BusinessMirror December 07, 2022

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

FILIPINOS will continue to suffer under the weight of high commodity prices, especially if no measures to address supply-side issues are undertaken to cool down inflation, according to local economists.

On Tuesday, the Philippine Sta tistics Authority (PSA) reported that inflation averaged 8 percent in November on the back of ex pensive food and non-alcoholic beverages as well as furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance.

Inflation in November was the highest since November 2008, dur ing the Global Financial Crisis, when commodity prices increased 9.1 percent. The highest infla tion in the latest data series was in January 1999 at 10.7 percent.

“The inflation right now is not at its peak yet. Global conditions remain in flux, but more impor tantly, we don’t have an inflation plan apart from the BSP’s [Bang ko Sentral ng Pilipinas] interest rate policy. Unfortunately, this is not enough since the inflation is caused by supply-side factors,” At eneo de Manila University econo mist Leonardo Lanzona Jr. told the BusinessMirror Ateneo de Manila University

See “Inflation,” A2

PBBM urged to issue EO on farm supply bottlenecks

AS the inflation rate rose to 8 percent from 7.7 percent in October 2022, an econ omist-lawmaker on Tuesday urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to issue an executive order ensuring that all supply bottlenecks for food and other farm producers are eased.

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said there is an abundance of tools available to the President and his economic team to combat inflation.

“Immediate executive action may still take time to actually address fundamental drivers of inflation, but would be proper

signaling for the public and pri vate sectors. Inflation remains the toughest economic storm we must weather, and our ships must sail in the same direction,” he added.

Salceda said the primary driver of high inflation remains food prices, which have increased by 10 percent year-on-year.

“That is in part due to our rigid food trade regime in crops in short supply, such as sugar and onions. We already know what happens when we open up our food mar kets: Because of rice tariffication,

See “EO,” A2

Q3 growth spurs hike in WB’s PHL forecast

THE better-than-expected growth in the third quarter prompted the World Bank to raise its GDP forecast for the Philip pines, but the coming global recession will likely dampen the country’s eco nomic prospects in the new year.

In a virtual briefing on Tuesday, World Bank Senior Economist Ralph van Doorn told reporters the country’s GDP growth is now forecasted to hit 7.2 percent in 2022 and 5.4 percent in 2023.

In September 2022, van Doorn said the World Bank initially estimated GDP growth to average 6.5 percent in 2022

and 5.8 percent in 2023.

“High inflation tends to inflict the greatest harm on low-income house holds where inflation often outpaces wage growth, which these households rely on,” van Doorn, World Bank Se nior Economist, said.

“Besides managing the interest rate, addressing inflation entails em ploying various measures including freer trade, lower tariffs and non-tar iff barriers to help augment domestic supplies as needed and support agri culture production through extension services, seeds, fertilizers,” he added.

The World Bank said the risks next year include reduced consumer demand, high inflation and high interest rates that are expected to temper household spending and investments.

The Washington-based lender said higher interest rates will limit the growth of private lending and invest ments at a time when public spending will likely slow as the country under takes “fiscal consolidation” or imple ments measures to rein in government deficits and reduce debt.

Also, with global growth expect ed to decelerate next year, external

demand from advanced economies, which are key buyers of Philippines merchandise exports, will be subdued, the World Bank said.

Ndiamé Diop, World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philip pines, and Thailand said that given these developments, sustaining the country’s investments in health and education is crucial in order to reduce vulnerabilities from the scarring impact of the pandemic, especially among the poor and most vulnerable.

See “Q3,” A2

ILO EYEING CONVENTION PROTECTING GIG LABOR

By Samuel P. Medenilla   @sam_medenilla

SINGAPORE—The In ternational Labor Or ganization (ILO) is now eyeing the creation of a new convention or recom mendation which can help provide additional protec tion for workers in the “gig” or platform economy.

The labor arm of the Unit ed Nations made the state ment as countries continue to impose varying regulations for workers involved in the production and delivery of

services such as food delivery or booking a ride, which are coordinated through digital platforms.

In a press conference be fore the formal opening of the 17th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM) on Tuesday, ILO Director-Gen eral Gilbert F. Houngbo said the proposed international labor standards (ILS) is al ready being discussed by their governing board.

They are currently consid ering, he said, issuing a new

See “ILO,” A2

ARANGKADA FORUM (From left) Jeffrey Manalo, Deputy Director V, Public-Partnership Project Center; Dr. Sarah Lynne S. Daway-Ducanes, Assistant Secretary, Policy and Planning Group, Neda; Engr. Emil K. Sadain, Senior Undersecretary, DPWH; Chris Matthew Ilagan, Corporate Affairs Director, Cargill Philippines; Assistant Secretary Leonel De Velez, Planning and Project Development, DOTr; Edwin S. Ligot, Assistant Secretary for Digital Transformation, DICT; Michael de Guzman, Managing Director, Infrastructure, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., are seen at the 11th Arangkada Philippines Forum panel discussion at Marriott Hotel in Pasay City on Tuesday, December 7, 2022. Launched in 2010, Arangkada Philippines is the major advocacy platform of the Joint Foreign Chambers to increase investment and employment in the Philippines. NONOY LACZA

BusinessMirror

SEIPI FRETS OVER $80-B GOAL AS FIRMS MOVE TO VIETNAM

By Andrea E. San Juan

THE Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI) have expressed concern about the electronic exports target of $80 billion by 2027 in view of the increasing competitiveness of the country’s neighbors like Vietnam.

“I am concerned that we may be losing our competitiveness. How so? Not to preempt the release of the [Philippine Export Development Plan] PEDP tomorrow at PICC...the Plan calls for $80 billion of electronic exports by 2027 and $90 billion by 2028 but I’m seriously concerned about that,” SEIPI President Danilo C. Lachica said at the 11th Arangkada Philippines Forum: “Reform, Rebuild, Recover.”

couple of years while there had been trickle of investments in new products and technologies which is the lifeblood of our industry, a lot of it has been going to our Asean neighbors, in particular Vietnam.”

Lachica said the r edirection of the investments from the Philippines to its Asean neighbor countries can be traced to the country’s high power, logistics, labor and water costs.

This has been the SEIPI chief’s complaint in the past few months. In fact, he stressed in October that while a devaluating peso is good for exporters, that’s now offset by high power and fuel costs, among others.

Malaysia, and China, due to issues on the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law, particularly the rationalization of incentives.

Lachica also stressed that leveling the playing field in operating cost is important because“from the multinational’s perspective, incentives or not, they’re (investors) gonna go to the country which gives the most competitive operating cost in terms of cost per unit.”

integration to help counter the negative impacts of issues such as red tape, supply chain disruptions, increasing business costs, climate change, and other challenges,” said Ortiz-Luis Jr., in a statement shared by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Wednesday.

The DTI, through the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB), in partnership with the Export Development Council (EDC) and the Philexport, is set to resume the onsite conduct of the National Exporters’ Week (NEW) activities from December 1 to 7, 2022.

Inflation. . .

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Department of Economics Chairperson Alvin P. Ang said the country’s inflation rate will remain above 5 percent the whole year of 2023 and will mainly be driven by supply-side constraints.

Efforts to address supply-side constraints, Lanzona said, should include government investments in developing a productivity program to increase exports and domestic products.

“These can include productive employment programs and skill development. Without these programs, high inflation will be the norm for the whole year,” Lanzona added.

The higher expectations for inflation are also shared by University of the Philippines School of Economics head of research Renato E. Reside Jr. who said inflation will likely continue to be slightly above the BSP’s targets.

E arlier, Lachica underscored that about $3.2 billion of investments that could have gone to the Philippines were instead moved by multinational firms to other countries including Vietnam, Thailand,

In a statement a month ago, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the next Philippine Export Development Plan will be “more aggressive”to combat issues such as rising business costs and supply chain disruptions.

The PEDP for 2023-2028 will be launched during the 2022 National Export Congress (NEC) on December 7. The DTI said the NEC will cover discussions on how the government aims to pave the way for “exporting breakthroughs” in the next six years.

To temper inflation, Reside also recommended that supply side improvements be implemented such as “openness to imports of food and agriculture products. This can have a good short term impact keeping prices stable.”

Heavy lifting

The SEIPI chief noted how investments are being directed to the Philippines’s Asean neighbors such as Vietnam. “In the past

convention or recommendation for the gig economy, especially since the concerns of gig economy workers may not be covered by the laws in their countries, their employers being based abroad.

“ What if you don’t get paid, what are your recourse? Which law and tribunal applies to you?” Houngbo raised as a hypothetical question.

Aside from dispute resolution, other issues faced by gig economy workers include their lack of social welfare of protection and occupational safety and health. They also face challenges of transparency on the algorithm such concerns may be addressed through the creation of a new convention or recommendations, according to Houngbo.

IL O conventions are legally binding international treaties that may be ratified by

member states, while recommendations serve as non-binding guidelines.

“ We had a very good discussion [about gig economy] three weeks ago in our governing body and that is meant to continue in March,” Houngbo said.

D espite the issues of the gig economy, he stressed the importance for the scheme to continue, since flexibility and better worklife balance is afforded somehow to workers engaged in the scheme.

Better protection

KILUSANG Mayo Uno (KMU) chair Elmer Labog, one of the Philippine delegates representing labor at the APRM, welcomed the pronouncement of Houngbo, which he hopes can help “regularize” the status of gig economy workers.

We want them to be recognized as part of the productive forces of the economy and therefore should be considered as contractual workers. They should be regularized,” Labog

told B usiness M irror in an interview.

The next Philippine Export Development Plan is more aggressive, highlighting technology and stronger collaborations towards innovation, skills upgrading, and ILO.

F or his part, Labor Undersecretary Benedicto Ernesto R. Bitonio Jr., one of the government representatives in the APRM, said the proposed new ILS will help standardize platform work worldwide.

H owever, he noted the process of making the ILS will take a long time since it will involve ILO first conducting a survey to draw inputs from its stakeholders, which it must collate to produce the draft convention or recommendation.

Bit onio said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is ready to participate in the consultations to be called by ILO for creating the new ILS.

“ Of course we need not wait for any instruments to take national action on pressing issues in our labor market,” Bitonio said.

C ertain pending legislations in the Philippine Congress are meant to provide protection to gig economy workers.

“The PEDP shall define the country’s medium-term and annual export thrusts, strategies, programs and projects, and shall be jointly implemented by the government, exporters, and other concerned sectors,” the DTI said in the NEC invitation.

EO. . .

rice inflation is the lowest among all major food items in the CPI,” he added.

He added that the role of logistics and transport costs in food prices can be addressed.

“I r ecommend that President Marcos issue an executive order ensuring that all supply bottlenecks for food and other farm producers are eased. Local Government Units may be directed to lift all hindrances and blockages across farm-to-market routes,” he said.

“The Department of Transportation may be directed to ensure the proper flow of traffic feeding into interisland nautical routes. As much as 48 percent of prices of certain food staples are logistics costs. We can make an impact on food prices by reducing transport bottlenecks,” he added.

In August, Salceda said the inflation could peak to 8.5 percent this year and end up with an annual average of 6 percent, saying “we are on track to meet that number.”

“As I also emphasized then, the problem is food, feed, and fuel. That remains the case now. Even as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has already hiked rates to meet the US Fed’s actions, that is no substitute for supply solutions, especially since we are an economy in rapid recovery momentum,” he added.

According to Salceda, the government should reconsider ways to protect farmers in ways other than strict protectionism in the country’s agricultural trade regime.

“The 38-percent year-on-year inflation in sugar can no longer be justified by protecting the local sector, which is heavily unequal on its own,” he said.

Also, the lawmaker said stubborn protectionism of the sugar sector will stunt the growth of the food industry, and force the country to import more sugarheavy finished goods.

That’s worse for the balance of trade. As such, some form of sugar trade liberalization must remain on the policy table,” he said.

Salceda noted corn prices are also skyrocketing, with consequences on meat costs.

“I urge the President and his economic team to consider increasing the Minimum Access Volume for corn immediately. By our calculations, foreign-sourced corn is already more expensive once landed, due to high out-quota tariff rates. We are thus forced to make do with insufficient domestic supply,” he added.

Salceda said the domestic vegetable sector, where prices have soared, continues to be highly susceptible to climate change and pestilence.

The problem appears to me to be the ability of our farmers to address these threats. In good years, our farmers are able to produce big surpluses in vegetables. Technology, climate prediction, integrated pest control, and other capacity development resources must be made available. The role of more robust and active Agricultural Training Institute and DA Regional Field Offices, as well as better Municipal Agriculturist Offices will be crucial,” he said.

In the House, Salceda said he will continue to push for the classification of large-scale food price manipulation as economic sabotage.

The leadership supports that move, and the committee on food and agriculture has already considered my suggestions in its hearings on economic sabotage,” he added. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

MANAGING Director of eManagement for Business and Marketing Services, Jonathan Ravelas, also said the BSP has done the “heavy lifting” during the pandemic and until now when inflation is rising.

The BSP efforts to increase interest rates to temper demand may only offer consumers “temporary reprieve” from high prices as supply-side constraints have not been addressed.

Ravelas told this newspaper that without any measures to address supply side constraints, inflation could average 5.6 percent next year. Inflation may peak at around 8 or 9 percent at the start of next year.

One reason inflation is expected to continue is the sharp increase in core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items in the headline inflation.

The PSA data showed core inflation increased to 6.5 percent in November 2022 from 5.9 percent in October 2022. In November 2021, core inflation was also lower at 2.4 percent.

“Inflation is expected to be high because commodities are elevated and have not been addressed,” Ravelas said in a phone interview. “With core inflation at 6.5 percent, its also possible to see it hit 7 to 7.5 percent.”

The latest data, especially on core inflation, has prompted Unionbank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion to revise their inflation expectations.

Asuncion said they now expect inflation to average 5.8 percent in 2022, with December inflation likely posting an inflation rate of 8.3 percent. For 2023, inflation may average 5.2.

“What’s important to note in November’s CPI (Consumer Price Index) print is the rise of core inflation of 6.5 percent and this is telling us that inflation pass-through is still in play. Annualized rates for areas outside of the NCR, particularly for non-food inflation, still rose despite national and NCR prints declined,” Asuncion said.

In its latest commentary, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has also adjusted its inflation expectations to 5.8 percent in 2022; 4.3 percent in 2023; and 3.1 percent in 2024.

BPI expects inflation to near its peak due to the stabilization of oil prices. Nonetheless, it still expects inflation to be above the BSP’s targets for 2023.

“Given the outlook for inflation, there is a compelling reason for the BSP to continue hiking interest rates. To add to this, the Federal Reserve may continue to hike, although at a slower pace. The policy rate of the BSP may touch the 6 percent level in the first half of the year in this scenario,” BPI said.

If the US Federal Reserve brings down its rates closer to 3 percent, BSP policy rate might peak at 6.5 percent in 2023.

BPI still expects the BSP to follow the US Federal Reserve but maintain a 100 to 200 basis point differential with US interest rates. Should this happen, BPI said the BSP’s rates may go down to around 4 percent toward end-2023.

World Bank Senior Economist Ralph van Doorn also told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday that inflation in the Philippines is expected to continue until 2023. This will leave room for the BSP to continue raising interest rates.

Meanwhile, the BSP said the risks for inflation are tilted to the upside next year but would “be broadly balanced for 2024.”

The upside risks, BSP said, include the impact on international food prices of higher fertilizer prices, trade restrictions and adverse global weather conditions.

Other risks: higher food prices from further domestic weather-related disturbances and supply disruptions in key food commodities such as sugar and meat, as well as pending petitions for transport fare hikes.

Cooling inflation

RESIDE said one thing that could cool down inflation is the expected slowdown in the increase in oil prices as well as the expected recession overseas.

“Oil prices are already going down and the peso also appears to be stabilizing, so perhaps max 6 months. Appreciation of the peso and higher policy rates on our end will only help bring down inflation,” Reside told B usiness M irror

The BSP also expects that “inflation is projected to decelerate in the subsequent months due to easing global oil and non-oil prices, negative base effects.”

It said its recent decisions to temper demand through higher interest rates will also help slow down inflation in the coming months.

“The impact of a weaker-than-expected global economic recovery is the primary downside risk to the outlook,” BSP said in a statement on Tuesday.

For its part, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the Department of Agriculture has expanded the Kadiwa Program, which aims to connect producers to consumers, giving local farmers a higher profit share and consumers, more affordable prices.

The government is also supporting the agriculture sector by implementing programs to lower costs of inputs, provide financial assistance in the form of fuel discounts to farmers and fisherfolks, develop innovations, and strengthen the agricultural value chain.

Meanwhile, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan also highlighted the importance of the government’s digital transformation for a more efficient and faster delivery of services to the people.

“The government is continuously implementing targeted subsidies and discounts to allay the impact of the higher prices of essential goods, especially for the vulnerable sectors and low-income earners of our society,” Balisacan said.

The Department of Budget and Management released P5.2 billion last week to cover the third tranche of the Targeted Cash Transfer (TCT) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Neda said this covers a total of 9.8 million identified beneficiaries who are most affected by the continuous rise in commodity prices.

The TCT Program grants unconditional cash transfers of P500 per month, for six months, to the most affected households to mitigate the effects of the increase in the prices of fuel and other non-fuel commodities on vulnerable populations.

“If unmitigated, these shocks can have persistent impacts on people’s wellbeing and damage their future productivity, earnings, and capacities for innovation. For this reason, sustained investments in agriculture, nutrition and education are imperative despite pressure for fiscal consolidation,” he added.

“Shocks from the Covid-19 pandemic have worsened child malnutrition and stunting and hampered student learning, especially among the poor and most vulnerable families,” Diop said.

Medium-term prospects

THE country’s prospects for the medium term are also not as brisk, as the Philippine economy is not expected to hit a growth of 6 percent or better.

Based on the Philippine Economic Update (PEU), the World Bank also expects the country’s GDP growth to average 5.9 annually between 2024 and 2025.

In order to address the weaknesses in the medium term, the World Bank recommended that efforts be exerted to strengthen food security in the country.

Growth prospects for the agriculture sector remain poor due to a combination of chronic underinvestment and intense vulnerability to weather-related shocks.

Agriculture comprised less than 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), and the sector’s contribution to growth is minimal in the past five years. However, it employs over 22 percent of the labor force, and domestic food production influences trends in inflation.

