BusinessMirror August 26, 2023

PERFECT STORM FOR GLOBAL RICE SUPPLY

Dearth in harvest, El Niño and export tightening threaten staple grain supply from Africa to Asia

By Aniruddha Ghosal & Evelyne Musambi

The Associated Press

Prices for rice grown in Kenya soared a while ago because of higher fertilizer prices and a years-long drought in the Horn of Africa that has reduced production. Cheap rice imported from India had filled the gap, feeding many of the hundreds of thousands of residents in Nairobi’s Kibera slum who survive on less than $2 a day.

But that is changing. The price of a 25-kilogram (55-pound) bag of rice has risen by about a fifth since June, going from the equivalent of about $14 to $18. Wholesalers are yet to receive new stocks since India, the world’s largest exporter of rice by far, said last month that it would ban some rice shipments.

It’s an effort by the world’s most populous nation to control domestic prices ahead of a key election year—but it’s left a yawning gap of around 9.5 million metric tons (10.4 tons) of rice that people around the world need, roughly a fifth of global exports.

“I’m really hoping the imports keep coming,” said Ndege, 51, who’s sold rice for 30 years.

He isn’t the only one. Global food security is already under threat since Russia halted an agreement allowing Ukraine to export wheat and the El Niño weather phenomenon hampers rice production.

Soaring prices

NOW, rice prices are soaring— Vietnam’s rice export prices, for instance, have reached a 15-year high—putting the most vulnerable

people in some of the poorest nations at risk.

The world is at an “inflection point,” said Beau Damen, a natural resources officer with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization based in Bangkok.

Even before India’s restrictions, countries already were frantically buying rice in anticipation of scarcity later when the El Niño hit, creating a supply crunch and spiking prices.

W hat could make the situation worse is if India’s ban on

non-basmati rice creates a domino effect, with other countries following suit. Already, the United Arab Emirates has suspended rice exports to maintain its domestic stocks. Another threat is if extreme weather damages rice crops in other countries.

El Niño threat

AN El Niño is a natural, temporary and occasional warming of part of the Pacific Ocean that shifts global weather patterns, and climate change is making them stronger. Scientists expect the one underway to expand to supersized levels, and, in the past, they have resulted in extreme weather ranging from drought to flooding.

The impact would be felt worldwide. Rice consumption in Africa has been growing steadily, and most countries are heavily

Continued on A2

FRANCIS NDEGE isn’t sure if his customers in Africa’s largest slum can afford to keep buying rice from him.

A BARANGAY official, seen in this April 26, 2020, file photo, distributes rice to residents in need during the pandemic in Barangay San Andres, Cainta, Rizal. BERNARD TESTA ON July 17, 2023, a Kadiwa market, a marketing initiative by the Department of Agriculture, was set up in front of Pasay City Hall, offering rice at a price of P25 pesos kilo. NONIE REYES

AP PHOTO/MANISH SWARUP

In Japan’s neighbors, fear and frustration are shared over radioactive water release

By Hyung-Jin-Kim The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea—Seoul

We should absolutely cut back on our consumption of seafood. Actually, we can’t eat it,” Kim said. “I can’t accept the Japanese plan because it’s too unilateral and is proceeding without countermeasures.”

Many foreign experts said the water discharge will have a negligible impact on the environment and human health. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also said it has experts on the ground to ensure the release goes as planned. But with the discharge starting Thursday, public fears and frustration were being shared in its Asian neighbors, where many still bear strong resentment over Japan’s World War II aggression.

Diverse reactions

IN response to the release, China

banned seafood from Japan. Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shu Jueting called the discharge “extremely selfish and irresponsible” and said it would “cause damage and harm to the global marine environment that cannot be predicted.”

Hong Kong and Macau said they were banning seafood from Fukushima and nine other Japanese prefectures. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called the release a “crime against humanity” and said Japan would be wholly responsible for its “catastrophic consequences.”

South Korean police detained 16 student activists Thursday for allegedly trying to enter the Japanese Embassy illegally to protest the release. The activists entered the building housing the embassy, shouted slogans and unfolded ban-

ners but failed to enter embassy offices, according to police.

A lso in South Korea, fierce domestic political wrangling has erupted over its own government’s endorsement of the Japanese plan. Liberal critics accused the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol of pushing to improve ties with Japan at the sacrifice of public health.

“ The Yoon Suk Yeol government and the ruling People Power Party are accomplices in the dumping of the wastewater,” said Kwon Chil-seung, a spokesperson for the main opposition Democratic Party.

The governing party accused the opposition of inciting anti-Japan sentiment and public fears for political gain, undermining South Korea’s national interests and driving those in the domestic fisheries and seafood industries to the edge.

Yoon’s government and the Democratic Party have already fought bitterly over another Japan issue—Yoon’s contentious decision to take a major step toward easing historical grievances over forced Korean laborers during the Japanese colonial period.

The Democratic Party accused Yoon of making concessions to Japan without receiving steps in return. Yoon maintains that improved ties with Japan are necessary because of shared challenges like North Korea’s advancing nu-

clear arsenal and the intensifying US-China rivalry.

Yoon administration officials have tried to ease public concerns by expanding radiation tests on seafood at major fish markets. Last month, some governing party lawmakers even drank seawater from fish tanks at a seafood market in Seoul to emphasize food safety.

But surveys of South Koreans show that more than 80 percent of respondents oppose the Japanese discharge plan and more than 60 percent said they won’t eat seafood after the water release begins.

“I totally oppose the Japanese plan. The radioactive wastewater is truly a bad thing,” said Lee Jaekyung, a Seoul resident. “My feelings toward Japan have worsened because of the wastewater release.”

Fears about the wastewater are taking a heavy toll on some businesses in South Korea’s seafood industry.

In a seafood market in the southeastern port city of Busan, fishmonger Kim Hae-cheol said his revenues have halved since a few months ago and worried that his business would suffer more after the start of the discharge.

“I haven’t had any customers today. In past years, I sold fish worth 400,000-500,000 won [$300-$380] by this time on a normal day,” Kim said in a midday

phone interview Wednesday. “Oth-

ers in this market have had few customers today as well.”

K im said he trusts the safety reviews by the IAEA, Japanese and South Korean officials, but that his business has been battered mainly because some opposition politicians and media outlets “make much ado.”

Japan also faced strong protests from local fishing organizations, which worry their catches will be shunned. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised his government’s full support for fishing communities during the decades the wastewater will be released.

The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives opposes the release, but its leaders say some members have gained confidence in the plan’s safety.

Hong Seong-been, a Seoul resident, said political strife over the release has left many with a lack of genuine information about whether the water is truly safe or not.

In Hong Kong, about a dozen residents took part in a march in a central business district to protest against Japan’s move.

A fter the protesters reached the building housing the Japanese Consulate, they tore up a big banner bearing Japan’s flag and the words “No trace of humanity. An enemy of the whole world.” Some

held up placards calling for Kishida to step down.

Rush for ‘safe’ sushi meals

THE discharge plans have dealt a blow to Japanese restaurants, which were already reeling from other problems, said Martin Chan, a director of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades. If Hong Kong follows China’s lead and bans all seafood from Japan, he will have to suspend operations at his Japanese restaurant, he said.

During lunch hour, some residents rushed to Japanese restaurants and supermarkets to have what they called their last “safe” sushi meals.

Housewife Vivian Li said she would stop eating aquatic products from Japan after finishing her sushi lunch. Li said she likes eating Japanese food but she had to make the decision due to health concerns. I want to act as a role model for my children, so they will stop eating these products even when they grow up,” she said.

Science-based decision

BUT young professional Janet Yip said she would not cut her consumption of Japanese food because the release plans meet international standards.

In Taiwan, reactions to the release plan were muted. On a governmental level, Taipei is aligned with Tokyo on a score of issues and hasn’t vocally opposed the discharge plan, which has been portrayed by Taiwanese media as conforming to international norms.

Taiwan’s Atomic Energy Council, a government agency, expressed concern in the past over the discharge. On Tuesday, it said it would closely monitor radiation levels in waters around Taiwan.

The Philippines, which receives coast guard vessels and other aid from Japan, also stressed that it was looking at the issue from a scientific perspective and recognized the IAEA’s expertise.

“As a coastal and archipelagic state, the Philippines attaches utmost priority to the protection and preservation of the marine environment,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Perfect storm for global rice supply

Continued from A1

dependent on imports.

W hile nations with growing populations like Senegal have been trying to grow more of their own rice—many are struggling.

A madou Khan, a 52-year-old unemployed father of five in Dakar, says his children eat rice with every meal except breakfast, which they often have to skip when he’s out of work. “I am just getting by— sometimes, I’ve trouble taking care of my kids,” he said.

Imported rice—70 percent of which comes from India—has become prohibitively expensive in Senegal, so he’s eating homegrown rice that costs two-thirds as much.

Senegal will turn to other trading partners like Thailand or Cambodia for imports, though the West African country is not “far from being self-sufficient” on rice, with over half of its demand grown locally, Agriculture Ministry spokesperson Mamadou Aïcha Ndiaye said.

PHL’s rice dilemma

ASIAN countries, where 90 percent of the world’s rice is grown and eaten, are struggling with production. The Philippines was carefully managing water in anticipation of less rain amid the El Niño when typhoon “Egay” (International code

name: Doksuri) battered its northern rice-producing region, damaging $32 million worth of rice crops—an estimated 22 percent of its annual production.

The archipelago nation is the second-largest importer of rice after China, and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has underscored the need to ensure adequate buffers.

India’s rice restrictions also were motivated by erratic weather: An uneven monsoon along with a looming El Niño meant that the partial ban was needed to stop food prices from rising, Indian food policy expert Devinder Sharma said.

The restrictions will take offl ine nearly half the country’s usual rice exports this year, said Ashok Gulati of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relation. Repeated restrictions make India an unreliable exporter, he added.

“ That’s not good for the export business because it takes years to develop these markets,” Gulati said.

Vietnam, another major rice exporter, is hoping to capitalize. With rice export prices at a 15-year high and expectations that annual production to be marginally higher than last year, the Southeast Asian nation is trying to keep domestic prices stable while boosting exports.

Th e Agriculture Ministry says it’s working to increase how much land in the Mekong Delta is dedicated to growing rice by around 500 square kilometers— an area larger than 90,000 football fields.

A lready the Philippines is in talks with Vietnam to try to get the grain at lower prices, while Vietnam also looks to target the United Kingdom, which receives much of its rice from India.

But exporters like Charoen Laothamatas in neighboring Thailand are wary. The Thai government expects to ship more rice than it did last year, with its exports in the first six months of the year 15 percent higher than the same period of 2022.

The India factor BUT the lack of clarity about what India will do next and concerns about the El Niño means Thai exporters are reluctant to take orders, mill operators are unwilling to sell and farmers have increased the prices of unhusked rice, said Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association. With prices fluctuating, exporters don’t know what prices to quote—because prices may spike again the next day.

“And no one wants to take the risk,” Laothamatas said.

office worker Kim Mijeong said she intends to stop eating seafood because she deeply mistrusts the safety of Japan’s release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from its crippled nuclear power plant.

A CUSTOMER shops at a supermarket for sushi and sashimi, some of which are labeled as from Japan, in Hong Kong, on Thursday, August 24, 2023. The Hong Kong authorities have imposed a ban on imports of Japanese seafood as a gesture to oppose Japan’s decision to discharge the treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant. AP/DANIEL CENG

By Lenie Lectura

THE Department of Energy (DOE) on Friday denied it favored natural gas (natgas) over renewable energy (RE) contrary to the claims raised by consumer groups, which said that the agency’s proposed framework on natgas development is biased towards gas.

To achieve the RE targets of 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040 and, at the same time, ensure the reliability of the power system, the agency said the support technologies such as energy storage system (ESS) and flexible power plants, such as natgas-fueled power plants are crucial.

M oreover, the DOE pointed out that transitioning to clean energy to achieve the country’s energy security goals would also require a transition fuel capable of providing baseload generation that would fill in the gap when existing coal-fired power plants start to retire.

T herefore, the DOE said, natgas is seen as a suitable transition fuel by which the private sector investments in this technology will be facilitated as a way to enable the viability of large RE capacity additions and ensure the reliability and security of the power system.

As such, the DOE released a draft circular on “Prescribing the Policy Framework on the Development of Natural Gas Power Generation Facilities in the Luzon Main Grid in Support to Energy Transition.”

Some of the salient points of the proposed framework include the exemption of gas power plants from the competitive selection process (CSP) and the requirement for distribution utilities (DU) to source a percentage of its power supply from gas power plants.

Power for People Coalition (P4P)

News BusinessMirror

Saturday, August 26, 2023 www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug A3

Convenor Gerry Arances said the draft circular is unlawful and excessively biased towards gas.”

“ Why is gas so favored? There is no provision in EPIRA or any law that provides incentives for gas as outlined in the draft circular. CSP provides the best possible price for consumers and no power should be exempted from it. This move by DOE to exempt gas from CSP grants this fossil fuel benefits not even provided to renewable energy. DOE is allowing ‘reasonably priced’ electricity from gas, even though EPIRA states ‘least cost.’ The department is supposed to work for consumers and not be a salesman for the gas industry,” said Arances.

The DOE, however, pointed out such policy is the draft policy that is espousing a gas aggregation scheme in order for the DUs within the Luzon grid to benefit in a relatively lower price of blended imported LNG (liquefied natural gas) and natgas from the Malampaya gas field.

Getting a minimum percentage of power supply from natural gas would give the DUs an advantage of taking a competitive price without going through the CSP,” said the DOE.

Gas from the Malampaya is depleting and the cost of imported LNG is slightly higher than the indigenous Malampaya, added the agency.

“With the eventual reduction of capacity from coal-fired power plant, natural gas will be the immediate option for the DUs either as baseload, midrange, and peaking requirement because of its flexibility, and with much less harm to environment.

“LNG is tr ansitory and not an end in itself. The ultimate trajectory is to transition LNG plants to non-fossil-based fuels once the latter are mature,” the DOE stressed.

PBBM seeks to enhance PHL-Australia joint military drills

By Samuel P. Medenilla & Rex Anthony Naval

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is eyeing more joint military drills with Australia amid the rising

“volatility” in the Indo-Pacific region.

In an interview with reporters after the 1st Amphibious and Land Operations of the Indo-Pacific Endeavor 2023 (ALON) on Friday, the Chief Executive said he would raise the proposition to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in their forthcoming meeting on September 8.

“I think we would be discussing for sure, also the continuation of this kind of joint exercise to increase the capabilities again of our [forces],” Marcos said.

Both leaders will also discuss trade, economic development and maritime affairs.

“ We have many common concerns with Australia in terms of the region and, of course, we also have very many Filipino nationals in Australia. And I was reminding

the Ambassador...we have a large contingent of Filipinos in Australia,” the President said.

