchy, which was indicted in June after being originally filed in 2016. It has been seen b y some analysts as a warning from Thaksin’s enemies that he should tone down his political activities.
Israeli strike in Lebanon kills 10 and triggers response from Hezbollah as tensions simmer
By Kareem Chehayeb & Mohammad Zaatari
The Associated Press
the Gaza Strip. Among the dead were a woman and her two children, the ministry said. Five others were wounded, two of whom in critical condition.
An Arabic-language spokesperson for the i sr aeli military, Avichay Adraee, said the strike in the southern province targeted a weapons depot belonging to h e zbollah. m o hammad Shoaib, who runs a slaughterhouse in Wadi al-Kfour, said the area struck was an “industrial and civilian area” that contained factories producing bricks, metal, and aluminum, as well as a dairy farm. t h e uncle of three of the people killed in the strike said they were factory workers
who were in their housing accommodation when they were hit. h e denied that there were weapons at the facility.
t h ere was nothing at all like that,”
h u ssein Shahoud said. “ t h ere was metal for construction, for building, for all kinds of purposes.”
h e zbollah later announced it had fired a volley of rockets at the community of Ayelet
h aS hahar, near Safad in northern i sr ael in retaliation for the strike. t h e statement said that all 10 victims in l e banon were civilians.
h e zbollah typically issues death notices when its members are killed.
t h e i sr aeli army said 55 projectiles were identified crossing from l e banon, some of
which fell in open areas. n o injuries were reported, but the strikes ignited multiple fires, it said. e a rlier Saturday, two i sr aeli soldiers were injured, one seriously, by a strike coming from l e banon that hit the area of m i sgav Am.
t h e i s raeli military also said it had killed a h e zbollah commander Saturday in a separate strike in the area of the coastal city of ty re. l e banese state media reported that one person was killed in a strike on a motorcyclist near ty re. h e zbollah identified him as its member h u ssein i brahim Kasseb. i t d id not give his rank or say where he was killed. t he l eb anese government and inter -
national governments have scrambled for weeks to put an end to the monthslong clashes, with the region on a knife-edge since July.
An i sr aeli strike last month in southern b e irut killed h e zbollah’s top commander, whom i sr ael accused of leading a rocket attack on the i sr aeli-occupied Golan h e ights that killed 12 youths. h o urs later, an explosion widely blamed on
R. Calso
A PAlestiniAn
Photo/Abdel K Areem hAnA
Congo’s humanitarian crisis helped mpox spiral again into global health emergency
By Ruth Alonga & Chinedu Asadu The Associated Press
GOMA, Congo—Sarah Bagheni had a headache, fever, and itchy and unusual skin lesions for days, but she had no inkling that her symptoms might have been caused by mpox and that she might be another case in a growing global health emergency.
She also has no idea where to go to get medical help.
She and her husband live in the Bulengo displacement camp in eastern Congo, a region that is effectively g round zero for a series of mpox outbreaks in Africa.
T his year’s alarming rise in cases, including a new form of the virus identified by scientists in eastern Congo, led the World Health Organization to declare it a global health e mergency on Wednesday. It said the new variant could spread beyond the five African countries where it had already been detected—a timely warning that came a day before S weden reported its first case of the new strain.
In the vast central African nation of Congo, which has had more than 96 percent of the world’s roughly 17,000 recorded cases of mpox this year—and some 500 deaths from the disease—many of the most vulnerable seem unaware of its existence or t he threat that it poses.
“We know nothing about this,” Bagheni’s husband, Habumuremyiza Hire, said Thursday about mpox.
“ I watch her condition helplessly because I don’t know what to do. We continue to share the same room.”
Millions are thought to be out of reach of medical help or advice in the conflict-torn east, where dozens of rebel groups have been fighting Congolese army forces for years over mineral-rich areas, causing a huge displacement crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people like Bagheni and her husband have been forced into overcrowded refugee camps around Goma, while more have taken refuge
in the city.
Conditions in the camps are dire and medical facilities are almost nonexistent.
Mahoro Faustin, who runs the Bulengo camp, said that about three months ago, administrators first started noticing people in the camp exhibiting fever, body aches and chills—symptoms that could signal malaria, measles or mpox.
There is no way of knowing how many mpox cases there might be in Bulengo because of a lack of testing, he said. There haven’t been any re cent health campaigns to educate the tens of thousands of people in the camp about mpox, and Faustin said he’s worried about how many people might be undiagnosed.
“Just look at the overcrowding here,” he said, pointing to a sea of ramshackle tents. “If nothing is done, we will all be infected here, or maybe we are already all infected.”
Around 70 percent of the new mpox cases in the Goma area in the last two months that were registered at a treatment center run by Medair were from displacement camps, said Dr. Pierre Olivier Ngadjole, the international aid group’s health advisor in C ongo. The youngest of those cases was a month-old baby and the oldest a 90-year-old, he said.
In severe cases of mpox, people can develop lesions on the face, hands, arms, chest and genitals. While the disease originated in animals, the virus has in recent years been spreading between people via close physical c ontact, including sex.
Bagheni’s best hope of getting a diagnosis for her lesions is a govern -
ment hospital that’s a two-hour drive away. That’s likely out of the question, given that she already struggles with mobility having previously had both her legs amputated.
Seven million people are internally displaced in Congo, with more t han 5.5 million of them in the country’s east, according the UN refugee a gency. Congo has the largest displacement camp population in Africa, a nd one of the largest in the world.
The humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo has almost every possible c omplication when it comes to stopping an mpox outbreak, said Dr. Chris B eyrer, director of Duke University’s Global Health Institute.
That includes war, illicit mining industries that attract sex workers, transient populations near border regions, and entrenched poverty.
He also said the global community missed multiple warning signs.
“We’re paying attention to it now, but mpox has been spreading since 2017 in Congo and Nigeria,” Beyrer said, adding that experts have l ong been calling for vaccines to be shared with Africa, but to little effect. He said the WHO’s emergency d eclaration was “late in coming,”
with more than a dozen countries already affected.
Beyrer said that unlike Covid-19 or HIV, there’s a good vaccine and good treatments and diagnostics for mpox, but “the access issues are worse than ever” in places like eastern Congo.
In 2022, there were outbreaks in more than 70 countries around the world, including the United States, which led the WHO to also declare an emergency that lasted until mid2023. It was largely shut down in wealthy countries within months through the use of vaccines and treatments, but few doses have been made a vailable in Africa.
The new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox was first d etected this year in a mining town in eastern Congo, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Goma. It’s u nclear how much the new strain is to blame, but Congo is now enduring its worst outbreak yet and at least 13 African countries have recorded cases, four of them for the first time.
The outbreaks in those four countries—Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda a nd Uganda—have been linked to Congo’s, and Doctors Without Borders said Friday that Congo’s surge
Bagheni, in the Bulengo refugee camp in goma, Congo, suspects she may be infected with mpox after the World health Organization had declared on Thursday, august 15, 2024, the increasing spread of mpox in af rica a global health emergency, warning the virus might ultimately spill across international borders.
AP Photo/Moses sAwA s AwA
threatens a major spread of the disease” to other countries.
S alim Abdool Karim, an infectious disease expert who chairs the A frica Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s emergency committee, said the Congo outbreak has a p articularly concerning change, in that it’s disproportionately affecting young people. Children under 1 5 account for 70 percent of cases and 85 percent of all deaths in the
country, the Africa CDC reported. Unlike the 2022 global outbreak, which predominantly affected gay and bisexual men, mpox now appears to be spreading in heterosexual p opulations.
All of Congo’s 26 provinces have recorded mpox cases, according to the state-run news agency. But Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said Thursday that the country doesn’t have a single vaccine dose yet and he pleaded for “vigilance in all directions from all Congolese.”
Dr. Rachel Maguru, who heads the multi-epidemic center at Goma’s North Kivu provincial hospital, said they also don’t have drugs or any established treatments for mpox and a re relying on other experts such as dermatologists to help where they can. A larger outbreak around the city and its numerous displacement camps already overburdened with an influx of people would be “terrible,” she said. She also noted a pivotal problem: poor and displaced people have other priorities, like earning enough money to eat and survive. Aid agencies and stretched local authorities are already wrestling with providing food, s helter and basic health care to the millions displaced, while also dealing with outbreaks of other diseases l ike cholera. Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report.
Sarah
Beyond the rankings: Embracing our warm and welcoming spirit
ThE consistent ranking of Filipinos among the friendliest people in the world is a reflection of the warm and hospitable nature deeply ingrained in our culture. Time and again, surveys and studies have highlighted the innate kindness, generosity, and graciousness that characterize the Filipino people. This is a source of great national pride, as it reflects the values of bayanihan (community spirit), malasakit (genuine concern for others), and hospitality that are deeply ingrained in the Filipino psyche.
The ranking of Manila as the 10th friendliest city in Asia by language learning platform Preply further underscores this reputation. While the report notes some areas for improvement, such as personal safety, the data reveals that Manila excels in metrics like visitor acceptance, diversity, and English proficiency—all of which contribute to a welcoming experience for foreign visitors. This is particularly impressive given the size and diversity of the Philippine capital. (Read the BusinessMirror story: “Manila’s ‘risky’ tag pulls down friendly ranking to just No. 10,” August 17, 2024).
However, Forbes Advisor’s ranking, placing Manila among the riskiest tourist destinations, paints a starkly contrasting picture. While the report cites high crime rates and security risks, many visitors dispute these claims, highlighting the disconnect between perception and reality. This discrepancy raises concerns about the methodology used and the potential for biased reporting.
It’s important to acknowledge that Manila, like any major city, faces challenges. Crime exists, and infrastructure can pose difficulties. However, these challenges should not overshadow the city’s inherent warmth and the genuine kindness of its people.
The contrasting rankings highlight the need for a nuanced understanding of Manila. While acknowledging the city’s challenges, we must also celebrate its strengths. It’s crucial to move beyond simplistic rankings and delve deeper into the complexities of a city that offers both opportunities and challenges.
What makes the Filipino people so uniquely friendly? It is rooted in a cultural emphasis on human connection, mutual respect, and making others feel at home. Filipinos are renowned for their genuine smiles, hospitable nature, and willingness to go the extra mile to assist strangers. This warmth and approachability have endeared the Philippines to tourists from around the world, who often remark on the memorable interactions they’ve had with locals.
As we strive to revitalize our tourism sector in the aftermath of the pandemic, let us not forget that our renowned friendliness can serve as a valuable strength. By showcasing the welcoming spirit of the Filipino people, the country can further position itself as a premier destination for travelers seeking not just beautiful landscapes, but also genuine, heartfelt connections.
However, the task doesn’t conclude there. While the Philippines has much to offer visitors, there’s still work to be done. The Forbes Advisor report raises valid concerns about safety, and while Manila may not be as dangerous as portrayed, we must address these concerns. By creating an environment where visitors feel safe and secure, they can fully experience the country’s rich culture without worry. Striking this balance between welcoming hospitality and robust security will solidify the Philippines’ position as one of the most alluring and hospitable destinations in the world.
BusinessMirror
A nation remembers: Ninoy’s enduring legacy
IRISING SUN
T’s been 41 years since Ninoy Aquino was assassinated at what is now known as Ninoy Aquino International Airport (formerly Manila International Airport) on August 21, 1983. so much has been said about this historic event that changed the course of our nation. Even as someone who has written about it annually to honor Ninoy’s great sacrifice, I sometimes struggle to find new words. Countless writers and personalities have explored every meaningful angle of Ninoy’s assassination, his death, and his enduring legacy. Yet, the reason I—and many others—continue to write about it is to help our people remember, ensuring that our country does not fall into the darkness of forgetting.
This year, more than four decades after that significant event, the current president has moved the observance of Ninoy Aquino Day from August 21 (Wednesday) to August 23 (Friday), “to provide for a longer weekend and promote domestic tourism.” In response, Ninoy’s family issued a statement
affirming that the change does not diminish his legacy. “Moving a day of commemoration will not diminish the fact that Ninoy died fighting for the country and the people he so loved, and his death sparked a revolution that ended Marcos Sr.’s authoritarian rule,” the statement read. Nevertheless, some have ex-
While the extended weekend will give more Filipino families a chance to enjoy a longer break—which is always a good thing—let us all take a moment this week, no matter the day, to remember our hero. It is crucial that we ensure the younger generations in our families know his real story and understand the significance of his sacrifice.
pressed their intent to continue observing the occasion on its original date, August 21. While the extended weekend will give more Filipino families a chance to enjoy a longer break—which is always a good thing—let us all take a moment this week, no matter the day, to remember our hero. It is crucial that we ensure the younger generations in our families know his real story and understand the significance of his sacrifice.