Increasing agricultural productivity, the PEU highlights, will be crucial to help ensure food security and boost more inclusive growth. To this end, efficient use of public funds for public investments will help address the structural constraints including value chain weaknesses and poor business climate for the agri-food system. Cai U. Ordinario

BusinessMirror The Nation

Senators back uniting Negros, income classification for LGUs

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

SENATE President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri backed proposals to bring together Negros Occi dental and Negros Oriental into one region to be known as the Negros Island Region (NIR), projecting NIR residents would greatly benefit with government services closer to them. A t the Senate hearing of the

Committee on Local Government Monday presided by Sen. Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, Zubiri conveyed he is confident the proposed NIR will be supported by local government units (LGUs) of the Negros island, noting that governors of Negros Occidental and Oriental are both pushing for it.

I hope we can pass this [NIR Act] the soonest possible time on the com

mittee level, so we can tackle this in plenary,” said Zubiri, one of the au thors of the proposed measure.

He recalled that back in 2015, former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, through Executive Order (EO) 183 established the NIR, sepa rating Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental from Western Visayas and Central Visayas, respectively. But former President Rodrigo Duterte

abolished this in 2017. In the same Senate committee hearing that Ejercito presided, the Committee on Local Government heard various local bills. These in clude the following: declaration of founding anniversaries; creation of several new barangays; declaration of local holidays; creation of Negros Island Region; and, the automatic income classification for LGUs.

Ejercito, author of Senate Bill (SB) 1530 (Automatic Income Clas sification Act for Local Government Units), said his bill aims to institu tionalize automatic income reclassi fication every two years based on the updated table of income classifica tions to be released by the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF).

The Finance Secretary is grant ed clear mandate and authority

to set income targets or the peri odic automatic income reclassifi cation,” Ejercito reminded in his proposed measure.

He assured that “this measure seeks to factually classify the finan cial capabilities of LGUs consistent with the prevailing economic con ditions and ultimately address the limitations to the development of the local government units.”

Creative industries devt fund to be created after IRR signed

By Andrea San Juan

wards transforming the creative industries to drive our economic recovery and fuel an inclusive and sustainable growth,” Pascual said last Monday.

T he Trade chief said the law is expected to foster a collaborative environment for local creatives and the government.

Pascual said the creatives indus try contribute almost 8 percent to the economy and employs 5 million workers. The industry accounts for 12 percent of the country’s total ex ports, he added.

the rights and capacities of creative firms, artists, artisans, creators, creative workers, indigenous cul tural communities, creative content providers, and other stakeholders.

sector representatives from various creative domains would also be in cluded in the council.

“ There is hereby established a Special Account in the General Fund with the National Treasury to be called the Creative Industry Development Fund [CIDF], herein referred to as the ‘Fund,’” Rule 24 of the IRR read.

T he purpose of the Fund, the IRR said, is for the following: research and development; trade and investment promotion; human resource develop

ment in the creative industry; and, for the welfare of artists, workers and other stakeholders through business support organizations and creative workers associations.

T he PCIDA , or Republic Act (RA) 11904, would take effect 15 days af ter publication.

The signing of this IRR is an important enabling measure to effectively execute the PCIDA to

The IRR will promote a better work environment and livelihood for creative workers, improve educa tion and access to financial support, develop industry data and statistics for policymakers, and harness other innovation efforts to help workers and firms in the ‘Creative Economy,’” said Pascual.

Potential ‘enormous’

PASCUAL also recognized the “enor mous” potential of the Philippine creative industries to lead in the AsiaPacific region, driving the country’s development and further enriching the country’s local culture.

Trade Undersecretary for Com petitiveness and Innovation Rafa elita M. Aldaba said “creative indus tries present new opportunities and innovation prospects for creative and cultural workers.”

A ldaba said with the fusion of cultural richness, skilled content artists and creators, and new tech nologies, the creatives industry can act as the “prime catalyst” for disruption and innovation in the country.

I n a statement issued last Tues day, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the PCIDA which lapsed into law on July 28, mandates the development of a “vi brant” Philippine creatives industry by protecting and strengthening

Masterplan

THE implementation of the law would be monitored by a Philip pine Creative Industries Develop ment Council (PCIDC). The coun cil will be chaired by the Trade Secretary and composed of the secretaries of four departments (education, science and technol ogy, tourism and the interior and local government) and the head of the National Economic and Development Authority.

A lso included in the committee are the chairmen of the Commis sion on Higher Education and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the director general of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL). Private

Apart from the PCIDC, the law also mandates the development of the Philippine Creative Industries Development plan (PCIDP).

A ccording to the IRR, the plan shall include a 3-year, 6-year and 10-year development timeline for its vision, mission, goals and milestones.

A mong the components of the plan are economic goals and key per formance indicators for the creative industries, contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP), job creation, market creation and expansion and investment targets.

T he IRR said the plan will include areas of possible strategic invest ments in the creative industries, which will provide an “enabling environment” for micro,small, and medium enterprises to compete and scale up their businesses.

Govt to distribute CLOAs in Zamboanga Peninsula

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

ATOTAL of 1,582 farmers from Zamboanga Peninsula are ex pected to receive their certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) com prising a total area of 2,653 hectares of agricultural lands, according to the top official of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

DAR Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III led the initial distribution of the CLOAs last Tuesday. The farmers who would re ceive their CLOAs are from the following provinces: Zamboanga Sibugay, with 819 CLOAs covering 1,373 hectares of land to 764 ARBs; Zamboanga del Sur, with 441 CLOAs covering 628 hectares to 441 ARBs; and, Zamboanga del Norte with 403 CLOAs, covering an area of 652 hectares benefiting 377 ARBs. The distribution of the CLOAs is in line with government’s aim to boost agricul

tural productivity, Estrella was quoted in a statement as saying.

The government will also turn over P8.6 million worth of support services to the farmers composed of farm equipment, machinery and facilities.

The DAR said they would give the following to farmers in Zamboanga del Sur: two units of processing centers; two units of water tank collectors; a vermi culture production center; three units of three-wheel multipurpose motorcycles with canopy; a hauling truck; and, a unit of corn sheller. These carry a tag price of P3.34 million.

In Zamboanga Sibugay, a total of P2.75 million worth of support services will be distributed, the DAR said. These would include the following: two multi-purpose buildings; five power tillers with complete implements and tillers; rice thresher; a mud boat with complete tools; and, a water tank.

Lawmakers urged to go slow in approving Maharlika Fund

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

ASENIOR lawmaker asked his col leagues on Tuesday not to fasttrack the approval of the pro posed P270-billion Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF).

A lbay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman said the proposal must pass the “furnace of ex haustive legislative debates and search ing scrutiny.”

“Fast-tracking for ‘record’ breaking objectives will be counterproductive as errors and pitfalls are bound to infest a statute which is enacted with ordinate alacrity,” Lagman said.

According to him, overwhelming issues beset the proposal to create a billion-peso investment fund. Lagman said these include the following: fiscal propriety; economic timeliness; legal constraints; protection of pensioners’ and depositors’ benefits; excessive emol uments and allowances of officials; pre cipitate investments; tax exemptions; and, magnet for corruption.

“These issues must be totally venti lated not only in the Congress but also in extensive consultations with the affected public and the concerned multi-sectoral groups,” he added.

Nation-building

THE House Committee on Banks and Fi nancial Intermediaries chaired by Manila Rep. Irwin C. Tieng reconvened last Mon day for further consultations regarding House Bill 6398 or the proposed Mahar lika Wealth Fund Act (MWFA).

The measure proposes to initially exact funding a total of P270 billion for future investments from top government finan cial institutions (GFIs), such as the Gov ernment Service Insurance System (GSIS)

and the Social Security System (SSS), and the national government.

The panel and other stakeholders received guarantees from GSIS Presi dent and General Manager Jose Ar nulfo A. Veloso that the MWFA would be implemented in full transparency if enacted into law.

Veloso said that there would be an in dependent auditing firm, a Commission on Audit (COA) review, annual reports, congressional oversight, as well as inter nal and external reviews among others, to ensure that the fund would be properly invested and utilized.

“Ang layunin po natin dito ay magka roon ng key investment industries and makapag-contribute sa nation-building,” Veloso said. [Our goal here is to have key investment industries and contribute to nation-building.]

Not new

HOUSE Senior Deputy Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Mar cos defended the decision of the House of Representatives to pursue the enactment of a Philippine sovereign wealth fund, spe cifically the proposed P275-billion MWF.

Well if you think about it, this isn’t a new idea. [Finance] Secretary [Benjamin E.] Diokno already said they were look ing at it during the time of [President Rodrigo] Duterte. If I’m not mistaken, former Senator [Paolo Benigno] Bam Aquino filed a bill in 2016 trying to do the same thing,” Marcos said.

“So yes, it became apparent that the President was in support of creating a sovereign wealth fund but the idea did not come from him per se. Because this is something that has been in the works or something that’s been pushed by not even this administration but past administra tions,” he added.

APOOLED fund would soon be created after the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act (PCIDA) was signed by Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual.

House leader Co defends restoration of OVP, DepEd confidential funds

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

ALEADER of the House of Representatives on Tuesday defended Congress’ decision to restore confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President, the De partment of Education and the P10 billion of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Con flict (NTF-ELCAC) in the proposed 2023 General Appropriations Act.

House Committee on Appropria tions Chairman Zaldy S. Co said the decision of the lower house to restore DepEd’s confidential and intelligence funds aims to “secure the future of our children.”

“ That’s the decision of the House because it would be more difficult if our children are recruited and led to the wrong path. So we want the DepEd to spearhead, we want them to secure the future of our children,” he added.

Co, who is also the representa tive of Ako Bicol Party-list, said schoolchildren—especially in the provinces—are being targeted for recruitment by rebel groups.

“Our young students should be taught early in life about the perils of joining illegal organizations whose aim is to overthrow the duly-consti tuted government,” he added.

T he House has similar reasons for restoring the budget of the antiinsurgency group NTF-ELCAC.

“�a ny of those in cities and urur ban areas do not appreciate efforts to end the insurgency. But those in the countryside are sick and tired of oppressive revolutionary taxes, de struction of infrastructure, power lines and cell towers. Often, poor farmers and fishefolk are even forced to give the food on their table to the rebels,” Co added.

For these reasons, Co said the work of NTF-ELCAC to help end insurgency and improve barangays in the countryside is much appreci ated. “That’s why we supported the restoration of the agency’s budget. They play an indispensable role in rural communities,” he said.

A s this developed, Co urged the NTF-ELCAC to hasten implemen tation of its projects this year. He noted that only 2 percent had been completed or still ongoing, while 98 percent were either in the procure ment stage or not even there.

“ We agreed to restore the budget, but we instructed the agency to be more efficient. We want them to utilize the funds… We’re thinking of other ways on how to make it more efficient and more effective,” Co said.

He said one suggestion is for NTF-ELCAC to partner with agen cies like the Department of Public Works and Highways which has the expertise in handling procurement and project implementation.

L ast �onday, the House of Repre sentatives led by Speaker Ferdinand �a rtin Romualdez swiftly ratified the bicameral conference committee report on House Bill 4488 or the 2023 General Appropriations Bill. It pro vides for a P5.268-trillion national budget for fiscal year 2023.

Meralco, First Gen to explore options for putting Ilijan gas plant back online

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

SAN �iguel Corp. (S�C), the �a nila Electric Co. (�eralco), and First Gen Corp. are going to discuss how they can put the Ili jan gas plant back on line so the grid would be injected with 1,200 mega watts (� W ) of capacity.

According to �eralco, one way to make this happen is for First Gen to “divert” its gas supply from the �a lampaya gas field to the Ilijan gas plant—which has not been run ning for five months now following the expiration of the build-operatetransfer (BOT) contract with the government last June.

Consequently, the Ilijan plant’s gas supply and purchase agreement (GSPA) with the �a lampaya consor tium had expired. This meant that Ilijan, which accounts for about 10 percent to 12 percent of Luzon’s de pendable capacity, could no longer draw its fuel supply from the �alam paya gas field.

T he offer that is now on the table is for S�C to supply �eralco the full 1,200� W capacity of Ilijan at “a minimal P1 per kilowatt hour [kWh] in capital recovery fee [CRF] or half of its capital cost on the facility.”

“[S�C] relayed that to us last Fri day and I said I can’t commit because

I have to do the rate simulation, the rate impact, and up to now we are still running the numbers and the impact on the prices to the consumers.

And then �eralco will be the one to look for the fuel but since this is an Ilijan plant—the source of fuel is only �a lampaya—and right now �a lampaya gas is fully allocated to First Gen plants. So, we cannot source from elsewhere,” said �eralco First Vice President Jose Ronald Valles.

A side from the P1 per kWh CRF, Valles said there is a variable cost component amounting to P0.30.

“That was included in the offer to us that we received. So that’s about P1.30 in all.”

A n offer, meanwhile, will be dis cussed with First Gen for it to sell its �a lampaya gas supply that currently fuels its 1000� W Sta. Rita, 500� W San Lorenzo, 400� W San Gabriel, and 100� W Avion power plants. If and when First Gen agrees, it will have to source liquid fuel—three times expensive than natural gas to feed these four gas plants.

Valles said First Gen would be consulted on this.

These mechanics first have to be agreed upon by �eralco, S�C, and First Gen. The moment we come to an agreement, we need to get the approval of the DOE [Department of Energy]

Not the right time for sovereign wealth fund–Drilon, Barcelon

By Andrea E. San Juan

FOR � E R Senate President

Franklin � Drilon believes it’s not the right time to create the sovereign wealth fund given the pressing socioeconomic challenges in the Philippines.

T his, the former senator stressed in his speech, among other things, as an awardee of the 2022 Arangkada Philippines Lifetime Achievement Award from the Joint Foreign Cham bers (JFC) on Tuesday in Pasay City.

“I understand the overwhelming constraints imposed upon our gov ernment and our country by the weak revenue generation, the rampant price inflation, the high deficit, the huge public indebtedness. But, is this the time to venture into a high risk and un tested scheme? The sovereign wealth fund for our country,” Drilon said.

He stressed that there are many “potential infirmities” and he’s certain that debates, particularly in the Sen ate, would take place.

These infirmaties will be exposed and hopefully our legislators will lis ten to the more rational voices in our society,” Drilon said.

T he former lawmaker thinks the government should first focus on the health and education needs of the peo ple. He called on Congress to consider the basic needs of Filipinos in making rational decisions related to the con troversial sovereign wealth fund.

“The call for the moment is to be conservative, focus on the basics es

pecially on the basic welfare, health and education needs of the poor. Op timize the use of our natural resources no matter how small and limited, we build our resiliency for the difficult times ahead of us...and it is in that sense that I am hoping that the debate becomes rational,” Drilon stressed.

According to the joint foreign cham bers, Drilon was recognized for his “outstanding track record as a public servant and as a key partner and advo cate for economic liberalization and for the improvement of the business and investment climate in the Philippines.”

�eanwhile, in a separate statement on Tuesday, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Presi dent George T. Barcelon recommend ed that the �a harlika Wealth Fund (� W F) be put in the “backburner.”

“Pooling resources from the rev enues of the national government, the Central Bank’s and governmentowned financing institutions’ may impact on the sustainability of the country’s welfare system and financial standing,” Barcelon said.

T he head of the major business group added that “Our government must make sure that no action will af fect our presently good credit standing which provides us lower foreign loans.”

Likewise, Barcelon questioned the timing of the creation of the sovereign wealth fund, saying “the timing may not be right considering the uncer tainty of the financial market due to the geopolitical situation and recent cryptocurrency fiasco.”

approval and ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] before that can take ef fect. So, that would probably take time. We’re trying to find a way on how to fa cilitate completion of everything—the written agreement—within a week. I hope we can do it.”

He said the overall objective of these talks is for the Ilijan plant to resume operations to augment the thinning power supply and reserves.

“We will keep the 1200� W of Ilijan running because if we don’t, if the fuel of gas of �a lampaya will not be diverted for the use of the Ilijan, then Ilijan will remain [shuttered]. So you lose the 1200 � W.”

Thin reserves

LATELY, the Luzon Grid has been frequently placed on yellow and red alert due to thin reserves brought about by the shutdown of a number of power plants.

In fact, the National grid Corpo ration of the Philippines has once again placed the Luzon grid on yel low alert from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

A yellow alert means insufficient operating power reserve. Four power plants—Calaca 2 (300� W ), G�EC 1 (316� W ), �asinloc 3 (355� W ), GNDP 2 (668 � W )—conked out while 3 power plants—�asinloc 1

(250� W ), � a sinloc 2 (285� W ), Sual 1 (310� W )—reported belowcapacity generation.

In all, 2,145� W was shaved off from the grid on Tuesday.

As I understand from DOE Sec retary Raphael Lotilla, he wants the 1200� W to remain operational. So, the only way to do it is to source fuel for it. Divert the fuel of First Gas, transfer it to Ilijan so it can run on natural gas, and for the First Gas plants to run on liquid fuel. But the liquid fuel has to be a pass-through cost to us. That’s the mechanics,” Valles said.

Lotilla said earlier that his office will prioritize Ilijan to run again.

“We lost 1,200� W of Ilijan, which is powered by natural gas, so this is a priority for us...The President has directed that we address the un certainties over investments in the upstream so that we can mobilize the natural gas around �a lampaya and other fields for our needs at the soonest time possible.”

Valles also said that the DOE has approved �eralco’s application to exempt it from competitive auction some of the emergency power sup ply agreements (EPSA) it forged with some power suppliers.

“ We have secured the certificate of exemption from the DOE. It was

issued last week. Since the TRO [tem porary restraining order] is only for the 670�W, the certificate of exemp tion is effectively covering only that amount of capacity which is 670�W.”

T he �eralco official was refer ring to the Court of Appeals TRO suspending the implementation of the power supply agreements �er alco forged with S�C Global Power Holdings Corp.

What we have negotiated with so far is with AboitizPower’s Dinginin plant but they only offered 300� W, and only covering a period of until January 25, 2023. So, that’s less than two months at P5.95 per kWh if I am not mistaken. The EPSA is supposed to be for a year. We are looking for additional 370� W

S�C has withdrawn all its offers covering Limay and �asinloc plants and replaced these with its Ilijan of fers. So, we’re running the numbers right now,” said Valles.