Around 2,200 military personnel from the US, Australia and Philippines joined the ALON held at the Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui, Camp Artemio Ricarte, San Antonio, Zambales.

During the activity, the participants demonstrated their coordination in conducting large-scale exercise through a mock assault scenario.

It was meant to address“gaps in conducting combined operations and improving tactics, techniques and procedures.”

“This is our continuing effort to strengthen our capabilities and to have a closer working relationship with the militaries of our neighbors around the region and I think it is an important aspect of how we prepare for any eventuality and considering that there have been so many events that attest to the volatility of the region,” Marcos said.

Aside from Australia and the US, the country has recently held maritime drills

with Japan.

This as the country closely monitors the developments on the Korean Peninsula and in the West Philippine Sea, which could affect regional and national security.

Lt. Col. Enrico Gil C. Ileto, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief, said the event marked the second and final phase of amphibious action after the air assault exercise in Palawan earlier this week.

“This is the first time that [the] Philippines and Australia have conducted ‘Exercise ALON,’ which forms part of Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2023 program,” he added.

“Exercise Alon” started on August 14 and will end on the 31st.

Ileto said this amphibious assault exercise is a result of months of planning by the AFP and the Australian Defense Force (ADF) with assistance from the United States Marine Corps (USMC).

“The training exercise at Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui included pre-landing operations where the Philippine Marine Corps

Navy’s Carido assumes command of 38-nation counter-piracy task force

APHILIPPINE Navy (PN) senior official has assumed command of Combined Task Force (CTF-151), a multi-national counter-piracy task force (TF) based at a US Navy base in Manama, Bahrain last August 21.

“PN Captain Mateo Carido relieves Republic of Korea [ROK] Navy Rear Admiral Ko Seung-bum as Commander of CTF-151, one of five operational task forces under Combined Maritime Forces [CMF], a multinational naval partnership of 38 nations,” the PN said in a statement released on Thursday.

CMF promotes security, stability and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters, encompassing some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.

Meanwhile, CTF-151 was established in 2009 and conducts maritime security operations to deter, disrupt and suppress piracy and armed robbery at sea outside the Horn of Africa.

The TF regularly collaborates with more than 19 countries on the counter-piracy mission throughout the region.

Prior to taking over CTF-151, Carido was

the Philippines senior national representative to the CMF.

Carido’s team consists of seven PN officers supported by 11 officers and two enlisted personnel from 13 CMF member-countries.

During the turnover ceremony, CMF

Deputy Commander, Commodore Philip Dennis, welcomed Carido as the new Commander of CTF-151 and said the Filipino naval officer made history as the Philippines took command of the TF for the first time.

He also expressed confidence that the task force under Carido’s leadership will continue to excel in their duties and contribute

[PMC] and ADF force reconnaissance group were inserted via small boats to observe the beach landing sites,” Ileto said.

Meanwhile, the combined joint force entry operations were carried out by launching a combined amphibious landing to secure the beach landing sites, followed by parachute insertion to seize the objectives and a simultaneous landing via landing craft and USMC MV-22B “Osprey” tilt rotor aircraft.

“The recovery of forces and equipment will occur on August 26, 2023,” Ileto noted.

Participants in the amphibious assault exercise included 560 personnel from the AFP, 1,200 from the ADF with 120 from the USMC. Participating military assets include the helicopter landing dock HMAS Canberra, frigate HMAS Anzac, along with the landing platform BRP Davao Del Sur with close-air support coming from the Royal Australian Air Force F-35 “Lightning II” aircraft, Australian Army M-1A1 “Abrams” tank, and two PMC amphibious assault vehicles, with airlift support by Darwin-based USMC MV-22B.

significantly to the accomplishment of the CMF mission.

Dennis likewise acknowledged the accomplishments of the ROK Navy whose tenure has been marked by achievements and notable contributions to the CMF, setting a remarkable example for the next leadership.

“The PN’s mere presence here is a manifestation of our unwavering commitment to maintaining maritime security recognizing the importance of coordination and collaboration to be able to address emerging maritime threats in the region,” Carido said.

The PN will be in command of CTF-151 until January 2024. Rex Anthony Naval

DOE says proposed development framework ‘not biased’ to natgas

Saturday, August 26, 2023

PHL steps up exposure of China ‘bullying’ in

THE Philippines is stepping up efforts to make sure people around the world can see for themselves what it says are “aggressive” acts by Chinese ships in the South China Sea (SCS) in a bid to pressure Beijing to change its ways.

The Southeast Asian nation has released videos and images of at least eight incidents involving Chinese vessels so far this year, often via social media—including a mission this week to resupply an outpost that the Philippines said China at one point tried to block.

That compares to around three similar releases during the six-year presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, according to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela. The government of Duterte— who fostered better ties with Beijing and set aside a 2016 international court ruling affirming his country’s sea claims—tended to prefer releasing written protests.

“We are becoming more loud in telling the world that we need to expose China’s bullying behavior,” Tarriela said in an interview in Manila on Wednesday. By pursuing that tactic, Manila hopes “countries like the US and those in the European Union would unite and tell them what you’re doing is wrong,

territorial dispute

it’s illegal,” he said. The strategy underscores the lengths the Philippines has to go in its persistent confrontation with China, which has the world’s largest navy by number of vessels and claims most of the South China Sea despite the protests of other nations in the region.

In January, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. raised the issue with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing, prompting the two sides to establish a link for diplomats to discuss maritime issues. A month later the two nations were again bickering, this time over a Chinese ship aiming a military-grade laser at a Philippine vessel in the SCS.

After that incident, the Philippines released images of a Chinese coast guard vessel pointing the bright green beam at the Philippine ship. The device, which can be used to aim weapons, caused “temporary blindness” to crew, the Philippines said at the time.

There are some signs the more visual strategy is changing China’s behavior at sea, said Tarriela, who pointed to this week’s delivery of supplies to the rusty warship serving as a military post in the Second Thomas Shoal.

Biz group calls for stronger anti-corruption measures

By Andrea E. San Juan

AMID calls to take action against corruption in the country, the Makati Business Club (MBC) stressed anew the need to strengthen laws, such as the law governing the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) and reforms in the Bank Secrecy law, among others.

As the business group commended Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong and other public officials and citizens who call out or take action against the corruption, it reiterated its “long-standing” support for a Freedom of Information law (FOI), reform of the Bank Secrecy law, and strengthening of the Statement of Assets and Liabilities law (SALN).

MBC said it also backs President Ferdinand R.

Marcos Jr.’s call for digitalization as a tool to improve ease of doing business and to fight graft and corruption by increasing transparency.

“We stand with Mayor Magalong and others in declaring that we want a Philippines where public officials focus on public service rather than private enrichment, and where citizens and businesses compete on a level playing field rather than bribe to get ahead or even just get along,”MBC said in a statement dated August 11.

D uring his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 2023, Marcos pointed out, “Digitalization will support the government’s data-driven and science-based planning and decision-making.”

F urther, the President said digitalization can be used as the “most powerful tool” not just to improve the ease of doing business

The success of that mission stands in contrast to one that China thwarted earlier this month. Afterward, officials from the Philippine coast guard, military and Foreign Affairs Department held a rare public briefing to display photos and videos of Chinese coast guard ships firing water cannons toward its supply vessel.

China’s actions were later criticized by the the Pentagon, Japan and Australia, which this week held a joint military exercise with the Philippines near the SCS.

Tarriela said Chinese ship captains have changed some of their tactics since the Philippines stepped up its release of videos. They’re now tailing Manila’s vessels from a greater distance than before and leaving areas after realizing their actions are being recorded.

After the Philippines conducted the resupply mission, China’s coast guard said it made “temporary special arrangements” to allow it to proceed. China’s Defense Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

When it comes to international relations, anything that you publicize has a reputational cost for China, hits a nerve with the Chinese,” said Tarriela. Bloomberg News

but also against many forms of graft and corruption.

H owever, MBC Executive Director Francisco Alcuaz Jr. said in a televised interview last month that he would have wanted the president to talk about Bank Secrecy Law, FOI law and the law governing the SALN.

When we talk about the Bank Secrecy law, we also couple that or parallel that with two other bills, or two other proposals: and FOI or Freedom of Information Law, and also the strengthening of the SALN [statement of assets, liabilities, net worth] Law,” Alcuaz said.

“We believe that these three together can really address the anti-corruption angle of the President. The FOI law also addresses the President’s desire to really digitalize the government and make information accessible in the government,” he explained.

MBC emphasized that corruption takes resources away from public services like

Army men participate in 3-week ‘Exercise Carabaroo’ in Australia

THE Philippine Army (PA) has deployed 138 troops to participate in the threeweek “Exercise Carabaroo 2023,” which will take place in Australia.

In a statement released on Thursday, PA spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the participating Filipino soldiers are from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, First Scout Ranger Regiment, and the Special Forces Regiment (Airborne).

“These troops will train alongside the Australian Army from August 23 to September 9, 2023 in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia,” he added.

The PA contingent left for Australia last Wednesday via transport aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force.

Exercises will be held at Robertson Barracks, Tiwi Islands, Gunn Point, and Channel Island in Darwin.

“Exercise Carabaroo” is part of the Australian Army’s 1st Brigade’s Exercise Predator’s Run, a multinational training activity that simulates littoral combined arms maneuvers in a large-scale force-on-force environment. Rex Anthony Naval

health, education, maintaining peace and order, and providing needed safe and resilient infrastructure that allow citizens and job creating businesses to flourish.

In addition, the business group said this necessitates the imposition of higher taxes to make up for lost revenues adding to the people’s burden and making the country uncompetitive.

“ Whether it is taking from public funds or taking or demanding bribes—in which citizens and businesses are either instigators, conspirators, or victims—the effect is the same,” MBC said.

Corruption is a main culprit in the stunting of our youth, the decline in our learning achievements, and the challenges many Filipinos face as they make their way in life and society. It is a main cause of why the Philippines struggles to expand businesses, attract investment, and be globally competitive to create more jobs,” it added.

Gordon hopes Ombudsman would ‘cast wider net’ in Pharmally probe

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

FORMER Senator Richard Gordon on

Friday expressed hope that the Office of the Ombudsman would “cast a wider net,” and that all major players of the Pharmally “high crime” would be charged as well.

While describing the Ombudsman’s move a “welcome development,” Gordon, who led the Pharmally investigation as then chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, mentioned Michael Yang, Lin Wei Xiong, Rose Nono Lin, as well as the accountants, auditors, and other conspirators.

“Let the wheels of justice, often characterized, by a blindfolded lady a carrying scale and a sword, proceed without regard to rank, office, or access, to the highest corridors of political power,” Gordon, in news statement, said.

He pointed out that Pharmally mess is the “biggest” corruption case to occur

in the country during the “most difficult situations the world faced” at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Ombudsman has found probable cause to file thr ee counts each of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against former Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) executive director Christopher Lloyd Lao, former PS-DBM procurement group director and current Overall Deputy Ombudsman Warren Lex Liong and PS-DBM procurement management officer.

“The heinousness of the crime committed was aggravated by the fact that at a time when our health-care workers and hundreds of thousands of our people were most vulnerable to Covid-19—many sick, and thousands were dying—these public officials and cohorts were like vultures feasting and greedily exploiting the calamity,” said Gordon.

Sen. Risa scores new departure rules for Filipino intl travelers

By Butch Fernandez

THE main proponent of a tougher law against human trafficking has joined the outcry against new departure rules for Filipino international travelers imposed by an inter-agency council and being enforced by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, as the author and sponsor of the Expanded Trafficking in Persons law who exposed scam hubs in the Philippines and abroad, said, “I believe it is absolutely imperative that we do more against human trafficking.”

“I am aware of the magnitude of this serious global problem,” Hontiveros said Friday, reacting to reports that “outbound Filipinos are complaining against the oppressive, unreasonable rules,” including the requirement of more detailed proof of financial capability, even for travelers bound for visa-requiring countries that have already screened these travelers rigidly. While she supports the efforts against human trafficking, Hontiveros appealed to the Bureau of Immigration. “Huwag naman maging bully sa ating mga Pinoy

na turista. Bigyan natin ng pagkakataon angatingmgakababayannamaka-relax o makabisitasakanilangpamilyangwalang malaking abala.”

At the same time, the lawmaker likewise took an apparent jab at immigration officials whom she had called out in the past for allowing in thousands of foreign travelers as tourists, even when they are going to undertake illegal jobs in the country.

“SanaaykunggaanokahigpitangBIsa mgapalabasngPilipinasayganoondinito kahigpitsamgapapasoksabansa.Filipinos traveling out of the country should not be treated as second-class citizens within our own airports,” Hontiveros said. The senator earlier successfully exposed, and caused the prosecution with an inquiry she pushed against immigration employees involved in the so-called “pastillas scam.” This was dubbed as such because the bribes given to immigration officials—in exchange for allowing mostly Chinese Pogo workers illegally entering the country as tourists—was rolled up and covered in white paper, much like the native pastillas, a milk-based dessert.

Understaffed US nursing homes affect millions of elderly residents

By The Conversation

MOrE than 80 percent of US nursing homes reported staffing shortages in early 2023. SciLine interviewed Dr. Jasmine Travers, a gerontological nurse practitioner and assistant professor of nursing at New York University rory Meyers College of Nursing, and asked her how the shortage affects health care for nursing home residents, if nursing homes in poorer neighborhoods have been hit harder by the shortages, and what can be done to fix the problem.

Below are some highlights from the discussion. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Who lives in nursing homes in the United States?

Jasmine Travers : There are 15,000 nursing homes with approximately 1.2 million residents. That population can range in age, although most commonly it’s those 65 years of age or older.

What is the current state of nursing home staffing?

Jasmine Travers: In 2001, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed minimum staffing standards. They indicated that total nursing hours should be 4.1 hours per resident per day. And that’s including the registered nurse, the licensed practical nurse and the certified nursing assistants. Only 25 percent of nursing homes were found to be meeting those total nursing hours in 2019.

How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect nursing home occupancy and staffing?

Jasmine Travers: Occupancy levels hovered at about 80 percent prior to the pandemic. During the pandemic, occupancy went down to a low of 67 percent. By the end of 2022, those levels had gone up to 72 percent.

Lower occupancy levels can be a significant issue. Higher occupancy brings in more revenue to the nursing homes. With lower occupancy and less revenue coming in, then that’s a decrease in financial support that the nursing home needs to run their day-to-day activities.

How does nursing home staffing affect the quality of care and health outcomes for residents?

Solon lauds doubling of seniors’ pension fund to ₧50B in 2024

Jasmine Travers: A number of studies show that when staffing is low, emergency hospitalization visits increase. Some of these visits could have been addressed by care provided in the nursing home setting. We also see increased instances of pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections, falls and deficiency citations—issued when a nursing home does not meet a certification minimum standard.