If you haven’t yet gotten your family a copy of “A Death Foretold: The Ninoy Aquino Assassination Remembered” (published by Au-
rora Oreta and Good Intentions Books, 2023), now is the perfect opportunity. Edited by Sarge Lacuesta, An Mercado-Alcantara, and Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta, the book was released last year to commemorate the 40th death anniversary of Ninoy Aquino. Aurora Oreta, the daughter of Antolin M. Oreta Jr. and the late Senator Tessie Aquino-Oreta, Ninoy’s youngest sibling, spearheaded the publication. The book was well received upon its 2023 release and deserves a place in every Filipino’s home library. In a review published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer last year, Neni Sta. Romana Cruz praised it, saying, “This is a well-produced book, showing much attention to every detail of the production… The account is rich with bite-sized historical facts, which today’s readers, especially teachers and students, would find extremely helpful… This commemorative book has taken a life of its own, a solid historical book to be proud of.”
Visit Good Intentions Books on Instagram to order your copy.
UE graduates bat for upskilling, AI embrace
TLITO GAGNI
hE University of the East (UE) alumni are launching mentoring programs in Philippine schools. These programs aim to equip students with the skills needed to thrive in the evolving job market, particularly in the field of Artificial Intelligence. The goal is to empower graduates with the knowledge and capabilities to secure high-paying positions both locally and internationally.
The emerging trend of Filipino tech professionals securing jobs overseas with salaries in US dollars arose from a link-up with Silicon Valley HQ founder Christopher Peralta, who has been at the forefront of a move to mentor graduates in AI advancements and educating them on the latest trends in technological innovation.
So far, Christopher, the son of Danilo Peralta, a UE graduate and CPA now residing in Australia, has collaborated with the UE Alumni Association to ensure that graduates receive mentoring to enhance their skills. Additionally, he has been approached by the province of Bataan, which has provided him with an office to spearhead AI initiatives.
The UE alumni who are helping graduates get upskilled are all members of the Accounting Honors Society, and is led by lawyer Lambert Tagayuna. The other members
are Nasser Shali Sharif and Willie Villar. They crafted the mentoring move after conferring with Christopher’s father in Sydney, Australia two months ago.
In an interview, Peralta passionately discussed his dedication to mentoring start-ups in both the United States and Australia. His program, initiated in 2015, has successfully conducted over 100 Accelerator programs for governments and organizations across more than 20 countries.
He offers backup and assistance to those he aids, connecting them with additional mentors in Silicon Valley. In the context of the Philippines, he envisions a scenario where local graduates can enhance their skills through the Silicon Valley HQ program and secure employment opportunities in the US and other countries while staying in the Philippines.
The good thing about Peralta and Tagayuna’s partnership is that the graduates that have been mentored will get job offers from the many tech companies that Peralta have access to. In short, the graduates get the chance to also be deployed to worksites abroad.
To witness his passion for improving job prospects for Filipino graduates in the tech industry is to observe the sparkle in his eyes and perceive his altruistic intentions for our own students. However, his ultimate goal is to create employment pathways for at-risk youth, a vision that strongly resonates with Tagayuna and his team.
For Tagayuna, who can be reached at 09189047085, the partnership the group undertook with Christopher is part of his CSR or corporate social responsibility. A mild-mannered lawyer who has helped Pag-Ibig members get cracks at housing slots, he is looking forward to upscale the mentoring program. Being a seasoned Business Development executive with over 25+ years of experience closing strategic and tactical deals with 50+ tech companies worldwide, Christopher is well suited for the mentoring program.
His passion for innovation is matched by his deep foundation and love of helping what he calls the 99 percent of people who have access to
free education and job opportunities. Since 2015, Christopher Peralta has dedicated his time to helping entrepreneurs and start-ups grow their businesses.
Tagayuna is now setting up the organizational structure for the mentoring sessions and is keen on helping local government units have a chance at benefitting from Peralta’s expertise.
The good thing about Peralta and Tagayuna’s partnership is that the graduates that have been mentored will get job offers from the many tech companies that Peralta have access to. In short, the graduates get the chance to also be deployed to worksites abroad.
Silicon Valley HQ has provided entrepreneurs with the resources and support they need to succeed. Christopher’s passion for helping entrepreneurs led him to mentor more than 1,000 startups and being one of the first mentors at Google launchpad. He derives great satisfaction from mentoring students and recently guided a team to victory at Google’s final pitch, outshining 5,000 other participants. Christopher’s current focus is on spearheading Silicon Valley HQ as its Founder and CEO, a dynamic learning platform designed to bridge the digital skills divide in the Philippines and facilitate job opportunities for Filipinos.
Peralta said: “We are currently focused on supporting students with more than 100 partner schools in
Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II
Fort Santiago, built in 1571, is a citadel or castle built by Spanish navigator and governor Miguel López de Legazpi for the newly established city of Manila in the Philippines. the defense fortress is located in Intramuros, the walled city of Manila. the fort is one of the most important historical sites in Manila. Photo courtesy of Intramuros admInIstratIon
Benchmarking accountancy licensure examinations
LFood math: ₧64 = 5 + 2
Joel L. Tan-Torres
DEBIT CREDIT
Party two
ASt August 16, 2024, I attended a conference of around 500 accountants and various stakeholders in Makati. this conference, organized by Marvin Galang, founder of Juan ta x and Beppo, focused on the topic of transformation of Philippine accounting through digital transformation. It also addressed various ills of the profession, including a decline in accounting talents, public trust issues, the impact of outsourcing and freelancing of accounting services, and others.
Mr. Galang pointed out the numbers besetting the accounting profession: 40 percent decline in enrollment in the college accounting course, 35 percent decline in number of Certified Public Accountants examination examinees from 2019 to 2023, and other revealing data. I affirm the dire numbers presented. During my stint as chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy from 2014 to 2018, the BOA administered about 10 CPA licensure examinations resulting in 35,405 CPAs for an average number of 3,540 CPAs for each examination batch. For the subsequent examinations that followed from 2021 (with no examinations given in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic) to October 2024, the eight licensure tests produced only 18,242 CPAs or an average of 2,280 CPAs for each batch. This 35 percent decline in the number of CPA passers contributes to the talent shortage that the profession and industry are currently facing.
That provides context to the topic that I am discussing. In the first part of this series, I made the observation that the CPA examinations may be one of the toughest, if not the most difficult, professional examinations in the Philippines. As measured by the passing percentages of the licensure examinations, the CPA tests show an average passing rate of 29.5 percent from 2014 to the present, with 53,646 passers out of 181,587 takers. During my term as chairman of BOA, the average rate was a modest 33 percent (35,405 passes of 105,917 takers). The average rate declined to 24 percent for the next eight examinations (18,241 passers of 75,670 takers). These numbers indicate a host of issues and questions.
I will discuss some of these with the hope that remedial measures may be instituted to improve the dire elements in the accounting profession.
It will be good to benchmark the Philippine CPA licensure examination practices and trends with those of the rest of the world.
I start with the American Insitute of CPAs examinations administered by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy in the United States of America (USA). Before the effectivity in 2024 of the new AICPA Evolution examinations, candidates taking the examinations must meet the following requirements:
1. E ducation : Candidates are typically required to complete 150 semester hours of college-level education. This includes specific coursework in accounting, business, and ethics.
2. Coverage of the examinations: Candidates must pass four sections of the AICPA examinations. These sections are Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), Financial
It will be good to benchmark the Philippine CPA licensure examination practices and trends with those of the rest of the world. I start with the American Insitute of CPAs examinations administered by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy in the United States of America.
Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Regulation (REG).
3. Work experience : Candidates are usually required to have a certain amount of professional accounting experience (often one or two years) under the supervision of a licensed CPA, depending on the particular state in the USA.
4. Dates of taking the examinations: Candidates have the flexibility of scheduling their examinations, in terms of the dates and the sections to take.
5. Types of questions in the examinations: These include: 1) Multiple choice questions, 2) TaskBased Simulations, and, 3) Written Communication Tasks.
6. Passing the examinations: Candidates must pass all four sections within 18 months starting from the date of taking the first section. The passing score for each section is 75 percent or higher.
7. Testing sites: The AICPA Examinations are conducted at Prometric Testing Centers across the United States. There are over 300 Prometric test centers located in various cities across all 50 states. International Testing Centers: For candidates outside the USA, the AICPA Examinations are available at several international testing locations, including: 1. Middle East: Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates.
2. A sia: Japan and South Korea.
3. Europe: England, Scotland, and Ireland.
4. Canada: Various testing locations.
5. Brazil, and, 6. Philippines (forthcoming). What other features of the AICPA examinations that can be used for benchmarking for the Philippine CPA licensure examinations?
To be continued
Joel L. Tan-Torres was a former Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. He has also held the various positions of Dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business, Chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy, Tax partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co. and the SyCip Gorres and Velayo & Co., and director of various corporate boards. He is a Certified Public Accountant who garnered No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979. He is now back to his tax and consultancy practice and can be contacted at joeltantorress@yahoo.com and his firm JL2T Consulting.
the Philippines. We are also in the early process of supporting the amazing work of Philippine government agencies like DICT to help Filipino entrepreneurs, and OWWA to help overseas Filipino workers.” Now based in Sydney, Christopher has lived in Singapore, New York and Silicon Valley as an expat for 21 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Technology Sydney in Australia.
Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.
THE PATRIOT
After they announced that a daily threshold (not budget) of P64 for meals does not make a person “food poor,” officials of the National economic and Development Authority (Neda) are beleaguered and on the defensive. Some activist groups and even the ordinary Juan ridiculed the assessment of Neda Chief Arsenio Balisacan by saying that the Marcos administration is out of touch with reality.
In a radio interview, a representative from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), the agency that conducts researches that define the citizenry’s nutritional status, with reference particularly to the malnutrition problem, came up with some kind of baseline menu, more known as a National Food Bundle— rice and scrambled egg with coffee for breakfast, rice and monggo with dilis for lunch, and rice, kangkong, and fried fish/boiled pork for dinner—all under P64 only! In turn, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) makes use of this Food Bundle to come up with an Estimate Per Capita Threshold before concluding with an income threshold for one to be considered as “poor.” Way back in 2015, the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST) launched the Philippines Dietary Reference Intakes, which adopts the “multi-level approach for setting nutrient reference values to meet the needs of various stakeholders.” According to the agency’s definition, the components of PDRI are the Estimated Average Requirement, the Recommended Energy/Nutrient Intake (REI/RNI), the Adequate Intake (AI), and the Tolerable Upper Intake Level or Upper Limit (UL). The EAR is the daily nutrient intake level that meets the
median or average requirement of healthy individuals in a particular life stage and sex group while the REI is considered adequate for the maintenance of health and well-being of healthy persons in the population. AI is the daily nutrient intake level that is based on an experimental approximation by a group (groups) of apparently healthy people whereas UL reflects the highest average daily nutrient intake level likely to pose no adverse health effects to almost all individuals.
In conjunction with FNRI studies, the PSA defined “poor” as those people whose “income fall below the poverty threshold as defined by the Neda and/or cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide their minimum basic needs on food, health, education, housing and other essential amenities of life.” (Section 3 of Republic Act 8425 Social Reform & Poverty Alleviation Act). In sum, it appears that this P64 per day for food has scientific basis! And the same FNRI representative said that such amount does not cover the costs of cooking to boot! It seems an impossibility or improbability that one can survive with P64, barely over one US dollar, for daily meals. Per one student in the university belt, one typical meal in a decent carinderia would cost around P60 (rice plus one ulam). There’s sim-
ply no way for anyone not to feel poor when he only has about P21 per meal! Hence, Neda officials got a barrage of criticisms for saying that incredible number of P64.
In reality, there is food available in the world, although some areas have more than others. There is more than enough to feed all the people—just a matter of production and distribution. For instance, Filipino farmers can easily produce much but the challenge is more on profitability since they could hardly sell their products without going through the middlemen who control the distribution. For example, I grow chili peppers, among others, in my Silang farm. Someone buys them for P100-P150 per kilo and sells the same to retail outlets double or even triple the price. By the time actual users and consumers buy my chili peppers, the supermarkets already peg the price at about P1,000 per kilo. Theoretically, farmers like me will not run out of supply, assuming we remain as farmers, since the soil is fertile in our lands.
In the Bible, the parable of the multiplication of the loaves and fish tells us that if there is a will, the blessings we can receive has no end. Pope Francis, a few years ago, declared that the five loaves of bread and two fish is not a miracle of multiplication. It is founded on the gift of sharing, “inspired by faith and prayer.” The Pope said that “from this small amount (of leftovers), God can make it suffice for everyone” because “for him everything is possible.” When Jesus instructed his disciples to distribute, and they did so out of obedience, “the loaves and fish did not run out. My pastor friend told me that when Jesus blessed the five loaves and two fish, there was no magical and instant pile of 5,000 loaves and 2,000 fish. Instead, when the apostles were distributing the loaves and fishes, they simply never ran out! This narration, as found in Matthew 14: 16-21, is more remem-
Mpox gives Denmark yet another way to flex its pharma power
By Sara Sjolin
After the World Health Organization this week warned that a fast-spreading strain of mpox poses a global threat, Denmark again has a potential solution and underscored its capacity to outshine traditional powerhouses in the US and the UK.
