BusinessMirror December 08, 2022

THE Philippines’s outstanding debt as of end-October climbed to a fresh record high of P13.64 trillion due to net availment of both local and external loans.

e national government’s (NG) outstanding obligation is already 1.56 percent higher than the national government’s projected debt stock level of P13.43 trillion by the end of this year.

“ e NG’s total debt portfolio reflects a P123.92 billion or 0.92-percent increase from the end-September 2022 level, largely due to the net availment of both local and external loans,” the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said in a statement on Wednesday.

“NG debt has increased by P1.91 trillion or 16.31 percent since endDecember 2021. NG domestic debt amounted to P9.36 trillion, which is P54.58 billion or 0.59 percent higher compared to the end-September 2022 level,” it added.

e Treasury said about twothirds of the national government’s outstanding debt were domestic borrowings while the remaining obligations were sourced externally.

e NG’s domestic debt as of end-October stood at P9.36 trillion, P54.58 billion higher than September’s P9.3 trillion.

e Treasury noted that the NG’s domestic debt rose by P1.18 trillion since the beginning of the year due to “continued preference for domestic fi nancing to mitigate foreign currency risk.”

“For October, the increment to domestic debt was primarily due to the net issuance of government securities amounting to P55.83 billion while local currency appreciation against the US dollar trimmed P1.25 billion,” the Treasury said.

e Treasury said the NG’s external debt, meanwhile, rose to P4.28 trillion in end-October from P4.216 trillion in September due to the P118.71 billion net availment of foreign fi nancing.

“ is was partly offset by the favorable net impact of both localand third-currency fluctuations

HE Philippines’s metallic production this year may breach the P200-billion mark for the fi rst time in history, driven by elevated world prices and improved mine output.

Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) Chairman Michael T. Toledo said there is a huge possibility that the full-year value of local metallic output would hit at least P200 billion driven by favorable production factors.

“ ere is a big possibility that will happen,” Toledo told the BM in an interview on the sidelines of a recent forum.

“If mining is allowed to flourish,

TODAY’S hard times make it difficult for Filipino workers to “lose” or change their jobs, no matter if they are of poor quality, and this may have led to an increase in employment and a decline in unemployment in October, according to local economists.

On Wednesday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the country’s employment situation improved, with the jobless rate reaching 4.5 percent in October, the lowest in 17 years. (Full story: www.businessmirror.com. ph/2022/12/07/phl-unemploymentimproves-to-17-year-low-of-4-5/) e employment situation also

improved with 47.11 million Filipinos employed. is is 3.28 million more than the 43.82 million recorded in October 2021.

“In the Philippines, many of those in the labor force are desperate for any kind of job,” Action for Economic Reforms (AER) Executive Director Filomeno Sta. Ana III told the BM

“We have millions who are unemployed or underemployed and who have ‘bad’ jobs.”

In an e-mail to the BM , former Dean of the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations (Solair) Rene Ofreneo said even if many Filipinos want to quit their jobs, offers and choices are limited. Ofreneo added that the im-

provement in the employment numbers, particularly the increase in the Labor Force, only showed that Filipinos needed to get jobs after “the long Covid layoff.”

Based on PSA data, the labor force increased by 2.02 million to 49.35 million in October 2022 from 47.33 million in October 2021. e Labor Force Participation rate, however, slowed to 64.2 percent.

“Incidentally, the unemployment rate has been going down from 5 to 4.5 percent. I have not seen such a figure for a long time. If we reach 3 percent, we might see full employment already,” Ofreneo said. e main problem, he explained, is that the overwhelming numbers are informal in the ever-

growing informal sector and informal in the “informalizing” formal labor market. “ e explanation is dire: the necessity of surviving and earning kahit papaano, no matter how menial the available jobs are.”

Digitalization

FOR Ateneo de Manila University economist Leonardo Lanzona Jr., indeed, quality jobs remain a problem in the Philippines. is could also worsen as more jobs are taken over by “cheaper digital technologies.”

Lanzona added that the situation could worsen next year with the expectation of recession in many advanced economies. e

HE country’s manufacturing output posted its fi fth consecutive month of positive growth in October, according to the latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) of the Philippine Statistics Author-

e data showed the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) recorded a year-on-year increase of 5.1 percent in October 2022. is rate is faster than the annual increase of 4.1 percent in the previous month. is year, the country recorded contractions in May and April but since June, the VoPI has been posting positive growth. In October 2021, VoPI expanded at an annual growth rate of 27 percent.

“Out of the 22 industry divisions, 14 reported positive annual growth, which was led by manufacture of machinery and equipment except electrical with 81.8 percent annual growth rate,” PSA said.

However, eight industry divisions posted annual decreases, with manufacture of electrical equipment exhibiting the largest contraction of 56.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector posted its highest average capacity utilization rate for the year at 72.4 percent in October

it can defi nitely bring in increased production, increased export receipt, productivity and employment opportunities. Just allow it to flourish sustainably and responsibly,” Toledo added.

Toledo explained that the drivers behind better mineral production performance this year were higher global demand for nickel and copper, depreciation of the peso and volatility in the world market.

Bulk of the country’s mineral output is being exported for valueadding and processing in countries with sufficient downstream capabilities.

“Mining has been demonized for allegedly being anti-environment. But now, [it is] actually [a] manna

from heaven in a sense, as far as climate change is concerned,” he said.

“Most of the renewable technologies rely on the minerals that are mined. Electric vehicles need nickel and solar panels need copper,” he added.

e value of the country’s mineral production from January to September rose by 29.21 percent on an annual basis to P175.61 billion driven by “bullish” metal prices and increased mine output.

Historical Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) data showed that the value of mineral production during the 9-month period already surpassed by P14.7 billion the P160.91-billion output record-

Mfg...

Data showed this is also the sixth consecutive month when the average capacity utilization rate breached the 70 percent level. e data showed the average capacity utilization rate for manufacturing sector in October improved from the 71.5 percent posted in September. In October 2021, the average capacity utilization rate was at 67.4 percent.

“ ere were 20 out of 22 industry divisions with more than 60 percent average capacity utilization rate, led by manufacture of computer, electronic, and optical products [80.3 percent], manufacture of machinery and equipment except electrical [80.1 percent], and manufacture of wearing apparel [79.3 percent],” PSA said.

e PSA also said almost one-fi fth of responding establishments operated at full capacity. e proportion of establishments that operated at full capacity was 19.9 percent of the total number of responding establishments.

Meanwhile, some 40.4 percent operated at 70 to 89 percent capacity, while 39.7 percent operated below 70 percent capacity. e MISSI report continues to monitor the production, net sales, inventories, and capacity utilization of selected manufacturing establishments to provide fl ash indicators on the performance of the manufacturing sector.

Cai U. Ordinario

Amid members’ uproar, GSIS, SSS dropped from ‘Maharlika’

But the ballpark figure is sufficiently large, meaning good enough to start an investment fund of this nature,” she said.

Quimbo said the purpose of the Maharlika Fund is to become an investment vehicle where existing surplus capital of the government can grow and reap benefits.

“It’s good we are holding a series of consultations on the bill; the apprehensions of our people, especially Filipino workers who make monthly contributions to GSIS and SSS, are addressed,” she added, partly in Filippino.