The TRO issuance stemmed from ERC’s September 29 decision deny ing the joint motions of �eralco and S�C Global Power units for price ad justments to serve as temporary relief covering a combined loss of P5.2 billion incurred by South Premier Power Corp. (SPPC) and San �iguel Energy Corp. (S�EC) from January to �ay due to the unprecedented spike in fuel prices.

AS the world celebrates Interna tional Volunteers Day on De cember 5, 2022, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) honors its chairman and CEO, Richard J. Gordon, as a vol unteer. Gordon started volunteering at the Red Cross at young age, in 1968. He marks 54 years of being a Red Cross volunteer this year.

Volunteerism probably runs in Gor don’s family. To be exact, he might have “inherited” the trait from his mother. At a young age, he witnessed his moth er provide care for many orphaned or abandoned children. It was also his

mother, herself a Red Cross leader, who introduced Gordon to what would be, under his leadership, the premier hu manitarian organization in the country.

Before becoming PRC’s chairman and CEO in 2004, Gordon as city mayor of Olongapo led around 8,000 volunteers from all walks of life to transform Subic Bay into a special economic zone after the termination of US Naval Base’s opera tions there. When �t. Pinatubo erupted in 1991, Gordon was among the key gov ernment officials who led the response and recovery of Central Luzon.

A s chairman and CEO of PRC, Gor

don would lead notable humanitar ian responses, such as the Ginsaugon landslide response, the Super Ferry re sponse, and the Supertyphoon Haiyan response, which is the Red Cross and Red Crescent �ovement’s biggest hu manitarian response to date.

Gordon’s brand of volunteerism and love for his people was once again dem onstrated when he worked tirelessly with his colleagues in 2020 to rapidly put up molecular laboratories capable of automated testing of Covid-19, so that the country would be able to detect virus transmission and isolate those infected.

Philippine Red Cross honors Dick Gordon as volunteer on International Volunteers Day

DUONG THI

PHUONG THAO Business Development Analyst

114.

115.

Brief Job Description: Creation, maintenance and upkeep of target clients, properties and prospects register. Client analytics, creation of client information details. Client relationship management for key clients. Organise, deliver and participation at client presentations. Drive the submission process, includes creating pitch approach, liaising with other departments to bring intel and support and strategy to our approach

LIU, XUDONG Business Development Analyst

Brief Job Description: Creation, maintenance and upkeep of target clients, properties and prospects register. Client analytics, creation of client information details. Client relationship management for key clients. Organise, deliver and participation at client presentations. Drive the submission process, includes creating pitch approach, liaising with other departments to bring intel and support and strategy to our approach.

HOANG THI PHUONG Development Design Consultant

Basic Qualification: Sales Management, Develop and maintain effective relationships with external clients. Must be fluent in English and Vietnamese Language

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

Basic Qualification: Sales Management, Develop and maintain effective relationships with external clients. Must be fluent in English and Chinese Language.

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

116.

Brief Job Description: Provides technical advice during Land Acquisition with respect to analysis of site physical properties, technical due diligence, development costs and construction methods; Designs and prepares initial site grading plans for reference of design consultants; Monitors the performance of the consultants, designers and contractors to ensure that they fulfill the agreed-upon time, cost and quality

LI, MINGZU Development Design Consultant

Basic Qualification: Good interpersonal skills to communicate with a wide variety of technical consultants Organization and Planning skills, Honest and hardworking and flexible and open to changes; Must be fluent in English and Chinese Language.

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

117.

Brief Job Description: Provides technical advice during Land Acquisition with respect to analysis of site physical properties, technical due diligence, development costs and construction methods; Designs and prepares initial site grading plans for reference of design consultants; Monitors the performance of the consultants, designers and contractors to ensure that they fulfill the agreed-upon time, cost and quality

LIU, YANG Financial Analyst

Basic Qualification: Good interpersonal skills to communicate with a wide variety of technical consultants Organization and Planning skills, Honest and hardworking and flexible and open to changes; Must be fluent in English and Chinese Language.

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

126.

SIRIPONG Thai Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering product and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services.

CHOEMUE, PORNTHIP Thai Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering product and service questions; suggesting information about other products and services.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in English and their respective native language for the position applied for, Fluent in Chinese Mandarin is an advantage.

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

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in English and their respective native language for the position applied for, Fluent in Chinese Mandarin is an advantage. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

JT INTERNATIONAL (PHILIPPINES) INC. Penthouse, W Office Building, 28th St. Cor. 11th Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

ZAREMBA, VOLHA Entity Planning Manager

Brief Job Description: Good knowledge of IFRS and primary statements (balance sheet, profit and loss, cash flow statement).

127.

Strong MS application skills especially in MS excel and PowerPoint. Experience in sap s4 and BW system a plus. Possess effective communication style, people person and good presentation and influencing skills. Able to manage deadlines under tight time pressure is important. High drive for results. Ability to work with great level of details as well as overall view simultaneously. Ability to connect the dots. Good financial analysis and business acumen skills. Has high learning agility and adaptability to evolving business environment.

118.

Brief Job Description: Development of written content for Offering Memorandums, BOVs, and marketing flyers alongside the creation of financial analysis and summary. Examine financial reports, commercial leases, environmental reports, and title documents. Collect and analyze relevant data to identify real estate market trends. Communicate with clients on timing of deliverables and market feedback of assets.

Basic Qualification: Strong knowledge of real estate valuation and assessment of risks affecting property values is required. Ability to think critically and creatively in financial analysis aspect of role and creatively in the content creation of marketing materials. Must be fluent in English and Chinese Language.

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

119.

NGUYEN DINH TIEN Financial Analyst

Brief Job Description: Development of written content for Offering Memorandums, BOVs, and marketing flyers alongside the creation of financial analysis and summary. Examine financial reports, commercial leases, environmental reports, and title documents. Collect and analyze relevant data to identify real estate market trends. Communicate with clients on timing of deliverables and market feedback of assets.

Basic Qualification: Strong knowledge of real estate valuation and assessment of risks affecting property values is required. Ability to think critically and creatively in financial analysis aspect of role and creatively in the content creation of marketing materials. Must be fluent in English and Vietnamese Language.

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

KOREA DEVELOPMENT SERVICE GLOBAL INC.

Basic Qualification: Preferred at least 5 years of planning and reporting experience within a multi-national FMCG environment. Other applicants with 5 years+ planning and reporting experience in other multinational firms will also be considered. Participate in process for regional and corporate planning submissions for Philippines market with main components of accounts receivable, excise taxes, finished goods inventory and accounts payable / accruals. Participate process for entity planning on major planning cycles (3 times per year) including interest, taxes, charges between group entities. Analyze actual market cash flow at month end closing and investigate variances to plan data. Participate in regional and corporate projects on cash flow initiatives.

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Basic

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

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

120.

PHUNG VAN DAO Financial Analyst

Brief Job Description: Development of written content for Offering Memorandums, BOVs, and marketing flyers alongside the creation of financial analysis and summary. Examine financial reports, commercial leases, environmental reports, and title documents. Collect and analyze relevant data to identify real estate market trends. Communicate with clients on timing of deliverables and market feedback of assets.

Basic Qualification: Strong knowledge of real estate valuation and assessment of risks affecting property values is required. Ability to think critically and creatively in financial analysis aspect of role and creatively in the content creation of marketing materials. Must be fluent in English and Vietnamese Language.

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

121.

XU, RONGXI Financial Analyst

Brief Job Description: Development of

Editor: Angel R. Calso • www.businessmirror.com.ph

North Korea orders new artillery firings over South’s live-fire drills

By Kim Tong-Hyung The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea—North Ko rea’s military says it has ordered frontline units to conduct artil lery firings into the sea for the second consecutive day in a tit-for-tat re sponse to South Korean live-fire drills in an inland border region.

The statement by the North Kore an People’s Army’s General Staff came a day after the North fired about 130

artillery rounds into waters near its western and eastern sea boundaries with South Korea in the latest mili tary action raising tensions between the rivals. An unidentified North Korean military spokesperson said the planned artillery firings Tues day were meant as a warning to the South after the North detected signs of South Korean artillery exercises in the border region.

The South Korean army is con ducting live-fire exercises involving

multiple rocket launching systems and howitzers in two separate test ing grounds in the Cheorwon region, which began on Monday and contin ues through Wednesday.

North Korea’s military said Monday that it instructed its west ern and eastern coastal units to fire artillery as a warning after it detected dozens of South Korean projectiles flying southeast from the Cheorwon region.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff

said those North Korean shells fired fell within the northern side of buf fer zones created under a 2018 interKorean agreement to reduce military tensions and urged the North to abide by the agreement.

It was the first time North Korea has fired weapons into the maritime buffer zones since November 3, when around 80 artillery shells landed within North Korea’s side of the zone off its eastern coast.

North Korea has fired dozens of

missiles as it increased its weapons demonstrations to a record pace this year, including multiple tests of an intercontinental ballistic missile sys tem potentially capable of reaching deep into the US mainland, and an intermediate-range missile launched over Japan.

North Korea has also conducted a series of short-range launches it described as simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean and US targets in an angry reaction to an

expansion of joint US-South Ko rea military exercises that North Korea views as rehearsals for a potential invasion.

Experts say North Korea hopes to negotiate economic and secu rity concessions from a position of strength and force the United States to accept it as a nuclear pow er. South Korean officials have said North Korea might up the ante soon by conducting its first nuclear test since 2017.

Russia says Kyiv hit its air bases, fires more missiles

By Jamey Keaten The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukrainian drones struck two air bases deep inside Russian territory, the Kremlin said Monday, shortly before Russian forces unleashed a massive missile barrage in Ukraine that struck homes and buildings and killed civilians.

The unprecedented attack in Russia threatened a major escalation of the ninemonth war because it hit an airfield housing bombers capable of carrying nuclear weap ons. President Vladimir Putin has threat ened to use all available means to defend his land, a remark many have interpreted to include nuclear weapons.

Russia has been launching almost weekly bombardments of Ukraine in retaliation for another bold attack—the October 8 truck bombing of a vital bridge linking its mainland to the Crimean Peninsula.

On Monday, Putin tried to show his country could bounce back from that em barrassment by driving a car across the partially repaired bridge. Putin personally opened the 19-kilometer (12-mile) bridge in 2018 as part of an expensive effort to solidify his claim on Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

In Monday’s retaliatory barrage, mis siles knocked out basic services in several Ukrainian regions in Moscow’s strategy to inflict more pain just as winter approaches.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said four people were killed in Monday’s barrage.

Ukraine’s air force claimed it shot down more than 60 of the 70 missiles, and Zelen skyy again showed defiance, praising work ers who immediately tried to restore power.

“Every downed Russian missile is con crete proof that terror can be defeated,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.

Ukraine said early indications showed Russia fired 38 cruise missiles from carri ers in the Caspian Sea and from the south ern Rostov region. In addition, 22 Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from Russia’s Black Sea fleet, and long-range bombers, fighter jets and guided missiles were also involved, it said.

Electricity provider Ukrenergo said its facilities had been hit, triggering some blackouts, although the prime minister said later that power facilities were damaged in only three areas, not as widespread as in previous attacks.

In the capital of Kyiv, scores of people quickly filled the central Zoloti Vorota metro station after air raid warnings. There were no immediate signs the city or sur rounding region had been hit.

Ukrainian media reported explosions south of Kyiv, in Cherkasy, Krivyi Rih and Odesa. Officials said water, electricity and central heating were cut to many parts of Odesa.

“The enemy is again attacking the ter ritory of Ukraine with missiles!” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrai nian president’s office, wrote on Telegram.

In neighboring Moldova, the Interior

Ministry said on its Facebook page that border patrol officers had found a rocket in an orchard near the northern city of Briceni, near the border with Ukraine. A bomb squad went to the scene, but it was not immediately clear when the rocket fell or who fired it.

In detailing the attacks on the air bases, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had shot down two Ukrainian drones. It said three Russian servicemen were killed and four others wounded by debris, and that two aircraft were slightly damaged.

The attacks on the Engels base in the Saratov region on the Volga River and the Dyagilevo base in the Ryazan region in western Russia were part of Ukraine’s ef forts to curtail Russia’s long-range bomber force, the ministry said.

The Engels base, located more than 600 kilometers (more than 370 miles) east of the border with Ukraine, houses the Tu95 and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers that have been involved in launch ing strikes on Ukraine. The Dyagilevo air base, which houses tanker aircraft used to refuel other planes in flight, is about 500 kilometers (over 300 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border.

The attacks showed the vulnerability of some of Russia’s most strategic military sites, raising questions about the effective ness of their air defenses if drones could come so close to them.

The ministry didn’t say where the drones had originated, but Russian military blog gers said they likely were launched by Ukrainian scouts.

Russian news agencies earlier had re ported explosions at both sites, giving slightly different details than the Defense Ministry on casualties.

Ukraine’s armed forces published a photo purporting to show blood on snow under a military vehicle at one of the air bases. The authenticity of the photo could not be verified.

Zelenskyy’s adviser, Mykhailo Po dolyak, trolled the Russians over the drone attack on Engels, stopping short of claiming responsibility.

“If something is launched into other countries’ airspace, sooner or later un known flying objects will return to depar ture point,” Podolyak tweeted.

In other developments, Zelenskyy’s of fice said three rockets hit his hometown of Krivyi Rih in south-central Ukraine, killing a factory worker and injuring three other people. In the northeastern region of Kharkiv, a person was killed in strikes by S-300 missiles on civilian infrastructure in the town of Kupiansk, it said.

The war that began with Russia’s in

vasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 has displaced millions from their homes, killed and injured tens of thousands of people and shaken the world economy—driving up the price and curtailing the avail ability of food, fertilizer and fuel that are key exports from Ukraine and Russia.

Western countries on Monday

imposed a $60-per-barrel price cap and a ban on some types of Russian oil, part of new measures aimed at stepping up pressure on Moscow over the war.

The Kremlin rejected the move, and Zelenskyy has criticized it as insufficient.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, in charge of en

ergy, warned Sunday that Russia won’t sell its oil to countries that try to apply the price cap.

“We will only sell oil and oil products to the countries that will work with us on market terms, even if we have to reduce output to some extent,” Novak said.

In another step that took ef fect Monday, the 27-country Eu

ropean bloc imposed an embargo on Russian oil shipped by sea.

Russia, the world’s No. 2 oil pro ducer, relies on oil and gas to un derpin its economy, already under sweeping international sanctions.

Eduardo Castillo in Kyiv, Yuras Kar manau in Tallinn, Estonia, and Andrew Katell in New York contributed.

PEOPLE work in the subway station being used as a bomb shelter during a rocket attack in Kyiv, Ukraine on Monday, December 5, 2022. Ukraine’s air force said it shot down more than 60 of about 70 missiles that Russia fired on in its latest barrage against Ukraine. It was the latest onslaught as part of Moscow’s new, steppedup campaign that has largely targeted Ukrainian infrastructure and disrupted supplies of power, water and heat in the country as winter looms. AP/ANDREW KRAVCHENKO

PXP ENERGY MET WITH CHINESE EXPLORATION FIRMS, MVP CONFIRMS

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

BUSINESSMAN Manuel V. Pangilinan recently met with two Chinese exploration firms and discussed issues related to Service Contract (SC) 72.

Only one or two months ago, but not with CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation),” PXP Energy Chairman Manuel V. Pan gilinan said when asked if PXP has met with CNOOC recently.  He did not reveal the identities of two Chinese firms. He also did not reveal what transpired during the meeting.

Forum Energy Ltd., in which PXP holds a direct and indirect interest of 79.13 percent, has a 70-percent participating interest in SC 72, also in Northwest Palawan, through its wholly owned subsidiary Forum. PXP has a total economic interest of 54.36 percent in SC 72.

We don’t have the authority

on the sovereignty issues. We’re walking on egg shells, because if you talk about sovereignty—that’s them (Philippine and Chinese gov ernments) and we have to respect that,” he said.

L ast month, the Department of Energy (DOE) granted force ma jeure to the work commitments involving SC 72 and SC 75 in the West Philippine Sea.

A force majeure event entitles the contractors to be excused from the performance of their respective obligations, as well as to the exten sion of the exploration period under the service contracts.

T he agency considered the con cerns raised by PXP Energy and Forum following the suspension of exploration activities under SC 75 and SC 72 last April.

It also said that the total ex penses of  $5.18 million and $8.60 million, respectively were incurred as a result of the directive to sus pend SC 75 and SC 72 activities.

PHL looking to send more tourism OFWs to Saudi Arabia

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

THE Philippines is looking to export more workers to ex pand the tourism industry of Saudi Arabia.

I n a news statement, the De partment of Tourism (DOT) said Tourism Secretary Christina Gar cia Frasco met with her Saudi coun terpart, Vice Minister of Tourism, Her Highness Princess Haifa Al Saud on the sidelines of the recent 22nd World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit in Riyadh.

“ The two ministers agreed on formalizing their partnership, with Saudi Arabia guiding the Philip pines through Arabic-speaking tour guides, and in terms of de veloping the Halal and pilgrimage tourism portfolios, increasing di rect flights, and creating an inves tor directory. On the other hand, the Philippines will provide hospi tality and human capital develop ment to [Saudi Arabia’s] tourism frontline,” said the DOT.

S audi Arabia announced in No vember its commitment to pay overdue salaries of some 10,000 Filipino migrant workers, rendered jobless by the closure of several of its companies in 2015 and 2016.

L ast August, Frasco also under scored the prospects of sending more Filipino tourism workers to Thailand, which is currently facing a 60-percent shortage in hotel staff.

Top tourist market in ME

DURING the bilateral meeting, Franco told Al Saud: “We share in your excitement all of the pros pects and possibilities for tourism in Saudi Arabia especially with the investment in the industry…. We pride ourselves in the Filipino brand of service excellence. There fore, we would be very happy to partner with you as far as capability building and further education in terms of tourism capability devel opment is concerned.”

S he added: “Saudi Arabia ac tually ranks number one for our Middle East source market [for tourists]. We see great poten tial in ushering in more arriv als into the Philippines….At the same time, the development and relationship is mutual, consider ing that there are over 800,000 Filipinos here in Saudi Arabia.

Therefore, our affection for each other is long-standing and I am very interested in furthering this relationship by formalizing an agreement specifically focused on tourism development.”