From treatments for diabetes to depression, the Nordic nation of 6 million people has punched above its weight with its prowess in pharmaceuticals, and Bavarian Nordic A/S’s mpox vaccine—the only regulator-approved inoculation for the deadly virus—serves as the latest milestone.
What might seem like a sudden sensation has been decades in the making, and much of it comes from a cluster effect created by Novo Nordisk A/S. The maker of blockbuster diabetes treatment Ozempic and weight-loss substance Wegovy has fed a talent pool and spawned new peers on its way to becoming Europe’s most valuable company in September last year.
“A lot of people want to repeat what’s happening here, but it’s not that easy,” said Christian Grondahl, a Danish biotech entrepreneur who has previously founded and sold two startups. “You need a lot of ingredients to replicate the success.”
The roots of the development go back more than 100 years, when the first Danish pharma companies were founded. Novo Nordisk was established in 1923, following the likes of depression-pill maker H Lundbeck A/S.
The long tradition was then fueled by a combination of public-sector collaboration, strong universities such as the Technical University of Denmark and easy access to financing. Bavarian Nordic, Genmab A/S and Zealand Pharma A/S—which is also working on a weight-loss drug—were
all founded in the 1990s.
Ownership structures that prioritize long-term strategies over shortterm profits further underpin the steady development. Both Novo and Lundbeck are controlled by foundations, a model that helps keep them in Danish hands.
The rise of Novo though has turbocharged the entire sector in recent years. “When you move around Danish biotech, you always meet people who have worked at Novo,” Grondahl said. “It has turned into a snowball effect.” As the world’s largest insulin maker, the homegrown giant has long been a stalwart for Danes, but it became a global phenomenon after discovering the weight-loss benefits of a diabetes treatment based on the body’s natural GLP-1 hormone.
Production of Ozempic and Wegovy has since has become so important that Novo helped account for about half of the Danish economy’s growth in 2023. Bolstered by the company’s expansion, the government almost doubled its estimate for this year’s growth to 2.7 percent— outpacing most other European Union economies. Economists have even coined the term “Novonomics” to describe just how influential the drugmaker has become.
But Denmark’s exposure to the hit-or-miss nature of pharmaceuticals is not without risks. Novo’s $600 billion market capitalization is bigger than the entire Danish economy, and while its drugs have won over the rich and famous, trends can quickly change.
bered as the feeding of 5,000 men, besides women and children. More importantly, this story teaches the importance of sharing, making the most of what we have, and that believers must place their trust in God. The event also demonstrated Jesus’ transformative power of generosity wherein He unselfishly distributed 5 + 2 among the multitude, resulting in an abundant feast! Whether it is P64 or P640, our budget (or threshold) for our daily sustenance will be finite. And yet, if we see ourselves the way God sees us (heirs to a vast fortune!), then our supply for our daily needs will be (and already is) infinite! Hence, we can take it by faith. Otherwise stated, if we are believers in Christ Jesus, we are children of God and heirs to all that belongs to the Father. We have full access to the largest inheritance known to man! Romans 8:17 says, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Thus, in the scarcity of earthly supply, in the rise of food cost and living standards, a Christian who gives his life to Jesus shall never fear, for his Abba Father supplies him/her endlessly! Let us not place too much focus on the numbers. P64 is puny compared to what we can receive from God’s bountiful blessings. Keep believing you are an heir. Keep on receiving and sharing! In giving, there’s always a blessing.
A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission. For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.
The country’s sensitivity became evident when Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen earlier this year said she was a “huge fan” of Novo’s treatments. It was a rare public show of support and came as the company faces mounting criticism in the US over pricing.
Despite the growing weight of pharma, the mpox crisis shows how deep Denmark’s offering has become. Bavarian’s inoculation developed after the 9/11 attacks, when the US decided to stock up on vaccines for smallpox as part of its anti-terrorism program.
Bavarian beat out UK-based Acambis Plc for the contract. Although unheralded at the time, the deal proved decisive in 2018, when the UK registered its first case of mpox—a smallpox variant that causes painful rashes and can lead to death. Bavarian’s Jynneos vaccine was approved for mpox in the US in 2019 and in Europe in 2022.
Last year, Jynneos sales nearly tripled to roughly 5 billion kroner ($740 million), accounting for 71 percent of Bavarian’s annual revenue. That potential could increase after the WHO’s warning. Bavarian said on Friday that it wants to extend formal approval of its mpox vaccine to include adolescents—sparking another rally in the shares, which have gained more than half this year.
“We have inventory and we have the capabilities,” Bavarian Chief Executive Officer Paul Chaplin told Bloomberg earlier this week, assuring that the company can provide 10 million doses by the end of 2025. “What we’re missing are the orders.”
Zealand Pharma has more than doubled in value and is emblematic of how Denmark’s drug sector is basking in Novo’s halo. A recent $1 billion capital increase was significantly oversubscribed in just three hours, despite Zealand being relatively unknown in Denmark, much less Wall Street.
Although its weight-loss treatment is still in trial stages, interest is being propelled by the country’s track record and speculation that Zealand could attract takeover interest from a major drug company in search of a weight-loss asset. Zealand’s market value has jumped to 66 billion kroner from 10 billion kroner in early 2023. The gains have secured it a spot in Denmark’s benchmark OMX25 index, which now includes four drugmakers and five other medical-related companies.
Zealand CEO Adam Steensberg, a former Novo employee, pegged Denmark’s pharma status to a steady stream of talent from universities and doctoral programs at Novo and Lundbeck, as well as the government’s willingness to fund long-term projects. He noted that a parallel development has also been evident in green energy, where Denmark likewise is a world leader.
“In Denmark, we are willing to invest not just in problems the world is facing right now, but also in problems we know will come at a later stage,” Steensberg said in an interview. With assistance from Sanne Wass, Christian Wienberg and Janice Kew /Bloomberg
On Saturday, the company said it was working with the WHO to provide broad access to its mpox vaccine and was in talks with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on expanding manufacturing capacity in the continent. Aside from Bavarian’s jump, investors have been flocking to the Danish drug sector. Novo has gained a third so far this year, and Gubra A/S—a smaller company developing an obesity drug—has seen its value surge nearly fivefold.
DFA to 11,000 OFWs in Lebanon: Leave now while airport is open
By Malou Talosig-Bartolome @maloutalosig
TEN months after Israel launched a war against Hamas and Hezbollah over the October 7 carnage carried out by Hamas in Gaza, only 356 among 11,000 Filipino workers have left Lebanon despite the Philippine government’s offer to repatriate them all for free.
On Saturday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Beirut issued an urgent notice to OFWs, as the Israel-Hamas conflict is expanding to Lebanon with intensified attacks from both sides.
“ The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon strongly urges all Filipino citizens to leave Lebanon immediately while the airport remains operational. We advise all Filipino nationals to prioritize their safety and depart the country as soon as possible,” the Embassy posted on its Facebook page August 16 11:27pm.
P hilippine Ambassador to Beirut Raymond Balatbat reported to the DFA that “the situation is still tense and there is uncertainty as locals and foreigners alike await the unfolding of future events.”
OWWA: Prepping for repatriation THE Overseas Workers Welfare Administrations (OWWA) said preparations are now in place to repatriate hundreds of remaining OFWs in conflict-hit Lebanon.
O WWA Administrator Arnaldo “Arnel” A. Ignacio said they are working with airline and shipping firms to transport the affected OFWs, when the need for it arises.
“ We are just following the instructions of the embassy. If they say we need to repatriate, we are ready,” Ignacio said in a phone interview on Sunday.
“I f we need a country near
[Lebanon], then we will bring them there,” he said.
C urrently, he said they are just waiting from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on those who need to be evacuated or repatriated, after the agency issued its advisory to OFWs.
OWWA has no problem, when it comes to funding repatriation because we have the emergency repatriation fund. It is always enough,” Ignacio said.
OWWA was allocated P2.37 billion for its Social Protection and Welfare for OFWs program under the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
L ast Saturday, 15 OFWs arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3.
I gnacio said they provide assistance to the repatriated OFWs, including transportation services, accommodation, and even financial aid.
“ We always have financial assistance and I think the DMW [Department of Migrant Workers] will be adding more,” he said.
Reiteration of Oct. 2023 Alert 3 DFA Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega said the advisory was a reiteration of the contingency Alert Level 3 issued last October 2023.
This advisory of our Embassy in Beirut is not intended to alarm anyone, but to strongly urge the Filipino community to avail themselves now of the voluntary repatriation program of the government, while there are still flights available.
“ We are highlighting the fact that safety of those who stay is not guaranteed,” De Vega told BusinessMirror.
Un der Alert Level 3, Filipinos who wish to go to the Philippines will be assisted by the DFA and the Department of Migrant Workers, including free airfare.
S ince the October 2023 Alert Level 3, only 356 have volunteered
for repatriation, De Vega said.
A s of August 18, Sunday, the Philippine Embassy has received 738 requests for repatriation.
H owever, 45 OFWs are still waiting for clearance from Lebanon’s immigration office. The Migrant Workers Office of the Embassy working with Lebanese immigration officials to help them secure their clearances.
There are also 15 OFWs who cannot leave Lebanon because they face
ongoing court cases.
O n the other hand, 322 have withdrawn their application to be repatriated.
Th e Philippine Embassy is still continuing the census of the Filipinos in Lebanon, as many have come to work there illegally. Lebanese immigration officials told the Embassy that their estimates of Filipino workers in Lebanon is around 11,000.
H owever, migration expert Emmanuel Geslani believes that the
BSP: P1B worth of reserves raised in ’23 from sustainable bonds issued by PHL banks
TBy Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
HE Philippines raised P1 billion worth of reserves from sustainable bonds issued by banks in 2023, according to a report of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Based on its Sustainability Report, BSP reported that a total of P236.5 billion worth of peso-denominated sustainable bonds were issued in the first semester of 2024.
T he BSP also noted that the total amount of foreign currencydenominated sustainable bonds increased to $1.6 billion on account of a social bond issuance by a thrift bank, the proceeds of which will be directed to women from low- or lowermiddle-income groups.
With the regulatory incentive provided by BSP [i.e., 200-basis point reduction in Reserve Requirement Ratio for sustainable bonds], an estimate of P2 billion has been freed up to the system, which may then be reallocated to finance eligible and sustainable activities,” BSP said in the report.
Based on the results of its 2023 Banking Sector Outlook Survey (BSOS), the BSP said sustainable projects or activities in the next two years or 2024 to 2025 improved to 90.3 percent in 2023 from 79.3 percent recorded in 2021. The report also noted the National Government issued sovereign sustainability bonds from 2022 to 2023, totaling $3.55 billion. This included a 70.1-billion Japanese yen issuance, equivalent to $550 million.
Th e total Asean-labelled green, social, and sustainability bonds issued
amounted to $49.14 billion, of which $12.85 billion or 26 percent were issued by Philippine companies as of March 31, 2024.
A climate-resilient economy and financial stability are mutually reinforcing outcomes. The BSP is thus committed to supporting the collective effort to unlock finance for adaptation measures that need to be implemented by the public sector, private enterprises and households,” BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona said in a statement.
A part from sustainable finance, the BSP is also exerting other efforts to drive its sustainability agenda such as recycling banknotes, unfit coins, and turning to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for cyanide-free technology in minting Presidential medals and coins.
The BSP reported that in 2023, its Greater Manila Regional Office retired and shredded a total 1.144 billion pieces of counterfeit, unfit, mutilated, and demonetized (CUMD) banknotes equivalent to P380.65 billion.
The report noted that a total of 1.26 million kilograms of briquetted banknotes were properly disposed of and re-used as an alternative fuel source.
For regional offices and branches outside the Greater Manila Area, BSP said a total of 1.17 million pieces of CUMD banknotes were retired/ shredded.
The resulting waste materials were either disposed to sanitary landfills following health and safety guidelines of the respective local governments or donated to manufacturing facilities to serve as alternative fuel,” the report stated.
T he BSP also said that in 2023, it defaced a total of 23.77 million pieces of CUMD coins equivalent to P13.687 million.
T hese coins weighed 144,568.85 kilograms or 144.57 metric tons and generated P13.687 million worth of income for the BSP.
[This] falls in line with the DENR’s mission to achieve a ‘lowcarbon economy through sustainable management of natural resources’, and allows the BSP to fully deliver on its responsibility to withdraw unfit currency in circulation and replace these with clean new currency, in line with the BSP Clean Note and Coin Policy,” BSP siad.
A part from this, the BSP said it entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Science and Technology’s Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC).
T he memorandum was for a limited manufacturing and use of a cyanide-free gold plating solution for experimentation and testing for the purpose of medal production and possible technology transfer.
T he BSP is the exclusive manufacturer of presidential medals and state decorations. The central bank said it adopted sustainable practices in gold-plating, which conventionally involves cyanide-based electroplating.