When nursing homes are understaffed, that means there might not be a sufficient number of certified nursing assistants to, for example, answer call bells. That might translate to residents sitting in their beds needing help for longer periods of time.

In those instances, if a person doesn’t have someone to get them out of bed, sometimes they might try to get up themselves. And when they do that, they could be at risk of falling. Or if they stay in bed and they’re soiled, they’re at increased risk for urinary tract infections or pressure ulcers.

What can be done to alleviate nursing home staffing challenges?

Jasmine Travers: Areas that are socioeconomically deprived or that lack good transportation, housing and schools are less desirable places to work.

Just recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released an announcement that they are going to allow for those in pediatric specialties to receive loan reimbursements and loan forgiveness for working in underserved areas. A similar program for those working in nursing homes would likely increase staffing.

I’d also like to see improved wages and benefits and more investment in retention efforts to keep the people who are already working in nursing homes working there.

One of the biggest issues when it comes to staffing is turnover. People will stay when the work environment is changed. And when people stay longer, they know their residents more. That consistency translates to better quality of care.

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

By Filane Mikee Cervantes

In a statement on Tuesday, Camarines Sur 2nd District representative Luis r aymund “Lr ay” Villafuerte Jr. said doubling the funding for SPIC would cover the 100 percent increase in the monthly stipend of indigent senior citizens, as provided for in the new law granting additional benefits to the elderly.

Villafuerte said the proposed increase in pension fund for indigent seniors fulfills the President’s pledge in his second State of the Nation Address to ensure that all Filipinos—no matter their age, gender, groups, religion, and physical condition—“will be protected and provided aid.”

“Given the still elevated inflation, the decision by President Marcos to double the P500 monthly stipend to P1,000, in keeping with republic Act 11916, will mean a bigger financial assistance for our indigent senior citizens who grapple with the ever spiraling cost of living,” he said.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman earlier told lawmakers that the proposed budget for the SPIC program will go up from this year’s outlay of P25.3 billion. She said the SPIC program allocation is part of the total budget for the Social Services sector, which has been allotted P2.183 trillion or 37.9

percent under the proposed 2024 National Expenditure Program.

Villafuerte, however, appealed to the Department of Budget and Management to “scour” the 2023 General Appropriations Act and other possible sources for adequate funding to bankroll this year the 100 percent increase of indigent seniors’ monthly pension.

“Our indigent senior citizens can look forward to a bigger financial relief each month beginning 2024 at the least, as the President, true to his commitment to protect the purchasing power of our people, especially the highly vulnerable ones, has dramatically increased the pension fund of our senior citizens to almost P50 billion,” he added. PNA

Elderly, young Americans need govt support–Aspen

By Edward Dufner

YOUNG Americans deserve

more attention from US policymakers because they’re only getting a fraction of the average $29,000 doled out annually to people over age 65, according to the scholar who directs the Aspen Economic Strategy Group.

“I’m not saying we should renege on our promise to take care of the elderly,” Melissa Kearney said Wednesday on Bloomberg Television’s Wall Street Week with David Westin. “But there are kids where we know when we spend more money on them, they do better in school, they have better health, and ultimately they make more money as adults, pay more in taxes, rely on government programs less.”

Less indignation, more self-reflection

versial individual as “persona non grata” managing to splutter homophobic statements like he was spitting out phlegm.

By Nick Tayag

my

sixty-zen’s WORtH

Kearney, an economist at the University of Maryland, is helping drive the strategy group’s conference this week in Aspen, Colorado. Co-chaired by former US Treasury Secretaries Hank Paulson and Tim Geithner, the group bills itself as bipartisan and devoted to promoting “evidencebased solutions to some of our most significant economic challenges.”

The event features Paulson and Geithner, Bank of America Corp.

Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan and Princeton University professor Cecilia rouse, a former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Papers from the conference are being prepared around the theme of strengthening the US economy, with publication probably in late November, Kearney said.

“Part of building a more resil-

have heeded the truism that art is restraint not excess.

ient US economy is investing in our workforce,” Kearney said. With that framework, she said, it makes no sense to have a balance in social

spending that tilts about fivefold in favor of over-65 Americans versus those under 18.

“If we just want to be cold-hearted economists about this, we are not putting our money into the future generation of kids,” Kearney said.

The timing this year is significant, with economists and business leaders gathering in the aftermath of Fitch r atings’ surprise decision to downgrade the US government’s debt rating. Fitch cited US deficit spending and political uncertainty as triggers, which caught Wall Street and Washington off-guard because those issues are hardly new, especially since the White House and congressional republicans dodged a possible default earlier this year with a bipartisan debt-ceiling deal. Bloomberg

ONE early morning the other day as I was having my coffee at our veranda, I heard the loud voice of one of our senior neighbors who, as usual, was doing his walking exercise with two other elderly street mates of mine. I imagined he was frothing at the mouth and I could instantly

deduce what he was fuming about: the controversial viral clip of an individual portraying Jesus in a drag outfit while singing a punk rock version of the “Lord’s Prayer.”

I tuned in to his wild peroration for a while. He was making it clear that he was espousing the bandwagon declaring the said contro-

A line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet came to mind: “Methinks the lady doth protest too much ” in reference to the insincere and hypocritical overacting of one character in the play. While feigning indignance, was my neighbor perhaps himself guilty to some degree?

It’s easy to join the bandwagon of condemnation because it seems to be the righteous and popular thing to do, but for crying out loud, aren’t there other more unsavory personalities who ought to be considered persona non grata, as in obnoxious, odious, disgusting, repulsive and abhorrent? Do they receive the same indignant flak from Catholic groups?

So many transgressions against Christian values have been happening right before our eyes, yet we never give a damn in the real sense of the word. So why is there so much hypocritical ado in this particular case?

Personally, my problem with that drag performance is a matter of taste, not religion. I thought it wasn’t artistically successful. Sablay. But because he is after all a performing artist, I give him some slack. An artist can get carried away by his creative whims at times. Maybe the performer should

Artists have always been notorious for scandalous acts and performances. Especially performance artists who intentionally want to offend sensibilities to provoke new ways of seeing life.

To think that this is not the first time that artists have caused public outcry and rebuke regarding their controversial depictions of Christ. remember the novel written by the Greek author Nikos Kazantsakis entitled the “Last Temptation of Christ”? Many Christians find it shocking, disturbing and blasphemous. But if you open your mind, you will recognize that Kazantzakis is exploring the eternal conflict between flesh and spirit, which each of us is experiencing within ourselves on a daily basis. By the way, Director Martin Scorcese made that book into a film, and he too was excoriated for it.

Then there was Jesus Christ Superstar, the rock opera. Do you know on opening night at Broadway, Christians picketed it? Jewish groups were unhappy, too, because it revived charges that Jews were responsible for Jesus’ death. My then girlfriend who became my wife confessed that she was at first shocked by the rock opera format but she soon saw the creativity that made Jesus come alive for the modern generation.

But be that as it may, scratch the surface of an artist’s work and you will find a kernel of truth, which some will find inspiring, and some will find disturbing.

My advice is for us to use this incident and the indignation it aroused as an opportunity for deep self-reflection. Perhaps it’s time we became more thoughtful believers of the message of Jesus.

For one thing, being judgmental is not the way of Jesus. Based on the Gospels, Jesus is one person who will not condemn even those who mock him. Consider the prayer “Ama namin,” which was being sung in that video clip. In it is a line that says, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

To Catholics and adherents of other Christian faiths who love to quote the Bible, here’s St. Paul in Romans 2:1: “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

It is also important to note that Jesus is not exclusionary. His essential message is about fellowship. This is why I found the homophobic asides regrettable. The persona non grata declaration is to me just a mask for a half-expressed disdain or scorn for the person’s gender orientation.

Maybe underneath her frivolous drag performance is a pained prayer for greater understanding and compassion as in “what do you mean, you never answer our difficulties” to use the words of the poet Stevie Smith. Who knows: the said individual may even be more devoted to her faith than those who judge her.

Instead of being far more concerned with perceived slights against our religious beliefs and traditions, let us break out from the prison of old-fashioned expressions, creeds and dogmas. Let’s loosen up and have an honest to God inner conversation. That way, we can be free to follow the moving light of new insights, new expressions, and greater understanding of the far deeper truths in Jesus’ teachings. By having a deeper and greater understanding of our personal faith, we can meet the challenges, hardships and sorrows of life in the light of that spirit. We would be able to face up to any future incidents, no matter how whimsical, frivolous or vile, disturbing and blasphemous, and not be so easily scandalized and incensed. That’s because our strongly held faith will enable us to transcend all the trespasses and misdoings that will continue to happen in this world. So let’s tone down our indignation and strive to live the kind of life that will make people say: “He was ever a persona grata.”

MANILA—A lawmaker lauded the move of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to nearly double the social pension for indigent senior citizens (SPIC) to P49.8 billion in the proposed 2024 national budget.

A sociAl worker (left) encodes personal information of a female senior citizen who is a resident of Barangay Bahay Toro, Quezon city for her quarterly social pension. indigent Filipino senior citizens will be entitled to receive a higher monthly pension of P1,000 under the proposed 2024 national budget. PNA Photo by beN brioNes

MelissA KeArney

Pinoy students to train in China as renewable energy engineers

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

This is to help the Philippines cope better with challenges posed by climate change and the new normal through mitigation and adaptation, and to guide the country toward a path on RE.

For the first batch of beneficiaries, 18 Filipino high-school graduates were selected for a three-year, full scholarship program. They are expected to fly to China this month, in time for the opening of classes in the host college.

A first in the Philippines, the “Renewable Energy Scholarship Program for Filipino Students” will send the young learners to China for an RE engineering course in Jiuquan Vocational Technical College in the province of Gansu.

The full scholarship from September 2023 to July 2026 also opens an opportunity for internships to would-be graduates in RE-based companies in China.

Implemented by the People Asia for Climate Solutions (PACS)—an organization founded in 2019 by climate communicator Wang Xiaojun from China and its local partners 350, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, and the Climate Reality Project-Philippines, the program also aims to inspire and encourage people-centered climate actions, with the Asian superpower shifting its role from a major climate polluter to vital solutions provider–domestically and overseas–mainly in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner-countries such as the Philippines.

Pre-scholarship capacity building

THE students aged 17 to 22 were among those whose lives were forever changed by the devastating impact of climate change-induced events like Supertyphoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan). Described as the worst ever to hit the country in its history, the howler made the world realize that climate change is real, and that the occurrence of superstorms now comprise the new normal.

Interviewed online, Wang said PACS will upskill the 18 students before they fly to China for their scholarships. They will learn the language, basic RE knowledge, transportation, and weather conditions they will be facing before heading

Israel backs DepEd’s ‘Brigada Eskwela’

to Gansu.

The school, he said, is near the remote Gobi Desert, which is ideal for their training in RE engineering–particularly wind and solar energy.

In the duration of their stay as scholars, they will be provided with board and lodging, receive allowances, plus have the opportunity to visit RE plants, including those in farms that make use of the said type of energy.

Molding RE champions

ACCORDING to Wang, all scholars will be coming from the Philippines this year.

The communicator said PACS is currently in talks with other learning institutions in China, optimistic of bringing in more Filipino students and other nationals to learn about RE in his country.

With the program and after their training, he hopes that the students would return to their respective countries, then use their acquired skills and knowledge to help their homeland become more climatefriendly and climate-resilient.

Climate change-vulnerable countries

WANG said the Philippines and China share similar vulnerabilities to climate change, and that both countries also have vast RE potentials, which could boost economic growth and build disaster-resilient communities.

“The most recent typhoons that passed through the Philippines also hit China, [which killed] 18 people in Beijing alone,” he shared.

I n recruiting local scholars, Wang relayed that PACS went from schoolto-school and talked to school officials to convince school principals to send a representative or two for the opportunity to learn about RE in China.

He said his country is investing more today in RE which, like the Philippines, has huge promise, being in the tropics blessed with strong winds and plenty of sunlight. Said elements can be tapped and converted into an environment-friendly power source. For him, the three-year training will help the students become champions of RE, and help unleash the Philippines’s potential for such.

RE-based future

ACCORDING to the communicator, the Chinese expect the graduates to help their country shift to RE—either as developers working on their own respective firms, or as top engineers of Filipino-owned companies in 15 to 20 years. They can contribute to the national effort in shifting to RE, while becoming more economically, politically, and energy independent. The school and community where the scholars will be based have various RE projects based in some of the world’s largest wind and solar farms, confirmed Wang.

“They can also talk to locals because in farms around the college, there’s solar-powered farming, and the farmers are also working for RE companies. They will really have a learning experience after their training,” he said.

PACS advocacy

SINCE its founding, PACS has helped produce Southeast Asian climate experts as opinion leaders. The organization has also published testimonial books and practical guides about China’s energy investments overseas, while successfully facilitating effective and efficient workshops, as well as field trips to China.

PACS’ goal in the coming years is to collaborate with more international and local media, including other nongovernment organizations, in order to establish the Belt and Road Initiative Direction toward Green Energy, or BRIDGE. Its goal is to build a safe space for climate and energy NGOs in BRI partnercountries.

It also aims to drive regular candid and constructive conversations with Chinese stakeholders about their country’s support for a real, fast, just, and clean energy transi -

tion in their countries. Commitment to RE THE 18 students, who are 17- to 22-years-old, are mostly females. This is a manifestation of the program opening up equal opportunities for many to be part of engineering programs for new sustainable technologies. Said high-school graduates are from Leyte National High School in Tacloban; the Bonifacio Camacho National High School in Bataan; as well as Rizal, Nueva Ecija-based institutions Bicos National High School, Agbannawag High School, and the Asia Pacific College of Business and Arts.

A scholar, Geraldine P. Lucero, hopes to learn about RE and help her locale become more resilient and environment-friendly. She remarked that “RE has a lot of positive impacts in our community. Having it there will help improve lives.”

John Lexter G. Paner of Balanga, Bataan intends to study and learn RE to debunk the notion that nuclear power, a facility of which is in his province, is the cheapest source. He clarified that “based on my observations, people here are in favor of nuclear power, because it will bring cheap energy. This is not true, because the costs of operating power plants are higher.”

Bianca Mae A. Encarnacion who is from Palo, Leyte, which was one of the heavily devastated areas during the onslaught of “Yolanda” in 2013, expects to learn about RE and apply her knowledge in bringing its benefits in her province.

“Every time there’s a typhoon, we experience hardships. There’s also no RE facility in Tacloban,” Encarnacion imparted. “I will use my learning to help the country, and our province. I am hoping to build one there three years from now.”

THE Embassy of Israel has expanded its participation in the Education Department’s “Brigada Eskwela;” this year, at a grade school in Taguig City.