System and Land Bank of the Philippines, P25 billion from the Development Bank of the Philippines and P25 billion from the Treasury of the Philippines.

Under the bill, as a subsequent annual contribution to the fund, the BSP shall provide 50 percent of its annual dividends while Pagcor shall contribute at least 10 percent of gross gaming revenue streams created after the effectivity of this proposal.

Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, one of the principal authors, made an announcement late Wednesday, following their meeting with economic managers amid the concerns of business groups and the public on the proposed law creating the P275-billion Maharlika Wealth Fund.

“ is [Wednesday] morning, the House leaders led by Speaker Martin Romualdez met with the economic managers to reassess the Maharlika Fund bill as drafted by the economic managers. Based on our assessment of the proposed changes put forward by the economic team, we are amending the bill to change the

fund sources, removing GSIS and SSS as fund contributors and instead utilize profits of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,” she said in a press conference.

Upon the Speaker’s instructions, Quimbo said the changes would be introduced into the bill on Friday.

Quimbo said the funds that the BSP will invest will also be determined at their Friday’s hearing.

“ e discussions on the amendments shall be taken up by the Committee on Appropriations on Friday upon the instruction of Speaker Romualdez,” she said.

“ e BSP is still computing it because it will come from dividends.

“Any surplus capital of government should be invested in projects with high returns. e people will also benefit from the investment profits of Maharlika, which can be felt through bigger budgets for government programs that address the needs of every Filipino,” Quimbo said.

As the House tackles the bill, Quimbo said lawmakers will put in place safety nets to ensure the success of this project.

Under House Bill 6398, GSIS, SSS, Land Bank, the Development Bank of the Philippines, and the national government are mandated to invest equity with a combined total of P270 billion to start up the fund.

GSIS will provide an initial investment of P125 billion, P50 billion for both the Social Security

Metallic...

ed for the whole 2021.

“ e important factors for this development were the bullish metal prices of nickel ore and gold paired with the increased mine output of gold, silver, chromite, and iron ore during the period,” the MGB said.

MGB data showed that the value of production of gold, silver, copper concentrate, nickel direct shipping ore, chromite and iron ore all increased on an annual basis during the 9-month period.

“Nickel ore enjoyed a 47.21-percent or US$3.84 increment from

e bill also said the Maharlika Wealth Fund, an independent fund, adheres to the principles of good governance, transparency and accountability. e fund shall be sourced from the investible funds of the country’s top-performing GFIs, the Treasury of the Philippines and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

e bill said the fund shall be used to invest on a strategic and commercial basis in a manner designed to promote fi scal stability for economic development, and strengthen the top performing GFIs through additional investment platforms that will help attain the national government’s priority plan.

e establishment of the Maharlika Wealth Fund was patterned after the sovereign wealth fund of other countries, to maximize the profitability of investible government assets.

$8.13 per lb. to US$11.97 per lb. year-on-year. Based on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas [BSP] price bulletin gold stepped up with a $24.51 or 1.36-percent increase from $1,801.97 per troy ounce to $1,826.47 per troy ounce yearon-year,” MGB said. Gold output rose by 28 percent year-on-year to P67.449 billion while silver production more than doubled to P1.519 billion, based on MGB data.

In terms of quantity, gold production increased by 17 percent to 21,836 kilograms from last year’s 18,715 kilograms. Meanwhile, silver output more than doubled to 41,710 kilograms from 18,045 kilograms.

Output of nickel direct shipping ore from January to September

against the USD amounting to P43.07 billion and P6.30 billion, respectively,” it added.

On a year-to-date basis, the country’s external debt has risen by P727.65 billion due to “local- and third-currency fluctuations that increase the peso value of foreign denominated obligations,” according to the BTr.

e NG’s guaranteed obligations declined by P10.69 billion month-on-month to P386.53 billion from P397.22 billion in September, based on BTr data.

“For October, the lower level of guaranteed debt was due to the net repayment of domestic guarantees amounting to P7.30 billion and the impact of currency fluctuation on both local- and third currency denominated guarantees amounting to P2.20 billion and P1.79 billion, respectively,” the Treasury said.

“ ese were slightly tempered by the net issuance of external guarantees amounting to P0.60 billion. From the end-December 2021 level, total NG guaranteed debt is lower by P37.38 billion or 8.82 percent,” it added.

reached P46.824 billion, slightly higher than the previous year’s P45.969 billion, MGB data showed. However, the volume of nickel direct shipping ore fell by 17 percent year-on-year to 22.525 dry metric tons. MGB data also showed that the value of mixed nickel-cobalt sulfide production expanded by 63 percent year-on-year to P39.805 billion while the value of copper concentrate output rose 62 percent on an annual basis to P18.985 billion.

e country’s chromite production ballooned by 981 percent yearon-year to P936.407 million on the back of a 829-percent increase in quantity (100,477 dry metric tons from 10,816 dry metric tons), according to the MGB.

‘Poor-quality jobs helped lower unemployment’

global economic crunch could prompt fi rms to do cost-cutting measures to survive, including digitalization.

“ e employment rates may remain as they are but the middle income jobs may start to decrease, especially as a result of greater digitalization, or jobs being taken over by cheaper digital technologies. In other words, underemployment can increase as more people shift into lower-paying jobs or the informal sector,” Lanzona explained.

Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Emmanuel F. Esguerra also told the BM that in order to improve job quality in the country, the government should focus on growing employment in labor-intensive sectors. Based on PSA data, agriculture and forestry saw the largest decline in employment on a quarter on quarter and year on year basis.

Agriculture and forestry lost 511,000 jobs to 9.22 million in October 2022 compared to 9.73 million in July 2022. e sector lost 197,000 jobs from the 9.42 million recorded in October 2021. e PSA data showed the top industry that saw the highest growth in job creation was the transportation and storage sector with 239,000 jobs gained compared to July 2022.

On a year-on-year basis, the top employment creator was the wholesale and retail trade, repair

of motor vehicles and motorcycles with 672,000 jobs created compared to October 2021.

“We should be aiming to grow employment in sectors of high productivity. What’s happened so far is that employment has grown or is growing in areas of relatively low productivity,” Esguerra said.

Neda: restrictions lifting helped

MEANWHILE , the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the government’s decision to remove restrictions benefited the employment numbers.

“Our move to fi nally open faceto-face classes at full capacity has paved the way for us to immediately address the learning losses from the pandemic—this is a precursor to a workforce that demonstrates competence and high productivity.

Also, with children back in school, parents-at-home—especially mothers—are also able to pursue more income opportunities,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said.

Neda said much of the increase in employment came from the services and industry sectors. Meanwhile, the agriculture sector shed jobs, particularly in agriculture and forestry, as a result of the tropical cyclones in October 2022.

However, Neda said this contraction in the sector was slightly moderated by fi shing and aquaculture, which recorded 34,000 additional employment during the

period.

Underemployment

MEANWHILE , the underemployment rate fell to 14.2 percent from 16.1 percent in October 2021, or 371,000 fewer underemployed persons. Nevertheless, the number of invisibly underemployed continues to increase as more seek to earn additional income amid the persistent rise in commodity prices.