With the proven success of the conducted experimentation and testing that confirmed the viability of the DOST-developed cyanide-free electroplating process, steps are now being taken for the execution of a Technology Licensing Agreement
with DOST,” the report stated.
“[This] will pave the way for the full adoption of this alternative gold plating technique for a safer and greener production process of presidential medals, state decorations and commemorative coins,” it added.
B uilding on the maiden 2022 edition, the 2023 Sustainability Report expounded on the refined strategy of BSP’s climate response.
“ We are pursuing a sustainability agenda that is inclusive and grounded on the country’s special climate risks,” Governor Remolona said.
T he BSP said inclusive sustainability implies managing the unintended exclusionary effects of climate action and promoting green finance to the benefit of the most vulnerable sectors.
Th e report focused on the key sustainable activities of the BSP on the issuance of regulatory incentives for sustainable finance and the publication of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Guidelines.
The BSP also conducted research on the impact of climate change on monetary policy and the banking system, and the BSP’s integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in its investments and reserves management.
The publication of the sustainability report is in line with the BSP’s efforts to champion sustainability principles and practices in the financial sector.
The report also serves as a tool to engage the public, policymakers, and the business and development communities as partners in the whole-of-nation climate resilience efforts.
actual number of Filipinos in Lebanon could be 30,000.
A ccording to the report of Ambassador Balatbat to DFA, there are no OFWs residing in border towns near the Blue Line where most of the fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah is taking place
B ut there may still be OFWs working in southern Lebanon such as in Nabatiyeh City, Tyre and Sidon, which were recently hit by Israel missile attacks.
For Filipinos who could not leave Lebanon, the Embassy is strongly recommending they evacuate to safer areas outside Beirut, South Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. D e Vega said based on the report of Ambassador Balatbat, the Embassy is “closely monitoring the situation,” to determine the need to recommend the raising of contingency Alert Status from 3 to 4, i.e. mandatory evacuation. With Samuel P. Medenilla
BOC’S E-TRACC NOW COVERS BARGE TRANSFER OF GOODS
THE implementation of Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) Electronic Tracking of Containerized Cargo (E-TRACC) system now covers containerized goods shipped through domestic vessels, according to the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport).
In a statement at the weekend, Philexport told port users to take note that the BOC has just released an order establishing E-TRACC coverage over barge or domestic vessel transfer of containerized goods.
E-TRACC is a measure that enables the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to “generate real-time and accurate information and to monitor the movement and location of containers using tracking devices and linking it in real time with the electronic documentation system.”
Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 09-2024, issued on August 12,2024, implements Customs Administrative Order (CAO) No. 15-2019 covering the movement within Customs territory of foreign goods for “outright exportation, warehousing and those admitted to Free Zones.”
Taking immediate effect, CMO 09-2024 “integrates” the procedure for the transit of containerized shipments via barge or other domestic vessels with regular inland transfer.
K ey provisions of the new CMO include those in Section 3, which covers the operational procedure for the transit of containers for admission to the free zone,
and in Section 4 on the transit of containers for exportation, Philexport noted.
For barge transit booking, Section 3 says the importer is required to book a trip in the E-TRACC system, providing the needed information such as barge details, container number, port of discharge, name of destination facility, container number, stowage plan, and payment details, among others. There should only be one booking for the entire containers loaded on the barge or the domestic vessel, per CMO 09-2024.
Two weeks ago, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (Seipi) sought the exemption of electronics exporters from the implementation of E-TRACC, as this is expected to add around P1 million to P2 million a month to logistics cost, which the group said could diminish competitiveness. Seipi President Danilo C. Lachica said this policy will entail additional cost to electronics exporters.
Additional cost. It’s really a redundant policy and we met with the BOC yesterday and they’re saying…it’s a revenue loss… [I said], the more you will lose revenue [if the] companies leave,” as a result of the implementing this measure. Explaining the “redundancy” of the measure, the Seipi chief said logistics providers already have a tracking system in place.
URGENT CALL TO OFWs The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept an attack from Lebanon over the Galilee region, as seen from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Sunday, August 4, 2024. The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Beirut are urgently advising the 11,000 OFWs in Lebanon to leave immediately while the international airport remains open. The DFA has been urging OFWs to evacuate Lebanon since Israel launched a war on Hamas in October 2023. AP/MOHAMMED ZAATARI
Editor: Jennifer A. Ng
Pangilinan keen on hiking stake in SP New Energy
By Lenie Lectura @llectura
Businessman ma nuel V. Pangilinan said his group is willing to acquire more shares of sP new energy Corp. (sPn eC) which is currently developing the “world’s largest solar project” valued at around P200 billion.
“If it’s open, why not? It’s a good project. It owns 100 percent of Terra Solar for now. It’s the largest singlesite solar facility in the world, and the Philippines should be proud of that. It’s a very complex, huge undertaking,” Pangilinan told reporters in an interview.
The project he was referring to will consist of 3,500 megawatts (MW) of solar power plant and a 4,000-MW hour energy storage system. It is expected to generate more than 5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. The first phase of the project is scheduled to be delivered by 2026, while Phase 2 is targeted for 2027. “And I believe that once the entire 3,500MW on 4,000 hectares are
‘AllDay
By VG Cabuag @villygc
PREMIuM segment supermarket player AllDay Marts Inc. said “operational efficiencies” allowed it to record a net income of P185.12 million in the first half, 7 percent higher than the previous year’s P171.97 million.
In its disclosure, the operator of AllDay Supermarket reported that its revenue was flat at P4.93 billion compared with the previous year’s P4.89 billion.
The company’s acting president and CEO Jacqueline Cano credits AllDay’s stable performance to “operational efficiencies.”
“On the operational side, we
built, if we send you to outer space, you can take a photo of that facility from outer space,” he said.
SPNEC, formerly Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., is 35.7 percent owned by MGen Renewable Energy Inc. (MGreen); 37.93 percent, SP Project Holdings; 3.2 percent, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC); while 20.01 percent is publicly owned. Pangilinan is the chairman of SPNEC and the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
SPNEC is now controlled by Pangilinan’s MGreen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meralco Powergen Corp. (MGen), which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Meralco, whose largest shareholder is MPIC.
In all, the Meralco group’s interest, including redeemable preferred voting shares, in SPNEC reached 55.96 percent.
SPNEC reported a net income of P182.7 million in the second quarter, a reversal of the P9.78-million net
August 19, 2024
loss in the same period a year ago. This brings its first-half net profit to P339.4 million from a net loss of P34.75 million due to asset gains.
Last month, Meralco reported that it spent P19.9 billion in capital expenditures (capex) in the first semester. Of the amount, P10 billion was used for the distribution networks projects that included new connections, asset renewals, and load growth projects.
The balance was spent on the development of solar projects of MGreen, acquisition of additional 475 telecommunication towers, and the construction of build-to-suit towers by Miescor Infrastructure Development Corp.
Meralco said it expects full-year core income to reach P43 billion this year, higher than its earlier guidance of P40 billion, after the utility firm posted strong and improved numbers particularly in May, when it posted record sales.
Marts strategy bearing fruit’
looked into every opportunity to increase efficiency. While taking special care to preserve—even improve on the unique AllDay experience— controlled spending and cost control measures allowed us to deliver even better value to our stakeholders,” Cano said.
“Notably, our increased efforts to shore up AllDay’s brand equity through an attractive and comprehensive imported item offering as well as optimal pricing strategies are increasingly bearing fruit,” she said.
AllDay’s gross profit margins for the first half went up by 70 basis points, it said, Meanwhile, big-box home retailer AllHome Corp. said it recorded a net income of P282.42 million on the
back of P5.6 billion in revenues in the first half.
“Notable in AllHome’s performance is the stable contribution from its core categories—furniture and appliances, allowing us to deliver sustained value for our stakeholders,” said Benjamarie Therese Serrano, AllHome President and CEO.
Serrano also reiterated AllHome’s commitment to “extract more value out of operational efficiencies.”
“We will continue to lean into the implementation of efficiency initiatives in service of our bottomline. We fully intend to run a tight ship in AllHome to deliver better value for our stakeholders.”
On AllHome’s performance, the
company’s COO Salie Coloma pointed to the chain’s core businesses as a key performance driver.
“AllHome’s second quarter saw brisk sales of cooling appliances—an uptick of 11 percent. These continue to offset a slower-than-expected completion of most construction activities of the AllHome market base, a factor in the lower turnover of units for the half, affecting AllHome’s offering of finishing materials, tiles and sanitary wares.”
In its Metro Manila Residential Report, Colliers indicated an increased turnover of units for the second half, although the same period will be met with a softer condominium sales market in Metro Manila.
Aliw Broadcasting, RPN to air classic Filipino sitcoms ‘John en Marsha’ and ‘Buddy en Sol’
ALIW Broadcasting Corporation has announced a partnership with Radio Philippines Network (RPN). The formal agreement was signed on Monday, August 12, 2024 at a ceremony held in Pasig City. This collaboration will bring beloved classic television shows back to Filipinos, captivating a new generation of viewers through Aliw’s free-to-air digital television and cable channel, Aliw Channel 23. In attendance at the signing were key executive officers from Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, including Executive Vice President and General Manager Atty. McNeil Rante, and Vice President for Business Development Dennis Antenor Jr. Representing RPN were Treasurer Leon Dy, Commercial and Operations Manager Robertson Ong, and Board Director undersecretary Robert Rivera. The content partnership is set to revive the rich legacy of classic RPN9 programming, beginning with the iconic sitcoms John en Marsha and Buddy en Sol. These shows, which are significant relics of Filipino television history, will once again be enjoyed by audiences through Aliw Channel 23.
“John en Marsha” originally aired from 1973 to
B1
ACEN plans to tap transition credits for coal-fired plant
ACEN Corp., GenZero and Keppel Ltd. have signed a Memorandum of u n derstanding (MOu ) to jointly explore the utilization of transition credits (TCs) to accelerate the retirement of the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp., (SLTEC) coal-fired power plant (CFPP) in Batangas. under the MOu, the parties will jointly undertake a development study to explore utilizing TCs to facilitate the project’s implementation and achievement of the early retirement goal. The origination and sale of TCs will help to accelerate the decommissioning of the 246 MW SLTEC CFPP located in Calaca, Batangas by 10 years, and also support just transition initiatives.
“We appreciate the strong support of Keppel and GenZero for this pioneering initiative. The Philippines is at the forefront of energy transition initiative, and this collaboration potentially unlocks further opportunities in the country. We also believe that this model can scale across the region, and even globally,” said ACEN President Eric Francia.
The project will also explore the development of end-to-end tech-
nological solutions and economic model of the coal-to-clean transition focused on the replacement of the 246 MW baseload of the CFPP with a mid-merit Integrated Renewables and Energy Storage System consisting of solar plant and battery storage. In retiring the SLTEC CFPP, the partners will also take into account environmental, social and governance considerations and best practices. This includes the training of workers and communities, asset repurposing and the decommissioning of the plant in a manner that minimizes the impact on communities and the local environment. The project will be carried out in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation’s Coal to Clean Credit Initiative (CCCI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Transition Credits Coalition (TRACTION). This project could also come under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement collaboration between the Philippines and Singapore. under Article 6, countries are able to transfer carbon credits earned from the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to help one or more countries meet their climate target.
Lectura
Lenie
“ h e nce, we still see room for advancement. With the BSP already going for one 25 basis point rate cut, together with the prospect of more monetary policy easing moving forward, we may see the market climb further next week. e a sing recession worries in the US, if it continues, is also expected to help the local bourse,” Tantiangco said.
Broker 2Tradeasia said the said cut was about a month ahead of what the US Federal reserve is speculated to be executing. “as mentioned in our past reports, this coincides well with mostly positive earnings reports for second quarter and should provide lift to prices in the short-run.”
“The long-run strategy should now consider the lag effects of current plus upcoming rate cuts-material effects to corporate fundamentals may not be reflected until well into 2025, but lower capital cost expectations will only drive more aggressive capex projections and more conducive to growth plays,” the broker said.
“There is a clear upward bias to market movements as rate cuts--locally and abroad-have turned in favor of risk assets. The dying out of the ‘higher-for-longer’ view on global interest rates may be the impetus the PSe needs to approach 7,000 in the medium-term, but it is important to keep pace and not get lost in the exuberance.”
Chartwise, if the local market is able to sustain its position above the 6,700 - 6,800 range, this will be considered as its new support while its next resistance is seen at 7,000,
1990. The series starred renowned actors Dolphy, Nida Blanca, Rolly Quizon, Dely
and Maricel Soriano, and revolved around the comedic yet heartfelt interactions of the Puruntong family. The show not only entertained millions but also imparted valuable
Photo shows (from left) Dennis L. Antenor Jr., Vice President for Business Development, Aliw Broadcasting Corporation; Atty. Mcneil R. Rante, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Aliw Broadcasting Corporation; Robert t. Rivera, Board Director, Radio Philippines Network; and Leon h. Dy, Chief Finance o fficer, Radio Philippines Network.