Data from the DOT showed Saudi Arabia ranked 23rd in the list of source markets for tourists for the Philippines, with arrivals reaching 9,424  from February 10 to Novem ber 25, 20222. Prior to the pan demic, in 2019, tourists from Saudi Arabia reached 43,748, accounting for 59.3 percent of the 73,203 total arrivals from the Middle East dur ing the period. Total arrivals from the region slipped by 10.4 percent in 2019, with decreases recorded from most countries (Saudi Arabia, Bah rain, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates), except for a 71.04-per cent jump in tourists from Jordan and 49 percent from Egypt.

Direct flights

IN 2019, the DOT identified the need to train more Arabic speak ers in the hospitality industry, and encourage restaurants to of fer halal food as keys to attracting more Middle Eastern travelers to the Philippines. The agency then  targeted to attract 108,170 tour ists from the region, up 32 percent from the previous year.

T he DOT has identified shop ping and sightseeing as the main activities of tourists from the Middle East.

A lso on the sidelines of the WTTC Global Summit, Frasco met with top travel tour organizations and destination management com panies from the Middle East. She said,  “The most common topics that emerged from our discussions were the need for Philippines tour ism exposure in Saudi Arabia, di rect flights to other key gateways in the Philippines, and the orga nization of familiarization trips for the tour and travel operators,” among others.

T he participants included ITL World, Dnata Travel, Arjaa Travel, Al Sarh Travel, Seera, I Trip, Saudi Wings Holidays, Arabian Travelers, Elite Holidays, Ace Travel, Saudi International Travel Co., Hesen Almusafer, Fursan Travel, Arabian Company for Travellers Services, Al Shahin Travel & Tourism, and Sayar Travel & Tourism, as well as airline executives such as those from Philippine Airlines’ office in Saudi Arabia.

PHL tells WTO will review food importation policies

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE Marcos administration may review the Philippines’s food trade measures, particularly rules on onion importation, that are allegedly being used by the government to “unduly” restrict agricultural exports to the country.

I n its official communication to a World Trade Organization (WTO) committee, the Philippines explained that the new agriculture department leadership may review the country’s existing sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) rules on food imports.

I t was the Philippines’s re sponse to the series of questions fielded by the United States at the WTO regarding the former’s alleged practice of using the SPS-IC system to “restrict flow of trade.”

Washington has long expressed concern over Manila’s SPS-IC sys tem, which it argued has been limit ing the entry of foreign agricultural products to the Philippines.

“As a new administration has taken over the leadership of the Department of Agriculture, the Capital authorities could possibly review this measure,” the Philip pines told the WTO Committee on Agriculture.

We will inform the Committee of developments on this regard,” it added. President Marcos Jr. concur rently sits as the country’s agricul ture secretary.

T he last time that Washington pressed Manila at the WTO regarding the Philippines’s food trade policies was in a September CoA meeting. (Related story: https://business mirror .com.ph/2022/09/29/ us-prods-phl-on-restrictive-agritrade-policies/)

“ The United States remains con cerned that the SPS-IC [SPS Import Clearance] system is used to restrict the flow of trade,” Washington said in one of its questions raised dur ing the September meeting.

T he US raised the matter dur ing the WTO CoA meeting, as it inquired about the statement of the Philippines’s former Agricul ture Secretary William D. Dar’s on limiting onion imports.

Washington noted that the Phil ippines will “manage” the importa

tion of onion through the issuance of a Certificate of Necessity to Im port, which will specify the volume to be imported and specific period for import arrival.

Chickens, too THE US has also been inquiring if the Philippines has been inten tionally limiting the entry of whole chickens by not issuing the neces sary SPS-ICs for importation.

T he Department of Agriculture, through a deputy spokesperson, earlier pronounced that the govern ment will not import onions as long as there is “available” local supply.

T he department maintained that importing onions would remain as a “last resort” to pull down the el evated retail price of the commodity in the domestic market. (Related story: https://businessmirror com.ph/2022/12/06/phl-govtstands-firm-no-onion-importa tions/)

Agriculture Deputy Spokesper son Rex Estoperez said the depart ment will only authorize the im portation of the onion if existing local supplies are not released to the market to help ease the price of the commodity.

Estoperez noted that the country has an inventory of around 15,000 metric tons at present.

“ Importation is out of the question, we will not allow it. We do not have any plans,” he told

reporters on Monday.

“[But] if the [local] supply will not be released to pull down the prices, worse comes to worst, we will import,” he added.

T he country is reeling from the prices of red onion, now fetching an average of P280 per kilogram—no where near the P180 per kilogram average price a year ago—due to supply problems.

T he country’s total onion im ports from January to September declined by more than half yearon-year to 26,110.021 metric tons from 53,463.693 metric tons last year, based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data.

T he Philippines’s self-suffi ciency ratio (SSR) in onions last year fell to a three-year low at 68.2 percent, PSA data showed. This meant that nearly 7 out of 10 onions consumed in the country are locally produced.

T he PSA defines SSR as the “magnitude of production in re lation to domestic utilization.” It is the extent to which a country’s supply of commodities is derived from its domestic production or the extent to which a country relies on its own production re sources.

T he Philippines produced 218,047 metric tons of onion last year and imported 101,681 metric tons of the commodity, based on PSA data.

Over 743-M workers suffer violence at work

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

OVER 743 million workers or about a fifth of the global labor force have suffered one form of harassment or violence at work, according to a new report from the International Labour Or ganization (ILO).

C iting the results of its “Experi ences of Violence and Harassment at Work: A global first survey” with Lloyd’s Register FoundationGallup Survey, which was released on Tuesday, ILO noted that only half disclosed their ordeal to other people since they considered it as a “waste of time” or out of “fear for their reputation.”

T his, even if more than three out

of five experienced such workplace harassment and violence multiple times.   Those more vulnerable to such activities are youth, migrant workers, and wage and salaried women and men.

O f those who suffered harass ment and violence at work, around 18 percent said their ordeal was psychological, and 8.5 percent said they experienced it physically.

A nother 6.3 percent also said they suffered sexual violence and harassment.

T he survey was conducted last year and covered 121 countries, including the Philippines.

Ratify Convention 190 AMID these results, ILO called for more countries to ratify the Con

vention 190 or the Convention against Violence and Harassment, which it noted will help “codify vio lence and harassment as both an is sue of equality, and of occupational safety and health.”

T he convention “provides a common framework to prevent, remedy and eliminate violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence and harassment.”

The report tells us about the enormity of the task ahead to end violence and harassment in the world of work. I hope it will expedite action on the ground and towards the ratification and implementa tion of ILO Convention 190,” Manu ela Tomei, ILO Assistant DirectorGeneral for Governance, Rights and

Dialogue said in a statement.

C urrently, only 23 countries have ratified the convention.

I n the Philippines, despite pro nouncements by the government last year that it supports the new convention, it has yet to ratify it.

L abor groups have called on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. and Congress to ratify Convention 190.

“ We must ratify it to protect the rights of women and all work ers—those from formal or informal sector, public or private sector—to be protected against all forms of harassment in the world of work,” Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK) Chief of Staff Jillian Roque said in a press conference last week.

ERC decision prompts San Miguel to stop supplying power to Meralco

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMCGP), the power generation arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), said it would cease to supply power to the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) effective Wednesday.

On late Tuesday, SMCGP said it has notified Meralco that it is ceasing supply on its 670 megawatt (MW) power supply agreement (PSA) effective December 7.

The announcement comes seven months after it first filed a joint petition with Meralco for a temporary rate hike--which was rejected by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), despite proving to be the least costly for power consumers.

Thereafter, the Court of Appeals issued a Notice of Resolution and a Temporary Restraining Order enjoining the ERC and Meralco from implementing the ERC order denying the joint petition filed by SMGP’s subsidiary South Premier Power Corp. (SPPC) and Meralco for temporary relief for a 60-day period. The cessation of supply, covered by the resolution and the TRO, is immediately executory.

Ramon S. Ang, president and CEO of SMGP parent San Miguel, said that from the beginning, the power firm did not want to have to terminate the PSA, so it sought a temporary, six-month relief.

This was to help mitigate continuing losses of SPPC’s Ilijan power plant arising from both the extraordinary and unprecedented rise in global fuel prices brought on by the Russia-Ukraine war.

This forced SPPC to source capacity from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which triggered even higher price spikes, further affecting the company’s costs to supply Meralco.

“From the very start, we were very transparent and clear with the ERC: We were not asking for a permanent increase, we did not want to be relieved of our contractual commitments, we were just asking for temporary, equitable relief, given the undeniable and unforeseen circumstances that affect not just us, but all Filipinos and many economies worldwide,” Ang said.

“Unfortunately, despite being shown that granting our petition would have been the cheapest option for consumers, the ERC still denied our petition, fully-aware that this would force us to either continue absorbing significant losses--which no company can sustain--or terminate the PSAs, which would ultimately lead to higher electricity costs for consumers: much, much higher than what we were asking for.”

Meanwhile, SMGP said the right to unilaterally terminate is allowed under the PSA itself, as part of necessary mitigation measures under the long-term, fixed rate supply deal, particularly in the event of a “change in circumstances”.

The filing of a petition for a rate increase is also another mitigation measure under the PSA, but this was denied by the ERC’s new leadership.

This, despite the fact that Meralco’s expert assessment and simulations showed the proposed temporary rate hike would be the “least cost option” for consumers, compared to the power distributor having to source emergency power supply, or conducting a fresh round of competitive bidding.

This finding was also independently validated by no less than the ERC’s own Regulatory Operations Service.

Despite the cessation of supply of the contract capacity, SMGP said it will have no impact on the current level of system supply because the company will still continue to offer its available and uncontracted capacity to qualified off takers and in the spot market.

Earlier, SMGP reiterated its strong commitment to help consumers weather higher electricity costs, by proposing to make the entire 1200MW capacity of the Ilijan Plant available to Meralco at a minimal capital recovery fee of only P1/kwh.

To help address the plant’s current fuel supply constraints, SPPC has also offered various options to optimize sourcing of fuel for the Ilijan facility.

Justices spar in latest clash of religion and gay rights

By Jessica Gresko & Mark Sherman | The Associated Press

WasHinGTOn—The supreme Court’s conservative majority sounded sympathetic Monday to a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples, the latest collision of religion and gay rights to land at the high court.

The designer and her supporters say that ruling against her would force artists—from painters and photographers to writers and musicians—to do work that is against their beliefs. Her opponents, meanwhile, say that if she wins, a range of businesses will be able to discriminate, refusing to serve Black, Jewish or Muslim customers, interracial or interfaith couples or immigrants.

Over more than two hours of spirited arguments, the justices repeatedly tested out what ruling for the designer could mean, using detailed and sometimes colorful hypothetical scenarios. Those included a Black Santa asked to take a picture with a child dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit, a photographer asked to take pictures for the marital infidelity website Ashley Madison, and an invented food business called “Grandma Helen’s Protestant Provisions.”

The case comes at a time when the court is dominated 6-3 by conservatives and follows a series of cases in which the justices have sided with religious plaintiffs. Across the street from the court, meanwhile, lawmakers in Congress are finalizing what would be a landmark bill protecting same-sex marriage, legislation prompted by a different high court case from earlier this year.

During arguments Monday the court’s three liberal justices expressed concerns about ruling for website designer and graphic artist Lorie Smith while conservatives suggested support for her.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, one of three high court appointees of former President Donald Trump, described Smith as “an individual who says she will sell and does sell to everyone, all manner of websites, (but) that she won’t sell a website that requires her to express a view about marriage that she finds offensive.”

Smith, who is based in Colorado, doesn’t currently create wedding websites. She wants to but says her Christian faith prevents her from creating websites celebrating samesex marriages.

Colorado, like most other states, has what’s called a public accommodation law that says if Smith offers wedding websites to the public, she must provide them to all customers. Businesses that violate the law can be fined, among other things.

Smith says the law violates her First Amendment rights. The state disagrees.

A looming question during Monday’s arguments: At what point does an objection to serving someone cross the legal line?

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, one of the court’s three liberals, asked whether a photography store in a shopping mall could refuse to take pictures of Black people on Santa’s lap.

“Their policy is that only white children can be photographed with Santa in this way, because that’s how they view the scenes with Santa that they’re trying to depict,” said Jackson, one of the court’s two Black justices.

Jackson’s fellow liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor said if the court rules for Smith, it would be the first time the justices would say that a “commercial business open to the public, serving the public, that it could refuse to serve a customer based on race, sex, religion or sexual orientation.”

Sotomayor repeatedly pressed Smith’s lawyer on what business owners could refuse to do. “How about people who don’t believe in interracial marriage? Or about people who don’t believe that disabled people should get married? Where’s the line?” Sotomayor asked.

But conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who seemed to favor Smith,

The case is the second in which the court has wrestled with a case involving a Christian business owner who doesn’t want to provide a service for a same-sex wedding. Five years ago, the justices heard a different challenge involving Colorado’s law and a baker, Jack Phillips, who objected to designing a wedding cake for a gay couple.

asked whether it’s “fair to equate opposition to same-sex marriage to opposition to interracial marriage.”

And he pointed to language in the court’s 2015 opinion declaring a nationwide right to same-sex marriage about “honorable people who object to same-sex marriage.”

Alito was also the justice who asked whether a Black person dressed as Santa could refuse to take a picture with a child dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. Eric Olson, arguing on behalf of Colorado, responded “No,” because Ku Klux Klan outfits wouldn’t be protected under public accommodation laws.

Justice Elena Kagan added that Olson’s response wasn’t based on the race of the child wearing the outfit. In an awkward moment, Alito responded: “You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits, right?... All the time.”

The case is the second in which the court has wrestled with a case involving a Christian business owner who doesn’t want to provide a service for a same-sex wedding. Five years ago, the justices heard a different challenge involving Colorado’s law and a baker, Jack Phillips, who objected to designing a wedding cake for a gay couple. That case ended with a limited decision and set up a return of the issue to the high court. Smith’s lawyer, Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom, also represented Phillips.

Smith’s opponents include the Biden administration, the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund. Twenty mostly liberal states, including California and New York, are supporting Colorado, while 20 other mostly Republican states are supporting Smith.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to weigh in on the case specifically following oral arguments Monday but said the “administration believes that every person, no matter their sex, race, religion or who they love, should have an equal access to society.”

The White House is currently awaiting final passage in Congress of the bill protecting same-sex and interracial marriage. It gained momentum following the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year to end constitutional protections for abortion. That decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling prompted questions about whether the court — now that it is more conservative — might also overturn its decision declaring a nationwide right to same-sex marriage. Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly said that decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, should be reconsidered.

During arguments at the court Monday, Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked Waggoner, Smith’s lawyer, about what would happen if the court sides with her. And he pointed to a section of her written submission to the high court where she said Smith as an artist is different from other business people including hairstylists, landscapers, plumbers, caterers, tailors, jewelers and restaurants that do not generally communicate a message through their work. Associated Press reporter Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.

Economy standing on slippery slope?

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS

Can the Philippines achieve its annual GDP growth target of 6.5 percent to 8 percent between 2023 and 2028? Per calculations by our technocrats, such a pattern of economic growth will enable the PBBM administration to reduce poverty level to a single digit, return the debt-to-GDP ratio back to less than the 60 percent global threshold, and most importantly, elevate the country to the “upper middle-income status.”

Not many are convinced that the PBBM administration shall be able to attain the above targets. The Philippines has a long history of development “misses.” The technocrats’ high growth projections outlined in the quinquennial (five years) Philippine Medium-Term Plans since the 1970s have all failed to materialize despite the CGE economic modelling done by favored liberal economists. This pattern of misses dates back to the martial law decade of the 1970s when the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) aggressively pushed for the adoption of the national economic development program dubbed laborintensive “export-oriented industrialization” (EOI).

And yet, after five decades and a series of EOI-augmenting policies designed by the IMF and the World Bank such as the trade/investment liberalization program, the Philippines has very little to show for the success of its EOI program. In contrast, the more protectionist and non-FDI-dependent South Korea and Taiwan became the industrial giants and export dynamos of Asia in these decades.

The most glaring illustration of how economic technocrats, using perfect competition assumptions, can err so badly in their economic CGE-based projections is amply shown in the Senate ratification of Philippine membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995.

The Senate was informed by these economists that non-ratification would lead to economic collapse while WTO membership ratification would not only strengthen the economy but would also lead to the creation annually of half a million “new jobs” in industry and half a million “new jobs” in agriculture.

So what is the score 28 years after?

Stagnant industrial development, vastly-eroded agricultural sector and

limited jobs in both sectors.

Not surprisingly, farmer organizations, having seen the disastrous results of Philippine membership in the WTO, have been opposing the Senate ratification of Philippine membership in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). They ask: is the RCEP trade deal “based on equality, reciprocity, mutual benefit and national interest”? They ask: how ready is the Philippines for the flood of goods from China and other trading collossi that RCEP’s liberalized regime is likely to unleash? What, in the first place, has been the gains of the Philippines from its trade liberalization commitments under the IMF-World Bank’s structural adjustment program (imposed as a policy conditionality in the 1980s), WTO’s trade liberalization and other free trade agreements that the country entered into in the last few decades?

But back to the 2023-28 economic forecasts of the PBBM administration.

In January 2022, the government came up with a number of macroeconomic projections for the whole year. These included the following: GDP growth of 7.0-9.0 percent, inflation of 2.0-4.0 percent and peso-dollar rate of P48-52 per dollar, unemployment rate of 5.6-7.1 percent, and current account balance of $6.7 billion.

The government also proclaimed that the economy is generally stable because the Central Bank had by the end of 2021 accumulated gross international reserves valued at $117 billion, equivalent to 11.1 months of imports. With these forecasts, the economic technocrats, from the Duterte to the PBBM administrations, informed the nation that recovery is now fully underway.

Recent GDP data released by the PSA tend to support the government’s growth forecasts. The economy clocked 7.6 percent growth in

the third quarter of the year. Thanks to the post-Covid re-opening of the economy and electoral spending, the GDP growth in the first half of 2022 was also above 7 percent. With revenge Christmas spending by the country’s elite and the OFW families, there is no doubt that the full-year GDP growth target is attainable.

The government spokespersons are also happy to announce that unemployment has been going down, reaching a record low of 5 percent in September. So with unemployment down and GDP up, is the Philippines now in the cusp of an economic boom?

Here’s the more relevant question to pose: is growth benefiting the country’s majority and is it sustainable?