Bagong Tanyag Elementary School’s (BTES) Annex A was transformed from a vacant space into a mini-library and is now called “Jerusalem Learning Resource Center.” It was designed and filled with amenities such as tables, bean bags, bookshelves and throw pillows, among others.

Ahead of the start of the new school year, the center is expected to be fully furnished with more educational materials and items such as a television, wall fans, and water dispenser donated by the embassy.

“Education is one of the most important pillars of the Jewish and Israeli culture. We encourage, and are being encouraged, to be curious and to ask questions,” Deputy Ambassador Esty Buzgan stated.

“I hope bringing Jerusalem’s spirit of learning to this very school and mini-library… would help our future generations in growing, flourishing and achieving new highs [as they deepen the already strong bond of our nations].”

Mayor Lani Cayetano expressed her heartfelt appreciation to the Israeli Embassy in the Philippines for supporting Brigada Eskwela 2023 in the City of Taguig: “We will

remember this kindness and generosity.”

BTES’ faculty members headed by Principal Donnabel Balantac extended the school’s gratitude to the Israeli Embassy’s volunteers, as they also assisted in repainting tables: “Your help to provide a reading space for our learners will motivate them to strive harder, to dream big, and think bigger.”

At the event, aside from BTES’ faculty, were Taguig City government officials, parents, and pupils. Around 2,000 students are currently enrolled in the school, and will have free access to the Jerusalem Learning Resource Center.

“The Israeli Embassy has actively participated in ‘Brigada…’ to support the Department of Education since 2015. With unwavering dedication, [our staff members invest] considerable time and effort into actively participating in this noble initiative,” shared Ambassador Ilan Fluss.

He added that through the volunteering event, “we connect and support the most important aspect of a country: education, [which is so important in the Jewish ethos. We believe that we need to help one another to provide for the needs of the young generation. It will further develop their skills and knowledge that would positively] impact the future of the country.”

PBEd, Wells Fargo partnership pushes for youth employability

PHILIPPINE Business for Education (PBEd) and Wells Fargo will hold various training courses to bolster skills and employability of out-of-school youth (OSY) in the country.

LA SALLE GREEN HILLS, which has recently transitioned into a co-educational institution, has tapped fashion designer Ionica Abrahan-Lim to create uniforms of incoming female students for the Academic Year 2023 to 2024.

The designer shared that all sets incorporate the iconic La Salle Green checkered woven fabric in the skirt, as well as in the piping details on the blouses.

“Each design incorporates clean lines and subtle accents for that simple, yet polished look,” she explained. “Since this is the first set of uniforms for the female students, LSGH wanted something to complement the existing uniform of the boys.”

Every level possesses different cuts.

For elementary pupils, the blouse has semi-puff sleeves with a sailor tie-in -

spired necktie. The skirt has flat pleats to achieve more volume. These allow the children to easily move around.

A more refined version awaits junior highschoolers. It features a classic breast pocket with piping that matches the boys’ polo.

Meanwhile, professionalism meets comfort for the senior high learners, with longer sleeves and more fitted skirts.

“The designs draw inspiration and reflect La Salle’s core values of faith, service, and communion,” explained Abrahan-Lim, who is also a De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde educator.

LSGH, which has been exclusive to young gentlemen since its establishment in 1959, shifted to co-educational in constant pursuit of social transformation as a learner-centered and service-oriented institution. Prior to this, it was the only

remaining boys’ school of the De La Salle Brothers in the Philippines.

The decision to follow the footsteps of all 15 La Salle Schools in the country was based on several aspects. One is the promotion of equal access to quality Lasallian education for all genders. This is in addition to their inclusive initiatives as a means to accommodate adult students and diversely gifted pupils with special needs, such as members of the hearing-impaired community.

The new learning environment fosters a more diverse yet natural development. According to a statement from the school, “Classroom behaviors are enhanced, co-curricular activities are more varied, and a culture with an improved mixed-gender perspective has emerged, which strengthens the already solid foundation that is uniquely LSGH.”

Under the Human Capital Investment for Work Readiness and Employment (“HIRE”) program, around 200 OSY will be provided with interventions such as mentoring from professionals and training subsidies during on-the-job training, enabling them to upskill and be ready for employment.

The Social Weather Stations recently reported that 69 percent of Filipinos find it hard to find jobs these days, with the unemployment rate highest among ages 18 to 24 at 36 percent.

“Investing in our youth and developing our human capital is the key to driving growth and innovation in the country,” PBEd deputy executive director for Programs Bal Camua said.

Under the HIRE program, the youth will undergo skills training that spans four to eight weeks, depending on

the training design specific to companies in the sectors of food service and tourism, construction, information and communications technology and analytics, agriculture and agri-business, manufacturing, logistics, banking and finance, energy and renewables, as well as health service.

The program will also cover initiatives that will develop and heighten the trainees’ life skills: leadership and communication, interpersonal and professional skills plus critical thinking, which are essential to thrive in the work place.

“By providing them with the right training and bridging them to meaningful employment, the industry plays its part in empowering the youth,” Camua added.

“[Our company is] committed to building an inclusive, sustainable future for all, as well as making a positive impact in its communities,” Wells Fargo Phils. country head Mike Whyte said. “We are excited to [tie-up] with PBEd to upskill and train the youth, helping pave the way for a more resilient and skilled work force.”

Now co-ed, La Salle GH unveils uniforms for female students

DEPUTY Ambassador Esty Buzgan repaints tables in Bagong Tanyag Elementary School. EMBASSY OF ISRAEL

AMANILA-BASED climateadvocacy group has selected 18 resource-poor yet deserving students to become renewable energy (RE) engineers and champions.

PEOPLE of Asia for Climate Solutions national coordinator Oscar Gabriel (from left), with student-trainees Princess Agnila, Josie Roda, and Vianca Encarnacion A.C. DIMATATAC

‘FUSION’ OF NATURE AND TECHNOLOGY Duking it out at El Nido’s Lagen Island

Lagen Island hides on a four-hectare property on an island enveloped by towering limestone walls, lush forests, and a serene shallow lagoon that gracefully merges with the waters of Bacuit Bay teeming with underwater gems.

It is one of the properties of El Nido Resorts, which also includes the ones on Pangulasian, Apulit, and Miniloc Islands. Like its sister properties, Lagen Island serves as a sanctuary for a wide range of bird and mammal species.

Lagen Island offers a variety of accommodations with a total of 51 rooms. These rooms are divided into four classifications: stiltstyled water cottages, beachfront rooms, forest suites, and forest rooms. Each accommodation space incorporates timber recycled from old Filipino homes, creating an ambiance that conjures the quaint luxury found in the countryside and islands.

Simply staying in, enjoying the food, and swimming, even in the rain, would already make for a delightful time. But what made our recent stay here particularly special is that we were to battle it out for the title of Epson Fusion 14’s overall champion.

Let the Fusion 14 games begin

Fo R o ver a decade, Epson, a global

leader in innovative and sustainable technology solutions, has been organizing an annual thanksgiving gathering with members of the media—particularly those in the tech beat. This year, Lagen Island is the site of the 14th season of the brand’s Fusion event.

This year’s three-day happening, much like past Fusion episodes, was packed with fun challenges, good camaraderie, and exciting updates about Epson’s plans for the upcoming months. Attendees were treated to insights into new product rollouts and innovative developments that Epson has in store.

Due to the inclement weather, the initial plan to participate in outdoor activities like snorkeling in the Secret Lagoon—one of El Nido’s best island-hopping sites, had to be shelved. However, the game marshals did an excellent job of devising a new set of challenges that tested not only our mental and physical abilities but also our balance, creativity, focus, and knowledge about Epson products.

The initial task involved a quiz

battle, where teams competed to be the first to answer three questions correctly about Epson products. The team that succeeded in doing so would then move on to the next challenge. The total time taken by each team for each task is added together to determine the overall winner.

o v erall, there are five challenges, with the most grueling being the bamboo stilt race. The other challenges include a group balancing act, a creative group shot in the swimming pool, a cheer dance, and an activity that tests participants’ photographic memory. In this exercise, participants must mimic a set of characters and print them in the same order and size using an Epson miniature printer.

At the end of the Epson Fusion 14 team competitions, Team Pating emerged as the overall champion, surpassing the other teams - Pawikan, Dugong, Butanding, and Barakuda. They were awarded a prize on our last night during the socials:

Under The Sea Cocktail Night.

Lagen Island, a winning choice

M U CH l ike the readers of Conde

Nast Traveler who voted the El Nido Resorts in Lagen, Apulit and Pangulasian as its 2020 Readers Choice for Best Resorts in Asia, the team at Epson already won when they selected Lagen Island Resort as the location for this year’s Fusion Event. Lagen Island proved to be an ideal setting for team building activities. The island resort offers a plethora of opportunities for outdoor undertakings such as swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, birdwatching, and mangrove exploration.

The property includes designated areas for beach volleyball, badminton, soccer, and frisbee. Additionally, they offer an indoor playroom that provides various recreational activities such as table soccer, ping pong, billiards, and board games.

Despite the resort’s already sophisticated appearance, there are even more exciting things to come. Starting this month, the property will temporarily close for renovations. These improvements will focus on enhancing the amenities and designs of each room, promising a more laidback, satisfying, and

better experience for guests.

“The management wants to make sure we remain a step or two ahead of the growing competitions in El Nido,” one of the staff told me. “In the meantime, we will be assigned for duties to the other El Nido Resort properties in either Apulit or Miniloc,” she adds.

Already a premier choice for bespoke holidays, one would be even more excited to return to a renovated Lagen Island in the near future. Guests can look forward to experiencing its exceptional hospitality and enjoying its specially curated services once again. These include indulging in the delicious cuisine served at its in-house restaurant and a soothing self-pampering by availing a Filipino-influenced hilot therapy offered at its spa. It is safe to assume that Lagen Island will become an even more popular choice for a quintessential Palawan hideaway once it reopens.

More than fun and games

T HE t hree-day Epson Fusion 14 event was not just about fun and games. It also provided us with

an opportunity to learn what Epson has planned for the upcoming months. Additionally, we had the chance to bond with some of the senior executives who traveled with us to El Nido.

During our first night dinner, we had the pleasure of meeting several distinguished senior executives from Epson Philippines. These included Eduardo Bonoan, the marketing division head whom will be retiring this year; Noelle Gonzalez, the senior manager of the vertical business department who will assume Bonoan’s role; Renan Lacson, the senior manager for product management; and Masako Kusama, the president of Epson Philippines.

After three days of delightful company, delectable food, and immersing myself in the charming atmosphere of Lagen Island Resort, I can confidently say that the Epson Fusion event I attended was just as remarkable as Epson’s ongoing success in the Philippine market. Can’t wait for the next Epson Fusion—and crossing fingers my editor sends me again.

Alluring cityscapes and breathtaking mountain views

Story & photos by John Eiron R. Francisco

NESTLED within the picturesque landscape of San Mateo, Rizal, Amiya Raya offers a breathtaking vantage point that showcases the city skyline and the rolling hills in a 360-degree panorama.

The alluring beauty of this place has inspired many to snap pictures of its essence through the lens of their cameras including San Mateo residents, visitors, and yes, tourists.

This World Photography Day, Amiya Raya takes this passion to new heights by introducing the “Captured: The Amiya Raya Photography Contest.”

The two-hour seminar is led by the De La Salle—College of St. Benilde Photography Program senior professional faculty, and founder of Photography Chismis PH, Antonni Cuestas, who talked about the Photography Essentials: History, Craft, and Art.

The workshop deconstructed the aspects of good photography, the creativity behind a great shot, transforming photography from a hobby to a career, and anecdotes about the works of well-known Filipino pho -

tographers.

The highlight was on utilizing creativity and imagination to engage the participants with their photos, and the event provided valuable insights to participants—encouraging them to be more attuned to their surroundings.

And as with photography being an essential aspect of people’s everyday existence, numerous captivating subjects can be discovered and experienced.

As the center of this scenic wonderland, Amiya Raya beckons photography enthusiasts from all corners to participate in this exciting competition.

The contest serves as a platform for both beginners and professional

photographers to immortalize the stunning landscapes and vibrant cityscapes that surround them.

The contest is divided into two categories such as Conventional, in which photos are shot with any conventional camera including SLR or Digital SLR, compact cameras and others. And for Mobile, where the photos are captured with any mobile application on smartphones, tablets, drone-mounted cameras or action cameras.

From the charming streets that snake through the hills to the superb city lights that illuminate the night, Amiya Raya is a visual playground that fuels creativity and artistic expression. In order to capture the atmosphere of the scene in their photographs, participants are encouraged to experiment with the interaction of light, shadow, and perspective.

With the launch of this photography contest, Amiya Raya exhibits its dedication to promoting the beauty of the city, its surroundings and tourism potential.

As participants submit their entries, they add to a visual story that captures the interest of this exclusive destination.

According to the event organizer,

the deadline for entries is on 5th of September 2023, giving photographers plenty of time to carefully plan their setups and get the ideal picture that captures Amiya Raya’s essence. The management, however, strictly informed the participants, this writer included, that the photography area should be within the area such in Kala Commons, Araucaria Street, Club Vihara, and the Rotonda at the end of Amiya Raya Main.

Whether it’s a calm dawn breaking over the hills or the bustling energy of the city beneath, every photograph has the capacity to immortalize a unique moment in time.

The winners will be announced on September 9. According to the management, lucky winners will get the chance to win up to P10,000.00 in cash, plus vouchers to Club Vihara. There will also be a special People’s Choice Award, which will be based on the number of likes collected from followers of the Amiya Raya official Facebook page from September 7 to 8. o n ly one entry per category may be submitted by each participant.

Entries from registered participants must be submitted via email to marketing@community-creators.com.

Tourism Editor: Edwin P. Sallan

Story & photos by Marky Ramone Go

Epso N Fusion Cheer Dance

Epso N Fusion Bamboo stilt Race

GOOGLE Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe are facing one of the most far-reaching efforts to clean up what people encounter online. AP

Here’s how Europe’s sweeping rules for tech giants work

By Kelvin Chan The Associated Press

LONDON—Google, Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe are facing one of the most farreaching efforts to clean up what people encounter online.

The first phase of the European Union’s groundbreaking new digital rules recently took effect. The Digital Services Act is part of a suite of tech-focused regulations crafted by the 27-nation bloc—long a global leader in cracking down on tech giants.

T he DSA, which the biggest platforms started following Friday, is designed to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content that’s either illegal or violates a platform’s terms of service, such as promotion of genocide or anorexia. It also looks to protect Europeans’ fundamental rights like privacy and free speech.

Some online platforms, which could face billions in fines if they don’t comply, have already started making changes.

How many platforms are affected?

SO far, 19. The lists includes eight social media platforms, namely, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Snapchat. There are also five online marketplaces: Amazon, Booking.com, China’s Alibaba AliExpress and Germany’s Zalando.