Banking&Finance
‘Merger of LBP, UCPB units good for govt’
THE top executive of Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) maintains that the merger of LandBank Leasing and Finance Corp. (LLFC) and United Coconut Planters Bank Leasing and Finance Corp. (ULFC) will support the government’s development agenda and improve client service.
A statement issued by the staterun lender last Sunday quoted LBP President and CEO Lynette V. Ortiz as saying the merger will boost LBP’s leasing and financing market power. Given the two subsidiaries’ similar product and service offerings, Ortiz said the merger will be able to serve its clients better, with LLFC as the surviving entity.
“The move is also consistent with the national government’s streamlining to address duplication of functions and organizational rightsizing,” she added.
Ortiz said the lender’s absorption of ULFC will eliminate the demand on government resources, such as personnel and infrastructure, among others.
Moreover, she said the merger provides the LLFC with a higher capital base to undertake and support the national government’s various development agendas.
The combined entity would also have improved operational capacity
for more efficient operations, the statement by LBP read. Ortiz assures clients of LLFC and ULFC that the merger will be “smooth and orderly,” including that no disruption in services will occur in the process, and conducted in consideration of the welfare of all stakeholders.
The merger of LLFC and ULFC was authorized by President Ferdinand R. Marcos through a 3-page Executive Order 65 the Chief Executive issued on August 6. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/08/09/ marcos-approves-merger-of-llfcand-ulfc/)
The decision comes after the Governance Commission for GOCCs determined that the ULFC is no longer achieving its expected objective and purpose.
The LLFC and the ULFC are tasked to create an integration plan in line with existing laws as well as auditing standards, rules and policies. The LLFC is required to submit a reorganization plan for the merger-affected officers and employers covering their retirement and separation benefits within one year from the effectivity of EO 65.
The reorganization plan will also have a provision for the LLFC to absorb ULFC officials and personnel whenever applicable.
Reine Juvierre Alberto
DOF orders online businesses, creators to register with BIR
By Reine Juvierre Alberto
ONLINE sellers, content creators, freelancers and other persons engaged in online businesses are now mandated to register with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and display their proof of registration to build trust in the ecommerce space.
criminal liabilities,” the regulation stated.
A penalty of P1,000 per business name or store name will be imposed for failure to register the store or business name. Late registration will also come with a penalty of P1,000.
Failure to register the head office or branch if the business or self-employed is discovered through ocular inspection, BIR notification to register, third-party reports, or during Tax Compliance Verification Drive (TCVD), will be penalized P20,000 for medium and large taxpayers; P15,000 for small taxpayers; P5,000 for micro taxpayers; and P50,000 for businesses subject to excise tax.
or application will be penalized amounting to P1,000 for every violation per business name or store name.
Accountability
THE BIR also holds the lessors and digital platforms, including e-marketplaces accountable for the lessees and online sellers, ensuring that they are all duly registered with the BIR, with Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and compliant with invoicing requirements.
By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
PROPOSALS to revive online cockfighting, or e-sabong, as a way to make up for the foregone revenues due to the recent ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) represent a resort to a “worse” option, and should be rejected, according to Sen. Joel Villanueva.
“We have just defeated an enemy with the POGO ban; and now some are considering resurrecting e-sabong, which is far worse because it directly targets our kababayans from all walks of life,” Villanueva said.
“While we badly need revenues, the choice should not be between the devil and the deep blue sea. We want our revenues coming from legitimate, legal, and sustainable sources,” he added.
Villanueva earlier filed Senate Bill 1281, seeking to prohibit all forms of online gambling in the country.
“No matter how you look at it, the social costs of gambling overshadow the intended benefits,” according to the solon.
Even during the height of their operations, Villanueva said POGOs did not prove to be a viable solution to the government’s revenue needs, as collections accounted for only a small portion of taxes.
Similarly, prior to the e-sabong ban in May 2022, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reminded operators to
e-Sabong revival nixed as POGO replacement briefs
pay their tax obligations after a Senate inquiry found them earning billions from online “talpak.”
The BIR and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) also failed to withhold the 20-percent tax from the winnings of online sabong operators since virtual cockfighting began in 2020.
In a separate Senate hearing in February 2024, the Pagcor admitted that e-sabong continues despite the prohibition. It was also found during the hearing that 789 e-sabong operations are still active, defying the ban. Villanueva also called on law enforcement agencies, including the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, to apply the same rigorous measures against e-sabong as they have with POGOs to prevent its resurgence.
“Similar to POGOs, e-sabong has brought social costs—worse, it destroys Filipino families, plunges individuals into severe debt, and even forces some to commit theft and crimes to fund their gambling habits,” Villanueva said, stressing the plight of some 30 cockfighting enthusiasts (sabungeros), some of whom hailed from Bulacan, who remain missing to this day.
“We cannot simply turn a blind eye to the suffering of our people who have become victims of the pitfalls of gambling. Money should not be our only consideration; the welfare of our people must come first,” Villanueva said.
➜ EastWest eyes credit card dominance
THE East West Banking Corp. (PSE: EW) announced expectations of a double-digit growth of its credit card business and increased market share. According to the Gotianun family-led universal bank, revenues of its credit cards business grew by 30 percent to P5.5 billion in the first six months of the year from the P4.3 billion of the same period last year. Its accounts receivables for the year-on-year period jumped 35 percent to P61.0 billion, surpassing industry levels. Total billings also rose 39 percent YOY to P52.0 billion. The bank expects its credit cardholder base to widen to 1.4 million this year. As of the first half of 2024, EW’s cardholder base stood at 1.3 million, a 17 percent growth from last year. Rizal Raoul Reyes
➜ PVB unveils WW2 History Wall
THE Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) recently unveiled its World War II History Wall in its main office in Makati City that the lender said is designed to pay tribute to the valor and sacrifice of Filipino veterans of World War II who are also the bank’s original shareholders. This feature will be a standard addition to all PVB branches nationwide, according to PVB First-Vice President Miguel Angelo C. Villa-Real. “As we celebrate this important milestone, we honor the enduring spirit and immense contributions of our nation’s heroes to our society,” Villa-Real said adding that the “History Wall embodies [PVB’s] continued commitment to remember our veterans and learn from the profound impact of their bravery.” Rizal Raoul Reyes
➜ Bayad CEO feted as top innovator CIS Bayad Center Inc. (DBA Bayad) announced its president and CEO Lawrence Y. Ferrer was recognized as one of the “Top Filipino Innovators” by marketing consultancy firm Mansmith and Fielders Inc. Ferrer has been recognized among
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto signed Revenue Regulation 152024, upon the recommendation of Internal Revenue Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr., to prescribe the policies and guidelines in the mandatory registration of persons engaged in brick-and-mortar and online businesses. The ruling also includes criminal liabilities for nonregistration. According to the Department of Finance (DOF) RR 15-2024 was issued pursuant to Sections 236(A) (Registration Requirements of the National Internal Revenue Code) and Republic Act (RA) 11967 (Internet Transactions Act of 2023).
Who must register?
THOSE in sale and/or lease of goods and services through brick-andmortar stores; e-commerce or online businesses, including virtual items in online games, digital content/products, digital financial services, en-
By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan
WHILE Maya has firmly secured its position as the top digital banking platform and merchant acquirer in the country, its performance has been described as “disappointing” when compared to its e-wallet rival, GCash, which has maintained dominance in the broader mobile wallet space.
Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT Inc. and one of the major shareholders in Maya Innovations Holdings Pte. Ltd., acknowledged the challenge, but noted that Maya is not backing down anytime soon.
“Kudos to [Globe Fintech Innovations Inc.] for the valuation that has been reported,” Pangilinan said, referring to the recent funding announcement of GCash that pushed its valuation to $5 billion.
“It’s been disappointing for
tertainment services, travel services, transport and delivery services, educational services, social commerce, on-demand labor and repair services and property and space rentals; Operation of digital platforms, including e-marketplace platforms; sale and/or lease of goods and services through digital platforms; digital content creation and streaming, such as online advertising, blogging/vlogging, subscription or commission; eretailing of goods and services;
Sale of creative or professional services, on-demand or freelance services supplied over the internet; and other forms of businesses conducted online are mandated to obtain registration from the BIR within 10 days from the date of employment, on or before the commencement of business, before payment of any tax due, or upon filing of a return, statement or declaration.
“Failure to register shall be subject to administrative penalties and
Maya. I sat down with shareholders of Maya [and said] that we have to do something about their performance. So that round of discussion has started. It’s premature for me to disclose the game plan,” he added.
Despite being the number one digital bank, Maya has struggled to match GCash’s widespread adoption in the e-wallet space and valuation. However, Maya’s success lies in its identity as a digital bank—not just an e-wallet. As of end-June, it has 4 million bank customers and 1.2 million borrowers, reflecting a 133 percent year-on-year growth.
The platform also boasts a deposit balance of P32.8 billion, up 32 percent from the previous year, and a life-to-date loan disbursement of P46.8 billion, marking a 4.3x yearon-year growth.
Furthermore, Maya has shown significant progress in consumer loans, with 60 percent of borrow-
Posting of registration
THE BIR also requires the posting of a Certificate of Registration (COR) or Electronic Certificate of Registration (eCOR) at the place where the business is conducted and at each branch that is clearly and easily visible to the public.
Those businesses operating through a website, social media or any digital or electronic means shall display the electronic copy of the COR or eCOR on their website, webpage, account, page, platform or application.
“The displayed proof of registration shall be (at all times) easily accessible and visible to buyers or customers visiting the seller or lessor’s webpage, account, page, platform or application,” the regulation said.
Failure to post the COR or eCOR on the place of business or website, webpage, account, page, platform
ers maintaining a sole banking relationship with the platform. The consumer loans disbursed have seen a 2.7x growth compared to 2023.
Meanwhile, its embedded banking for business has also ballooned, with a 6.7x increase in business loans disbursed.
Despite these milestones, Pangilinan emphasized the need for Maya to elevate its performance, particularly in the e-wallet segment, where GCash remains a formidable competitor.
In June, Pangilinan admitted that GCash has become “the vernacular,” a household name for anything e-wallet, whereas Maya was struggling to keep up with the name recall.
“We’re the largest shareholders.
I feel we should have greater say in the operations of Maya,” Pangilinan said, hinting at potential strategic shifts ahead.
Maya is on track to reach its goal
“Master Innovators,” highlighting his “impact in steering the digital transformation of Bayad. The company now stands as a fintech, integrating biller networks and payment channel providers. This innovation has continued to cater to Filipinos from all walks of life especially to the “now generation” who are constantly looking for instantaneous ways to settle their payments. “Bayad is one with both private and government institutions in structuring financial services that will enable business interconnectivity and foster economic resiliency of our country,” Ferrer said.
GOLDMAN Sachs Group Inc. economists lowered the probability of a US recession in the next year to 20 percent from 25 percent, citing this week’s retail sales and jobless claims data. If the August jobs report set for release on September 6 “looks reasonably good, we would probably cut our recession probability back to 15 percent, where it stood for almost a year” before a revision on August 2, the Goldman economists led by Jan Hatzius said in a report to clients on Saturday.
A flurry of data showing US economic resilience drove
Allowing lessees and online sellers without the required COR or eCOR shall be construed as an act of aiding or abetting in the commission of the offense, the regulation added. The lessor, digital platform or emarketplace will face higher penalties worth P20,000 for each store for allowing lessees or online sellers to engage in business in the premises or digital platform without BIR registration.
Closure/take down order THE Commissioner of Internal Revenue (CIR) has the authority to issue a Closure/Take Down Order to close the business operations of those who failed to register their businesses. It also warrants the BIR to file appropriate charges, if evidence so warrants, against the person concerned, or in the case of corporate taxpayers, against the responsible officers of the corporation, under the Run After Tax Evaders (Rate) Program of the BIR. Refusal to comply with the Closure/Take Down Order will be penalized P20,000 (nearly $350 at current exchange rates).
of hitting breakeven this year. On August 2, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MUFG) and its consolidated subsidiary, MUFG Bank, Ltd. (MUFG Bank) announced that MUFG Bank will invest $393 million in GFII (DBA Mynt), “the #1 finance super app and digital cashless ecosystem in the Philippines.” In its statement, MUFG said Mynt “is the first and only $5-billion unicorn in the Philippines.”
“It’s a leader in mobile financial services focused on accelerating financial inclusion through mobile money, financial services and technology.” Mynt operates two fintech companies: G-Xchange Inc., the mobile wallet operator of GCash, and Fuse Lending Inc., a technology-based lending company that gives Filipinos access to microloans and business loans.
MUFG Bank also has a 20-percent stake in Security Bank Corp.
stocks to their best week this year, with dip buyers stepping in after a recent rout. The value of retail sales increased in July by the most since early 2023. Separate government figures showed the fewest applications for unemployment benefits last week since early July.