As it is, a year of high GDP growth is not enough to reverse two years of economic stagnation under the militaristic lockdowns imposed by the Duterte administration in 2020 and 2021. The economy is not yet back to the pre-Covid level. One simply has to go around the country to see how many businesses, shops, restaurants and even schools have remained closed or barely surviving.

The GDP also does not show the poor quality of jobs available in the labor market. A recent policy brief published by the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (Emily Cabegin, “The Informal Labor Carries the Brunt of Covid-19Induced Economic Recession,” 2022) shows that four out of five workers are “informal,” meaning they have precarious or unprotected jobs in the large informal economy and in the formal sector (as “endos” and casuals). In short, the economy is not churning out good quality jobs for the majority of the work force. This means the low unemployment rate in the country is due to the efforts of the poor and jobless or near jobless to accept whatever jobs are available no matter how menial or “indecent” these jobs are—no job security, no fair work standards observed and low remuneration or compensation.

The bad labor market situation is compounded by the rampaging inflation that is eating into the incomes of everyone—both regular and non-regular workers in the formal labor market and the numerous workers in the large informal sector.

Inflation reached 7.7 percent in October to the dismay of the economic planners. Low quality jobs amid an inflationary situation means endless belt tightening by the poor. Mahar Mangahas of Social Weather Stations observed that “prolonged hunger”

Republicans urge Biden to be tough on Chinese solar gear over human rights

By Jennifer A. Dlouhy | Bloomberg Opinion

RePuBliCans are warning the Biden administration not to prioritize green energy goals over enforcing federal import restrictions meant to discourage alleged human rights abuses in China.

The directive from Republican Representatives Mike Gallagher and Chris Smith, as well as Senators Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton, signals tough oversight of the issue after the GOP takes control of the House in January. Trade curbs in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act are already thwarting imports of solar panels and other gear critical to renewable power projects, potentially at the expense of clean energy goals in the Inflation Reduction Act.

“We urge you to fully enforce the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act as required by law, particularly when it comes to solar panels made with forced labor, which will get subsidies, grants and tax credits under

Indonesia . . .

continued from A14

A parliamentary task force finalized the bill in November and lawmakers unanimously approved it Tuesday in what Laoly praised as

the IRA,” the lawmakers say in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the acting head of US Customs and Border Protection. “American taxpayers cannot be allowed to subsidize the effective enslavement of the Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups.”

Under the one-year-old UFLPA, the US government assumes anything made even partially in the Chinese manufacturing hub of Xinjiang is produced with forced labor and can’t be imported into America. Companies can win exemptions if they are able to provide “clear and convincing evidence” the goods are free of force. The US accuses China of

a “historic step.”

“It turns out that it is not easy for us to break away from colonial living legacy, even though this nation no longer wants to use colonial products,” Laoly said in a news conference.

“Finalizing this process demon-

requiring hundreds of thousands of detainees—mostly Uyghur Muslims or other minorities—to work against their will in Xinjiang, allegations Beijing denies.

The province is also a major supplier of polysilicon, a metal used in most solar panels today. And the restrictions have already led to the seizure and detention of hundreds of shipments containing solar gear. Some exporters preemptively have halted shipments to the US over concerns they’ll be detained at the border, contributing to a decline in renewable power installations and cancellations of new projects, the American Clean Power Association has said.

“After more than four months of solar panels being reviewed under the UFLPA, none have been rejected and instead they remain stuck in limbo with no end in sight,” Jason Clark, interim president of the ACPA said in a statement Monday.

The Republicans make clear they

strates that even 76 years after the Dutch Criminal Code was adopted as the Indonesian Criminal Code, it is never too late to produce laws on our own,” Laoly said. “The Criminal Code is a reflection of the civilization of a nation.”

Under the new code, the death

has increased in the NCR, affecting 16.3 percent of the NCR households. Hunger is also rising in Mindanao, especially in banana plantations hit by the Panama disease.

To improve the situation for the numerous poor, the government should go beyond the crafting of short-term “ayudas” that can ease pangs of hunger and destitution by a week or two at the most, such as DOLE’s TUPAD, an emergy employment program. The government should abandon the idea that continuous high growth of the economy benefits everyone. It does not, unless social and economic reforms are instituted to make growth broad-based and beneficial to everyone.

Growth, of course, should also be sustainable. In this area, one is astonished over the gung-ho atittude of policy makers from the Executive and Legislative branches on the sustainability of growth. Data released by the Central Bank shows that the balance of payments deficit has been widening and the gross international reserves is now down to $93 billion (as of September), which can cover 8 months of imports. The inflows of FDI are also reported to be shrinking. And yet, due to the numerous FDI pledges received by PBBM in his foreign sorties, the economic planners assume that things can only be better.

Nobody seems to be paying attention to the warning of Nouriel Roubini, one of the few economists who predicted the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. The global “stagflationary debt crisis” is here and will be persistent. The Chief Economist of the IMF, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, agrees because of the unresolved Ukraine war, China slowdown and inflationary trends around the world. He wrote: “The worst is yet to come, and for many people 2023 will feel like a recession”.

So how should the PBBM administration do the economic piloting? Continue adopting a business-asusual posture and assume that high growth forecasts are likely to be fulfilled and would benefit the country’s poor? Or is it not time for an economic reset and for the government to undertake a more serious stock taking as what the farmer organizations resisting RCEP are asking?

Are we in the cusp of an economic boom, or are we standing on a slippery recessionary slope?

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo is a Professor Emeritus of the University of the Philippines.

For comments, please write to reneofreneo@ gmail.com.

want the administration to take a harder line enforcing the law, especially as the IRA drives more demand for renewable power imports. That includes potentially blacklisting firms such as Longi Green Energy Technology Co., Jinko Solar Co. and Trina Solar Co., whose products have been detained, the lawmakers say. Trina said in a statement that it has normal operations in many countries and regions and abides by local rules and regulations, including in the US. Representatives of Jinko and Longi Green did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

John Smirnow, general counsel of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said the industry “has made remarkable progress decoupling its supply chain from Xinjiang,” and “leading solar importers have demonstrated their compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.” With assistance from Luz Ding / Bloomberg

penalty will be imposed alternatively with a probationary period. This means a judge cannot immediately impose a death sentence. If within a period of 10 years the convict behaves well, then the death penalty is changed to life imprisonment or 20 years’ imprisonment.

ERC decision prompts San Miguel to stop supplying power to Meralco

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMCGP), the power generation arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), said it would cease to supply power to the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) effective Wednesday.

On late Tuesday, SMCGP said it has notified Meralco that it is ceasing supply on its 670 megawatt (MW) power supply agreement (PSA) effective December 7.

The announcement comes seven months after it first filed a joint petition with Meralco for a temporary rate hike--which was rejected by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), despite proving to be the least costly for power consumers.

Thereafter, the Court of Appeals issued a Notice of Resolution and a Temporary Restraining Order enjoining the ERC and Meralco from implementing the ERC order denying the joint petition filed by SMGP’s subsidiary South Premier Power Corp. (SPPC) and Meralco for temporary relief for a 60-day period. The cessation of supply, covered by the resolution and the TRO, is immediately executory.

Ramon S. Ang, president and CEO of SMGP parent San Miguel, said that from the beginning, the power firm did not want to have to terminate the PSA, so it sought a temporary, six-month relief.

This was to help mitigate continuing losses of SPPC’s Ilijan power plant arising from both the extraordinary and unprecedented rise in global fuel prices brought on by the Russia-Ukraine war.

This forced SPPC to source capacity from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which triggered even higher price spikes, further affecting the company’s costs to supply Meralco.

“From the very start, we were very transparent and clear with the ERC: We were not asking for a permanent increase, we did not want to be relieved of our contractual commitments, we were just asking for temporary, equitable relief, given the undeniable and unforeseen circumstances that affect not just us, but all Filipinos and many economies worldwide,” Ang said.

“Unfortunately, despite being shown that granting our petition would have been the cheapest option for consumers, the ERC still denied our petition, fully-aware that this would force us to either continue absorbing significant losses--which no company can sustain--or terminate the PSAs, which would ultimately lead to higher electricity costs for consumers: much, much higher than what we were asking for.”

Meanwhile, SMGP said the right to unilaterally terminate is allowed under the PSA itself, as part of necessary mitigation measures under the long-term, fixed rate supply deal, particularly in the event of a “change in circumstances”.

The filing of a petition for a rate increase is also another mitigation measure under the PSA, but this was denied by the ERC’s new leadership.

This, despite the fact that Meralco’s expert assessment and simulations showed the proposed temporary rate hike would be the “least cost option” for consumers, compared to the power distributor having to source emergency power supply, or conducting a fresh round of competitive bidding.

This finding was also independently validated by no less than the ERC’s own Regulatory Operations Service.

Despite the cessation of supply of the contract capacity, SMGP said it will have no impact on the current level of system supply because the company will still continue to offer its available and uncontracted capacity to qualified off takers and in the spot market.

Earlier, SMGP reiterated its strong commitment to help consumers weather higher electricity costs, by proposing to make the entire 1200MW capacity of the Ilijan Plant available to Meralco at a minimal capital recovery fee of only P1/kwh.

To help address the plant’s current fuel supply constraints, SPPC has also offered various options to optimize sourcing of fuel for the Ilijan facility.

Entrepreneur

Davao farmers, MSMEs linked to technology start-ups

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

DAVAO CITY—The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) here matched 20 farmer organizations and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with start-ups to link the former to the various markets and open up avenues for bigger outside transactions.

The start-ups also benefited from the matching through direct linkage to their target markets, said DTI 11 Regional Director Maria Belenda Q. Ambi.

“This is a win-win situation as start-ups can directly pitch to users of their technologies, gather user feedback and connect with more clients from the industry,” Ambi added.

The DTI said the start-ups successfully matched with enterprises and farmers during the Innovation Summit 2022 include Mayani, a farm-to-table platform that sources produce from all over the Philippines for distribution to retail chains and households;

DeliverE, an all-in-one platform developed by Insight Supply Chain Solutions (InsightSCS) that directly link farmers to buyers and provide an integrated process for order consolidation, warehousing, and distribution; and AgriDOM, a technologybased firm that provides tools, gadgets, and software for agriculture, including drones for area mapping, spraying, and seed spreading.

Carlo Calimon, president of business incubator StartUp Village (SUV), also pitched technologies developed by its assisted start-ups such as Agrabah PH which provides logistics and market solutions to farmers and fisherfolks, and PearlPay, a fintech company offering endto-end digital banking solutions, particularly for rural banks, farmers, fisherfolk, and micro enterprises.

All of the start-ups featured during the summit were onboard SUV’s Project MATCH initiative, a resource platform that links MSMEs with start-ups with appropriate technologies for digitalization.

The Project MATCH partnered with DTI Region 11 last year “to implement initiatives and projects that promote digitization and support MSME-Startup Development.”

“Collaborating with start-up enablers allows us to further promote the application of science, technology, and innovation (STI) among industries for them to be able to take advantage of market opportunities,” Ambi said.

She said DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual earlier called on the agency to accelerate MSME innovation and digital transformation by linking them to start-ups that could help address their digital challenges.

The Innovation Summit 2022 was held on November 11 and 12 to enhance enterprise competitiveness and innovation in the region.

The summit included business matching, investment and partnership opportunities in the information and communications technology sector, available disruptive technologies from counterpart Asean countries, and start-up innovations readily accessible to MSMEs.

Ambi said the matching of farmers with start-ups opened the opportunity to link start-ups with enterprises and farmers “to address the gap in access to digitalization and technology upgrading vital in enhancing industry competitiveness, and broadening market opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).”

“The emergence of start-ups that provide innovative technologies to MSMEs, and the agri-sector enables firms to digitalize faster at a lesser cost than having to do it on their own. Transitioning to digital platforms and technology upgrading is necessary now in order to keep up with market demands and enhance competitiveness,” Ambi said.

TikTok app opens innovative solutions for entreps and businesses to flourish

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

According to TikTok Regional Brand Partnership Head for Southeast Asia David Gomez, views on video contents on their channel grew across different categories in the Philippines, indicating its wide popularity and reach that brands can capitalize on for their campaigns.

From July 2021 to 2022, News & Entertainment increased by more than 70 percent; Beauty & Fashion, 57 percent; and Baby & Parenting, 53 percent.

“TikTok’s growth continues to be driven by positive sentiment from users. This has greatly increased our platform’s scale, reach, and impact. Moreover, we are continuously introducing innovations and solutions that will help more brands and local businesses to achieve more from TikTok’s success,” he said.

A survey commissioned by the company with Nielsen IQ showed that 91 percent of Filipinos come to

TikTok to learn new things—from funny and entertaining content to new trends—while 73 percent find latest brands and products and make entertaining or even educational content about them.

This high engagement rate enables products to trend organically and genuinely, amplified by active users and fad ambassadors. Examples of which are the hashtags #BudolFinds and #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, which continue to flourish with over 35 billion views to date.

Shopping avenue

ANOTHER study of TikTok with marketing research firm Toluna on online shopping behavior revealed that 93 percent of Filipinos were inspired by, or purchased a product after they saw it on the platform. Given its massive influence, viewers are 1.4 times more likely to consider a brand because of TikTok video con-

New Grameen program seeks to improve livelihoods of 25K Pinoy coconut farmers

GRAMEEN Foundation, in partnership with Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, has launched a five-year program in the Davao region of the Philippines that is designed to improve 25,000 smallholder farmers’ copra production and incomes and connect them to markets, while ensuring positive social and environmental impacts.

The Sustainable Coconut project is funded by Barry Callebaut, in support of its Sustainable Coconut Oil Strategy and the Sustainable Coconut Oil Charter.  Coconut oil, produced from copra, is found in most confectionery products. Currently, coconut production is unable to keep up with global demand.

In the Philippines, aging trees, fragmented and untraceable supply chains, pests, diseases, and climate change contribute to low production. Further, Filipino coconut farmers’ yields and incomes suffer from poor extension support, low adoption of good agricultural practices (GAP), lack of access to technology and financial services, and low resilience to natural disasters, while farm co-operatives work to support coconut farmers, their effectiveness is compromised by low adoption of digital tools, lack of financial and operational resources and failure to include female farmers.

“The Sustainable Coconut program will leverage Grameen’s extensive experience improving the productivity, income, and resilience of Filipino coconut farmers, as well as our wide range of digital solutions and training content, to comprehensively address the barriers cooperatives and farmers face,” said Brent Chism, interim president and CEO of Grameen Foundation.

Oliver von Hagen, Global Director of Sustainable Ingredients at Barry Callebaut, said, “As part of our commitment to 100 percent sustainable ingredients by 2025, we strive to achieve a sustainable coconut and coconut oil value chain. Thanks to this project and the partnership with Grameen Foundation, we get closer to this goal and create concrete impact on the ground, improving the

livelihoods of thousands of farmers.”

Grameen began the program earlier this year with a baseline and market assessment in the Davao region, where they’ll be working with eight cooperatives, 35 field agents, and 25,000 farmers. The assessment, which surveyed 1,007 coconut farmers, found that:

n Coconut productivity in the region is considered low at 32 nuts per tree per year (Grameen Foundation, 2022), while the ideal productivity is 75 nuts per tree per year (Moreno et al., 2020).

n About 90 percent of the farmers heavily rely on cooperatives and/or local traders for their working capital through cash advances or loans.

n The average age of the survey participants is 60 years old, and the average age of a coconut tree in this region is 43 years old.

n The annual average income from copra activity is $1,400 annually.

n Agri-co-operatives play a crucial role as aggregators of smallholder farmers, especially in scaling and achieving business-to-business dealings with institutional markets.

n Women have untapped potential, which can be utilized in the agriculture sector, particularly in farm management, financial management, and product quality control. Leveling the agricultural playing field and empowering women to actively participate in farm business decisions can result in long-term benefits for the farm and their families.

Grameen also held a solutions workshop in September in Davao City with key stakeholders, ranging from farmers and co-operative members to government agents and copra buyers. There, they held discussions on interventions to increase farm productivity and improve copra production, as well as increase access to finance, copra markets, and resiliency of farming households.

As the program moves toward the training and deployment of extension workers to provide digital advisory services to farmers, Sustainable Coconut will use Grameen Foundation’s innovative FarmerLink solution.

tents they have seen, while four out of five users were made to buy due to a review or recommendation on the channel.

As users discover and patronize a product on TikTok, the research also discovered that viewers likely share it 1.2 times with their friends, and 1.5 times that they will persuade them and their families to also buy it.

“When brands show up as part of the TikTok community, consumers’ experiences are accelerated, and they are more likely to pursue engagement with businesses. When done right, it can catapult brands from zero awareness to being the top in a buyer’s mind,” Gomez noted.

One such brand that was able to establish a strong community via TikTok by offering consumers a holistic experience of discovery and genuine interaction is Tiny Buds, which offers natural baby care products. With its livestreaming, short videos and other positive engagements, it connects with audience and generate sales. Eventually, this brand made

a record Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) during the TikTok 8.18 Brand Day Sale, mostly by its livestreams.

Have ‘shoppertainment,’ will add to cart

IN today’s digital era, marketers now have the chance to drive their businesses forward—thanks to TikTok’s innovative commerce solutions and the integration of real interactions. In fact, TikTok ranked No. 1 in the Philippines for innovation among marketers, per Kantar Media Reaction.

Marketers strengthen their strategies with these tools that marry entertainment with commerce.

Through its Creator Marketplace, TikTok extends self-serve and managed services that enable marketers to run their campaigns more effectively, guarantee right market reach, and explore partnerships, presenting a one-stop performance and marketing platform.

Because brands and businesses can now do creator collaborations, their localized content reach more people with the followings of creators. With the latter being the heart of TikTok, the list for brands and businesses brings endless options for consumers.

TikTok Creator Marketplace is helpful for financial technology starup Plentina to collaborate with two well-known creators in its objective to expand its presence in an authentic way on TikTok. Using also Spark Ads, the brand amplified these creators’ videos on its campaign, driving conversions via app installs. With it, the

brand’s strategy gain more than 20 million video views and over 12,000 app installs in less than two weeks.

PureGo, on the other hand, turned to TikTok Collection Ads to create more targeted product recommendations for its customers. This approach of the platform of PureGold supermarket chain led clients to an Instant Gallery Page that showcased individual products and an exclusive promo call-to-action, moving visitors over onto its own grocery shopping web site for purchases and more information. This helped PureGo to effectively engage with its audience and turn that interest into significant web traffic during the campaign.