“While the employment numbers have improved, we recognize that we need to expand efforts towards creating more and highquality employment by improving workforce employability. We need to do this if we really want to pursue economic transformation,” Balisacan said.

Balisacan also affi rmed the government’s commitment to boosting the country’s disaster resilience as the La Niña season is expected to persist until March 2023. ese include the effective implementation of emergency employment programs to minimize employment losses, leveraging technology that will improve knowledge-sharing, and establishing preventive and responsive measures for disaster risk reduction and management across the country.

Recognizing the private sector as the country’s engine for growth, Balisacan likewise called for more public-private partnerships to expand skills development and opportunities in the country.

LEADERS of the House of Representatives and economic managers have agreed to remove the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS) as fund contributors to the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) and instead utilize profits of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The Nation

Senate OKs Philippine Congress, Bangsamoro Parliament Forum

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

THE Senate has unanimously adopted Concurrent Reso lution (SCR) 5 seeking to establish the Philippine CongressBangsamoro Parliament Forum.

S tanding as author and spon sor of SCR 5, Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said that both chambers of Congress and the Bangsamoro Parliament met last November to identify the most urgent legislative concerns of the Parliament. He said that the Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum is an inter governmental body tasked to help achieve and maintain genu ine peace and progress for the Bangsamoro Region.

I n a statement, Zubiri report ed the meeting was the first step towards the establishment of the forum, saying Congress would now have better coordination with the Bangsamoro Parliament once the forum would be fully established.

T he senate leader said discus sions on legislative concerns for the Bangsamoro Region would easily be tackled and actions on important matters could be swiftly taken.

As the author and sponsor of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, and as a Mindanaoan myself, I am very proud of the achievements of the interim Bangsamoro Govern ment, that made great progress towards lasting peace for the Bangsamoro Region.”

A lot of work

ZUBIRI readily acknowledged the Bangsamoro Region had proven it could stand on its own and was fully capable of exercising autonomy during the Covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters such as the severe tropical storm Paeng.

N onetheless, the Senate lead er quickly reminded that “there

remains a lot of work to be done for the BARMM [Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao], which is still in its transition stage.”

F or instance, the Senate lead er stressed that “most urgently” there is a need to pass the prior ity legislation, particularly the remaining codes of the Bangsam oro Transition Authority—such as the Electoral Code and the Lo cal Governance Code, to name a few.

These codes will form the foun dation of the Bangsamoro Govern ment; and it is absolutely vital that these are passed soon, as we cannot afford to extend the Bangsamoro Transition Authority anymore,” Zubiri said.

No force of law

AT the same time, the solon also emphasized the “immediate need to establish the Philippine CongressBangsamoro Parliament Forum to properly implement the Bangsamoro Organic Law.”

C onveying its urgency, all sena tors signed up as co-authors of SCR 5, taking into consideration SCR 2. Under SCR 5, the Philip pine Congress shall be represented by a 5-member panel each from the Senate of the Philippines and the House of Representatives as designated by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President, respectively.

W hile he acknowledged that a concurrent resolution is used for matters affecting the opera tions of both Houses and must be passed in the same form by the two Chambers, Zubiri noted, however, it doesn’t need the Presi dent’s signature.

Zubiri added it also doesn’t have the force of law, citing for instance that concurrent resolutions are used to fix the time of adjournment of a Congress and to express the “sense of Congress” on an issue.

SC committee vows to push for writ of kalayaan approval

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

THE Supreme Committee on Human Rights vowed to push for the approval of the writ of kalayaan, a legal remedy that is in tended to address jail congestion in the country.

A ssociate Justice Marvic Mario Victor F. Leonen, chairman of the SC Committee on Human Rights, said he would endorse the approval of the writ of kalayaan next year.

“Human rights, in a sense, also include our duty to respect not only the individual, but also collective freedoms,” Leonen said during the unveiling last Tuesday of the marker

memorializing the Court’s commit ment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the SC Main Build ing in Manila.

In his message, Leonen stressed that human rights “consists not only of a penumbra of autonomies for the individual—it can also be framed as part of our duties to each other, our communities, and our societies.”

The writ of kalayaan, according to Leonen, will assist various in dividuals and communities as well as call the attention of specific courts regarding the condition of the country’s jails and deten tion centers.

He first suggested the writ of kalayaan in his separate opinion in

MOVING to ensure speedy disposition of all pending cases and decongest pris ons and detention centers, Senator Raffy T. Tulfo urged the Judiciary to create more courts and expand its pool of judges nationwide.

For a start, the senator suggests “the Judiciary should immediately assess places with insufficient num ber of judges and court houses to address clogging of court dockets that could help in swiftly dispens ing justice to poor and innocent individuals rotting in jail pending trial of their cases.”

Tulfo was quoted in a statement issued last Wednesday as saying there are many inmates in city jails who were wrongly accused of crimes they did not commit or were merely used as fall guy by erring authorities. The lawmaker said “countless of innocent inmates are languishing in city jails, ginamit na fall guy at napagtripan dahil mahirap at walang pampiyansa [used as a fall guy and tripped because he was poor and can’t afford bail].”

Tulfo added that “overwhelmed din sa kaso ang mga korte kaya kapag nadesisyunan, ilang taon na ang lu mipas at ilang taon na ring nagdusa ang biktima. [The courts are also overwhelmed with cases, so when a decision is made, several years have passed and the victim has suffered for several years.]”

2020 on the case brought to the SC by political detainees seeking to be released on the ground their old age and medical condition make them more susceptible of contracting the deadly Covid-19 virus.

The writ of kalayaan, accord ing to Leonen, should serve as a continuing mandamus to address jail congestion.

Kapatid, a group providing support for the family of political prisoners, earlier asked the SC to push for the adoption of the writ as an extraordinary remedy for political prisoners.

Likewise, Leonen disclosed that the committee will also review the contents, impact, and operations of

the writ of amparo, habeas data, and habeas corpus.

“It will do so in a consultative manner, involving not only the basic sectors but government as well as uniformed services,” he said.

Aside from these, Leonen said his committee will submit within the first half of next year its rec ommendations to the Court en banc on to further protect lawyers and judges.

More than 30 retired and active judges have been killed since 1999, with only 10 percent of the cases having been resolved.

In some of these cases the master minds were not arrested or charged, the SC previously said.

victim should also be given compen sation from the government for the years they suffered in jail.]”

THE Department of Education (DepEd) thanked the Filipino people for the trust and sup port after it emerged as top-perform ing government agency in the survey of OCTA Research Inc.

The reopening of schools and the resumption of in-person classes—geared at ensuring that we effectively address the enor mous learning losses brought by the Covid-19 pandemic—would have been harder without your help, feedback, advice, and con fidence in us,” a statement from the DepEd read.

T he DepEd earned 87 percent satisfaction, based on the survey conducted nationwide on October 23 to 27, from the adult respon dents for its performance in the past three months.

This strengthens our deter mination to find solutions to the issues and challenges besetting the Department.”

T he DepEd is hoping to continue partnering with everyone in “raising the quality of basic education, pro tecting our youth from all forms of abuse, and promoting the rights and welfare of our learners and all DepEd personnel across the country,” the statement read.