Goldman economists also said they have become “more confident” the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points at their September policy meeting, “although another downside jobs surprise on September 6 could still trigger a 50bp move.” Bloomberg News
A NEW GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCY:
By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer
LONDON—The World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the increasing spread of mpox in Africa is a global health emergency, warning the virus might ultimately spill across international borders.
The announcement by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus came after a meeting of the UN health agency’s emergency committee. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared mpox a public health emergency on the continent on Tuesday.
WHO said there have been more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in Africa this year, which already exceed last year’s figures.
So far, more than 96 percent of all cases and deaths are in a single country — Congo. Scientists are concerned by the spread of a new version of the disease there that might be more easily transmitted among people.
Here’s a look at what we know about mpox, and what might be done to contain it:
What is mpox?
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, was first identified by scientists in 1958 when there were outbreaks of a “pox-like” disease in monkeys. Until recently, most human cases were seen in people in central and West Africa who had close contact with infected animals.
In 2022, the virus was confirmed to spread via sex for the first time and triggered outbreaks in more than 70 countries across the world that had not previously reported mpox. Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms like fever, chills and body aches. People with more serious cases can develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.
What’s happening in Africa that’s causing all this concern?
The number of cases has jumped dramatically. Last week, the Africa CDC reported that mpox has now been detected in at least 13 African countries. Compared with the same period last year, the agency said cases are up 160 percent and deaths have increased by 19 percent.
Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of mpox in a Congolese mining town that can kill up to 10 percent of people and may spread more easily. Unlike in previous mpox outbreaks, where lesions were mostly seen on the chest, hands and feet, the new form of mpox causes milder symptoms and lesions on the genitals.
That makes it harder to spot, meaning people might also sicken others without knowing they’re infected, said Dr. Placide MbalaKingebeni, a Congolese researcher who led the research into the new form of mpox.
WHO said mpox was recently identified for the first time in four East African countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. All of those outbreaks were linked to the epidemic in Congo. Tedros said there was concern for the further spread of the disease within Africa and beyond. In the Ivory Coast and South Africa, health authorities have reported outbreaks of a different and less dangerous version of mpox that spread worldwide in 2022 and infected nearly 100,000 people.
What’s the threat to the rest of the world?
Like any infectious disease, the new form of mpox seen in Congo could cross borders—cases have already been detected in four other East African countries.
On Thursday, Sweden’s public health agency said it identified the
first case of the new mpox variant in someone who had recently been in Africa, and who sought health care in Stockholm.
Officials said the risk to the general public was considered “very low” and that they expected sporadic imported cases to continue. Kamituga, the region in Congo
where the new form of mpox was first spotted, is home to a significant transient population traveling through Africa and beyond.
Still, given the resources in rich countries to stop mpox, scientists suspect that if new outbreaks linked to Congo were to be identified, transmission could be stopped relatively quickly.
Unlike Covid-19 or measles, mpox is not airborne and typically requires close, skin-to-skin contact to spread.
What does an emergency declaration mean?
WHO’s emergency declaration is meant to spur donor agencies and countries into action. But the global response to previous declarations has been mixed.
Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya said the agency’s declaration of a public health emergency was meant “to mobilize our institutions, our collective will and our resources to act swiftly and decisively.” He appealed to Africa’s international partners for help, saying that the escalating caseload in Africa had largely been ignored.
Dr. Boghuma Titanji, an infectious diseases expert at Emory University, said the last WHO emergency declaration for mpox “did very little to move the needle” on getting things like diagnostic tests, medicines and
vaccines to Africa.
What’s different about the current outbreak in Africa compared to the 2022 epidemic?
During the global outbreak of mpox in 2022, gay and bisexual men made up the vast majority of cases and the virus was mostly spread through close contact, including sex. Although some similar patterns have been seen in Africa, children under 15 now account for more than 70 percent of the mpox cases and 85% of deaths in Congo.
Greg Ramm, Save the Children’s Congo director, said the organization was particularly worried about the spread of mpox in the crowded camps for refugees in the east, noting there were 345,000 children “crammed into tents in unsanitary conditions.” He said the country’s health system was already “collapsing” under the strain of malnutrition, measles and cholera. Emory’s Titanji said it was unclear why children were so disproportionately hit by mpox in Congo. She said it might be because kids are more susceptible to the virus or that social factors, like overcrowding and exposure to parents who caught the disease, might explain it.
How might mpox be stopped?
The 2022 outbreak of mpox in dozens of countries was largely shut down with the use of vaccines and treatments in rich countries, in addition to convincing people to avoid risky behavior. But barely any vaccines or treatments have been available in Africa.
Marks, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that immunization would likely help — including inoculating people against smallpox, a related virus.
“We need a large supply of vaccine so that we can vaccinate populations most at risk,” he said, adding that would mean sex workers, children and adults living in outbreak regions. Congolese authorities have asked for 4 million doses mostly for young children , but no doses have yet been received, said Cris Kacita Osako, coordinator of Congo’s Monkeypox Response Committee.
Style
G22: Gorgeous alphas of P-pop
BLENDING craftsmanship and irony, global lifestyle brand Fendi unveils its latest accessory created in collaboration with Chupa Chups: the Fendi x Chupa Chups lollipop holder. This unique piece made its viral debut on the Fendi Women’s Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 runway, adorning numerous looks while capturing hearts with its charming design.
Conceived by Silvia Venturini Fendi, the brand’ artistic director of accessories and menswear, it evokes a sense of delightful playfulness that characterises both Fendi and Chupa Chups. Expertly crafted by Fendi leather artisans, this lollipop holder is an epitome of the house’s creative and playful spirit combined with the highest leather expertise. Available in the form of a charm—attached to the Peekaboo ISeeU Soft, Simply Fendi and By The Way Selleria bags as seen on the runway—or as a necklace, the lollipop holder can be adjusted through the leather strap to ensure it is never out of reach. This ‘sweet’ accessory is made in soft leather that bears the Selleria macro-stitching—a symbol of Fendi’s 100-year long history and a tribute to Roman master saddlers—and is adorned with the signature FF logo in metal. A magnetic closure enables a smart opening and closing, while hiding the lollipop inside.
Available in an extensive palette ranging from soft hues to vibrant pop tones, the Fendi x Chupa Chups lollipop holder is the perfect accessory to add a cheerful twist to any look. Warm beige and dove grey complement aquamarine and deep red shades, while dark teal and plum hues follow the palette of the collection.
Adding exclusivity to this collector’s item while paying homage to the house’s legacy, this accessory comes with five co-branded and limited-edition Chupa Chups x Fendi lollipops—a symbolic reference to the five Fendi sisters. Their Choco Vanilla flavour is a sweet reminiscence of childhood taste, while also recalling the tones of the timeless Fendi Pequin striped logo-non-logo.
Wrapped in a distinctive FF logo cover, the special lollipops combine the iconic Fendi pattern with the renowned Chupa Chups lollipop logo.
The Fendi x Chupa Chups lollipop holder is now available in Fendi boutiques worldwide and on www.fendi.com.
ADAY after their fiery performance at a concert at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, the enticing trio called G22 was introduced at Conrad Hotel as the new brand ambassadors of Acer Philippines, one of the world’s top information and communication technology companies.
Under the management of Cornerstone Entertainment, G22 is so named because of the gun Glock 22, with the G also signifying them as a girl group and 22 for 2022, the year they debuted on the local music scene. Their fandom is called Bullets.
G22 is composed of lead vocalist, lead dancer and visual Alfea (Alfea Marie Gonzalez Zulueta, 20); main vocalist Jaz (Jasmine Therese Montemayor Henry, 20); and main rapper, lead vocalist and leader AJ ( Angel Jermae Bantiling Yape, 22).
“Our group message of empowering people and encouraging people is so much in line with Acer’s message also, which is ‘Limitless.’ As G22, we are ‘female alphas.’ We are all limitless. We should aim for being limitless, that whatever you do, and without gender stereotypes, that you are limitless,” explained AJ.
“That you can do whatever you want and what you love to do. that’s what we love about Acer, because our messaging is aligned with each other. And, the quality of their products along with the quality we want to achieve as a group,” added AJ.
“Limitless,” according to Acer Philippines, “embodies the spirit of unbounded possibility and innovation with lyrics that motivate listeners to break free from boundaries and embrace the limitless possibilities that technology and creativity offer. It also encourages everyone to dream larger, soar higher, and live life unbounded.”
At the aforementioned concert, called “Acer Day 2024,” the gorgeous girls performed the song “Limitless” with P-pop kings SB19. The catchy tune is composed by SB19’s Pablo, and produced by Radkidz (John Paulo Nase and Joshua Daniel Nase). Its official music video can be enjoyed at the Acer Philippines YouTube channel.
G22 got to perform their original songs such as “Boomerang,” “Bang,” “One Sided Love” and “Loka.”
What also made the highly energetic girls even giddier was when they performed with their childhood idol, Sandara Park, her iconic song “In or Out.”
At the presscon, I got to ask two questions to the talented trio who can easily foray into acting, modeling and pageantry if they set their mind to it: They have this song, titled “Taking Over,” for Mutya ng Pilipinas. Does anyone of them have any pageant experience, or been encouraged to join pageants?
AJ: “I did training with [the beauty camp] Kagandahang Flores for I think two weeks only. It’s a different training for beauty queens, they’re really amazing, But I feel like my heart is training for singing and dancing.”
Do the girls have any inputs when it comes to what they should wear when performing?
Jaz: “When it comes to our styles, specifically
onstage, we are on the internal team. Each of us have our own different [identities] so through our own outfits, we want to show that onstage. We want to be comfortable to go all out [in our choreography]. So, of course, we want our clothes to be safe and secure.”
(Note: No wardrobe malfunction.)
AJ: “If you are curious about our styling team, we were styled by Eldz Mejia. And our outfits were made by Neric Beltran.”
Jaz: “If you were to ask about my favorite designer for the red carpet, I love AJ Javier.” (To which the two other girls agree.)
Alfea: “I have full trust in Kuya Eldz when it comes to dressing us up for all the events we attend. I’m also very thankful to him because he listens to our insights about what makes us comfortable, and what parts of the body we want to highlight to make us more confident when we face the public.” n
Ever Bilena rewards Filipino Olympic heroes with million-peso business packages
FILIPINO Olympians receive generous support from local cosmetics company Ever Bilena Cosmetics Inc.’s direct selling arm. Two-time Olympic Gold medalist Carlos Yulo will be receiving P1 million worth of Ever Bilena Direct Sales Business Package for his successful triumph in men’s gymnastics at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In an interview with Dyan Castillejo, Yulo has mentioned that he will be using his cash incentives to invest as he acknowledges that he can't be an athlete forever. Ever Bilena's generous gift helps fulfill his dream of becoming a self-sufficient entrepreneur in the future.
Fellow national athletes Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas will receive
Not all glutathione capsules are created equal
THE pandemic brought about a slew of beauty CEOs into the public eye, many of them not just owning their brands but also heavily marketing their products.
As a CEO, Maureen Estrada is visible but chooses to let her team market her brand NuWhite, capsules with S-Acetyl Glutathione sourced from Italy through EMOTHION, a trusted SAG provider.
“Dati backstage lang ang CEO but now visible na ang CEO. Sila na din ang ambassadors ng sarili nilang products. I’m a visible CEO but I don’t promote. I don’t go live to sell on social media. I have a team for that,” said Estrada. Before NuWhite, Estrada was a distributor of local and imported supplements. She created her own brand under Oxina Nutricosmetics Inc., marketing NuWhite as a powerful antioxidant with many health benefits.
P250,000 worth of business package each for winning bronze in their respective weight categories in Boxing, according to the Facebook post of Ever Bilena Direct Sales.
Ever Bilena has a long-standing history of supporting Philippine sports, with a roster of athletes including pole-vaulter Ernest "EJ" Obiena, professional boxer Carl Jammes Martin, swimmer Jasmine Alkhaldi, wakeboarder Raphael Trinidad, chess prodigy Bince Rafael, and the SEA Games Gilas Pilipinas women’s basketball team.
Estrada’s experience in the beauty and wellness industry and her belief that supplements can boost one’s health and help them achieve a radiant glow is what is behind NuWhite. The brand recently signed an agreement with Marian Rivera to renew the actress’ contract as NuWhite’s endorser Philippines. She is respected and credible. Sino ba ayaw ang kunin si Marian, basta ba afford mo? We wanted a celebrity who could justify the claims of the product. We wanted a natural beauty who looks good even without makeup and that is Marian,” said Estrada. The NuWhite CEO explained that not all glutathione supplements are created equal. The most
of
in the Philippines is L-glutathione, which needs to be oxidized in the body for it to be fully absorbed. The second type is called S-Acetyl glutathione which is said to glutathione avoid oxidation and makes the molecule pass through cells easily for quicker absorption. NuWhite is available at Watsons.
BEAUTY
The company also remains a staunch supporter of the National University Lady Bull Dogs, the UAAP’s record-holder for 100 consecutive victories.