Mobile app stores Google Play and Apple’s App Store are subject, as are Google’s Search and Microsoft’s Bing search engine. Google Maps and Wikipedia round out the list.

What’s changing?

PLATFORMS have started rolling out new ways for European users to flag illegal online content and dodgy products, which companies will be obligated to take down quickly and objectively.

T he DSA “will have a significant impact on the experiences Europeans have when they open their phones or fire up their laptops,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s president for global affairs, said in a blog post.

Meta’s existing tools to report illegal or rule-breaking content will be easier to access, Clegg said. Amazon opened a new channel for reporting suspected illegal products and is providing more information about third-party merchants.

T ikTok gave users an “additional reporting option” for content, including advertising, that they believe is illegal. Categories such as hate speech and harassment, suicide and self-harm, misinformation or frauds and scams, will help them pinpoint the problem.

Then, a “new dedicated team of moderators and legal specialists” will determine whether flagged content either violates its policies or is unlawful and should be taken down, according to the app from Chinese parent company ByteDance.

TikTok says the reason for a takedown will be explained to the person who posted the material and the one who flagged it, and decisions can be appealed.

What happens if companies don’t follow the rules?

OFFICIALS have warned tech companies that violations could bring fines worth up to 6 percent of their global revenue— which could amount to billions—or even a ban from the EU. But don’t expect penalties to come right away for individual breaches, such as failing to take down a specific video promoting hate speech.

Instead, the DSA is more about whether tech companies have the right processes in place to reduce the harm that their algorithm-based recommendation systems can inflict on users. Essentially, they’ll have to let the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm and top digital enforcer, look under the hood to see how their algorithms work.

What about the rest of the world?

EUROPE’S changes could have global impact. It’s going to be hard for tech companies to limit DSA-related changes, said Broughton Micova, adding that digital ad networks aren’t isolated to Europe and that social media influencers can have global reach.

The regulations are “dealing with multichannel networks that operate globally. So there is going to be a ripple effect once you have kind of mitigations that get taken into place,” she said.

New Samsung smartwatches encourage work productivity, increased physical activity

ONE of the lasting impacts of the pandemic is the public’s heightened awareness on health and wellness. As many people looked for devices that could help in their health journeys, smartwatches rose the gadgets of choice, not just in tracking steps but also in monitoring one’s heartbeat, body temperature, and other health indicators.

According to a Kantar Smartwatch and TWS Insights Study in December 2022, the top smartwatch features used last year were fitness tracking, health monitoring, and messaging, in that order. The same is true for the United States, where 90 percent of respondents use wearbales to track fitness and monitor health, particularly to count steps per day (64 percent), derive motivation to exercise (36 percent), and track weight loss (27 percent), according to Deloitte’s Connectivity and Mobile Trends Report that polled 2,005 US consumers.

Wearables have definitely come a long way since we started using them to monitor our daily steps. I remember carrying a pedometer in my pocket many years ago to monitor the number of steps I took every day.

During Samsung’s “Join the Flip Side” event at Conrad Manila—where the latest Galaxy devices were unveiled in a launch party to celebrate the brand’s promise of self-expression, creativity and productivity, and overall wellness—I was drawn to the Wellness Den, where the new features of the Galaxy Watch 6 series were on full display.

These new Samsung wearables have a 30 percent slimmer bezel, a 20 percent larger and more vibrant display, and a more interactive user interface. The Watch 6 is Samsung’s largest watch to date, featuring an array of health sensors. There is a 47mm version that is more expensive and a 43mm version for the Classic model. For the Galaxy Watch 6, there is a 44mm and a 40mm.

Wear OS tiles are the heart and soul of the Galaxy Watch 6. You can organize these tiles according to your needs. You can swipe, drag, and remove tiles as you please. What do these widgets do? They provide information and shortcuts to apps. You can also organize tiles from the Galaxy Wearable app on your paired phone.

For example, you can build a tile for a messaging app to show recent conversations. You can then open a conversation, search for a conversation, and compose a new message from this tile.

At the launch, the Sleep Up station highlighted the capabilities of the Galaxy Watch 6’s Sleep Monitoring functions such as the Sleep Scores, Sleep Stages analyses, and intuitive information with Sleep Coaching. Samsung Philippines has partnered with Emma The Sleep Company, an award-winning German brand that advocates for better sleep experiences, and the 24/7 health consultation app, KonsultaMD, to enable better health and everyday wellness through technology.

You can also wear different straps for different

purposes. On gym days, you can go with a silicone strap. For a more comfortable sleep, there’s a nylon variant. You might need something dressier for the office, and a sturdier strap for physical activities.

Integration capability with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 makes the Watch 6 a valuable part of your Galaxy ecosystem. You can use the Camera Controller app in your Galaxy Watch 6 to control the phone camera. You can even view photos directly from your watch to make sure you get the perfect shot.

T he Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic each have a Personalized Heart Rate Zone feature that provides more advanced real-time training feedback. The Watch 6 series provides irregular heart rhythm notifications, just like it did for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5. This is an important feature for those with heart problems, as abnormal rhythm fluctuations

could indicate atrial fibrillation (AFib).

Like the previous Samsung Watch versions, the Watch 6 has an accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor, and Samsung’s BioActive sensor [optical heart rate (PPG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) sensor package]. Other features include a temperature sensor, as well as a 3D Hall sensor exclusive to the Classic.

All in all, the Samsung Watch 6 is a solid, versatile, and practical smartwatch that’s perfect if you lead an active lifestyle. It will help encourage and increase productivity, while perfectly complementing your Galaxy devices such as phones and tablets.

More information about the Samsung Watch 6 series is available at https://www.samsung.com/ph/ watches/galaxy-watch/galaxy-watch6-40mm-goldbluetooth-sm-r930nzeaasa/buy/.

Digital lender backs clampdown on creditors’ predatory activities

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

registered or not, with a series of orders, raids, and arrests for their abusive debt collection activities that range from unauthorized access to debtors’ phone directories to offline contact with threats of physical harm.

T he SEC’s implementation of the Financial Products and Services

Consumer Protection Act and other related laws has been facilitated by the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group and the Department of Justice. M eanwhile, the Department of Finance has recently called on financial technology (fintech) companies to work together to protect consumer confidence in the digital markets.

Tala is among the firms that supports and commits to prevent unauthorized lenders from taking advantage of Filipinos, especially the unbanked and underserved.

Tala commits to treating debtors fairly and humanely,” said

Tala Senior Director for Global Customer Experience Operations Iona Iñigo-Mayo. “We stand with the government in its efforts to enforce regulations that protect borrowers who are underestimated. We also

stand with the digital lending platforms that educate customers on borrowing responsibly and how to protect themselves from fraud.” With its digital lending platform and social media network, the fintech group urges the public to deal only with verified financing and lending companies and to report abusive debt collectors and unregistered lenders. The firm also has a library of financial literacy content in its app such as tips on borrowing responsibly.

Up holding data privacy and consumer protection laws, Tala earns a 94-percent trust rating in the Philippines based on its thirdparty 2022 impact report.

At Tala, we work hard to build relationships of trust with our borrowers,” Iñigo-Mayo said. “We would not betray that trust by selling their personal information or using unfair collection practices.”

THE Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 features a larger display, Wear

and upgraded features. Dinna Chan Vasquez

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

HONOR 90 5G review: Eye care a lot

consider—protection for your eyes.

But what is Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Dimming technology? It is a technique used in electronic displays, including monitors, TVs, and some types of LED lighting, to adjust the brightness of the screen or light source. PWM Dimming technology works by rapidly turning the light source on and off at a very high frequency.

on HDR Effect, which allows SDR videos to be enhanced to HDR effect and HDR10 videos to be enhanced to HDR10+ effect, providing vivid colors and more details.

PRIOR to the pandemic, several studies came out saying blue light from phone screens can damage your eyes and accelerate blindness. I remember reading that on my laptop midway through a very long research project, and it actually made me think about switching careers.

Unfortunately, since I have no dancing skills to be TikTok-famous and too old to be a “Sparkle” artist, I realized my preferred options were very limited. It was a good thing that those studies turned out to be quite exaggerated because with 6.92 billion people or 85.95 percent of the world population now using smartphones, a “bird box” scenario (minus the monsters) would have been more likely than a zombie apocalypse.

In the 90s, the term “computer vision syndrome” was coined to describe the collection of symptoms related to prolonged computer use. The term eventually evolved into “digital eye strain” and was used to describe the discomfort and symptoms caused by prolonged use of digital devices, such as computers, smartphones, tablets, and e-readers. These symptoms can include eye strain, dryness, irritation, blurred vision, headaches, and neck or shoulder pain.

Now that we live in a world driven by smartphones, our eyes are constantly exposed to the harsh glare of digital screens. It was just a matter of time before smartphone manufacturers included features that prioritize the users eye health.

In 2016, HONOR established a dedicated light laboratory with the aim of optimizing display technology and reducing the potential negative effects of screen light on users. This initiative was aimed at improving the user experience by reducing eye strain and other discomforts caused by prolonged screen exposure.

HONOR achieved a significant milestone in 2021 with the HONOR 50, the first smartphone in the industry to support 1920Hz high-frequency PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) dimming. This was followed by the Magic 4 Pro that further elevated their achievements by combining a power-saving LTPO display with the same high-frequency dimming technology. The HONOR Magic Vs then introduced innovative features like Circadian Night Display and Dynamic Dimming eye protection, pushing the boundaries of eye care, while its flagship Magic5 Pro presented users with a remarkable 2160Hz highfrequency PWM dimming experience.

Now, HONOR is bringing those once-flagship features to the midrange market with the release of the HONOR 90 5G. The device sets a new benchmark in smartphone eye protection, incorporating risk free 3840Hz PWM highfrequency dimming and achieving TUV Rheinland Flicker-free certification.

With these features, the HONOR 90 5G not only ticks the top 3Ps or priorities of smartphone users—price, performance, and photography—but also added another P to

The perceived brightness is determined by the ratio of the on-time to the off-time. By rapidly cycling pixels on and off at an elevated frequency, PWM Dimming significantly reduces perceptible flicker, a leading cause of eye strain. This technology becomes particularly crucial when operating at lower brightness levels, ensuring a smoother, more comfortable visual experience.

With the HONOR 90 5G, your eyes can finally find respite from the discomfort of flickering screens.

During our flicker-free challenge, we compared several phones and proved that even at lower brightness levels, the HONOR 90’s display remained stable, effectively eliminating the flicker that can adversely impact our eye health.

Even more remarkable was how HONOR was able to include this feature at a midrange device that’s priced at P24,990—even adding a free JBL speaker to sweeten its preorder offering.

But the HONOR 90 5G offers so much more than just eye-care protection at a more accessible price tag. It also impressed us with its 200MP cameras, snappy performance, Quad-Curved Floating Display and long-lasting battery.

The HONOR 90 5G has a triple-camera system consisting of a 200MP Main Camera, a 12MP UltraWide and Macro Camera and a 2MP Depth Camera. This is a massive upgrade from the 54MP shooter of its predecessor. This main cam is equipped with a 1/1.4-inch sensor, which is increased by 25 percent in size compared to the previous generation and enhances the light sensing ability by 11 percent.

It’s more than a numerical boost as these improvements translate to enhanced light-sensing capabilities. This means even in challenging lighting conditions, you can capture images with astonishing clarity and detail, a feat that eludes many smartphone cameras. In Night Mode, the large sensor delivers night shots that are clear and transparent and you don’t have to wait long after pressing the shutter button when shooting. If it only had a telephoto lens, then it would definitely even beat some flagships.

The HONOR 90 also features an enhanced Portrait mode that captures clearer portraits across different light conditions. You can take great portraits not only in 1x zoom to take in more of the background but also in 2x zoom for a portrait that is more focused on the subject and still get good details. The bokeh effects have also been improved, providing a more natural transition between the blur effect and your subject. Thanks to the powerful hardware and optimizations, the camera also captures skin texture faithfully, but you can also adjust beauty mode if needed.

For selfies, the 50MP front camera is also one of the best at this price point. With its 100° field of angle you can include even more people in the photo, which means you are not forced to do that Gen Z selfie that makes your arms look weird and long.

The HONOR 90 also improves on video using AI to recognize the scene you are shooting and recommending the most appropriate of its five video modes (Portrait Video, HDR Video, Close-up, Multi-video and Solo-cut). It also features Always-

All of these features make the HONOR 90 a great vlogging device for users looking to up their content game. For those who love posting reels or stories, it even has an AI Vlog Assistant that analyses key details in real time. Once you are done recording, simply click the “Instant Movie” option to produce a social media-ready 15-second video clip. Moving on to the display, the HONOR 90 again shines with its brilliant 6.7-inch AMOLED screen that immerses you in whatever visual content you consume. The Quad-Curved design doesn’t merely curve at the edges; it envelopes your senses, inviting you to lose yourself in the visuals. The panel boasts of a 2664x1200 resolution, offering a canvas that bursts with 1.07 billion colors and a complete DCI-P3 color space. The display’s HDR brilliance has a peak brightness of 1,600 nits making HDR content pop with vibrancy. If you are someone who watches everything on your smartphone, then the HONOR 90 makes a fine choice. The only downside is that it only has a single speaker. Moving on to probably the most important aspect of any smartphone—its processing prowess. The HONOR 90 is run by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen1 Accelerated Edition 5G processor that’s paired with 12GB RAM and 512GB of internal storage. It’s one of the first smartphones to arrive in the Philippines with this chipset logging a peak CPU clock speed of 2.5GHz, a 20 percent boost in GPU performance, and a 30 percent surge in AI capabilities compared to its predecessor. So whether you’re navigating multiple applications, multitasking seamlessly, or enjoying resource-intensive gaming sessions, you can expect rock-solid performance from this smartphone. While the 5000mAh battery has become a standard among smartphones, the HONOR 90 5G offers something extra when it comes to charging. With 66W HONOR Wired SuperCharge technology a mere 15-minute charge will juice up your device up to 45 percent, with a complete charge barely reaching an hour. Plus, with its built-in AI Power Saving Technology, the HONOR 90 maximizes efficiency, and optimizes battery performance, boosting productivity to the maximum, so you don’t have to worry about it lasting all day.

The HONOR 90 5G is available in three colors: Diamond Silver, Emerald Green, and Midnight

GoTo sees high SaaS potential in PHL

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

THE Philippines is a lucrative market for software productivity tools as both enterprise-level organizations and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are eager to enhance their digital capabilities and introduce digital transformation, respectively, according to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider GoTo.

In a recent online interview with the BUSINESSMIRROR, GoTo vice president and general manager for Asia Pacific Lindsay Brown said both business segments are responding to the call of the government to pursue digitalization to boost their competitiveness and efficiency.

“We’ve been focusing on the Philippines more recently; it’s quite a growing market,” he said. “It’s now starting to mature quite a bit when it comes to digitalization.”