T he DepED, the Department of Health (79 percent) and the Depart ment of Social Welfare and Develop ment (76 percent) are the top three performing agencies based on the survey of OCTA. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Thursday ad vised motorists to take alternate routes as the “Parade of Stars 2022” for the Metro Manila Film Festival

(MMFF) will take place in Quezon City on December 21.

T he parade, hosted by the Quezon City local government unit (LGU), will feature floats carrying the stars of the eight official movie entries in this year’s MMFF beginning at Wel come Rotonda at 4 p.m. and ending at Quezon Memorial Circle (QMC).

Remedial

legislation DEPLORING that “this is antipoor,” Tulfo said he is moving to introduce remedial legislation to check the anomaly.

“I am proposing a bill na ’yung mga awtoridad na nagtanim ng ebidensya at sinadyang makulong ang inosen teng akusado ay maparusahan nang kasing-bigat ng kinaso nila sa kanilang biktima. Dapat ay mabigyan din ang inosenteng biktima ng compensation mula sa gobyerno para sa ilang taong pagdurusa nila sa kulungan! [I am proposing a bill that the authorities who planted evidence and intention ally imprison the innocent accused will be punished as severely as they charged their victim. The innocent

At a recent public hearing of the Committee of Justice and Human Rights, jointly with the Public Infor mation and Mass Media and Finance last Tuesday, Tulfo cited the nagging problems in the shortage of courts and judges in the country, contributing to the “slow Philippine justice system greatly affecting the poor who do not have capacity to post bail.”

I n the same hearing, he recalled Court Administrator Raul B. Villan ueva confirming there are roughly 1,100 court houses and halls of jus tice all over the country, but only 400 of which are owned by the Su preme Court (SC). The remaining ones are owned by local govern ment units (LGUs).

Budget cuts

DURING his turn, Tulfo conveyed strong reservation on having court houses owned by LGUs, especially when they are also the ones purchas ing furniture and appliances for the

prior

DAVAO CITY—The head of the Reproductive Health and Wellness Center (RHWC) here urged residents to avail of the free testing and treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) before the onset of symptoms to improve their chance of fighting the disease.

Dr. Jordana P. Ramiterre said the city government “continues to offer free testing and treatment for per sons potentially living and currently living with HIV.”

“They should be tested early so that they can start to take the drugs before the symptoms appear,” Ramiterre said. The RHWC man ages patients through outpatient ar rangement, primarily those who do not show symptoms yet, she added. The antiretroviral drugs are also for those who are not manifesting symptoms yet.

“It is for those who do not have symptoms, for as long as we start early, and they practice a healthy lifestyle and they are doing what they can do, so this facility is really for outpatient cases,” Ramiterre said.

court, including electric fans and air conditioning units. He noted that “such practice leaves judges indebted to politicians and, thus, affecting judicial independence,” reminding that all courts should be owned and managed by the SC.

Sen. Emmanuel Joel J. Villanue va agreed and stressed the need for enough budgetary support.

“Dapat mabigyan ng karagdagang budget ang [SC] para magkaroon ito ng autonomy at independence na mag patayo ng mga korte ng judges. Dahil sa kakulangan ng budget ng korte, ang LGU ang nagpo-provide ng ibang gamit tulad ng aircon, furniture at electronic device para dito, kaya nagkakaroon ng utang na loob ang mga judges sa mga politiko na nagiging untouchables.” [The SC should be given an additional budget so that it has the autonomy and inde pendence to set up judges’ courts. Due to the lack of budget of the court, the LGU provides other things such as air conditioner, furniture and electronic devices for it, so the judges become in debted to the politicians who become untouchables,]” he added. Butch Fernandez

She said the RHWC is the sole and primary treatment facility in the Davao Region. It’s a facility for prevention, treatment care and sup port. It also promotes testing.

“It is all in place from prevention, treatment and care services, the pa tients go back to our facility every now and then, we also have labora tories because we have to test their response to the treatment so this is really for lifetime,” Ramiterre said.

She added that the RHWC services “are outpatient and we encourage those who suspect that they have HIV to go to the center and ask for a free test.”

Ramiterre explained that the test ing is free because the kits are from Department of Health and that the treatment is also free because it is un der the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) since the RHWC is also PhilHealth-accredited.

She said that hospitals in the city, such as the Southern Philip pines Medical Center (SPMC), also have an allocation for antiretroviral drugs used for treatment as it also has Philhealth accreditation. Manuel T. Cayon

As part of the agency’s traffic man agement plan, MMDA Acting Chair man lawyer Romando S. Artes said the agency’s personnel are working with Quezon City LGU officials and barangay leaders to manage traffic and ensure the safety of the people attending the parade.

T he 48th MMFF will officially

open in theaters nationwide from December 25, 2022. The festival would run until January 7, 2023.

T he MMFF Parade Committee, the local government of Quezon City, and concerned barangay offi cials have also inspected the route and the parade grounds, Artes, also concurrent MMFF over-all Chair

man, added.

T he staging area for the floats of the official entries and the MMDA will be along E. Rodriguez Avenue to Banawe. Motorists are advised to stay away from the area on the eve ning of December 20 as floats would begin arriving on the site and a stage would be built.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Jobs market rally seen to fizzle out next year

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

LABOR groups on Wednesday said they expect the recent improvements in the country’s labor force indicators will only last until the Christmas season due to lack of a comprehensive employment plan from the government.

S entro ng Nagkakaisa at Pro gresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) Secretary General Josua Mata at tributed the rise in employment and drop in unemployment and underemployment last October to the expected high demand for goods and service during the last quarter of the year.

“Once the demand surge in the fourth quarter is gone when we en ter next year, we might see slower growth in employment,” Mata told the BusinessMirror

T UCP Vice President Luis C. Corral echoed the position of Mata on the “seasonality” of the rise in employment from October to December.

So those are not decent, regu lar jobs. Those are temporary sea sonal jobs driven by the fact that the Christmas season has started,” Corral told the BusinessMirror T he labor leader said the trend may also be attributed to the 732,000 workers who left the labor market last October thus helping

reduce the number of unemployed and underemployed.

“ That might be indicative of work ers who are already tired, frustrated, discouraged from looking for work and employment in the job market because the quality of job is poor,” Corral said.

Pre-pandemic levels

LAST Wednesday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released its latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) results, which showed the unemploy ment rate last October fell back to pre-pandemic levels at 4.5 percent, which translates to 2.24 unemployed workers, from the 7.4 percent in the same period last year.

Underemployed persons or em ployed persons who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have an additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work also dropped to 14.2 percent, which is equivalent to 6.67 million people from 16.1 percent year on year.

T he number of employed workers also rose to 47.11 million last Octo ber, from 43.82 million in the same period last year.

D espite the said improvements, Mata lamented that said new indi cators were only at par with those before the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

They promised we’ll build back

better. Apparently, we are now back to bad normal,” Mata said.

L ikewise, he said the LFS showed about 20 percent or 8.91 of the country’s 49.35 working individu als are “underutilized.”

That means that almost 1 out of 5 Filipino workers are unproductive due to unemployment and under employment. This is the usual level of structural unemployment that we have had before the pandemic,” Mata said.

Sustainable gains

ENSURING the improvements in the LFS will be sustainable, Mata said, will depend on the government’s comprehensive labor agenda, which

it has yet to release.