Prime Retinol Skin Renewal Cream helps accelerate skin regeneration and visibly reduces the appearance of deep wrinkles, fine lines and age spots while improving the skin texture for younger, smoother skin. This can be paired with the hyaluronic acid cream for extra hydration.
Beauty Prime Vitamin C Skin Brightening Cream gently refines skin texture and evens the skin tone. It helps brighten dull skin and minimize blemishes, dark spots, acne marks, and hyperpigmentation. This works well works well with Snail Mucin Skin Recovery Cream to moisturize the skin. Beauty Prime Vitamin E Skin Repair Cream helps fight signs of aging and repair skin damage caused by free radicals and sun exposure while reducing the appearance of scars, blemishes and marks for glowing healthy skin. This can be used with the Vitamin C. Beauty Prime CoQ10 Skin Regenerating Cream helps diminish fine lines and wrinkles and improve hydration. This can be used with the retinol cream. Beauty Prime Collagen Skin Booster Cream and Beauty Prime Hyaluronic Acid Skin Replenishing Cream have rich formulas to help nourish and soothe dry skin. Beauty Prime Snail Mucin Skin Recovery Cream has snail essence to help lock in moisture and minimize blemishes, acne scars and dark spots with regular use. All Beauty Prime Skincare Concentrates are dermatologically-tested, hypoallergenic, paraben-free, non-comedogenic, lightweight, fast-absorbing, and highly concentrated. For more information about
PhilHealth Turns Over P239M to the Quezon City Government
PHILHEALTH
President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr. personally handed over a P239 million check to Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte as part of the state insurer’s support to the city government's implementation of medical services for their local constituents.
Three Quezon City run hospitals will receive the biggest chunk of the funds: Quezon City General Hospital with P101.57 million, followed by Rosario Maclang Bautista General Hospital with P58.03 million and the Novaliches District Hospital with P47.74 million.
Other health facilities that will also receive reimbursements are the Quezon City Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory (P11 million), Quezon City – Social Hygiene (P10 million), Quezon City– Klinika (P7 million), and the
Quezon City – Lying-in Clinic (P98,000).
Quezon City Konsulta Health Centers will also have their share of P2.05 million for implementing PhilHealth's Konsulta or Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama package.
Residents who are registered to Quezon City Konsulta Health Centers
may avail of consultations, health screening and assessment, essential drugs and medicines, and laboratory procedures under the Konsulta Package. The ceremonial turnover coincided with the LAB for All event recently held at the Risen Garden in Quezon City.
ABOITIZPOWER AT MEDICAL
MISSION. Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower) supported the PELCO Cares Program, a medical mission organized by Pampanga Electric Cooperative, Inc. II (PELCO II) for Barangay Jose Abad Santos, Guagua Pampanga. AboitizPower donated vitamins and over-the-counter drugs for hypertension, cholesterol, and diabetes, among other medicines that were requested by the barangay for its residents. The community expressed their gratitude to AboitizPower and PELCO II for supplementing their access to basic healthcare resources. Pictured is a beneficiary undergoing a blood pressure test.
HOTEL101 Global receives CASBEE Certification for Hotel101-Niseko
HOTEL101 Global officially received the CASBEE certification for its hotel project in Hokkaido Japan last August 9, 2024. The highly-coveted CASBEE Certification secured by Hotel101Niseko is set to elevate the green sustainability standard in the whole of Niseko Hokkaido, Japan.
This milestone highlights the hotel’s commitment to sustainable practices and eco-friendly operations, setting a new benchmark for green hospitality in the region.
CASBEE, which stands for Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency, is a Japanese certification system used to evaluate and rate the environmental performance of buildings and built environments.
CASBEE-certified projects are projects that have met specific standards on sustainability and efficiency.
This came after Hotel101 Global in partnership with engineering firms Kamita Sekkei and Technocrew and Iwata Chizaki Inc. committed last April to create an environmentally forward Hotel101-Niseko.
The structure of Hotel101-Niseko is designed to promote sustainability through green-inspired architecture
and the use of technology that supports efficient and eco-friendly operations.
Achieving a CASBEE rating underlines
Hotel101-Niseko’s role as a leading example of green hospitality solutions, showcasing its success in integrating environmental considerations into every facet of its architecture and operations.
Located on a 1.17-hectare site in
Niseko-Hirafu, Hokkaido Prefecture, Hotel101-Niseko is positioned amid the region’s natural scenery, chosen for its commitment to environmental preservation.
Hotel101 Global aims to provide an eco-friendly hospitality experience that aligns with the environmental values of guests and meets the rigorous sustainability standards set by the local community.
Ascott Limited’s lyf Malate, lyf Cebu attempt to break Guiness Book World Record this month
LYF, the dynamic, experience-led coliving space of The Ascott Limited, reaches a pivotal milestone in the Philippines with two thriving residences in 2024. lyf Cebu and lyf Malate are celebrating back-to-back events to cap off the month of August with a brand launch that looks to bring both its local properties to new heights.
The properties will be attempting to set not one but two unique world records, bringing home highly coveted accolades from the world-renowned Guinness World Records. The two-day festivities bring communities together and aim to raise active awareness for the endemic ocean life of Cebu while paying homage to Filipinos and their rich history and influence across the globe.
This August 29, 2024, lyf Cebu showcases an artistic display like no other in the Queen City of the South. With the property itself as the canvas, the residence rallies its community to create a collaborative collection of origami Thresher Sharks.
This gathering of paper crafts made from old newspapers, magazines, and used paper is installed alongside inflatable pools around the property, encouraging guests to “swim with the sharks” while appreciating the beautiful, folded paper collage.
The Pelagic Thresher Shark (Alopias Pelagiucs) is the smallest of its kind and lives around Cebu, particularly Malapascua Island. Despite its impressive appearance, it is not aggressive toward humans. However, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), these treasures of the local oceanic ecology are at risk of extinction due to overfishing and the degradation of their habitat.
lyf Cebu has partnered with Save the Philippine Seas, an expert in marine life and shark conservation, for this event. The property’s display of origami sharks made purely from sustainable materials shows its support for the Sustainable Businesses for Marine Conservation (SuBMarine) program.
In commemoration of Filipinos all over the world while paying homage to our forefathers, lyf Manila invites guests to “light up” the property with a plethora of origami stars to be featured all throughout the property on August 30.
The paper stars, similarly made from sustainable materials, will be installed together with a traditional Balangay wooden boat, evoking, completing, and celebrating the image of the Philippine galleon trade from 1565 to 1815. It celebrates the Philippines as the vital link connecting Europe through Spain, Asia through the Philippines, and the Americas through Mexico. lyf Malate looks back to the time as one of the first instances in which the world opened itself fully, as unique communities were given the opportunity to
LYF Cebu City Thresher Shark mural. enrich each other’s cultures and widen their worldviews through barter.
Guests are encouraged to “sail under the stars.” And enjoy the festivities as lyf celebrates an amazing milestone given its time in the Philippines thus far.
“We’re thrilled to be celebrating such a momentous occasion with the brilliant and diverse community of both lyf properties,” said Rey Vergel Mulat, the Residence Manager of lyf Cebu City. “It’s an amazing privilege to pioneer the concept of co-living spaces in the Philippines, and we only have more in store for everyone in the future, so be sure to keep an eye out for what’s to come.”
This year, both lyf Cebu and lyf Malate reached out to the Guinness World Records in an ambitious commitment to breaking ceilings, to set and claim new world records titles in a series of events for the ages. Those who would be a part of the momentous occasion on August 29, 2024, will witness the ephemeral exhibit of origami Thresher Sharks in lyf Cebu City; the papercraft art piece aims to display an impressive 10,000 origami sharks to net them the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for the “Largest Display of Origami Sharks,” while the festivities will continue back in lyf Malate on August 30, 2024, as they attempt to surpass the record of Nova Mall Macau’s GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for having the “Largest Display of Origami Stars,” by looking to amass a total of 100,000 origami stars.
The highly anticipated event is sure to be a rollercoaster of emotions as the lyf brand is eager to bring home not one but two coveted world record titles.
As exciting as the accolades are, it would not be a complete lyf story without highlighting the thriving communities behind the two properties. “This amazing feat will by no means be some overnight miracle,” said Joyce Agsaway, the Director of Operational Excellence for The Ascott Limited, “In fact, this award won’t solely belong to the properties. This herculean effort would only be possible with the amazing community fostered not only within the company but also by the amazing guests that we are delighted to have found a home with us in lyf.”
Parañaque City to host two-day National Achievers Congress
GET ready to be inspired and to take action at the National Achievers Congress PH 2024 (NACPH), taking place on August 23 and 24, 2024 at the Gallio Events Hall in Parañaque City. This year’s NACPH features an incredible lineup of world-renowned experts gathered together to empower you with the knowledge and tools to achieve personal and financial growth: Vishen Lakhiani, founder of Mindvalley, will guide you in breaking free from negative thoughts using intuition and meditation to transform your life; Ken Honda, known for his wisdom on happy money, will reveal secrets to achieving a balanced and joyful financial life; Paul O’Mahony will teach you how to
harness social media as a powerful business tool, even if you’re just starting out; Dato’ Michael Tan, Asia’s top millionaire coach, will share insights on real estate investment and achieving financial freedom; Sandy Jadeja, a trading expert, will provide strategies for successful trading and risk management; and Troy Harris, an AI and blockchain technology expert, will discuss the future of these fields and how to leverage them for personal and business growth.
This two-day seminar to be organized by Laurus Enterprises Inc. and Success Resources Singapore Pte. Ltd. offers an interactive learning experience, where participants can engage directly with the speakers. There will also be opportunities to network with like-minded individuals and industry leaders, fostering connections that could lead to future collaborations. The event will be hosted by the dynamic duo Robert Riopel and Joana Marie Lazaro, ensuring a lively and engaging atmosphere.
Tickets start at P9,900.00. The event is ideal for entrepreneurs, freelancers, corporate professionals, and young adults eager looking to make significant progress in their personal and professional lives.
Be there at the NACPH 2024 and discover best practices. NACPH has consistently supported entrepreneurs, business owners, and individuals in their pursuit of excellence. This support has only become more robust. For more information and to reserve your ticket, visit www.nacphilippines.com.
www.businessmirror.com.ph
BusinessMirror Marketing
Taking The plunge
FOR the first time in my life, I left a stable job without a new one waiting.
In this job market and with cost of living not particularly low, some may think that this is the stupidest move ever. Sometimes even I think that’s the case, but when I go back to my reasons for leaving, I am reassured that I did the right thing.
Before anyone jumps to any conclusions: I was okay with my boss. He took a gamble on me two years ago when he made me Customer Experience Head, after leading the company’s Advocacy and Marketing portfolio for six years. That was my first time working in an operations role, as I have been in support functions all my corporate life.
I was happy with my CX team, too. Admittedly, we were undermanned, but we did the best that we could with the resources that we had, and mostly had a good time working with each other. My teammates never shunned any kind of work, and would gladly provide help to other team members even when the work went beyond their scope.
I also worked for a strong and stable company, with a captive market and a franchise to operate for at least 20 more years. The pay and the benefits were good enough to live a comfortable life as a family of three, plus my mother and brother, whom I am also caring for. I spent more than eight years in the company, so I already knew the ins and outs of both the company and the industry we were in.
Looks like a good deal, right? Yes, it was, actually. But I had some good reasons for leaving, too, which I would like to share with you, as there may be others out there who are in the same boat as I was when I was contemplating my next move.
i had other priorities BEING in an operations role in
P&G’s Ariel A ids over 13,000 f A m ilies A ffe cted by s u P e r t y P h oon cA r in A wit h free l A un dry MANILA, PHILIPPINES—In aid of restoring normalcy to those affected by Super Typhoon Carina, Procter and Gamble’s Ariel launched the “Cycles of Care” to provide free laundry services to the community. In partnership with Save5 Laundromat and Beko
Washing Machine Brand, the multi-day event served over 13,000 families who needed clean clothes, beddings and blankets for their homes.
Among the beneficiaries was Grace Remodano, who recounted how they couldn’t leave their house because the flooding was so severe, describing it as being “higher than a person’s height,” with water levels that reached well above their heads. “Lahat ng gamit namin nabasa. Ang hirap po talaga,” Grace said. (All of our things got wet in the flood. It was so hard for us)
“Through Ariel’s ‘Cycles of Care’ free laundry services, we are helping affected families
a water utility meant that we were always on, even after office hours, on weekends, and on holidays. I was no stranger to that kind of set-up, having been a newspaper reporter for the first 11 years of my working life. But the difference now is that I am a wife and a mom. I no longer solely own my time.
My daughter had become quite clingy, demanding more attention these past few months. I may have had the time to spend with her, but I no longer had the energy that she demanded. At the end of each workday, I was almost totally drained, physically and mentally. All I wanted to do on most days after work was lie down and watch my shows on Netflix.