GoTo has achieved 65 percent revenue growth in the Philippines in its information technology and solutions over the past two years. Customer base in

the local market grew by 30 percent and channel operators increased to 40 percent.

“Partners are really key for us, especially within the region because the way we say it is, we’re experts in our products, but then our partners are experts,” Brown said.

He added that as a hub of global organizations doing offshoring services, the Philippines needs

cutting-edge software solutions to enable efficient servicing of overseas clients. Brown said GoTo has the products both for the huge and small organizations to ensure their seamless operations and high-level efficiency.

One thing that makes GoTo a cut above the rest, according to Brown, is it provides one solution for business communications, IT management, and support. In response to the consolidation of digital infrastructure, GoTo Connect is a unified communications solution that combines cloud phone, video conferencing, and messaging in one platform.

For unifying the systems, GoTo Resolve offers an all-in-one IT management and support solution with native remote support and access, remote monitoring and management (RMM), and ticketing built in. To reach out to customers in distant places, Brown said the Rescue can provide support to the business partners regardless of their location.

Meanwhile, GoTo’s Cloud phone is a cloudbased phone system that allows businesses to

Black. The silver variant features a subtle yet striking diamond grip pattern inspired by high-end jewelry. If you’re like me who hate smudges and fingerprints, avoid the Black variant. It’s a pain to photograph and keep clean even when you slap on the plastic case. Of the three, I personally prefer the Emerald Green for its matte finish.

FINAL WORD: Since its return to the Philippine market, HONOR has redefined expectations and set new standards for smartphones, from the nearindestructible screen of HONOR x9a, the budgetfriendly HONOR x7a and Honor x8a, to its flagship HONOR Magic 5 Pro. The HONOR 90 5G is yet another game-changer, introducing eye protection features users never even thought about considering. With a versatile set of cameras that is arguably one of the best in its price point, an excellent display and flagship-level processor, the HONOR 90 5G is already a very easy recommendation for anyone who wants a midrange device with flagship features. But when you add its eye protection features, then it becomes the smartphone to beat under the P25K price point.

make and receive calls from anywhere with an internet connection.

To ensure business communication continuity, GoTo also has a video conferencing solution that allows teams to connect and collaborate from anywhere in the world. For hosting events, GoTo presents the Virtual event as the platform for hosting online events, such as webinars, conferences, and trade shows. Finally, the GoTo Meeting is a conferencing and online meeting software that allows teams to collaborate and engage in virtual meetings.

T he Lucio Tan-controlled Philippine National Bank is one of the major clients of GoTo in the country.

“We’ve helped them sort of modernize the way that they do their IT support and support hybrid working given sort of the changes over the past couple of years,” Brown said.

He added that GoTo will help companies push their digitalization efforts to meet their customers and employees’ expectations.

PHOTO by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels

The World

A10

Saturday, August 26, 2023

US corn harvest is in trouble

SAGGING ears just short of maturity, cobs half bare of kernels as if nibbled, earth so dry that deep cracks criss-cross the fields: The US corn harvest is in trouble.

The signs were already there in South Dakota. Scouts surveying fields there this week found what farmers call tip back, when corn kernels aren’t filled all the way to the top of the cob as a result of dryness and poor pollination. It leaves them looking half eaten.

As participants on the crop tour moved deeper into the growing belt, things got worse. In Ohio, scouts found immature ears of grain, indicating that the crop still has weeks left in the growing season. That leaves plants vulnerable to this week’s heat wave.

Temperatures topping 100F (38C) are descending on the Midwest. Conditions are changing so fast that even some results from the tour—seen as more timely and less conservative than government estimates—are already out of date.

“Things are changing right in front of our eyes,” said Thayne Larson, who has grown alfalfa, hay, and corn in Kansas for 50 years. “It’s so disappointing when you have what you thought could be a healthy crop, and then the conditions just become extremely, extremely challenging.”

Crops go ‘backwards’

With food security already under threat from Europe to Asia, the world has been counting on a big corn harvest to help keep food inflation at bay. A disappointing US harvest could have ripple effects on markets across the globe.

Much will come down to Iowa, the No. 1 US corn grower and where sixthgeneration farmer Ben Riensche is for the first-time ever watching his crop go “backwards” because of the heat.

His corn stalks went from bright and green to slightly gray. Instead of sitting tight against the plant, the corn ears are flopping down, the husk has turned brown and the bottom of the stalk—where the plants connects to the roots that go deep underground— looks like it’s been burned. It means that the plant is dead.

“We’re at the point of no return in Iowa,” Riensche, who farms 15,000 acres in the state, said while he was tending to livestock, making sure they had enough water, food and shade to survive the heat. It was 101F as he spoke late Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve never seen a crop go backwards like this—literally get killed by the hot, dry weather.”

Tour results

EARLY results from the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour are raising concerns that the crop will fall short of the US

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) production outlook. Data collected in the first three days of the tour—which don’t fully capture real-time heat damages—show yields are trailing USDA estimates in Ohio, Nebraska, Indiana and Illinois. Only South Dakota looked better-than-forecast.

On Thursday evening, the final tour results will be released.

The heat is hurting soybeans even more as the crop is earlier in its growing season than corn. Pods were falling off plants as the scouts counted them, said Brent Judisch, who’s part of this week’s crop tour.

“This heat is doing more stress than we thought, because it is 100F outside, but as you walk into the fields you feel the temperature rising,” Judisch said. “This is my 11th crop tour, and I don’t remember a heat like this. We have never experienced this in Iowa.”

For many regions of the US crop belt, this season has been marked by turbulence. High temperatures are hitting Midwest fields just when rains in July seemed to have undone the damages of a hot, dry June.

‘Absolutely devastated’

THIS season is the “most stressful” Larson of Kansas has ever had when it comes to challenges from Mother Nature. Drought, strong winds, storms

China’s stumbling economy speeds up demand for sovereign bonds

and hail have all hit crops this summer.

But it’s this week’s bout of extreme heat that’s really sealed the fate for his yields. The plants on his fields are shrinking. They going into “protection mode,” he said.

“You look at what’s going on in Kansas right now, we had a beautiful crop that in a week has been absolutely devastated,” said Gregg Doud, chief economist at Aimpoint Research and former chief agriculture negotiator under the Trump administration.

To be sure, the variability of this year’s crop—largely a result of spotty rainfall—suggests that there are bountiful areas that can help to make up for losses in others.

Early measurements in Iowa on Wednesday showed that corn yields can vary from almost 200 bushels an acre at the higher end, to the worst fields in some counties that have yields below 100.

“We were really surprised with the high yield variation that we are seeing,” said Brian Grete, leader of the eastern leg of the crop tour and editor of the Pro Farmer newsletter.

For Riensche in Iowa, the damage from the current high temperatures “is unprecedented,” he said.

“Our crop is literally dying right now,” Riensche said. “Corn was not meant to be grown in the desert.”  Bloomberg News

Study: Journalism has seen substantial rise in philanthropic spending in past five years

NEW YORK—There has been a “substantial” increase in philanthropic spending for journalism over the past five years, particularly outlets that serve poor and minority communities, a report issued on Thursday said— but journalists need to tighten ethical rules that govern the new spending, it recommended.

The struggling news industry is increasingly relying on donations and subscriptions, although it hasn’t come close to making up for the collapse in advertising that has led to the dramatic drop in outlets that cover local news.

More than half of funders surveyed by NORC at the University of Chicago said they have increased their journalism grants. Most nonprofit and for-profit news organizations report more funding.

“We see many more people—and that includes people who work in philanthropy— being interested in a stronger civic infrastructure by funding local news,” said Sarah Alvarez, founder of Outlier Media, a Detroit-based news source that started in 2016 and now has 16 employees.

Partly because it’s a relatively new area of giving, it’s hard to get a reliable count of how much philanthropy funds journalism. A report by Boston Consulting Group estimated $150 million per year is given to nonprofit news outlets. The same report said that industry needs up to $1.75 billion.

A major drive with a goal of raising $1 billion for local news is expected to be announced this fall, the NORC report said.

“It’s significantly more important than it was eight years ago,” said Tom Rosenstiel, a

University of Maryland professor who worked on the report, updating a similar one from 2015.

“There are more nonprofit news organizations, and a lot of for-profit news organizations now get charitable donations, including The New York Times.”

Alvarez, a former public radio reporter in Michigan, built an organization intent on delivering information to poor communities— through text messages at first—on topics like housing, utilities and transportation.

Outlier Media has worked with other local news organizations in the Detroit area to develop a network of community reporters to keep an eye on local government meetings, she said.

She found a sharp increase in philanthropic interest in Outlier Media after the pandemic because it showed people who weren’t used to living every day with a lack of vital information what that was like.

Nearly six in 10 funders that responded to NORC’s survey said they have made grants to outlets primarily focused on communities of color.

Rosenstiel said that was partly spurred by the racial reckoning caused by George Floyd’s killing, along with a recognition that news organizations have long been better covering wealthier areas because that was what most interested their advertisers.

While the situation has improved since the 2015 study, news organizations have been slow in developing public guidelines on what type of money they will accept, and how that is disclosed to readers, he said. For instance, 72 percent of for-profit outlets say they don’t have

written policies, the survey said.

In many cases, “they hadn’t really thought about it,” Rosenstiel said. “They were just trying to get money.”

But the policies are vital if the outlets want consumers to understand that they are not accepting money from donors who are interested in specific stories being written to advance an agenda, he said.

The survey said 92 percent of nonprofit news outlets and 83 percent or for-profit organizations said funders never saw editorial content that they helped underwrite prior to publication.

While several donors are interested in journalism that delves into areas that fit their particular interests—like the environment or education, two areas among several in which The Associated Press receives grant funding—an increasing number are seeing the importance of funding news reporting in general, Rosenstiel said.

“The data would suggest that philanthropies are getting a little more sophisticated in understanding that if you’re going to fund journalism, it has to be independent journalism,” Rosenstiel said. “If you’re going to give a lot of money to a news organization and nobody believes what the news organization reports, what’s the point?”

A total of 129 organizations that fund journalism responded to this year’s survey, compared to 76 in 2015, NORC said. The University of Chicago worked with the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and Media Impact Funders for the study. AP

CHINA’S stuttering economy is proving a boon for the nation’s government bonds, with one measure of demand from institutional investors climbing to the highest level in almost a decade.

Among other positives for local debt: sales of wealth management products are bouncing back from a slump at the end of last year, and household deposits are rising at a record pace, meaning banks are likely to plow more funds than ever into fixed-income assets.

“As expectations for the Chinese economy in the next five-to-10 years have been hit, it is difficult for residents, companies and financial institutions to increase their risk appetite,” said Li Yong, chief fixed-income analyst at Soochow Securities Co. in Beijing. Sentiment in the market is even worse than during the epidemic, and cautious investors tend to put more money into bonds, he said.

China’s government bonds have largely shrugged off the recent rout in global fixedincome assets, posting a loss of just 0.7 percent over the past month, even as a gauge of global sovereign debt has tumbled 2.5 percent, according to Bloomberg indexes.

One of the main supports looks to have been rising demand from insurance firms. Insurers boosted the proportion of their total assets held in Chinese bonds to 43 percent in June, the highest level since February 2014, and up from 39.7 percent a year earlier, according to the latest available data from the National Administration of Financial Regulation.

China’s bonds are also in demand from firms offering wealth management products after

investors plowed 1.5 trillion yuan ($206 billion) into their funds in July, according to financialdata platform PYSTANDARD. About 90 percent of the holdings of the funds are typically placed in fixed-income products, the platform said. Banks also have a growing pile of funds they need to deploy, some of which will find their way into government bonds. Household deposits jumped by $11.1 trillion yuan in the first seven months of the year, up 11 percent from the same period in 2022, according to central-bank data. At the same time, new yuan loans in July fell to the lowest level in 14 years.

The authorities are also ramping up efforts to bolster the nation’s financial markets, urging pension funds and some large-scale banks and insurers to boost stock investments.

All of the above factors have helped push the yield on China’s benchmark 10-year bonds to as low as 2.54 percent this week, a level not seen since the early days of the pandemic in April 2020. Some analysts say they are likely to drop even further.

China’s 10-year yields are likely to eventually fall toward 2.30 percent, according to Citigroup Inc.

“If funding stays ample and credit risks do not materialize into a redemption-selloff spiral, then 10-year Chinese government bond yields may gradually drift lower,” strategists Philip Yin and Gaurav Garg wrote in a research note this week. Any further negative surprises in data, or disappointments around non-monetary policies may hasten the move lower, they said. Bloomberg News

HK losing fight to repair image as shopping haven

HONG KONG has struggled to regain its appeal as a global retail paradise since the city reopened this year, underscoring the damage caused by years of isolation to its $360 billion economy. Tourists aren’t coming in the same numbers as they did before protests in 2019 and pandemic restrictions in the following years made Hong Kong a no-go zone. Visitor arrivals in June were 42 percent below the same month in 2018. The result is weak consumer spending. The value of retail sales that month were the lowest for any June since 2011, after stripping out 2019-2022 figures.

The picture is a markedly different one from last decade, when ever-rising numbers of mainland tourists crowded the city’s streets and clamored for luxury goods. In 2018, visitor arrivals totaled 65 million, up 11 percent from the previous year, putting Hong Kong among the most popular tourist destinations globally. That year the city held the crown for having the world’s most expensive retail district as international brands competed to get a slice of that spending, a title it’s since lost.

Hong Kong’s fading allure as a shopping hub is one of a number of challenges the former British colony faces as it seeks to resuscitate the economy and global image. Its historically vibrant finance sector is shedding jobs amid a dearth of deals, while office rental prices have plunged after some businesses shifted to Singapore. US sanctions means leader John Lee is unable to travel to many countries in the West, hobbling his ability to bolster ties in the wake of the controversial national security law.

Even if mainland tourist numbers pick up more substantially, Chinese visitors are unlikely to spend in the same way as before. Tumbling home prices and rising youth unemployment have shattered consumer

confidence, while the economic outlook appears bleak.

A rapidly depreciating yuan is also making Hong Kong more expensive. The local currency, which is pegged to the greenback, is trading near its strongest level versus the yuan since 2008.

Many mainland tourists now prefer local cafes and restaurants as opposed to shelling out for fine dining and luxury goods, according to Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades.

“On average, they spent around HK$500 ($64) a day on food before Covid,” Wong said.

“Now they spend slightly more than half that amount.”

As an illustration of how Hong Kong’s fortunes have dimmed, local media reported that a shop space in the tourism district of Tsim Sha Tsui was recently leased for 70 percent less than Burberry Group Plc paid for it in 2014. The newest tenant is a Chinese jewelry brand.

“People are looking for experience beyond shopping only, which is probably the old model that Hong Kong had,” said Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis.