It’s really hard to stay opti mistic especially when we cannot see concrete actions taken by the government to guarantee jobs,” Mata said.

For his part, Corral reiterated the government could help generate more decent jobs by making electric ity cheaper and providing muchneeded loans or grants to busi nesses, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME).

These will bring down the cost of business operations and it will enhance the productivity of all cor porations and all employers encour aging them to bring in and hire more workers,” Corral said.

Govt seizes ₧83.193M worth of smuggled agricultural goods

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE national government seized more than P80 mil lion worth of smuggled agri cultural products in two separate operations recently.

In a statement, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said authorities seized P63 million worth of frozen

meat products from Hong Kong and China at the Manila International Container Port that were misde clared goods.

T he DA identified the consign ee of the shipments as Victory JM Enterprise.

T he DA said the first two con tainer vans were declared to carry frozen prawn balls but had frozen chicken paws, frozen boneless beef,

Vietnamese suckling pig and bean curd skin instead.

The other two vans contained fro zen beef cheek meat but were misde clared to authorities as frozen prawn balls as well, according to the DA.

“An intelligence report received by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Inspectorate and Enforcement [DA I&E] prompted the deployment of a composite team from the Bu reau of Plant Industry [BPI], Philip pine Coast Guard [PCG] and Bureau of Customs [BOC] to conduct an inspection on November 23 and 28 respectively,” it said in a statement issued last Wednesday.

“The DA is currently preparing charges against the people respon sible for violating the Anti-Agricul tural Smuggling Act of 2016 [RA 10845] and Food Safety Act of 2013 [RA 10611],” it added.

Pork imports from both Hong Kong and China are currently banned by the national government due to African swine fever [ASF] concerns.

Port of Subic IN a related development, the Cus toms Bureau disclosed that it was able to intercept P20.193 million worth of smuggled farm products in coordination with the DA and

Port of Subic.

The BOC said Port of Subic Dis trict Collector Maritess T. Martin issued Alert Orders last December 1 against the shipments that origi nated from China by Veneta Con sumer Goods Trading and Lalavy Aggregates Trading.

Government authorities conduct ed a physical examination on the inbound shipments last December 6 that revealed that the 1x40 container was misdeclared as foodstuffs but contained frozen carrots.

“Moreover, the 2x40 shipments consigned to Lalavy Aggregates Trading, declared as frozen lobster

balls and crabsticks, were found to contain fresh red and white onions,” the BOC said.

The Customs bureau said the POS will issue warrants of seizure and de tention against the shipments after the conduct of complete examination and inventory.

The consignee allegedly vio lated DA Administrative Order 18 (series of 2000), DA Circular 4 (series of 2016) and Section 1400 in relation to Section 1113 (f) of Republic Act 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modern ization and Tariff Act (CMTA), according to the BOC.

BOC-Davao start talks on Sasa Port expansion

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

DAVAO CITY—The Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Davao has started talks on further expanding and modernizing the Sasa wharf to maximize efforts on trade facilitation and revenue collection, the agency said on Tuesday.

T he BOC said it held talks with Globalport Terminals Inc., a Fili pino-owned subsidiary that won a 20-year contract on cargo handling, passenger, roll-on/roll-off, and other port terminal-related services in the Port of Sasa.

T he BOC said the modernization plan was to have a bigger and more

modernized port to meet the govern ment’s 8-point socioeconomic strat egy “of boosting investments and improving infrastructure.”

T he BOC said the modernization plan came in the wake of progress of the port’s performance in making the region a major player in international trade, and in the growth of its collec tion targets since 2016.

It said the significant increase “in dicated how robust the local economy is in the Davao Region, clearly aligned with Globalport’s expansion project.”

Collection target

THIS week, the BOC reported it ex ceeded its 2022 collection target “ahead of schedule.”

A month before the year ends, the Bureau of Customs-Port of Davao, in cluding its sub-ports in General Santos City, Parang, and Mati, has already ex ceeded its annual target for the year 2022 after having collected P40.49 bil lion in duties and taxes, or 0.81 percent positive deviation against its assigned target of P40.17 billion,” it said.

For the month of November, the Davao port had also exceeded its monthly revenue target by 1.42 per cent with a total revenue collection of P3.47 billion against its P3.41 bil lion target.

T he Davao Port collection perfor mance also reflected the BOC’s nation al collection performance saying that the BOC “has also already exceeded

its whole-year collection target for 2022 as of early November this year, marking the bureau’s highest revenue performance to date. The agency col lected P745.50 billion as of November 11, surpassing its collection target of P721.52 billion for the entire year by P23.98 billion or 3.27 percent.”

Time release study

THE BOC-Davao Port had also met with its counterparts on trade facilita tion and border security in the Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines-East Asean Growth Area. The discussions held last November explored the conduct of a “Time Re lease Study” (TRS) as part of the pri ority projects.

Doris Magsaysay-Ho’s pitch: Adopt ‘portropolis’ concept

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

SHIPPING line owner Doris Mag saysay-Ho is recommending that the government adopt the concept of a “portropolis”—a play on “ports” and “metropolis”—and view ports from a different perspective.

T he highly respected business leader explained that a network of portropolis essentially means that ports are the “heart of burgeoning economies.” Ports, she said, should not only be gateways but full logis tics hubs with spaces for inland con tainer depots, stripping, agricultural facilities, cold storage, inspection, and certification of products to en able efficient distribution of goods for export and import.

International ports have made significant investments and can contribute valuable revenue to the government. However, it is impor tant for the government to improve the vital performance of ports with ‘a whole-of-government approach’ working on solutions’ outside the port,” Magsaysay-Ho said.

C rucial to her proposal is the removal of obstructions that re strict quick and efficient move ment of cargo.

“ The roads, that are the arteries to and from the ports, must be free and clear of illegal business fees

charged by the LGUs [local govern ment units],” Maysaysay-Ho said.

C learing these roads of all sources of congestion, she said, would make movement of goods faster from ports by cargo trucks and to shippers.

“Ideally, obstacles along these arteries are cleared, so we can lift truck bans which prevent a trucker to maximize the use of the asset and lower charges,” Magsaysay-Ho said.

She said shipping remains the most economical way to deliver cargo by volumes. In fact, 90 percent of all goods is transported via ships.

“Some high-end priced goods or those needing speed, may use air cargo services but shipping is still the most economicalwayto shipgoods,especially in volume,” Magsaysay-Ho stressed.

T he supply bottlenecks the coun try saw at the height of the pandemic and surge in freight and land trans port costs, she noted, are serving as “lessons on how to achieve better shipping and logistics operations.”

It is important for the govern ment to acknowledge that shipping and logistics are ‘critical infrastruc tures’ needed for the country’s devel opment and are not impediments,” Magsaysay-Ho said. “But the work we must do must be long-term policies and solutions, not short term ones. The long-term solution will require an ‘all-of-government’ approach to infrastructure planning.”

PHL yields $655-M export sales in China trade fair

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

THE Philippines posted a re cord-high $655.15 million in sales from its generated export transactions in November with the Chinese market.