TikTok Shop, the newly launched e-commerce platform also offers video shopping ads shown on users’ FYP, LIVE shopping ads that pop up during sellers’ live streams, and catalog listing ads presented in a nonvideo format. These ad solutions help merchants become more visible and bring traffic to their TikTok Shops, and blend shopping and entertainment for consumers.

“As our creators and marketers level up, so must we. In the coming year, marketers can gear up for even more exciting developments from TikTok and our partners,” Gomez said.

“After an amazing 2022, TikTok is expecting an increase in marketers joining in 2023, which is why TikTok is coming up with new and better ways to support brands and businesses in unleashing their highest potential.”

Greenfield sparkles in star-studded 1st anniversary ‘Car Boot Sale’ event

MARKING the first anniversary of its Food Truck Fest, Greenfield Development Corp. (GDC) recently held a “Car Boot Sale,” featuring entrepreneurial showbiz and social-media personalities that brought cheers to everyone this Holiday Season to sample and shop for pre-loved items and other goods they offered at affordable prices.

The event, which ran from November 18 to 20 at the Mayflower Parking Area of Greenfield District, was a hit with its novel concept that is a “win-win for everyone,” according to GDC Executive Vice President Atty. Duane A.X. Santos.

“It’s quite innovative. It’s not your normal booth like tiangge or bazaar. It complements the Food Truck [Fest],” he told reporters during the opening of the three-day fair.

The 20 food trucks regularly set up at the heart of Mandaluyong provided a unique and safe al fresco dining experience to the public. Bringing a different twist to the fest were business-minded celebrities and influencers who plied all the stuff stocked in their closets and other items.

“So you have the food trucks doing all the food and drinks, and you have the car boots providing all the shopping [components], or the retail of their pre-owned and pre-loved goods. The customers are happy to find all of these amazing goods from the celebrities, whether it’s clothing or other goods,” he said, adding strict health protocols are in place to ensure the safety of the public.

The popular figures invited to sell their pre-loved items, plants, food and other products at their vehiclecum-merchant stores, included Meg Imperial, Louise delos Reyes, Karel Marquez, Maxine Medina, Ariella Arida, Kim Baranda, Jome Silayan, Chris Tan, and Kevin Ty, among others.

Greenfield District’s food truck space is about 3,000 square meters. Given its successful run for the entire year, especially during the “Ber”

months with the just concluded car boot sale, GDC plans to maximize more of the available spaces.

“We’re extending it. We’re putting more open areas because it really has done well—this time for a large number of food trucks that want to join,” Santos said, while citing another 10 to 15 more food trucks that can be accommodated in the area.

Such initiative is the property developer’s own way to encourage entrepreneurs, including start-ups, to sell their products and test the market with the reopening of the economy amid the improved pandemic situation.

“Soon, we intend to come up with more interesting and fun activities

and offer a possible venue for outdoor corporate events like product launches, especially since it already has a captured market,” he added.

The Food Truck Fest runs daily from Monday to Thursday, 12 noon until 10 p.m., and Friday to Sunday, from 12 noon to 12 midnight.

Spanning at 15 hectares, Greenfield District is a cutting-edge development that redefines the future of Mandaluyong City with its futureready condominiums, commercial and office establishments, green and open spaces, and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, among other innovative features.

This urban development has become an emerging hub in Metro Manila for both indoor and outdoor activities, which highlight GDC’s commitment to providing quality living spaces while promoting holistic health and wellness among its residents. Roderick Abad

SHORT mobile video platform

TikTok leverages on its broad reach to offer commerce solutions that help brands create and launch campaigns that can maximize their market engagement, gain more customers and generate favorable returns.

Banking&Finance

Proposed LGU borrowings shrank to ₧20.2B

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

THE value of local government unit (LGU) borrowings contracted 63.7 percent in the first semester of this year, latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

The BSP data revealed that total proposed borrowings of LGUs only amounted to P20.2 billion in the first semester of 2022 compared to the P55.7 billion LGUs sought

in the same period last year. In terms of numbers, the BSP only received 107 requests for the issuance of Monetary Board opinion (MBO) to LGUs in the January

to June period of 2022, a 44.6-percent contraction from the 193 requests in the same period of 2021.

In a statement, the central bank explained the BSP releases information on the issuance of MBO to LGUs on their proposed domestic borrowings. This set of information provides the amount and intended purpose of the proposed loans by LGUs, it added.

The central bank further explained that the need for issuance of prior opinion of the MB on the proposed borrowings of government entities, including LGUs, is mandated by law under Section 123 of Republic Act (RA) 7653, otherwise known as the New Central Bank Act of 1993, as amended by RA 11211.

The BSP said that during the semester in review, the MB rendered its opinion on 120 LGU proposed borrowings totaling P25.8 billion. These issuances were for 98 requests received in the first semester of this year and 22 requests received in the second semester of 2021.

Of the total proposed LGU loans issued with a Monetary Board opinion, 66 percent were allocated for infrastructure projects involving mostly the construction and/ or improvement of public markets, farm-to-market/access roads and bridges and multi-purpose buildings, businesses and/or commercial centers.

The loans were also allocated for water system and septage treat-

Manila acquires $100-M loan to tweak tech-voc ecosystem

THE Philippine government has secured a new $100 million (nearly P5.56 billion at current exchange rates) worth of loan to upgrade and modernize the Philippines’s technical and vocational (tech-voc) education and training (TVET) ecosystem from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The ADB said the loan aims to make TVET responsive to new labor demands from industries and equip Filipinos with skills for the future.

The loan will also finance efforts to design new training courses, reskilling and upskilling of trainers, and strengthening the institutional capacity of the government’s Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

“TVET reform has become even more urgent to raise the skills and employability of Filipino youth and returning migrant workers so they can compete for highly skilled jobs in the post-Covid economy,” ADB Senior Public Management Economist Sameer Khatiwada

said. “This new project addresses that need.”

The new project will support the Tesda in forging partnerships among the 17 selected Tesda technology institutions and industry associations, local government units, education institutions, and nongovernment organizations active in training and curriculum, as well as livelihood development.

Regional TVET innovation centers that will offer higher national certificate level courses and programs will be created under the project. These innovation centers and technology institutions will focus on the economic needs and labor demands of their respective provinces and priority sectors as listed in the National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan 2018–2022.

The project builds on the government’s work on revamping public employment service offices, which were supported by the ADBfinanced Facilitating Youth School-to-Work Transition Program.

It also complements a policy-based “PostCovid Business and Employment Recovery” program being prepared for ADB funding. The ADB has been supporting government programs on employment facilitation, secondary education, and youth life skills training for more than a decade now.

The project’s design incorporates findings from a Philippine TVET sector study called Technical and Vocational Education and Training in the Philippines in the Age of Industry 4.0, prepared by the ADB in close collaboration with Tesda. The study includes lessons from ADB-supported TVET projects in other countries in developing Asia.

One major reform area under the government’s “National Employment Recovery Strategy 2021-2022”—created to respond to the demand for post-pandemic jobs and livelihood—is to strengthen the link between skills training and employment. Cai U. Ordinario

ment, government administrative buildings, health care facilities or hospitals, school buildings, public plaza, parks, gymnasium, covered courts and public transport terminals, among others.

There were also proposed loans for the acquisition of heavy equipment and procurement of rescue and/or service vehicles, which accounted for 23.6 percent of the total LGU loans.

Other proposed LGU loans, comprising 9.7 percent of the total, were allocated for the acquisition of lots and site development; 0.3 percent was intended for loan take out or refinancing; and 0.3 percent of the total proposed LGU loans were allocated for the con-

struction of isolation facilities in support of the country’s Covid-19 pandemic response.

The BSP said Section 123 of RA 7653, requires the government, its political subdivisions or instrumentalities, to request the MB to render its opinion on the monetary and external sector implications of their proposed loans prior to undertaking any credit operation.

This provision of the law stems from the BSP’s role as the government’s advisor on official credit operations. It enables the BSP to monitor trends in public sector debt and assess its impact on the monetary sector and external payments position of the economy.

Treasury raises ₧35B on sale of T-bonds as rates softened

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE national government on Tuesday generated P35 billion after the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) fully awarded reissued Treasury bonds (T-bonds) as investors’ asking yield eased to within benchmark market rates.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said after Tuesday’s auction was met with “strong demand” and saw a decline in interest rates that “mirrored” secondary benchmark levels despite November’s inflation print accelerating further to 8 percent.

De Leon attributed the decline in interest rates to investors’ expectations that the country’s inflation has already “peaked” as well as on the Central Bank’s statement “on slowing pace of rate hikes.”

De Leon noted that the Treasury would prefer the sale of longer-tenor debt papers “if the market pricing is good.” The national government has been finding a hard time borrowing from the local market through the sale of T-bonds and Treasury bills as investors continuously sought for higher yields.

The auction was oversubscribed as investors tendered a total amount of P79.44 billion, based

on Treasury data. The T-bonds have a remaining life of 11 years and 11 months.

The debt papers fetched an average rate of 7.189 percent, lower than the original coupon rate of 9.25 percent set in November 2009 and the 8.168 percent average rate last month, the Treasury said in a statement.

The secondary market benchmark rate for the debt paper was at 7.179 percent. Investors’ sought interest rates ranging from a low of 6.9 percent to high of 7.25 percent for the reissued T-bonds, based on BTr data.

“With its decision, the committee raised the full program of P35.0 billion, bringing the total outstanding volume for the series to P103.1 billion,” the Treasury said.

For this month, the national government aims to raise P135 billion from the auction of debt papers. The BTr said the government aims to raise P30 billion from auctions of T-bills and P105 billion from auctions of Treasury bonds. (See, “NG eyes P135B via sale of treasuries,” November 25, 2022, in the BusinessMirror)

For the whole year, the government is set to borrow a total of P2.21 trillion, of which 75 percent will be sourced locally while the remaining 25 percent will come from foreign sources.

3 bills eyeing cash incentives to artists to be consolidated

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

LAWMAKERS moved to consolidate three measures so government can provide cash incentives to artists who received international acclaim.

Camarines Sur Rep. LRay F. Villafuerte said the House Special Committee on Creative Industry and Performing Arts formed a technical working group (TWG) to combine the provisions of House Bill (HB) 1281 (“Creative Philippines Act”), HB 4540 (“An Act Protecting the Rights and Welfare of Filipino Artists, providing benefits and for other purposes”) and HB 1934 (“The Artists’ Incentives Act”).

The lawmaker said the TWG has started working on a substitute bill.

HB 1934, for one, has proposed a taxfree cash award of P500,000 to P1 million to Filipino creative artists who have won top awards in international film festivals or award-giving institutions, said Villafuerte, who is one of the four authors of this bill.

“The international awards bestowed upon the works of our Filipino artists call for appropriate government acknowledgement,” Villafuerte, who is president of the National Unity Party (NUP), said. “We need to grant cash incentives to Filipinos in the creative industry, who have received recognition and honor in prestigious and notable competitions abroad.”

“With this measure, our artists will surely be encouraged to engage in various forms of arts to represent the country and further hone their skills and craft in the various arts,” he added.

In HB 1934, its four authors led by Villafuerte said their proposed cash incentives for award-winning artists supports the state policy in the 1987 Constitution to “give priority to education, science and technology, arts and culture and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress and promote total human

liberation and development.”

Award-giving bodies

DURING a recent committee hearing, Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Chairman Tirso S. Cruz III had said no individual cash awards are being given to actors, directors, producers, cinematographers and other creative people behind films that have been recognized by prominent award-giving bodies abroad.

Cruz recommended, though, that the proposed law must specify the award-giving bodies or film festivals whose Filipino artist-winners deserve to get the proposed incentives.

In HB 1934, its four Bicolano authors said that notable and prestigious competitions, film festivals and other exhibition shall refer to those that have given recognition and awards to artistic works for the last five years and are well-known for their international profile, audience size and the quality and breadth for their competition, festival or exhibition.

These international competitions and film festivals shall include, but not be limited to, the Cannes Film Festival in France, Sundance Film Festival and New York Film Festival in the United States (US), Toronto International Film Festival in Canada, Berlin International Film Festival in Germany, Venice Film Festival in Italy and the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.

Villafuerte said “the creative industry is an essential cultural asset in the country as they showcase arts, skills and creativity. In the context of the Philippines, our history and culture has been showcased in various music, performing arts, craft, design and film.”

“With this, the art industry has evolved through time and allowed artists, literary writers, filmmakers, film production entities and performers in the creative sector to gain international recognition and prestige,” they said.

Avoid the pitfalls of evaluation biases

Blurry vision? Check your blood sugar

HAS your vision gone blurry lately? Notice dark or empty areas in your sight? Do you see spots or dark strings floating before you? If so, then you may need to see a doctor fast—not for a new pair of glasses but to manage your blood sugar.

When you have diabetes, or excess amounts of sugar (glucose) in your blood either because you don’t produce enough insulin or your body doesn’t properly use this hormone which transports glucose in the blood, you are at risk for a host of serious medical conditions.

“Damage to the large and small blood vessels is a long-term effect of diabetes on your health,” says Jimmy B. Aragon, MD, an endocrinologist and chairman of the Department of Endocrinology of leading health institution Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed, www.makatimed.net.ph). “This makes diabetics particularly vulnerable to cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and stroke; kidney damage; bacterial, fungal, and yeast infections; and the sensation of pins and needles on the hands and feet, which are symptoms of nerve damage or neuropathy.”

Elevated levels of blood sugar affect our eyes too, resulting in diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, cataract, or glaucoma.

Blurry vision or vision interrupted by floating spots, bright halos, or colored rings around lights are signs of eyesight likely affected by diabetes.

“Prescription drugs and eye drops and, in some cases, laser procedures can address these symptoms, restoring clear vision and preventing the diseases from progressing,” says Aragon.

Better yet, manage your blood sugar. Not only does it spare your eyesight from deteriorating, it is key to maintaining optimum good health.

Here’s how to enjoy many years of clear vision: n Keep your blood sugar at an ideal level.

“Hemoglobin A1c is a test that measures your glucose level for the past two to three months. According to the American Diabetes Association, a target HbA1c below 7 percent for most people with diabetes is ideal,” explains Aragon.

n Manage your blood pressure. The desired blood pressure helps prevent the onset of eye disease caused by diabetes. According to Aragon, “For people with diabetes, the target blood pressure is less than 130/80. This can be achieved through regular moderate exercise, a low-salt diet, staying at a healthy weight, and, when necessary, prescription medication.”

n Get your eyes checked. “Special eyedrops widen your pupils, allowing your eye doctor to check for any signs of damage to the blood vessels in your eyes,” Aragon points out. “For diabetics, a full eye exam is recommended every year.”

n Act quickly. “Don’t dismiss symptoms like blurriness, flashing lights, floating spots, or anything out of the ordinary in your eyesight,” says Aragon. “Ninety percent of vision loss from diabetes is preventable and if you address these usual occurrences immediately, you can be free of complications.”

NOW that the year is about to end, a lot of organizations have started their performance evaluations and workplan reviews. There are still companies that lack a tool for evaluating performance, and even when they do, they could have insufficient metrics to objectively evaluate their team’s performance. And then there are people managers who do not know how to effectively evaluate their team members because either they lack training, or even if they were trained well, they would still fall trap to performance evaluation biases.

One of the significant issues in evaluating employee performance is if one can objectively evaluate the performance of their team members. A manager sits down with their team at the start of the year to lay down their individual performance scorecard so that both can agree on what needs to be accomplished. And then throughout the year, there would be additional tasks or changes in the work plan, and the manager will end up reassigning tasks and moving people around so the team can do their part in the entire organization.

With all of these changes, a manager will have to evaluate their team based on each team member’s overall contribution to its success. During the evaluation, the manager will have to take into consideration factors that are not listed in their team’s scorecard. But as they evaluate their team, they need to be aware and, as much as possible, they need to avoid evaluation biases if they want to keep their team motivated and engaged.

One of the most common biases is recency where you evaluate your team members based on what they have done in the past weeks rather than the whole year. In a previous organization, I had a coworker once who did exceptionally well in the beginning of the year and she was able to accomplish several significant milestones. At the latter part of the year, she sent a poorly worded e-mail that could have possibly overturned an ongoing negotiation. The issue became a communication crisis and the head of human resource even stepped in to arbitrate. The crisis was eventually resolved but not without a negative effect on her evaluation.

What helped her in that situation was a tracker of her milestones for the year and how that single incident only affected a small percentage of her scorecard. She highlighted what she had done in the beginning of the year and what she had been consistently doing which were beyond what was expected of her. Similarly, you can also avoid recency bias by regularly checking in with your team and

keeping a milestones tracker, so you know how much your team has been doing and compare their performance against everything that happened for the year.

Another fairly common bias is the primacy bias where you evaluate a person based on information that you have known first, otherwise known as “first impressions last.” An example is when a team member refuses to do something because he knows it is not his job, and then later in the day that same person gives you a candy bar. You will then think he is trying to win you over with a candy bar and conclude that he is being manipulative. However, when that same person first gives you a candy bar and later on refuses to do something that is not his job, you will tend to rationalize that he is not really obliged to do it or that he probably is just busy. To avoid this, it would help to have a milestone tracker to objectively understand what every team member has done.

Similar to the primacy bias is confirmation bias. This is prevalent not only in performance reviews but also in your daily interpretation of what is happening around you. We tend to look for people who agree with us and avoid those who have a different view. Take, for example, social media where we tend to like and share what we think are important, and look for more information that will support our beliefs. Similarly, when we review the performance of our team members, we tend to ask questions and highlight those that support what we believe about them, and filter out most information that do not support our assessment. To counter this bias, ask for feedback from the people they work with and take note of those that do not support your assessment. Even if they turn out to be insignificant, it will help to temper your evaluation to realistic levels.

There are also those who have a leniency bias. These are managers who do not want to hurt the feelings of their team members and constantly rate their team high even if they know that there are some things they need to improve. The problem with this is that a team member who is exerting effort and one who is just coasting will receive the same evaluation. This can be demotivating to the overachieving employee and promote mediocrity as the norm. To avoid this, ensure you have a scorecard that measures what each team member is supposed to do, and tally their scores objectively. This will help you reward those who deserve it and provide opportunities to improve for those who need it. Then there is the similar-to-me bias which is the tendency to rate higher those who are most like us in terms of interests, abilities, experience, or even credentials. An example of this is a manager who rates someone high because they went to the same school. To avoid this, make sure that the team members understand the evaluation criteria and agree to be evaluated under those measures. This will lessen the bias and help you objectively evaluate their performance because everyone knows how they are being evaluated. If they compare, take the opportunity to discuss how to improve their rating evaluation and answer any questions.