Weak spending by visitors is likely to weigh on the local economy, which is showing signs of strain after rebounding in the first quarter of the year. The government this month lowered the top end of its growth target for 2023, saying tourism and consumer spending would be major drivers of expansion for the rest of the year.

“Unless tourists come back to pre-2019 levels, Hong Kong’s growth will slow down in the second half,” said Alicia GarciaHerrero, a senior research fellow at Bruegel.

The government launched a series of campaigns this year to attract visitors and repair the city’s image, including a “Hello Hong Kong” tourism campaign, airline ticket giveaways and bringing film stars and influencers to Hong Kong. Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in a

recent blog post the city needs to improve its competitiveness and ability to attract tourists, adding that the city will launch more events, such as night bazaars and exhibitions.

Aviation constraints may also be limiting travel. Hong Kong’s airport, previously the world’s third busiest in terms of international passenger volume, is operating at 60 percent of capacity compared with preCovid levels, largely due to a shortage of workers. Hotels are also yet to return to levels of service seen before the pandemic.

“Transportation and logistics capacity is greatly affecting how many tourists can come and stay overnight in Hong Kong,” said Caspar Tsui, executive dir ector of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners. As tourism numbers remain low, Hong Kongers aren’t taking up the slack. Instead they’re choosing to travel into the mainland where goods and services are cheaper, helped by the slumping yuan. In June there were some 5 million trips by locals to mainland China, about 80 percent of the comparable period in 2018, according to data by the Census and Statistics Department.

“It is not worth shopping in Hong Kong,” said Crystal Chan, a 22-year-old university student who’s visited neighboring Shenzhen five times in the past three months.

Even the city’s world famous nightlife has been affected. Bars in the city’s commercial districts are taking in 70 percent of the monthly revenue they used to make before the pandemic, according to Chin Chun-wing, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar and Club Association.

Cliff Wong, an employee at a local university, said he used to go to bars with friends as many as four times a week. After many of his friends left the city due to pandemic controls and political tensions, Wong now meets up less than once a week on average. Bloomberg News

The World

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukraine on Thursday marked its second Independence Day since Russia’s full-scale invasion, with officials vowing to keep up their fight to drive out the Kremlin’s forces and local people remembering their fallen loved ones. The national holiday coincided with the war’s 18-month milestone, giving a somber mood to the commemorations.

“We remember everyone who gave their lives for freedom and independence, for the free future of Ukraine,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post.

He said that an independent Ukraine is “what we are fighting for.”

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, families visited a cemetery where fallen Ukrainian soldiers are buried.

Kateryna Krotchenko, the mother of Serhii Krotchenko who was killed near Bakhmut, cleaned his grave.

“He was an ordinary boy who loved life and dreamed of something,” she told The Associated Press. “Therefore, he did not accept the fact that war had come to our land and decided to (sign up) voluntarily,” she said. “We agreed with his decision. We didn’t think it would be like this.”

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Ukraine was fighting for “the values we all stand for:” sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

That battle has earned the support of foreign allies, especially Nato alliance member countries that have provided Kyiv with sophisticated new weaponry. The new weapons have allowed Ukraine to launch a grinding counteroffensive.

Ukraine’s defense ministry marked the day with a series of social media videos that mixed gratitude with wry humor to thank those allies individually for their support.

The United States’ video was set to Frank Sinatra’s “Our Love is Here to Stay” and ended with a cheeky “thanks for the F-16s” and the words “too soon?” The US has agreed its allies can send Ukraine the

NEW DELHI—A lunar rover slid down a ramp from the lander of India’s spacecraft within hours of its historic touch-down near the moon’s south pole, Indian space officials said Thursday, as the country celebrated its new scientific accomplishment.

“India took a walk on the moon,” the state-run Indian Space Research Organization said, adding that the Chandrayan-3 Rover would conduct experiments over 14 days, including an analysis of the mineral composition of the lunar surface.

Residents of the world’s most populous country had crowded around televisions in offices, shops, and restaurants on Wednesday and erupted into clapping, dancing, and exchanging of sweets when they saw the lander’s smooth touchdown. It landed on uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water.“India Goes Where No Nation’s Gone Before,’’ read Thursday’s headline in The Times of India daily, while the Indian Express newspaper exclaimed, “The moon is Indian.”

Ajay Bhargava, a New Delhi-based architect, said it was a great experience watching broadcasts of the landing, and that he felt it was the culmination of hard work by India’s scientists over the years.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi or any other politician should not take credit for this achievement,” Bhargava said in a telephone interview.

Indian Space Research Organization Chairman S. Somnath said the lander had touched down close to the center of the 4.5-kilometer-wide (2.8-mile-wide) area that had been targeted for the landing.

“It landed within 300 meters (985 feet) of that point,” the Press Trust of India cited him as saying. The rover was on the move, and working ``very well,” Somnath said.

fighter jets, but the lengthy process has been a source of frustration to Kyiv.

Britain was thanked to the tune of The Clash’s punk classic “London Calling,” while Canada received gratitude for sniper rifles, howitzers, armored vehicles—and long underwear. France was sent a message of love to the strains of Serge Gainsbourg’s “Je t’aime...moi non plus.”

The more than 20 clips were tagged UkraineSaysThankYou—perhaps a riposte to British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace’s suggestion last month that Kyiv should express more gratitude and not treat its allies like Amazon’s delivery service.

Britain’s deputy UN ambassador, James Kariuki, recalled that 92 percent of Ukrainians voted in a 1991 national referendum to declare independence from the former Soviet Union, and its existence was recognized by the United Nations, including the USSR’s successor, Russia.

“If Russia wins this war, it will give the green light to a new era of international aggression, where big countries can rewrite borders by force,” Kariuki told the UN Security Council on Thursday.

In an expected reaction, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council his country has no reason to congratulate Ukraine, saying “That would be insincere.”

He said Ukraine had willingly compromised its interests to be a “blind weapon wielded by the West” to further the West’s geopolitical agenda. “Let this serve as a lesson to others, and let the Ukrainian tragedy never again repeat itself,” he said.

The holiday came against a backdrop of continued fighting.

Ukrainian intelligence units together with the Ukrainian Navy landed on the western side of Russia-occupied Crimea to strike at Russian military assets there, according to Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrii Yusov.

In Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, meanwhile, a Russian strike severely injured a 7-year-old girl whose home was hit, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.

US intel indicates intentional blast brought down Wagner chief’s plane

One of the US and Western officials who described the initial assessment said it determined that Yevgeny Prigozhin was “very likely” targeted and that the explosion falls in line with Putin’s “long history of trying to silence his critics.”

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, did not offer any details about what caused the explosion, which was widely believed to be vengeance for the mutiny in June that posed the biggest challenge to the Russian leader’s 23-year rule. Several of Prigozhin’s lieutenants were also presumed dead.

Pentagon spokesman Gen. Pat Ryder said press reports that a surfaceto-air missile took down the plane were inaccurate. He declined to say whether the US suspected a bomb or believed the crash was an assassination.

Details of the intelligence assessment surfaced as Putin expressed his condolences to the families of those who were reported to be aboard the jet and referred to “serious mistakes” by Prigozhin.

US airstrikes in Syria and at least one possible bodyguard.

It was not clear why several highranking members of Wagner, including top leaders who are normally exceedingly careful about their security, were on the same flight. The purpose of their joint trip to St. Petersburg was unknown.

At Wagner’s headquarters in St. Petersburg, lights were turned on in the shape of a large cross, and Prigozhin supporters built a makeshift memorial, piling red and white flowers outside the building Thursday, along with company flags and candles.

In this first comments on the crash, Putin said the passengers had “made a significant contribution” to the fighting in Ukraine. “We remember this, we know, and we will not forget,” he said in a televised interview with the Russian-installed leader of Ukraine’s partially occupied Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin.

of the Russian parliament, said on his Telegram channel that Prigozhin had “messed with too many people in Russia, Ukraine and the West.”

“It now seems that at some point, his number of enemies reached a critical point,” Mironov wrote.

Russian authorities have said the cause of the crash is under investigation.

Anastasia Bukharova, 27, said she was walking with her children Wednesday when she saw the jet, “and then—boom!—it exploded in the sky.” She said she was scared it would hit houses in her village of Kuzhenkino and ran with the children. But the plane ended up crashing into a field.

“Something sort of was torn from it in the air,” she added.

fighters for the Kremlin. For a long time, Putin appeared content to allow such infighting—and Prigozhin seemed to have unusual latitude to speak his mind.

But Prigozhin’s brief revolt raised the ante. His mercenaries swept through the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and captured the military headquarters there without firing a shot. They then drove to within about 200 kilometers (125 miles) of Moscow and downed several military aircraft, killing more than a dozen Russian pilots.

Somnath said there are two scientific instruments in the rover and three instruments on board the lander, and all of them have been switched on sequentially.

“They will study basically the mineral composition of the moon, as well as the atmosphere of the moon and the seismic activities there,” he added.

After a failed attempt to land on the moon in 2019, India on Wednesday joined the United States, the Soviet Union and China as only the fourth country to achieve this milestone.

The successful mission showcases India’s rising standing as a technology and space powerhouse and dovetails with the image that Modi is trying to project: an ascendant country asserting its place among the global elite.

The mission began more than a month ago at an estimated cost of $75 million. Somnath said that India would next attempt a manned lunar mission.

Many countries and private companies are interested in the South Pole region because its permanently shadowed craters may hold frozen water that could help future astronaut missions, as a potential source of drinking water or to make rocket fuel.

India’s success comes just days after Russia’s Luna-25, which was aiming for the same lunar region, spun into an uncontrolled orbit and crashed. It would have been the first successful Russian lunar landing after a gap of 47 years.

Russia’s head of the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos attributed the failure to the lack of expertise due to the long break in lunar research that followed the last Soviet mission to the moon in 1976.

Active since the 1960s, India has launched satellites for itself and other countries, and successfully put one in orbit around Mars in 2014. India is planning its first mission to the International Space Station next year, in collaboration with the United States. AP

The jet carrying the founder of the Wagner military company and six other passengers crashed Wednesday soon after taking off from Moscow with a crew of three, according to Russia’s civil aviation authority. Rescuers found 10 bodies, and Russian media cited anonymous sources in Wagner who said Prigozhin was dead. But there has been no official confirmation.

President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters Wednesday, said he believed Putin was behind the crash, though he acknowledged that he did not have information verifying his belief.

“I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” Biden said. “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind.”

The passenger manifest also included Prigozhin’s second-in-command, who baptized the group with his nom de guerre, as well as Wagner’s logistics chief, a fighter wounded by

Putin recalled that he had known Prigozhin since the early 1990s and described him as “a man of difficult fate” who had “made serious mistakes in life, and he achieved the results he needed—both for himself and, when I asked him about it, for the common cause, as in these last months. He was a talented man, a talented businessman.”

Russian state media have not covered the crash extensively, instead focusing on Putin’s remarks to the BRICS summit in Johannesburg via video link and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Several Russian social media channels reported that the bodies were burned or disfigured beyond recognition and would need to be identified by DNA. The reports were picked up by independent Russian media, but The Associated Press was not able to independently confirm them.

Prigozhin supporters claimed on pro-Wagner messaging app channels that the plane was deliberately downed.

Sergei Mironov, the leader of the pro-Kremlin Fair Russia party and former chairman of the upper house

Numerous opponents and critics of Putin have been killed or gravely sickened in apparent assassination attempts, and US and other Western officials long expected the Russian leader to go after Prigozhin, despite promising to drop charges in a deal that ended the June 23-24 mutiny.

“It is no coincidence that the whole world immediately looks at the Kremlin when a disgraced ex-confidant of Putin suddenly falls from the sky, two months after he attempted an uprising,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, while acknowledging that the facts were still unclear.

“We know this pattern…in Putin’s Russia—deaths and dubious suicides, falls from windows that all ultimately remain unexplained,” she added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also pointed the finger: “We have nothing to do with this. Everyone understands who does.”

Soon after the plane went down, people on social media and news outlets began to report that it was a Wagner plane. Minutes after Russian state news agencies confirmed the crash, they cited the civil aviation authority as saying Prigozhin’s name was on the manifest.

Prigozhin was long outspoken and critical of how Russian generals were waging the war in Ukraine, where his mercenaries were some of the fiercest

Putin first denounced the rebellion as “treason” and a “stab in the back.” He vowed to punish its perpetrators, and the world waited for his next move, particularly since Prigozhin had publicly questioned the Russian leader’s justifications for the war in Ukraine.

Instead Putin made a deal that saw an end to the mutiny in exchange for an amnesty for Prigozhin and his mercenaries and permission for them to move to Belarus.

Now many are suggesting the punishment has finally come.

The Institute for the Study of War argued that Russian authorities likely moved against Prigozhin and his top associates as “the final step to eliminate Wagner as an independent organization.”

Abbas Gallyamov, a former speechwriter for Putin turned political consultant, said by carrying out the mutiny and remaining free, Prigozhin “shoved Putin’s face into the dirt front of the whole world.”

Failing to punish Prigozhin would have offered an “open invitation for all potential rebels and troublemakers,” so Putin had to act, Gallyamov said.

Videos shared by the pro-Wagner Telegram channel Grey Zone showed a plane dropping like a stone from a large cloud of smoke, twisting wildly as it fell, one of its wings apparently missing. A free fall like that typically occurs when an aircraft sustains severe damage. A frame-by-frame AP analysis of two videos was consistent with some sort of midflight explosion. AP

Firefighters in Greece struggle to control wildfires, including the EU’s largest blaze

ATHENS, Greece—Firefighters struggled Thursday against strong winds and hot, dry conditions to tame multiple wildfires ravaging Greece, including one in the country’s northeast that officials say is the largest recorded in the European Union (EU).

The wildfires have left 20 people dead over the last week. Eighteen of those, including two boys aged between 10 and 15, are believed to be migrants who crossed the nearby border with Turkey. Their bodies were found near a shack in a burnt forest area near Alexandroupolis in northeastern Greece. Sixty firefighters have been injured, fire department spokesman Ioannis Artopios said.

The wildfire in the Alexandroupolis region, burning for a sixth day, combined with smaller fires to create a massive blaze that consumed homes and vast tracts of forest and triggered multiple evacuations of villages and of the city’s hospital.

With more than 730 square kilometers (282 square miles) burned, the Alexandroupolis

blaze was the EU’s largest on record, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“We must continue strengthening national & collective prevention and preparedness efforts in view of more brutal fire seasons,” he tweeted.

Elsewhere in Europe, fires in Spain’s Canary Islands and northwestern Turkey were being brought under control, officials said.

Firefighters in Greece tackled 104 fires across the country in the 24 hours between Wednesday and Thursday evening, 69 of which were new wildfires, the fire department said.

One of the major blazes was on the outskirts of the Greek capital, where flames scorched homes on Wednesday and burned into the national park on Mount Parnitha, one of the last green areas near Athens. By Thursday night, the situation appeared somewhat improved, although firefighters were still dealing with flare-ups, the fire department said.