According to the Center for In ternational Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem), majority or 97 percent of the total amount came from on-site sales and bulk purchase contracts made by 62 local food and food-related companies that repre sented the country at the China In ternational Import Expo (CIIE) held early last month in Shanghai.

T he remaining 3 percent, on the other hand, were accounted for by their participation in online busi ness-matching activities during the trade fair, per the export promotions arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

T he Philippines continues to enjoy strong bilateral trade relations with China amid their territorial dispute over South China Sea.

I n fact, product exchange be tween the two Asian neighbors has improved further even before the pandemic period.

“ The amount of products we ex port to China has vastly increased in the past five to six years,” said Phil ippine Trade and Investment Center Shanghai Head Mario C. Tani.

He added that this year’s “sales were five times higher” than in 2018 when the country joined for the first time in the inaugural stag ing of the CIIE.

Surpassing the half-a-billion doldol lar mark, the above-cited amount

is also the largest sales generated from such event since its inception four years ago, and the biggest yield recorded for a Philippine participa tion in any of the international trade events for 2022.

Our participation in the CIIE has become not only a practical response to opportunity but an imperative to expand our international market, cement the Philippines’ reputation as a reliable sourcing destination for food, and introduce more qual ity food products into China’s main stream markets,” DTI Secretary Fred Pascual said during the official open ing of the expo.

L eading the design and conceptu alization of the Philippine pavilion at the CIIE, Citem presented a onecountry promotional approach with a single storyline or call to experi ence a “Festival of Island Flavors”, showcasing three brands, namely, FOODPhilippines, CoconutPhilip pines, and Liwayway China's Oishi.

D uring the event, the DTI, through its Trade Promotions Group (TPG) and the Export Marketing Bureau, also built strategic alliances with Chinese business partners.

It signed cooperation intentions with two of China's largest food chambers, the Beijing-based China Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs and Native Produce (CFNA) and the Shanghai Food Association (SFA).

With their combined 7,500 com pany-members, these partnerships will be crucial to improve coopera tion between Filipino and Chinese firms in areas, such as businessmatching, technical cooperation, and investments to bolster food production capacity.

Exports roadmap launching stalled; DTI review awaited

By Andrea E. San Juan

THE Philippine Exporters Con federation Inc. (Philexport) said the launch of the Phil ippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) for 2023-2028 has been delayed because it is still being re viewed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Philexport President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. told reporters on the sidelines of the National Export Congress 2022 on Wednesday, “The process involving PEDP has not been finished, the DTI is still reviewing it. Well, because we have a new secre tary, he hasn’t finished reviewing it yet. After DTI completes its review the Export Development Council will give its final approval.”

Meanwhile, Ortiz-Luis agreed with Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Founda tion Inc. (SEIPI) President Danilo C. Lachica that hitting the $80-billion goal for electronics exports under

the PEDP by 2027 is iffy, given the huge challenge posed by countries, especially Vietnam, that have been luring investors in the Philippines’s traditional top exports.

T he Philexport chief cited the shortage of chips and supply chain disruption among the reasons be hind the anxiety over hitting the said target: “May shortage kaya lahat ngayon pila pati ’yung mga kotse na hindi binibili nakapila, e, dahil meron, ’yung supply chain nagka-problema.”

In his speech during the NEC, Or tiz-Luis laid out some of the “critical accomplishments” of the country’s umbrella organization for exporters, including the passage of the Export Development Act (EDA), which he said led to the birth of the Export Development and the National Com petitiveness Councils, “possibly the first two strong cases of public pri vate partnership (PPP).”

“ The EDA has set in motion the advocacy and programs that are to be the foundation and evolving spirit

behind the consequent interven tions such as the development and implementation of the Philippine Export Development Plan or PEDP, the Magna Carta for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, im plementation of Export Promotion and Support Funds, streamlining of export procedures and require ments, opening and expansion of market access, liberalization of key economic sectors such as banking, telecommunication, retail and fran chising, and institutionalization of trade facilitation policies and laws,” Ortiz-Luis said.

M oving forward, the head of Philexport said it aims to foster private sector and government partnership.

In fact, he said, “this is embedded in Philexport’s DNA, the engagement with government and private sector partners for meaningful advocacies, programs and projects that will em power our exporters particularly the [micro,small, and medium enterpris

es] MSMEs to continue performing and providing value within the sup ply chain they are part of.”

According to the statement re leased by the DTI two weeks ago, the PEDP for 2023-2028 was supposed to be launched on Wednesday during the 2022 National Export Congress (NEC). Instead, Ortiz-Luis told re porters that it may not be approved until the early part of 2023.

E conomist Cielito F. Habito, a former socioeconomic planning secretary, presented some of the salient features of the PEDP 20232028 such as overcoming scale and volume constraints.

U nder this feature, the PEDP proposes to attract big-ticket glo bal firms and ensure steady and reliable supply of raw materials for manufacturing.

Habito also cited the importance of fostering integration. Under this, the export development agenda aims to fill value chain gaps including through “catalytic investments.”

CA confirms Locsin, Florcruz, DOE’s Lotilla, DOST’s Solidum

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

THE Commission on Ap pointments on Wednesday approved the ad interim ap pointments and nominations of 60 foreign service officers, including 11 ambassadors led by former Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddy boy” L. Locsin Jr.

T he CA plenary also confirmed the ad interim appointments of two Cabinet secretaries: Raphael Per petuo Lotilla of Energy; and Renato Solidum of Science and Technology.

In a statement, the Makati Busi ness Club hailed Lotilla’s confirma tion, saying it “strengthens the gov ernment's ongoing efforts to build up a transparent, competitive, and performance-based energy industry.”

Energy policy, MBC said, “is al ways subject to strong economic, political, and other headwinds. Sec retary Lotilla’s confirmation helps ensure we pursue policies that can help avert blackouts, control energy prices, and ramp up supply to attract

DOLE issues holiday pay rule for Mary’s Dec. 8 Feast

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

ONLY workers, who will report for work during the nationwide celebration of the Feast of Immaculate Conception of Mary Thursday, will be entitled to additional pay, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

T his after the event was declared as a special non-working holiday by former President

Rodrigo R. Duterte through Proclamation No. 1236.

I n his Labor Advisory No. 25, series of 2022, Labor and Employment Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said a “no work, no pay” scheme will take effect during the holiday unless otherwise stipulated by a “favorable company policy, practice, or collective bargaining agreement.”

For those who will be on duty during a special holiday, they will

be paid an additional 30 percent of their basic wage for the first 8 hours of work.

T hey will be paid an additional 30 percent of their hourly rate if they work overtime and another 50 percent of their basic wage if the special holiday coincides with their rest day.

T he Feast of Immaculate Conception of Mary is considered as a holy day of obligation by Roman Catholics, which they observe by going to Holy Mass.

investments and create jobs.”

L ocsin was confirmed as Ambas sador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with concurrent jurisdiction over Ireland, Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Jersey, and Bailiwkck of Guernsey.

T he CA plenary, acting on the endorsement by the Commission's Committee on Foreign Affairs led by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, also approved the appointments of 10 other ambassadors, but deferred action on Manual Teehankee as ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva.

C A leaders stressed that they did not object to Teehankee’s confirma tion, but certain members needed time to ask him “policy questions,” so his.