As a people manager, your primary responsibility is to help each of your team members grow and maximize their potential. You cannot do that if you do not know where they are in their professional development and what they need to do to actualize their potential. You cannot tell them where they need to go if you do not know where to begin, because it all starts with a clear evaluation of where they are now before they can head in the right direction.

SEAOIL celebrates 5th-year partnership with Ampol

SEAOIL marked its fifth year with Ampol, Australia’s largest transport energy distributor and retailer, which acquired 20 percent equity interest in the company in 2017.

The long-term partnership was forged as part of SEAOIL’s plans to aggressively expand its retail network and terminal storage capacity in the coming years. Since then, the company’s retail network has more than doubled to 700 stations.

SEAOIL Philippines and Ampol Ltd.

Mindfulness worked as well for anxiety as drug in study

MINDFULNESS meditation worked as well as a standard drug for treating anxiety in the first head-to-head comparison.

The study tested a widely used mindfulness program that includes two-and-a-half hours of classes weekly and 45 minutes of daily practice at home. Participants were randomly assigned to the program or daily use of a generic drug sold under the brand name Lexapro for depression and anxiety.

After two months, anxiety as measured on a severity scale declined by about 30 percent in both groups and continued to decrease during the following four months.

Study results, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, are timely. In September, an influential US health task force recommended routine anxiety screening for adults, and numerous reports suggest global anxiety rates have increased recently, related to worries over the pandemic, political and racial unrest, climate change and financial uncertainties.

Anxiety disorders include social anxiety, generalized anxiety and panic attacks. Affected people are troubled by persistent and intrusive worries that interfere with their lives

and relationships. In the US, anxiety disorders affect 40 percent of women at some point in their lives and more than 1 in 4 men, according to data cited in US Preventive Services Task Force screening recommendations.

Mindfulness is a form of meditation that emphasizes focusing only on what’s happening at the moment and dismissing intrusive thoughts. Sessions often start with breathing exercises. Next might be “body scans”—thinking about each body part systematically, head to toe. When worried thoughts intrude, participants learn to briefly acknowledge them but then dismiss them.

Instead of ruminating over the troubling thought, “you say, ‘I’m having this thought, let that go for now,’’’ said lead author Elizabeth Hoge, director of Georgetown University’s Anxiety Disorders Research Program. With practice, “it changes the relationship people have with their own thoughts when not meditating.”

Previous studies have shown mindfulness works better than no treatment or at least as well as education or more formal behavior therapy in reducing anxiety, depression and

other mental woes. But this is the first study to test it against a psychiatric drug, Hoge said, and the results could make insurers more likely to cover costs, which can run $300 to $500 for an 8-week session.

The results were based on about 200 adults who completed the six-month study at medical centers in Washington, Boston and New York. Researchers used a psychiatric scale of 1 to 7, with the top number reflecting severe anxiety.

Ten patients on the drug dropped out because of troublesome side effects possibly related to treatment, which included insomnia, nausea and fatigue. There were no dropouts for that reason in the mindfulness group, although 13 patients reported increased anxiety.

The study “is reaffirming about how useful mindfulness can be when practiced effectively,’’ said psychologist Sheehan Fisher, an associate professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine who was not involved in the study.

Dr. Scott Krakower, a psychiatrist at Zucker Hillside

executives raise a toast in celebration of the five-year partnership between the two companies.

In photo, from left: Ampol executive general manager for international and new business Brent Merrick; SEAOIL president for commercial business and COO Stephen Yu; SEAOIL CEO Glenn Yu; SEAOIL chairman Francis Yu; Ampol CEO Matt Halliday; Ampol executive general manager Andrew Brewer; and Ampol CFO for fuels and infrastructure Steve O’Connor.

Hospital in New York, said mindfulness treatments often work best for mildly anxious patients. He prescribes them with medication for patients with more severe anxiety.

He noted that many people feel they don’t have time for mindfulness meditation, especially in-person sessions like those studied. Whether similar results would be found with online training or phone apps is unknown, said Krakower, who also had no role in the study.

Olga Cannistraro, a freelance writer in Keene, New Hampshire, participated in an earlier mindfulness study led by Hoge and says it taught her “to intervene in my own state of mind.’’

During a session, just acknowledging that she was feeling tension anywhere in her body helped calm her, she said.

Cannistraro, 52, has generalized anxiety disorder and has never taken medication for it. She was a single mom working in sales during that earlier study—circumstances that made life particularly stressful, she said. She has since married, switched jobs, and feels less anxious though still uses mindfulness techniques. AP

PHOTO BY SCOTT GRAHAM ON UNSPLASH

DENR, Rotary Club of Manila Join Forces to Clean Up Pasig River

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Pasig River

Coordinating and Management Office (DENR-PRCMO) and the Rotary Club of Manila (RCM) have joined forces to clean up the Pasig River. As part of Rotary’s supporting the environment initiative, one of Rotary’s seven areas of focus, RCM has donated 395 floating trash barriers that will be used to prevent the trash from flowing into the river.

The Pasig River clean-up is a flagship project of the Rotary Club of Manila, and the club is committed to helping PRCMO clean up the Pasig River as part of its more significant effort to improve environmental conditions in the area.

The club’s donation of 395 heavy-duty floating trash barriers will go a long way in preventing the trash from flowing into the river and polluting it.

In addition to helping keep the river clean, these same trash barriers also act as a life-saving tool.

Capt. Lomil Prado, Operations Head of PRCMO, reported that on November 21, an unidentified female was saved from drowning because of the trash barriers. He said the Philippine Coast Guard rescued the individual from drowning near the Intramuros-Binondo Bridge in Pasig River. “She was spotted in the water with a strong current, and the floating trash barriers helped prevent her from drowning,” Capt. Prado said.

“We share our deepest gratitude to Rotary Club of Manila President Herminio S. Esguerra for his generous

donation of 395 trash barriers that will help the PRCMO intercept wastes and other debris, fight marine pollution, and protect the Pasig River, our country’s most vital water resource,”said Dr. Joan A. Lagunda, DENR Assistant Secretary for Administration and Legislative Affairs and PRCMO Concurrent Executive Director, in a statement that was also published in PRCMO’ s Facebook page.

“This is just the beginning of the PRCMO and Rotary Club of Manila’s fulfillment of our shared commitment as partners in service to bring our vision for the Pasig River System to abundant fruition!” she added.

Esguerra expressed the club’s

commitment to the Pasig River clean-up project. “Our club, which is the first Rotary Club in Asia, is proud to partner with DENRPRCMO in their efforts to rehabilitate the Pasig River,” he said. “Through this program, many communities will benefit from cleaner and safer Pasig River as well as a healthier environment for generations to come.”

DENR-PRCMO and the Rotary Club of Manila are confident that by working together, they can help restore Pasig River and make it the vibrant waterway it once was. They are committed to continuing their partnership to bring about positive changes for the environment, the people, and future generations.

Park Inn by Radisson Bacolod He-ART-fully Welcomes the Festive Season with Back-to-back Celebrations

PARK Inn by Radisson Bacolod welcomes the holiday season with the launching of Shapes, Shades & Scapes, a solo exhibit featuring the works of Negros-born artist Edbon Sevilleno. The abstract showcase provides viewers with an ethereal experience of finding images and shapes within and behind other forms, providing a safe passage through the composition. Local prominent figures of the Negros art scene, such as Eduardo “Eddie Boy” Ledesma and Ligaya “Gaying” Lizares were invited to cut the ribbon together with artist Edbon Sevilleno and Park Inn by Radisson Bacolod, Front Office Manager, Archie Javellana.

“What we have here (exhibit) is the kind of art that reveals the limits of our understanding, the one that lets you abandon superficial perspectives,” said Archie Javellana, Front Office Manager of Park Inn by Radisson Bacolod.

As guests marveled at the fascinating display of artworks, Christmas cheer spurred at the venue with the entrance of dancers (Yuri Crew) initially poised as guests

at the gallery center. The dance signaled the start of another affair, the ceremonial tree lighting. Guests were directed to Marapara Plaza (Pool Deck), where a 15-ft tree awaited its lighting.

Ushered by the dancers, Julia Javellana, Assistant Mall Manager of SM City Bacolod and Sherwin Lucas, General Manager of Park Inn by Radisson Bacolod, led the ceremonial lighting.

“Christmas is a season of reminiscing the vibrant colors of our youth and rediscovering the sentiments of our hearts – and for us, it’s gratefulness. We dedicate today’s occasion to the people who followed and supported our journey to becoming the Park Inn by Radisson Bacolod that we are today,” said Lucas.

The Christmas launch featured musical performances from the De La Salle chorale Bacolod. To cap off the night, guests embarked on a festival gourmet journey with a Thanksgiving and Christmas-inspired spread with a carving station featuring fine roasts, maple turkey, and desserts that speak of the holidays.

this tech giant handpicked former basketball player, television personality Chris Tiu as its brand

BE it winning basketball games for Ateneo de Manila University, Rain or Shine and Gilas Pilipinas, hosting multiple television shows across networks, or serving in his local government, Chris Tiu has done it all. But even though he’s ventured into many industries throughout his long and varied career, the personality has always had a heart for entrepreneurship.

The well-known beverage chain Happy Lemon, and marketing communications firm VLink Interactive are just some of his success stories, showing his obvious knack for business alongside a vision and a desire to deliver the best to clients and customers, something all great entrepreneurs share.

That mindset and drive is what drew leading IT solutions provider DFNN to tapping him as their first brand ambassador, an offer that the sports superstar turned business leader couldn’t resist.

“When I was introduced to DFNN, I immediately related to their values and their leaders. Just after our first few conversations, I already saw myself really aspiring to follow their footsteps in how they lead the business and how they offer their services - even on a smaller scale,” Tiu shares.

His ambition comes as no surprise. As far back as 2013, Tiu was recognized as one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) for his contributions in Youth Leadership Development. The award cited his accomplishments as a barangay kagawad and Sangguniang Kabataan member. Besides that, his many endeavors are also proof that he’s always been on the path to winning.

“Siguro, the appetite to excel has been there from the beginning,” he admits. “It doesn’t matter what field I get into, my focus is always set on the end goal and how I can reach

that. It’s the same throughout my ventures in business, and especially in tech. Getting to that goal is more exciting when you’re in a space with so many possibilities.”

In his work with DFNN, Tiu has stood side-by-side with its founders and employees to dive deep into what the IT company is doing to forward space tech, improve data infrastructures, and increase technological access for Filipinos. Covering this is a fourepisode video series about the brand and the impact they’re making in the industry.

“We saw Chris as a strong embodiment of leadership, ambition, and passion put together,” said DFNN’s Founder and Executive Chairman Ramon Garcia Jr. to describe Tiu. He refers to these values as a perfect recipe for success, and why they sought out a partnership with the entrepreneur.

Tiu’s ongoing video series with DFNN can be viewed on his Instagram page. Meanwhile, viewers can also catch him hosting GMA infotainment program iBilib, airing every Sunday at 9:35AM.

ROTARY'S TOP LADY EXEC VISITS PHL . The president of Rotary International, Jennifer

City on Nov. 25. Jones vowed to create more positive changes in different communities around the world.

P.A. Properties bags two awards in Pag-IBIG Fund StAR

JAMIE Balmores is the epitome of the saying hard work pays off. He left the Philippines over a decade ago to settle in Edmonton, Canada where he worked as a resident nurse. Through hard work and a lot of side hustle, JT, as he is fondly called, rapidly advanced from his position as a resident nurse in Edmonton, Canada, to that of an authentic influencer and celebrity in his community and hometown.

JT is the owner of Jeepney Jaytee, Edmonton’s most famous and multiawarded food truck. He launched his food truck business in 2015, and by the time 2016 rolled in, he was already a household name and had become a tourist destination. Everyone needs to stop by his food truck in Edmonton or you weren’t really in Edmonton.

He promotes and highlights different Filipino delicacies by region regularly on Global TV, CityTV, and Dinner Television. He is one of the major stakeholders when

it

He

JT

In

This is proof that it’s never too late to be what you want to be, no matter what age and stage in your life you are. If JT can make it, so can you!

THE

P.A.

CREBA HEAD SPEAKS

GREET. CREBA national president Noel Toti M. Cariño presents a plaque of appreciation to Cushman & Wakefield Philippines research, advisory and consulting chief Claro M. Cordero who spoke on real estate trends and 2023 outlook at last month’s meet and greet of International Realtor Members (IRM) held jointly by the Chamber of Real Estate & Builders’ Associations Inc. and the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors (NAR). CREBA is the exclusive NAR cooperating association tasked to promote and safeguard the NAR brand and Code of Ethics among real estate professionals in the Philippines.

FLOATING trash barriers

Home Department Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) honors Laguna-based property developer P.A. Alvarez Properties and Development Corporation (P.A. Properties) as the Top 7 Developer in the National Capital Region and the Top 8 for North Luzon from Q1-Q3 last November 29, 2022.

Director for Operations Peter Jude T. Alvarez and VP for Documentation and Collection Evelyn Buco received the awards on behalf of the President and CEO of

P.A. Properties Atty. Marianne Lina-Cruz, Chairman Romarico T. Alvarez, and Vice Chairman Jonathan G. Lu.

The award recognizes the company’s role in helping solve the housing backlog in the country, while also contributing to the success of PAG-IBIG Fund.

Properties commits to keeping its goal of building 20 more housing communities in the country in the next five years.

Multi-awarded food truck owner and sought-after brand endorser who is based in Canada is proud of his Pinoy roots

comes to promoting Filipino cuisine in Canada. This is also why everyone, not just Filipinos line up for hours just to have a taste of Jeepney Jaytee’s food.

has won Best Food Truck in Canada

Why

ambassador

E. Jones (right), successfully concluded her one-week humanitarian activities from November 23 to 29, 2022 in the Philippines as part of her "Imagine Impact Tour." MJnes, the first lady president of the 117-year-old organization was warmly welcomed by leaders from 10 Rotary Districts in the country including Michelle De Castro Manuel (left), president of Rotary Club of Southern Mandaluyong (RCSM). The two lady Rotarians took this posterity shot when they attended the Gift of Life service project organized by RC Makati West led by its President Gil Chua at Delos Santos Medical Center in Quezon

AT MEET AND

P.A. Properties’

Director for Operations Peter Jude T. Alvarez (center) receiving the award for Top 7 Developer in North Luzon from Q1-Q3

Santa Lucia Land bullish in 2023

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

Publicly listed Sta. lucia land inc. is bullish on its prospects going into 2023 as its earnings in the first nine months of 2022 exceeded its full 2021 net income amid a stronger demand for its residential projects.

“We will increase our capital expenditure to P6.5 billion in 2023, up by 8.33 percent from P6 billion in 2022,” David dela Cruz, executive vice president and chief finance officer of Sta. Lucia Land told reporters in a recent briefing held in Makati City.

In a statement, SLI reported its net income surged by 55.53 percent to P2.87 billion as of end September compared to the P1.845 billion it recorded in the same period last year. For 2021, the property developer posted its record high net income of P2.84 billion, despite the challenges

posed by the pandemic. “Fortu nately or unfortunately, Santa Lucia Land Inc. was a beneficiary of the pandemic as we’ve seen a lot of growth in provinces like Iloilo,” dela Cruz said.

“For the first three quarters of 2022, we already achieved the same growth level in 2021. Plans of land banking are also on the way,” dela Cruz said.

The rising demand for resi dential properties is the growth driver behind the scintillating performance of SLI. To sweeten the deal so to speak, their proj ects offered wide open spaces,

farms, beachfront lots, access to world-class golf courses and other themed communities during the pandemic.

“Given the lessons learned and re-learned during the pandemic, many have had renewed apprecia tion for neighborhoods that can give them wide open spaces, lush surroundings, pocket gardens, fresh air, and opportunities to commune with nature. This is why we’ve seen a considerable growth in demand for our projects, be cause the majority of our devel opments offer farms, beachfront lots, lakes, and access to world-

Casa Infini eyes to earn ₧1.3 billion from upcoming wellness condo in Baguio

By Roderick L. Abad

CASA Infini Properties and Development Corp., the real-estate arm of RayCasa Group of Companies, has launched the Saleng Spa and Wellness Towers, it’s first luxuri ous residential condominium in Baguio City, which is expected to generate a total income of up to P1.3 billion for five years once completed by 2025.

In a recent press conference during their open house event held in Makati, Ray-Casa Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer Jianlyn De los Santos Floresca bared that the entire project cost is P500 million.

Of the overall income pro jection, she said that around P1 billion will be coming from the combined sales of 50 one- and three-bedroom condo units upon their turnover in the first half of the next three years.

“We have allotted 30 percent of the project for amenities,” she said of top-of-the-line facilities intended for lease, service and ac commodation. “It will be a yearly revenue for the property that will be made used by the buyers. We are really focused on such sustainable income.”

According to Ray-Casa Infor mation technology and Property Consultant Imee Montemayor, the 8-story European-Cordilleran classic inspired luxurious spa and wellness condominium towers and residences has been already at its

pre-selling stage since July 2022.

“So that’s already 32 percent sold,” she said of the current takeup on the high-end spa and wellness condominium project, with a total inventory of 72 units.

Saleng Spa and Wellness Towers will soon rise in a 6,257.29-squaremeter (sq m) lot along Longboan Alley, Gibraltar, Baguio City. With its strategic location, it’s highly ac cessible to various establishments and near the famous tourist spots of the City of Pines.

The ready individually titled residential units span from 33 sq m to 69.62 sq m at a price range be tween P8.8 million and P22 million.

Offering exclusivity, each of the six residential floors of the tower houses two three-bedroom and six one-bedroom units—all with a balcony—that will be delivered

semi-furnished. Parking slots are also provided.

Unit owners will enjoy per petual ownership and club membership that has access to its world-class amenities and services, such as spa and well ness center, fitness gym, sauna and steam baths, family jacuzzi, roof deck heated infinity pool, international cuisine restau rants, function and conference rooms, theater, music bar, pre mium branded retail stores and service providers.