Greece’s Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said arson was to blame

for some of the blazes near Athens.

“Some...arsonists are setting fires, endangering forests, property and above all

human lives,” Kikilias said in a televised statement. “What is happening is not just unacceptable but despicable and criminal.” AP

WASHINGTON—A preliminary US intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the plane crash presumed to have killed a mercenary leader who was eulogized Thursday by Vladimir Putin, even as suspicions grew that the Russian president was the architect of the assassination.

A PORTRAIT of the owner of private military company Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin lays at an informal memorial next to the former PMC Wagner Centre in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, August 24, 2023. Russia’s civil aviation agency says mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was aboard a plane that crashed north of Moscow. AP

Ukraine marks Independence Day, vows to keep on fighting, remembers the fallen

India’s lunar rover goes down a ramp to the moon’s surface and takes a walk

A12 | SAturdAy, AuguSt 26, 2023

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

Editor: Jun Lomibao

Gilas ready for Angola, African-style hoops–Edu

By Josef Ramos

ITALY routed Angola, 81-67, on Friday afternoon to kick off hostilities in the FIBA World Cup at the Philippine Arena.

The Italians made a strong impression and the Angolans reared their weakness.

For the Gilas Pilipinas nationals, the Angolans come second—first was the Dominican Republic late Friday— and the Italians third in their minds as they go for two wins in Group A to go deeper in the tournament.

Cypriot-born AJ Edu, the 6-foot-10 Gilas newbie, said Angola could be a headache but they have, more or less, a plan against the qualifier from Africa.

“Angola is kind of similar with the way we played Ivory Coast and Senegal,” Edu told BusinessMirror watching the Angola-Italy game. “I think it really helped us prepare for the African style of basketball so it’s going to be really athletic and strong.

They have an NBA [National Basketball Association] player, too,” he said. The Black Antelopes are led by the 6-foot-9 Bruno Fernando of the Atlanta Hawks. He’s one of the 55 NBA players seeing action either as naturalized heritage players for their respective teams in the 32-team World Cup that’s also being played simultaneously in Okinawa and Jakarta.

The Filipinos take a rest on Saturday before battling the Angolans on Sunday at 8 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

No easy game on our group with the way they [Angolans] played,” Edu said.

“But I know we’ll come out prepared.”

Meralco’s Chris Newsome, the last player to be cut from Gilas’s 16-man pool, expects Angola to crash the board. “ They have definitely the length but as far as skills, they’re not the best,” Newsome said. “But anything can happen in the World Cup.”

A ngola edged the Yeng Guiao-

coached Gilas, 84-81, in the 2019 World Cup in Foshan, China.

The Italians bucked a sluggish start in routing the Angolans with coach Gianmarco Pozzecco yelling at his players in the pivotal fourth quarter and later apologizing for his action.

“I have to apologize to my players. I was completely stressed. I was negative and I apologized with them,” Pozzecco told the post-game press conference.

“But they are very amazing and they

Gibbons, MP Promotions supportive on Marcial’s Olympic gold medal bid

Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

So supportive was MP Promotions that Gibbons said they are waiving the training fees due from Marcial for his postponed fifth professional fight. The Tokyo Olympics middleweight bronze medalist will fight instead in October against a still to be determined opponent.

Scorer Simone Fontecchio and guard Stefano Tonut responded huge and led the Italians with 19 and 18 points, respectively, with Giampalo Ricci adding 12 points.

I had to pressure them, I put fuel on fire,” the Italian coach said. “In a world championship, we have to look forward. Tonight was a tough night for them.”

In other opening day games Friday, Montenegro defeated Mexico, 91-71, in Group D action at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City; Australia clobbered Finland, 98-72, in Group E in Okinawa; and Latvia crushed Lebanon, 109-70, in Group H in Jakarta.

PERFECT HOMECOMING FOR COACH SPOELSTRA

By Tim Reynolds

The Associated Press

RIK SPOELSTRA had a plan. He was going to finish college and head to the Philippines to play professional basketball in his mother’s homeland. He’d been watching games from that part of the world on VHS tapes for years and wanted to experience those atmospheres for himself.

The plan changed. The paperwork he needed to play in the Philippines got delayed, so he played in Germany instead. And after a little time there, he got a chance to interview for a video-room job with the Miami Heat. The rest is history. He never got to Manila as a player.

red and white of the Philippines flag will sway. And, after thousands of games he’s been part of in his life as a coach and player, this one will have a certain significance.

E“ I have a great deal of pride in my heritage and I’m close with my family over here,” said Spoelstra, the Heat coach who took his team to the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals this past season. “When I first started coming over, I just wanted to give back and do as much as I could, in terms of clinics and continue to grow the game and just be involved in the movement. That’s what I call it. Basketball really is like a religion in the Philippines.”

I f it is a religion, then he may as well be considered one of its saints. He is an icon in the Philippines because of his heritage. Walk off the elevator at the hotel, someone wants a photo. Walk down the street, someone wants a photo. Go into a restaurant, someone wants a photo.

Having Team USA play anywhere is a big deal, but in Manila, the biggest star on the American roster sure seems to be a 52-year-old assistant coach.

A d ay after arriving in Manila, Spoelstra led a clinic for about 40 elite high school and college players, both men’s and women’s. The clinic had some local staff helping out. One of the coaches there on Wednesday actually was one of the kids getting taught by Spoelstra at another clinic a decade or so ago.

It’s proof that his mission—to grow the game there—is working.

“ I never played in the PBA [Philippine Basketball Association] like I wanted, but I ended up getting to share the game in a different way,” Spoelstra said. “And that’s a beautiful thing as well. It didn’t need to be me playing. It worked with me going back and giving back and still getting to do this.”

Spoelstra has many stories from past trips that he’s made to the Philippines as the Heat coach.

The Larry O’Brien Trophy—he’s won two as a head coach—has made the trip with him in the past. Spoelstra has led dozens of clinics, many of them in less-than-ideal circumstances. No air conditioning, sometimes no gym, and they were often completely overbooked.

jump stops, head fakes and pivoting. Nobody missed a shot. Nobody took a shot. And Spoelstra said nobody complained.

I’d tell the NBA on those trips that I wanted to do as many clinics per day as possible,” Spoelstra said. “I’d tell them not to worry about fatigue. Fatigue would not stop us.” A nd when fatigue set in, there would be sustenance, Uncle Tony style. Spoelstra and those he’d bring with him on those trips—mostly Heat staff—would always end up taking a long ride to Tony Celino’s house at some point for a party. I n Spoelstra’s mind, Uncle Tony makes the best lumpia (a type of spring roll) in the world. And if you were going to hang out at Uncle Tony’s, you were required to do a shot of his other specialty, coconut moonshine. It’s even made it over to the US It’s legendary within Spoelstra’s innermost circles.

W hen Uncle Tony gets to Manila, it’s a safe bet some of his concoction will be along for the ride.

EUMIR FELIX MARCIAL is get-

ting all the motivation he needs to get himself that second chance at an Olympic boxing gold medal next year in Paris.

H is promotions, MP Promotions of boxing icon and former Senator Manny Pacquiao, is tops on the list.

We want to give him that last opportunity to represent the Philippines and his quest for the Olympic gold since he started his amateur boxing,” MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons told BusinessMirror Friday. “MP Promotions, Senator Manny [Pacquiao] and myself are always for pride and country, and for the development of the fighters.”

M arcial’s fight this month was postponed for September in the absence of a worthy opponent.

But MP Promotions gave Marcial the opportunity to fight in next month’s Hangzhou Asian Games—a Paris Games qualifier—upon the initiative of Philippine Olympic

Gibbons said the 27-year-old Marcial’s in harness to move closer to realizing his Olympic dream.

“ It’s real simple, it doesn’t conflict with his professional goals this time and I do not want any regrets in Eumir’s life…that what could have and what should have been done… so we don’t want to leave no stone unturned,” Gibbons said.

With one more attempt to get there, it doesn’t affect anything in his life where he’s at right now, except if we don’t do it,” he added.

M arcial, unbeaten in four professional fights, clinched bronze as a middleweight (75 kgs) in Tokyo but the division was scrapped for Paris. Thus, the Zamboanga City pride had to move up in weight at light heavyweight (81 kgs) in Paris.

He must also reach the final in Hangzhou because only the boxing gold and silver medalists will secure tickets to Paris.

The Asian Games are set September 23 to October 8.

Josef Ramos

But on Saturday, 30 years or so behind his original schedule, Spoelstra has a game awaiting in the Philippines. He’s an assistant coach for USA Basketball, which plays its World Cup opener in Manila against New Zealand on Saturday night. Spoelstra will wear the red, white and blue of the US—in an arena where the blue,

JENNUEL BOOH DE LEON and Arabella Nadeen Taguinota ruled their respective events on Friday as the Philippines stayed in the thick of the fight on the second day of the 45th Southeast Asia Age Group Swimming Championships in Jakarta.

De Leon, a 16-year-old pride of Aklan, clocked 25.40 seconds in winning the 50 meters butterfly gold medal in the boys’ 16-18 class, shoving Malaysia’s Bernie Elle Yang Lee (25.49) to the silver and Thailand’s Thanaseat Thanonthisitsakul (25.72) to the bronze medal.

Taguinota, 14, and competing out of Pasig City, clocked 1:13.40 to win the girls 14-15 class 100m breaststroke event, with Vietnam’s Thuy Hien Nguyen (1:14.07) and Thailand’s Natthakita Leekitchakorn

FIFA opens case against Spanish soccer head Rubiales

GENEVA—FIFA opened a disciplinary case Thursday against the Spanish soccer official who kissed a player on the lips while celebrating the team’s victory in the Women’s World Cup final.

T he governing body’s disciplinary committee will weigh if Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales violated its code relating to “the basic rules of decent conduct” and “behaving in a way that brings the sport of football and/or FIFA into disrepute.”

The Spanish soccer federation would not comment on reports in

Spanish media that Rubiales was set to resign on Friday after five years as head of the body.

Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the trophy and medal ceremony on Sunday after Spain’s 1-0 victory over England in Sydney, Australia.

M inutes earlier, Rubiales grabbed his crotch as a victory gesture in the exclusive section of seats with Queen Letizia of Spain and 16-year-old Princess Sofía standing nearby.

Hermoso has said she did not like the kiss and the national players’ union representing her—which the 46-year-old Rubiales once led—called Wednesday for his conduct to not go

unpunished.

FIFA responded Thursday.

“

FIFA reiterates its unwavering commitment to respecting the integrity of all individuals and strongly condemns any behavior to the contrary,” the soccer body said without specifying which acts by Rubiales are under investigation.

Víctor Francos, Spain’s secretary of state for sports, said Wednesday that “the gesture of grabbing his testicles in the tribune is a gesture that no one can defend.”

FIFA gave no timetable for a ruling. The body’s disciplinary judges can impose sanctions on individuals ranging from warnings and fines to

It’s a very cool thing that he’s doing this,” said fellow US assistant coach Tyronn Lue, the coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. “He gets a chance to go home, see his family, see his fans. It reminds me a lot of when we went to China with Yao Ming when we were in Houston. That was crazy. It’s the same type of thing and he deserves it. It’s so cool to see it and be a part of it.”

O ne of his favorites he said was a day where about 1,000 people showed up for a clinic on two courts, with four basketballs and 10 staffers, some of whom might have been worried when the campers started rocking the bus when Spoelstra pulled up.

They figured it out that day, just like they did another time where there were no basketballs. That entire clinic became about footwork,

It’s one thing to tell people about what it’s like to go there, see my family, the clinics, see all that the Philippines has to offer,” Spoelstra said. “They get it when they experience it. And it’s brought me great joy.”

Coming back to the Philippines is not, technically, a homecoming for Spoelstra. He’s not from here. He wasn’t born here. He’s never lived here. None of that seems to matter. For this World Cup in Manila, halfway around the world from where he lives, Spoelstra is right at home.

De Leon, Taguinota scoop gold medals in Asean swimfest

(1:14.50) completing the podium. A fter two days of action, the Philippines collected two gold, three silver and seven bronze medals, one of them in diving. “ We’re thrilled and very excited

and doubly happy because our diver also bagged a bronze medal,” Philippine Aquatics secretary-general Rep. Eric Buhain said. Joseph Reynado, 16 and a protégé of former Southeast Asian Games medalist Nino Carog, finished third in diving’s boys’ platform for 16 to 18 years old.

“Comparatively speaking, this is a good reboot for Philippine swimming,” Buhain, a two-time Olympian and SEA Games swimming icon, said. “Hopefully, this will be a way for other swimmers who were not lucky in the tryouts to train harder and prepare themselves for the coming tournaments.”

A ll but two of the Filipino

suspensions from the sport.

The FIFA disciplinary panel is chaired by Colombian lawyer Jorge Palacio, a former labor court judge and member of the state constitutional court.

The case likely will be judged by three of the 16 panel members. Three of the 16 are women, from England, Mexico and Thailand.

Rubiales is a vice president of UEFA, a role which pays 250,000 euros ($270,000) each year plus expenses, and was the European soccer body’s most senior representative at the biggest game in women’s soccer.

U EFA president Aleksander

swimmers in Jakata went through a series of national tryouts conducted by Philippine Aqautics headed by Miko Vargas.

E stifano Joshua Ramos (2:10.39) finished second in the boys’ 1618 200m backstroke behind gold medalist Tran Tuan Mai of Vietnam (2:06.10) and Pasawat Kantakom of Thailand (2:13.06) to contribute to the Philippine coffers.

Caloocan City’s Aishel Cid Evangelista clinched his second bronze medal in the boys’ under-14 200m Freestyle with a time of 2:05.12. Thailand’s Patchanan Chinmatchaya (1:59.13) and Suphakphong Nuntapiyawan (2:02.11) clinched gold and silver, respectively.

Čeferin has yet to comment on the conduct of Rubiales, who is due to host the European soccer body’s next annual congress in Madrid in February.

The Spanish soccer federation, which Rubiales has led for five years, has an emergency meeting Friday in Madrid where the agenda allows questions on the controversy.

It is unclear if the meeting will shore up support for Rubiales or respond to widespread pressure from Spanish government and soccer officials to remove him. Spanish media reports late Thursday said Rubiales was expected to resign during the meeting. AP

the podium in Sydney, violated its code on “the basic rules of decent conduct” and “behaving in a way that brings the sport of football and/or FIFA into disrepute.” AP

TEAM USA assistant coach Erik Spoelstra speaks to media after conducting a basketball clinic on Wednesday. AP

FIFA’S disciplinary committee will weigh Luis Rubiales, seen here embracing Teresa Abelleira on

MARCIAL GIBBONS

ANGOLA’S center Bruno Fernando drives past Italy’s forward Giampaolo Ricci during their game Friday. AP