I n endorsing to plenary the list of foreign service officers, Sena tor Estrada described Locsin as “one of the brightest and most in dependent diplomats our country has ever produced.”

Jaime Adriano Florcruz, a former veteran international journalist like

his predecessor and close friend, the late Chito Sta. Romana, was confirmed as top envoy to China after fielding numerous questions on the Philippine policy in handling its complicated mar itime relations with its Asian neighbor.

T he CA confirmed, meanwhile, the ad interim appointments of the following ambassadors, besides Loc sin and Florcruz:

Maria Andrelita Sacramento Austria, Ambassador to Canada

Evangelina Lourdes Arroyo Bernas, Ambassador to Austria, with concurrent jurisdiction over Repub lic of Croatia, Republic of Slovenia, and Slovak Republic. The daughter of former President Gloria MacapagalArroyo topped the foreign service exam on the year her mother became president but out of delicadeza, she did not join the DFA then.

Celeste Vinzon Balatbat, Am bassador to Republic of Chile, with concurrent jurisdiction over Ecuador

and Peru.

Jose Almodovar Cabrera III, Ambassador to State of Kuwait.

Roberto Gutierrez Manalo, Ambassador to Islamic Republic of Iran, with concurrent jurisdiction over Republic of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Belinda Mariano Ante, Amba sador to Democcratic Republic of Timor Leste

Maria Agnes Maglasang Cer vantes, Ambassador to Islamic Re public of Pakistan with concurrent jurisdiction over Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Kyrgyz Republic and Republic of Tajkistan

Leo Tito Lunar Ausan Jr., Am bassador to People’s Republic of Bangladesh with concurrent juris diction over Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Republic of Maldives.

Anne Jaland-on Louis, Ambas sador to Kingdom of Bahrain.

BSP’s term deposit facility rates rise anew

THE rate of the Bangko Sentral ng Pililipinas’ (BSP) term deposit facility rose anew on Wednes day and appetite was for the shorterdated tenor.

Data released by the central bank showed that the average rate of the seven-day facility rose to 5.9346 per cent from 5.7514 percent during the auction last November 29.

T he average rate of the 14-day facil ity inched up to 6.0050 percent from last week’s 5.8662 percent.

T he BSP hiked the offer volume for

the one week facility to P220 billion from last week’s P180 billion.

T his tenor was fully awarded after tenders reached P226.057 billion.

Volume offering for the two-week fa cility was also increased at P180 billion from P150 billion previously. However, it was undersubscribed after bids only reached P166.534 billion.

T he BSP awarded P166.334 billion.

A mid the lower bids for the twoweek facility, the central bank said total bids in this week’s TDF auction “was well within the BSP’s expected

range of volume.”

In a statement, BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said “yields accepted for both tenors likewise shifted higher.”

“However, the seven-day tenor nar rowed to a range of 5.7000-6.1250 per cent, while the 14-day tenor widened to 5.7500-6.3500 percent,” he said.

Dakila traced the rate upticks to ‘counterparties’ preference for the short er tenor following the release of the No vember CPI (consumer price index) data and with a policy decision expected from the BSP” on December 15. PNA

SEN. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, who chairs the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Commission on Appointments, presides over the hybrid meeting on the nominations and ad interim appointments of 61 foreign service officials. The panel later recommended the confirmation of 60 foreign service officials for plenary approval, except the nomination of Manuel Antonio Javier Teehankee as the country’s representative to the World Trade Organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. Teehankee’s nomination was deferred since members of the bicameral body would like to raise some policy questions. SENATE PRIB

FORMER Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Lopez Locsin Jr. appears before the Commission on Appointments’ (CA) committee hearing on the nomination and ad interim appointments of 61 foreign service officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. Locsin was appointed as Ambassador of the Philippines to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. last August 30, 2022. BIBO NUEVA ESPAÑA/SENATE PRIB

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Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

92.

NGUYEN DINH THANG Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

93.

Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

NGUYEN DUY NAM Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

94.

NGUYEN HUY HOANG Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 100.

101.

NITHIKAIKIAD,

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

PHAM VAN TRUONG Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

102.

PHONPHONGWARI, AFANG Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

103.

POMYOCH, RATTAKORN Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

104.

PROMVAREE, TANAPORN Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

KAMWANG, ONOUMA

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 85.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

NGUYEN MINH HOAI

95.

105.

ROEDREW, KETSARIN Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

Basic Qualification:

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 86.

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

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have

Basic Qualification:

Salary

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

China trade shrinks amid virus pressure and interest rate hikes

By Joe Mcdonald AP Business Writer

BEIJING—China’s imports and exports shrank in November under pressure from weakening global demand and anti-virus controls at home.

Trade had been forecast to weaken as global demand cooled following interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia to rein in surging inflation.

Chinese consumer demand has been hurt by a “zero-Covid” strat egy that shuts down large sections of cities to contain virus outbreaks. That has disrupted business and confined millions of people to their homes for weeks at a time.

Consumer spending contracted in October and factory activity weakened as anti-virus controls following a rise in infections weighed on the economy.

Retail sales sank 0.5 percent compared with a year earlier, down from September’s 2.5 percent expansion, as millions of people were confined to their homes, government data showed Tuesday. Growth in factory output deceler ated to 5 percent from the previous month’s 6.3 percent.

The performance was even weaker than expected by forecast ers who said activity would cool as Chinese anti-virus controls and interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks weighed on global activity.

percent, but economists say activity already was cooling. They have cut forecasts of annual growth to as low as 3 percent, which would be among the weakest in decades.

Exports to the United States fell 25.4 percent from a year earlier to $40.8 billion while imports of American goods sank 7.3 percent to $16.5 billion. The politically sensitive surplus with the United States narrowed by 34.1 percent to $24.3 billion.

Imports from Russia, mostly oil and gas, rose 28 percent from a year earlier to $10.5 billion. Ex ports to Russia gained 18.5 percent to $7.7 billion.

Washington, Europe and Japan are cutting purchases of Russian oil and gas to punish President Vladimir Putin’s government for its attack on Ukraine, but their sanctions don’t prevent China, In dia or other countries from buying its exports.

Beijing is buying more to take advantage of Russian discounts. That irks Washington and its al lies by topping up the Kremlin’s cash flow. President Joe Biden has warned Xi against helping Putin evade sanctions.

Suicide bombing at Indonesian police station injures 3 officers

By Adi Marsiela The Associated Press

BANDUNG, Indonesia—

A man blew himself up Wednesday outside a po lice station on Indonesia’s main island of Java in what appeared to be the latest in a string of sui cide attacks in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Bandung Police Chief Aswin Si payung said a man tried to enter the Astana Anyar police station with a motorcycle and detonated explosives where police were lining up for morning assembly, injuring at least three officers.

Indonesia has battled militants since bombings on the resort is land of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Attacks aimed at foreigners have largely been replaced in recent years with smaller, less deadly strikes targeting the government, police and anti-terrorism forces and people who militants consider infidels.

Exports sank 9 percent from a year ago to $296.1 billion, wors ening from October’s 0.9 percent decline, customs data showed Wednesday. Imports fell 10.9 per cent to $226.2 billion, down from

the previous month’s 0.7 percent retreat in a sign of a deepening Chinese economic slowdown.