My husband had also noticed my “absent mind”—I would be physically present, yes, but my mind would be somewhere else, usually at work. I talked about nothing but work, he said. I tried to defend myself, but realized that he was right: my work had, indeed, taken over my life.
i wanted more flexibility WHEN I was a reporter, I had a lot of flexibility when it came to time and place of work. We were not required to go to the office to write our stories. The job was output-driven, after all, so the place of work did not matter. We just needed to submit a minimum number of stories per day, within the deadline. There were days when I would be done by 3pm. There were days when I would have to attend events in the evening. And then there were rare instances when I had to stay the whole day in one place, waiting for a story to unfold, while our news desk waited for my article at 9pm.
I have been out of that world for the past 12 years, holding various roles in corporate, so I have gotten used to having a
restore normalcy in their lives and homes by providing access to clean clothes and beddings that were stained and muddy from the floods. This is especially needed by those without access to clean water and electricity after the typhoon. Ariel Laundry Detergent is great at stain removal and is a trusted laundry detergent for washing machines,” said Ralph Morales, Ariel Philippines Brand Director.
Beko provided washing machines for the free laundry services in Barangay Tumana, Marikina City. This community is one of the city’s heavily flooded areas due to the Marikina River’s overflow.
somewhat regimented work life. But after the pandemic work arrangement, I realized that a lot of things in corporate could also be accomplished away from the office - and it would not make us “dumber every day,” like what some guy said about working from home.
I craved that flexibility again. I do like working with my teammates face to face, but the flexibility to choose where to work on any given day - that appealed to me a lot. I also wanted more freedom to do the things I wanted to do, without having to seek somebody else’s approval.
i rediscovered my passion for teaching
TWO months ago, I joined my husband in conducting a workshop for a corporate client. He created the entire program and was the lead facilitator. I was just there to assist him. It was a three-day workshop, really tiring, but I had so much fun. At the end of each day, I was still brimming with energy. And I also felt what I had not felt for work in a long time: joy. It was so fulfilling to see people so engaged during the activities, and then approaching us
“We’re happy that we were able to help ease the worries of Marikeños through Ariel’s “Cycles of Care” where we use Ariel Liquid Detergent, our trusted laundry brand for our washing machines,” said Ghie Papa, Beko Philippines Brand Communications Manager. Ariel Philippines collaborated with Save5 Laundromat to activate 100 Save5 branches in this relief program. The partnership recorded over 27,000 washing machine cycles and over 216,000 kgs of stained, soiled, and muddied clothes washed and cleaned using Ariel Laundry Detergent across the participating branches.
“Ariel’s “Cycles of Care” is a
during breaks and after the session to share their feedback and even their personal concerns. It was nice to see that the work that we did mattered to people—that it was work for us, but it went beyond that for them.
I had done some teaching in the past—undergrad, postgrad, corporate workshops, and as part of my corporate roles— but never full time. I know I have a passion to share what I know, to create frameworks to make understanding concepts easier for people, and to help people grow to their highest potential. I cannot do these things while working full time for a company.
My husband generously offered to take me on in his company, Ikigai Philippines, to serve as Chief Marketing Officer, trainer, and workshop facilitator. I have also started my independent consultancy venture. These fit well into the path I see for myself in the world of training and teaching. I would like to do more writing, too.
So if you, dear reader, are contemplating your future at work right now, I say think about your priorities because they may have already changed; think about
meaningful way to help communities that were affected by Super Typhoon Carina. P&G and Ariel Philippines’ generosity and dedication to helping the community during these challenging times are truly inspiring,” said Ryan Lim, Save5 Laundromat President.
Residents who availed the free laundry services expressed their gratitude. Grace added, “Nakatipid po kami sa paglalaba sa tulong ng Ariel. Ang laki po ng pasasalamat namin.” (We were able to save money and time with the help of Ariel. We can’t thank them enough)
Another affected resident, Eden San Diego, added that
what’s feasible and practical for you because immediate resignation might not work for everyone; and think about what would give you joy and peace of mind— because, at the end of the day, you can earn back the money you will forgo when you resign, but you can never take back the parts of you that your work will eat up. Think long and hard, and go for the decision that gives you the most peace.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier organization for PR professionals around the world. Abigail L. Ho-Torres is an independent consultant and trainer, with more than a decade of experience in public relations, marketing, and customer experience. She spent 11 years as a business journalist before making the leap to the corporate world.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@ gmail.com.
providing them access to clean clothes and blankets restores a sense of normalcy and allows them to focus on rebuilding their lives.
P&G also donated its brand products for health and hygiene, such as soap, shampoo, and diapers, to affected cities, barangays, and evacuation centers. These donations were facilitated through collaborations with government and non-governmental organizations such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippine Red Cross (PRC), Manila Water Foundation, World Vision Philippines, and the GMA Kapuso Foundation.
Sports BusinessMirror
June Mar lifts 8th MVP trophy
By Josef Ramos
JUNE MAR FAJARDO’S trophy case at home should be longer that his 6-foot-10 frame now that he collected his eighth-straight Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
A nd although he had the most MVP’s in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) that’s celebrating its golden anniversary next season, Fajardo said he won’t mind of he gets a ninth, 10th or even more trophies.
If there are more to come, I will accept all of them … I won’t be playing basketball forever, for as long as I can play, I’ll keep collecting this trophy,” said the 34-year-old Cebuano, who’s played for the same San Miguel Corp. franchise since he was drafted No. 1 in 2012.
“ If I’m done with my basketball career, I can always look back at these trophies,” he said. F ajardo was again the man of
the hour in the PBA Leo Awards which gave out individual trophies to the best and brightest in the league’s 48th season at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
P BA chairman Ricky Vargas and Commissioner Willie Marcial awarded Fajardo his MVP trophy along with all members of the league’s board— PBA vice chairman Alfrancis Chua of Ginebra, Archen Cayabyab of Converge, Mamerto Mondragon of Rain or Shine, Robert Non of San Miguel Beer, Atty. Raymond Zorilla of Phoenix, Eric Areola of NorthPort and Ronald Dulatre of NLEX.
Fajardo garnered an overwhelming 2,799 points—statistics and media and players’ votes—to beat fellow Beerman and Governors Cup Best Player of the Conference CJ Perez, who tallied 1,951, and now Terrafirma center Christian Standhardinger who got 1,731. H e was sixth consecutive MVP
ArenaPlus honors Yulo, Olympians
DOUBLE gold medalist Carlos Yulo returned to his roots during last week’s welcome parade in Manila for the Paris 2024 Olympians and ArenaPlus was there not only to honor the champion from Leveriza but to reward him with P5
The 24/7 sports app exclusively named its campaign “Win or lose, ‘Astig ang lahat sa ArenaPlus’” for Yulo, who is now its official ambassador.
A renaPlus supported Yulo’s journey to Paris from the time the gymnast qualified to Paris. The welcome parade for Yulo and company was staged in Manila’s major streets last Wednesday—all of 7.70 kms where thousands lined up to cheer for most of the 22 athletes who competed in Paris.
The parade culminated at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, where Yulo started his gymnastics career as a 12-year-old.
Young golfers take on tough Luisita in Junior PGT Luzon elimination leg
THE Luzon series of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Junior Philippine Golf Tout Match Play Championships resumes at the renowned Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac Tuesday with more than 60 young golfers facing the challenge of one of the country’s most formidable courses.
Designed by the legendary Robert Trent Jones Sr., Luisita is celebrated for its tight fairways, water hazards on 11 holes and its sleek surface, making it a true test of skill and strategy. The course has previously hosted prestigious events such as the Philippine Open, the Asian Tour and the Philippine Golf Tour Asia, and is also home to the President’s Cup.
Th is setting promises a competitive showdown across all four age categories, with each player in the 8-9, 10-12, 13-15 and 16-18 age groups
fighting not only for top honors but also for crucial ranking points.
K ey competitors in the 8-9 division include Athena Serapio and Zoji Edoc, while the 10-12 category features Aerin Chan, Brianna Macaset, Georgina Handog, Kelsey Bernardino, Casedy Cuenca (girls), and Luis Espinosa, Ryuji Suzuki and Jacob Casuga (boys).
I n the 13-15 age group, twins Lisa and Mona Sarines, Precious Zaragosa and Montserrat Lapuz (girls) and Jose Carlos Taruc, Santi Asuncion and Matthias Espina (boys) will be vying for top positions, while the 16-18 division will showcase talents such as Rafa Anciano, Chloe Rada, Lia Duque and Angelica Bañez (girls), and Mark Kobayashi and Zachary Villaroman (boys).
T he Luzon series will consider the top four scores from each player, with the best four from each category
from 2014 to 2019 before Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Scottie Thompson cut his reign in 2021 when he missed the season because of an injury.
But Fajardo returned with aplomb and did the things he does best.
Fajardo now has double the MVP trophies won by Alvin Patrimonio of Purefoods and Ramon Fernandez also of San Miguel Beer. A s MVP, he was on the First Mythical Five with Perez, Standhardinger, NorthPort’s Arvin Tolentino and Meralco’s Chris Newsome, while Cliff Hodge of Meralco, Rookie of the Year Stephen Holt now of Ginebra, Juami Tiongson of Terrafirma, Jason Perkins of Phoenix and Calvin Oftana of TNT were the Second Mythical Five.
Fajardo was also in the AllDefensive Team with Hodge, Newsome, Kemark Cariño of Terrafirma and Joshua Munzon of NorthPort.
J honard Clarito of Rain or Shine was the Most Improved Player and while Paul Zamar of NorthPort bagged the Sportsmanship Award. The 12 teams paraded their respective muses during the opening ceremony for the Governors’ Cup that followed the Leo Awards—Meralco with Paris Olympics gymnast Aleah Finnegan, Barangay Ginebra with singer-actress Julie Ann San Jose, Blackwater with Miss World 2024 Krisnah Gravidez, Converge with Myrtle Sarosa, Magnolia with Rere Madrid, NLEX with Inday Fatima, Phoenix with volleyball star Jema Galanza, Rain or Shine Sophia Bianca Santos, Terrafirma with Annabelle McDonnel and San Miguel Beer with karate champion Jamie Lim.
T NT surprised the crowd at the Big Dome with muse Atasha Muhlach marching with the team with Paris Olympics bronze medalist boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas.
advancing to the finals scheduled for October 1 to 4 at The Country Club.
T hirty-two qualifiers from the Visayas and Mindanao series will join them.
For players competing in multiple series of the nationwide circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc., only their top three results will be counted, with the leading player from each age category moving on to the Match Play finals.
A fter the Luisita leg, the non-profit circuit put up by ICTSI to boost the grassroots development of the sport, will take a week-long break and will resume with its penultimate stage at Mount Malarayat Golf and Country Club in Lipa City from September 2 to 5 and will conclude at Sherwood Hills in Cavite from September 10 to 13.
For registration, contact Jhi Castillo at 0928-316-5678 or Shiela Salvania at 0968-311-4101.
Indonesia holds off winless Vietnam as Philippines takes podium spot
IBy Aldrin Quinto
NDONESIA survived a see-saw battle with a determined Vietnam squad, eking out a 21-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 15-12 victory Sunday in the SEA Men’s V. League at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Young outside hitter Boy Arnez Arabi typified the Indonesians’ performance, slow off the blocks before picking up the pace, as they wound up with two wins in three matches.
A fter a solitary point in the opening set, Boy caught fire and finished with 22 points on 19 hits, two aces and a block as Indonesia denied Vietnam a victory in the three-day tournament hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation headed by Ramon “Tats” Suzara.
W hile Vietnam, which wound up with silver and a bronze in the maiden season, finishes bottom of the pack this time, Alas Pilipinas takes a podium spot after getting blanked last year.
A las Pilipinas, without main man Bryan Bagunas who suffered a leg
injury in the match against Indonesia on Saturday, bowed to Thailand, 26-28, 14-25, 16-25, in the closing match of the weekend. The Thais earned three wins in as many matches to take the top spot on the podium in this leg after winding up with silver and bronze in the first season.
V ietnam, which bowed Alas Pilipinas in four sets on opening day, was bent on avoiding the bottom place and took control early as two-time leg winner Indonesia lagged behind. But the 21-year-old Boy had nine points in the second set to get
Igan Cup 21st edition at Eastridge
IGAN Ng Pilipinas Foundation Inc. will host its 21st IGAN CUP fundraising golf tournament, “Fore! A Cause… Fore! D’ Kids…” on August 30 at Eastridge Golf and Country Club in Binangonan, Rizal.
The Igan Foundation is a non-stock, nonprofit organization to serve the medical needs of the country’s disadvantaged. Funds raised will support Igan Ng Pilipinas Foundation’s “Adopt-a-child with diabetes program” of UP-PGH, a partner for the past 15 years, and other projects like the “Lugawan ni Igan,” “Lingkod Kapwa Community Pantry,” “Paraiso ng mga Igan,” “Pamasko ni Igan,” “Araw
by Tran Duy Tuyen and Dinh Van
CARLOS YULO and Joanie Delgaco join their fellow Olympians during the homecoming parade last week in Manila.