“This is regarded as one of the showpiece projects of Casa Infini Properties and Develop ment Corp. With its unique fea tures and top-of-the-line archi tectural design, this luxurious mid-rise condo showcases the infusion of European and Cordille ran style that will surely highlight the elegance and cultural pride of the Cordilleran community,” Mon temayor said. “We have sacrificed P380 million worth of sales just for us to provide these world-class amenities to the residents of this condominium tower.”

Mindful of giving back to the buyers, this project offers a realestate program, wherein they can earn from selling or renting out their condo units and parking slots.

“It gives you a guaranteed income of P230,000 up to P1.2 million in just 20 months. So instead of put ting your savings in the bank, you put it here. We now only have 40 condo units and 18 parking slots available. So it’s very good for in vestment,” Floresca stressed.

class golf courses, among others,” explained Sta. Lucia Land Presi dent Exequiel Robles.

At present, Sta. Lucia Land and the entire Sta. Lucia Group has a comprehensive, diverse portfolio comprising over 300 developed projects in 70 cities and 11 regions from Pangasinan to Zamboanga. These projects are located in high growth areas, city centers and even in the fringe areas, en abling the Sta. Lucia Group to help spur economic activities, generate jobs, provide quality homes, and fuel growth even in the countryside.

For 2023, SLI plans to capture the growing residential demand by further expanding its presence in 18 provinces, where it already has a strong footprint. These in clude Bulacan, Pangasinan, Bata an, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Zam bales, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Palawan, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Zamboanga, South Cotabato, and Davao.

To support its expansion proj ects and land banking activities, SLI plans to beef up its capital spending by at least 8 percent in 2023.

Powering the brand

A CTRESS Bea Alonzo and Santa L ucia Land have an enduring part nership. Alonzo, who earned her acting spurs in ABS-CBN, started investing in real estate when she was 15 years old.

She also shared to the report ers that she bought her first prop erty investment in Santa Lucia “I have experienced buying lots and condominiums from them and I know it is the brand I can trust when it comes to investing in real estate,” she said.

Alonzo has been the brand am bassadress of Santa Lucia Land for eight years.

By investing in Santa Lucia, Alonzo said she is confident that her hard-earned money would not go to waste as the company has good developments.

For the 35-year-old Alonzo, location is the prime reason for investing in a property. She adds it will also depend on the needs of the buyer “It also depends on your needs if you want it for in vestment, home or business.”

As a doting daughter to her mother,Alonzo revealed the main reason why she is investing in real estate is to provide stability to the family. She credits her man ager Shirley Kuan for imparting valuable tips in investing in real estate because Kuan has a lot of investments in real estate.

She recalled investing in real estate proved to be beneficial for her especially during the “rainy days.” “It was Mister M [director Johnny Manahan] who helped me and my mom evaluate and as sess our potential investments,” Alonzo recalled.

Sor S ogon C ity is the capital of the province of Sorsogon that lies in the Bicol peninsula. It faces the island of Samar to the southeast across the San Bernardino Strait and Ticao island to the southwest. It serves as Luzon’s gateway to the Visayas and Mindanao through its r ol l-on/ r ol l-off ferry terminal facilities located in the municipalities of Matnog, Pilar and Bulan.

The province of Sorsogon is home to many well-known tourist destinations, such as the active stratovolcano Mt. Bulu san, exceptionally well-preserved Spanish bahay na bato homes in Juban, and the 1875 Baroque-period dome-like St. Joseph Church in Barcelona. It is best known for the town of Donsol, a well-known whale shark sighting destination named as the “Best Place for Animal Encounter” by Time Magazine.

Sorsogon City itself is home to a variety of natural attractions including beautiful beaches, limestone caverns, and a marine reserve are among the highlights found in the city’s Bacon District.

o n o ct ober 28, 2022, it welcomed a new lifestyle destination with the opening of SM City Sorsogon. It is SM Prime’s 81st supermall, and the fourth in Bicolandia after SM City n ag a in Camarines Sur, SM City Legazpi in Albay and SM City Daet in Camarines n o rte.

Strategically located in a 132,003 square-meter site along Brgy. Balogo, Sor sogon City, SM City Sorsogon will serve shoppers in the flourishing province of Sor sogon. More than that, it will be a catalyst for employment and business opportunities in the area.The 40,000-square- meter mall comes in with a new and innovative building design. The exterior is designed as four blue angled volumes of varying patterns, punctu ated by ground floor entrances.

The interior design re-emphasizes the bold exterior geometry with light fixtures mounted at matching angles, while each wing is designed with a vibrant color; orienting visitors, while balancing with contemporary finishes. Clear sight lines, and ample daylight inspire curiosity and discovery throughout the space, creating a unique and enjoyable shopping experience.

The bridge link that connects to the Sorsogon Integrated Terminal Exchange (SITEX) draws tourists because of the beautiful paintings of whale sharks on its ceiling. It also overlooks the coastal road that has a scenic view of sunrise and sunset over the Bulusan volcano and the mountain ranges of Juban and Magallanes in the background.

The SM Store and SM Supermarket are SM City Sorsogon’s anchor stores with SM mainstays like the BD o , SM A ppliance Cen ter, ACE Hardware, Watsons, Surplus, Sports

Central and Miniso leading the way. It also has a Cyberzone for techie shoppers, as well as fashion boutiques, shoe stores, jewelry stores, eyewear stores, and sports stores.

Eating out options include a Food Court, specialty restaurants, international and local food chains like Kenny r og ers, Shakeys, J ollibee, KFC, Botejyu, Mesa, Mr. Kimbob, Monster Wings; as well as milk tea brands Macau Imperial and Sereni tea. L ocals can now indulge in their favored sweet delicacies at JC o an d preferred coffee blends at Starbucks.

Homegrown businesses have also found their way to SM City Sorsogon. These in clude Bigg’s Diner, g ra celand, Ice Blinker, g re en Plaza r es taurant, 528 Ilawod, Legaz pi Four Seasons, Legazpi Haircutters, Happy Feet travel agency and Flowers Con Dahon.

SM City Sorsogon brings the magic of movies to residents with 3 digital cinemas. It also has amusement centers for kids, and wellness centers for looking good and feeling great.

For customer convenience, it has an open parking that can accommodate 705 vehicles. Th e mall is also adjacent to PUV and E-Jeep terminals with local trips to towns nearby.

SM City Sorsogon’s project team includes DS gn A ssociates Inc., HB o + E

Comm’s Cup quarterfinals under way

San Miguel and NorthPort open their best-of-three quarterfinals series Wednesday in the Philippine Basketball Asso ciation Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Game 1 of the Gin Kings-Batang Pier duel is set at 6 p.m.

San Miguel Beer and Converge also begin their best-of-three series at 3 p.m.

Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said NorthPort is a serious opponent after the Batang Pier fought back to reach the playoffs with a 6-6 win-loss record in the eliminations.

R obert Bolick, leader in the Best Player of the Conference race, has also been churning in the numbers for NorthPort.

They are a talented team. They are a tough matchup particularly for us because we like to play big and they like to play small and quick,” Cone said. “We had a tough time against them the last game, but we just made a run in the end.”

B olick leads the conference with 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in 12 games, while his former teammate Jamie Malonzo, now with Ginebra, runs second with 14.3 points and 6.7 rebounds.

Cone also warned about NorthPort import Prince Ibeh.

He’ll be an absolute headache for my players because of his shot-blocking prowess,” said Cone of Ibeh, who’s averaging 4.3 blocks on top of 15.5 points and 13.4 rebounds in 12 games for the Batang Pier.

I mport Justin Brownlee, however, won’t let the Gin Kings down along with Scottie Thompson.

The Beermen, meanwhile, expect to have their hands full when they seek revenge against the FiberXers.

San Miguel Beer bowed to Converge, 102-106, last October 21—and the No. 5 Beermen are now complete with June Mar Fajardo and Terrence Romeo fully recovered from injuries.

Ramos

Josef

Time Cargo bets, E-Sparta ahead

TIME Cargo Logistics Team-2 and E-Sparta each submitted 90 points to share the lead in Am-A at the start of the regular tournament of the 72nd Fil-Am Men’s Invitational at Baguio Country Club course Tuesday in Baguio City.

R ookie David Guangko top scored with a 7-under 68 for 29 points for Time Cargo while Chris John Remata carded a 67 worth 30 points for E-Sparta.

Forest Hills Team-2 came up with an 84 for solo third. TGIS Davao pooled in 82 and X1R-TipsyPigMizuno assembled a 77.

Greenwater Golfers took the lead in Fil-A with 119 points at Camp John Hay. Two points down with 117 was

Neymar returned from injury and converted a first-half penalty in Brazil’s 4-1 win over South Korea in the round of 16 on Monday. He reached 76 goals with the national team, one shy of the mark set by Pelé, who said he would watch the match from his hospital bed in Sao Paulo.

I was very scared,” Neymar said. “It was very difficult after getting injured like I did. I was crying the entire night. My family knows what I had to go through. But in the end it all worked out. It was worth the effort to keep undergoing physiotherapy.” e 82-year-old Pelé is recovering from a respiratory infection that was aggravated by COVID-19, leaving fans in Brazil and in Qatar worried about his condition. Neymar carried a banner with the soccer great’s image and “Pelé” written on it after the match, and the entire team then posed behind it near midfield.

Camp John Hay Golf Club and five adrift was Uragun 1 with 114.

M oto came through with an 82 for a three-point lead in AmC. Baguio Country Club Team-2 amassed 79. Green Jacket Golf Club checked in with 77 followed by Summit Point Team-2 66 and Januarius Team-2 65.

I n Am-E, Bibak NY/NJ/iGolfers Team-2 raced to a seven-point lead after producing 64 points against Team Surigao Siargao’s 57.

O ver at Camp John Hay, Kumpadres scored 103 points to lead the way in Fil-C. Fil-Am League of Golfers Chicago turned in a 90 while Ultra Flite Golf Club had an 85.

NEYMAR, BRAZIL IN CRUISE MODE

“ It’s tough to talk about Pelé with what he is going through,” Neymar said. “We wish he can get well soon. We hope we made him feel a bit more comfortable with the banner and with the victory.”

South Korea was trying to advance past the round of 16 for the first time since its historic run to the semifinals as a co-host in 2002.

Ne ymar damaged ligaments in his right ankle in the team’s opening match against Serbia and at the time there were doubts if he would play again at the World Cup. He was clearly back, and there were no signs of the injury as he led Brazil to a comfortable victory and a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals for the eighth straight time.

B razil will next play Croatia on Friday.

Neymar scored his first goal of this year’s World Cup after kissing the ball and calmly sending a low shot from the spot after waiting the goalkeeper to choose a side in the 13th minute. He danced as his teammates huddled around him, then did dance moves along with Vinícius Junior and other teammates before raising his arms to the sky and smiling broadly.

Neymar was forced out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after getting hurt in the quarterfinals. On Monday, he joined Pelé and Ronaldo with goals for Brazil in three different World Cups.

Fans chanted his name as he walked off the field after the match. He had been substituted in the 81st. AP

Colonia opens bid to return to Olympics

By Josef Ramos

NESTOR COLONIA started his journey toward a possible return to the Olympics when he and two others kicked off the Philippine campaign on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) in the International Weightlifting Federation World Championships at the Gran Carpa Americas Coferias in Bogota, Colombia.

C olonia didn’t get a modest result in his Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 but the 30-year-old veteran lifter from Zamboanga City was relentless for a possible qualification

to shove—as in one-in-one situations that are prone to knockout punches.

Ginebra is the solid pick in its best-of-three affair against NorthPort mainly because of the Gin Kings’ championship pedigree occasioned by Justin Brownlee’s omniscient presence.

H aving an import like Brownlee, the newly-minted naturalized Filipino to reinforce Gilas in the 2023 Fiba World Cup, Ginebra is more than assured of an anchor ready to block hostile winds which he had done so well in the past.

Limitless possibilities

THE

B oth Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and San Miguel Beer are the favorites.  But that’s only on paper.  History tells us that stats do not matter much anymore when push comes

But although NorthPort is not as gilded as Ginebra, the Batang Pier had proven to be worthy of their advance, given that Robert Bolick has been playing with import-like qualities.

A nd even as Ginebra’s Tim Cone prides in being the league’s winningest coach, NorthPort’s Pido Jarencio, whose guileful coaching is slowly gaining fruition, may yet unleash a rabbit out his sleeves in the 5:45 p.m. contest.

A s to the SMB-Converge race-to-two series, the upstart FiberXers need more than their razzle-dazzle to neutralize the Beermen’s barrage of talents.

How to control the back-to-form June Mar Fajardo, the 6-foot-10 SMB lifeline, would remain Converge’s No. 1 concern in the 3 p.m. opener.

Amending PSI by-laws priority –Atty. Chan

THE stabilization committee tasked by the FINA to take over the Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) will prioritize amending the national sports association’s (NSA) by-laws and at the same time put premium on holding elections for its board of trustees.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) legal chief Atty. Wharton Chan said the stabilization committee will immediately convene at least online to get the ball rolling two days after the FINA withdrew its recognition of the previous PSI board of trustees.

“ The immediate task is to amend the PSI by-laws to harmonize with the mandate of FINA,” said Chan, who’s joined in the stabilization committee by POC deputy secretary general Valeriano “Bones” Floro and Bases Conversion and Development Authority senior vice president Arrey Perez.

Floro is in Saudi Arabia attending an Olympic Council of Asia meet ing representing POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and so is Perez, who’s in an official trip abroad.

There is a need to create an electoral reform to harmonize the amended by-laws with existing FINA rules,” Chan added.

The FINA directive dated December 3 and sent to the PSI, POC and the Philippine Sports Commission stressed that it is “effective immediately.”

A s a result, the stabilization committee is all to implement day-to-day transactions of the PSI “in accordance with its daily business” with a premium on inspecting the PSI’s financial documents.

C han also said that the committee will prepare a transparent membership accommodation to expand grassroots and development skills of Filipino athletes.

Tolentino, meanwhile, assured that the stabilization committee will adhere to FINA regulations with the POC stamping its guarantee on shielding swimmers from the situation.

“ The athletes are the first and foremost for the POC and they will be shielded while the stabilization com mittee does its duty,” Tolentino said.

to the Paris 2024 Games.

He has the credentials to make the Olympics anew—he clinched bronze at the 2015 Houston world championships and gold at the Phuket Asian championships in the same year.

Colonia vied in Group B of the men’s 55 kgs class, while Asian Youth gold medalist Rosegie Ramos and Lovely Inan plunged into action in Group B of women’s 49 kgs.

Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas (SWP) Secretary General Patrick Lee told BusinessMirror by phone that the Filipino athletes have strong chances of making the podium despite being in Group B.

It’s nice to know that coach Aldin Ayo leaving Converge was but fake news.   Ayo can now resume his beginner’s luck refrain and, who knows, he might yet derail the four-game winning streak of interim SMB mentor Jorge Gallent? I ndeed, in every me-or-you clash, the possibilities are endless—as in a chess match.

THAT’S IT Are the Los Angeles Lakers back? Seemingly, yes, if we take into account the Lakers’ recent 130-119 rout of the Washington Wizards.  That was their third straight win and eighth triumph in their last 10 games. Anthony Davis was the Lakers’ biggest hero, firing 55 points as he became the first Laker since Kobe Bryant (+) in 2013 to score back-to-back 40-point games, collecting 99 points in two games following Davis’ 44-point effort against the Milwaukee Bucks last weekend. Against the Wizards, Davis was 22-of-30 tries from the field, made all nine free throws and blocked three shots as he continues to bury injury troubles.  Davis got help from LeBron James (29 points) and Lonnie Walker IV (20).  Russell

Du Hizon of San Fernando, Pampanga. Cheers Podner!

Subic Bay Sand Court ready for world beach volleyball tournament

THE finishing touches at the Subic Bay Sand Court were put in place two days before the start of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures on Tuesday at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) in Zambales.

International Volleyball Federation technical delegate Barry “Baz” Wedmaier of Australia scrutinized preparations for the event—particularly specifications in the competition, training and administrative venues—that starts Thursday (December 8) with the men and women qualifiers.

TD Baz is very specific about the venue that it adheres to FIVB standards,” said Ramon “Tats” Suzara, president of the organizing Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF). “And it’s all systems go.”

Wedmaier was accompanied in the final inspection on Tuesday by tournament director Mayi Molit-Prochina, competition director Adrian Tabanag, venue manager Cherry Rose Macatangay, venue director Engineer Joseph Remollena and administrative director Antonio Carlos.

Thursday’s schedule for the qualifiers of the event sup ported by the Philippine Sports Commission, PLDT Home and Rebisco and also backed by Akari, F2 Logistics, Asics, SBMA, Philippine Olympic Committee, Smart Giga Play, Cignal Play, OneSports, OneSports+, Senoh and Mikasa will be determined after the preliminary inquiry on Wednesday (December 7).

Four teams from both genders will advance to the main draw that starts Friday and ends with the finals on Sunday (December 11).

E leven teams from Thailand, Czech Republic, Australia, Japan, USA, Israel and Austria will vie in the men’s qualifiers with the top four teams joining 11 squads from host Philippines (three), Latvia, Thailand, Gambia, Japan, Israel and Lithuania in the main draw.

The women qualifiers have 14 teams—Japan, Norway, Singapore, Czech Republic, Netherlands, USA, Canada, South Korea and France—with the top four joining 12 teams from the Philippines (three), Japan, Thailand, Lithuania, Singapore, Israel, Italy and Austria.

quarterfinals begin today with limitless possibilities for all four protagonists in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Westbrook tossed in six measly points for Los Angeles but issued 15 assists in the match described by LeBron as a “great game for all of us.”…  Happy birthday to Valle Verde’s

NEYMAR (right) celebrates with his teammates Lucas Paqueta, Raphinha and Vinicius Junior after scoring his side’s second goal against South Korea. AP

DOHA, Qatar—It was the same old Neymar out there, looking fit and scoring a goal to move closer to Pelé’s all-time record and lead Brazil into the World Cup quarterfinals.

TIM CONE and the Gin Kings can’t let their guards down against the NorthPort Batang Pier.

TECHNICAL delegate Barry “Baz” Wedmaier (green polo shirt) of Australia scrutinizes the Subic Bay Sand Court with (from left) competition director Adrian Tabanag, tournament director Mayi MolitProchina, administrative director Antonio Carlos, venue director Engineer Joseph Remollena and venue manager Cherry Rose Macatangay.

THIRD seed Barangay Ginebra