The country’s global trade sur plus narrowed by 2.5 percent from a year earlier to $69.9 billion.

“November is shaping up to be even worse,” said Zichun Huang of Capital Economics in a report.

Chinese economic growth re bounded to 3.9 percent over a year earlier in the three months ending in September from the first half’s 2.2

Xi said in a letter to a business conference this month that China, one of the biggest buyers of Rus sian oil and gas, is ready to “forge closer partnership” with Moscow in energy, according to the offi cial Xinhua News Agency. It gave no details.

Argentina’s VP Fernández guilty in $1-billion fraud, gets 6 years

By Almudena Calatrava The Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina— Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández was con victed and sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison and a lifetime ban from holding public office for a fraud scheme that embezzled $1 billion through public works proj ects during her presidency.

A three-judge panel found the Peronist leader guilty of fraud, but rejected a charge of running a criminal organization, for which the sentence could have been 12 years in prison. It was the first time an Argentine vice president has been convicted of a crime while in office.

Fernández lashed out at the ver dict, describing herself as the victim of a “judicial mafia.” But she also lat er announced that she would not run next year for the presidency, a post she previously held in 2007-2015.

The sentence isn’t firm until appeals are decided, a process that could take years. She remains im mune from arrest meanwhile.

Fernández’s supporters vowed to paralyze the country with a na tionwide strike. They clogged down town Buenos Aires and marched on the federal court building, beating drums and shouting as they pressed

against police barriers.

Fernández roundly denied all the accusations. Argentina’s dominant leader this century, she was accused of improperly granting public works contracts to a construction magnate closely tied to her family.

The verdict is certain to deepen fissures in the South American na tion, where politics can be a blood sport and the 69-year-old populist leader is either loved or hated.

President Alberto Fernández, who is not related to his vice presi dent, said on Twitter that she was innocent and that her conviction is “the result of a trial in which the minimum forms of due process were not taken care of.”

Prosecutors said Fernández fraudulently directed 51 public works projects to Lázaro Báez, a construction magnate and early ally of her and her husband Nestor Kirchner, who served as president in 2003-2007 and died suddenly in 2010.

Báez and members of Fernán dez’s 2007-2015 presidential ad ministration were among a dozen others accused in the conspiracy. The panel also sentenced Báez and her public works secretary, José López, to six years. Most of the others got lesser sentences.

Prosecutors Diego Luciani and

Sergio Mola said the Báez company was created to embezzle revenues through improperly bid projects that suffered from cost overruns and in many cases were never com pleted. The company disappeared after the Kirchners’ 12 years in power, they said.

In Argentina, judges in such cas es customarily pronounce verdicts and sentences first and explain how they reached their decision later. The panel’s full decision is expected in February. After that, the verdict can be appealed up to the Supreme Court, a process that could take years.

Fernández went on her YouTube channel to say she will not seek fur ther office after her vice presidential term expires on Dec. 10, 2023. “I’m not going to be a candidate for any thing, not president, not for senator. My name is not going to be on any ballot. I finish on December 10 and go home,” she said.

Politicians and analysts had not ed that until her appeal is settled, Fernández would be free to run for any elected office—from a seat in Congress to the presidency—and obtain immunity from arrest by being elected.

“Cristina always surprises,” poll ster Roberto Bacman, director of Ar gentina’s Center for Public Opinion

Studies, said of her announcement. But “she will continue fighting,” he added. “She places herself in the center of the fight and says that she is not going to hide.”

He said it remains to be seen if the Peronist sector seeks to push Fernández to reconsider her decision.

Patricio Giusto, director of the consulting firm Diagnóstico Político, predicted Fernández will deepen her “strategy of vic timization and equating herself” with Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, the leftist politician who has just been elected president of Brazil after a court overturned his prison sen tence for corruption.

During the judicial process, the vice president called herself a victim of “lawfare” and characterized the Judiciary as a pawn of the opposi tion media and conservative politi cian Mauricio Macri, who succeeded her as president in 2015-2019.

Fernández remains the singular leader of the leftist faction of the Peronist movement. Bacman said his surveys show 62 percent of Ar gentines want her removed and 38 percent support her no matter what.

Meanwhile, other cases remain pending against her, including a charge of money-laundering that also involves her son and daughter.

Man arrested after egg allegedly thrown at King Charles III

LONDON—A man was arrest ed Tuesday on suspicion of assault after an egg was alleg edly hurled towards King Charles III during a visit to a town center, police said.

Bedfordshire Police said a man in his 20s was being questioned over an alleged common assault.

Charles was meeting members of the public outside the town hall in Luton, 30 miles (46 kilometers) north of London, when the projec tile was apparently thrown. He was moved to a different area by his se

curity guards and resumed shaking hands with members of the public.

The king has traveled widely across Britain since becoming monarch on the death of his mother, Queen Eliza beth II, in September. He was due to visit several sites in Luton on Tuesday, including a transit station and a Sikh house of worship, a gurdwara.

Last month a 23-year-old man was arrested after eggs were hurled at Charles and his wife Camilla, the queen consort, during a visit to York, northern England. The man was later released on bail. AP

He said police are still investi gating the attack in West Java’s Bandung city and whether the man, who has not been identified, had links to radical groups.

A video that circulated on social media showed body parts scattered near a burning motorbike at the gates of the police station.

Television reports showed white smoke billowing from the building and people running in panic subsequent to a loud bang.

In May 2018, two families car ried out a series of suicide bomb ings on churches in the city of Surabaya, killing a dozen people including two young girls whose parents had involved them in one of the attacks. Police said the fa ther was the leader of a local affili ate of Indonesian terrorist group Jemaah Anshorut Daulah.

Last year, two attackers be lieved to be members of a militant network that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group blew themselves up outside a packed Roman Catholic cathedral during a Palm Sunday Mass on Indone sia’s Sulawesi island, killing the two attackers and wounding at least 20 people.

Trudeau’s Covid spending programs wasted billions, says federal auditor

By Brian Platt

PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau’s government may have overpaid as much as C$32 billion ($23.5 billion) in Covid-19 benefits during the pan demic largely due to a lack of postpayment verification, the federal auditor general said.

The spending watchdog found that of the roughly C$211 billion in benefit payments, C$4.6 bil lion were sent to ineligible re cipients and an additional C$27.4 billion should be investigated further.

Of that amount, just C$2.3 bil lion has been recovered and delays in verification mean the govern ment may run out of time to collect the rest, Auditor General Karen Hogan said in a report released Tuesday.

“I am concerned about the lack of rigor on post-payment verifica tions and collection activities,” Ho gan said in a news release. Canada’s tax agency and its employment department “need to act now” to recover the money, she said.

National Revenue Minister Di ane Lebouthillier said after the au dit’s release that her department disagrees with some of its findings, arguing there is a higher level of compliance than the report esti mates. Lebouthillier, speaking in French, said she believes the final amount of overpayments will be “much lower than the figures that were announced” by the spending watchdog.

Hogan’s report acknowledged the extraordinary speed with which the pandemic benefit pro grams—including payments sent to individuals and a wage subsidy sent to companies—were put to gether, and the challenge faced by

a public service that itself had to switch to remote work.

She found the benefit programs achieved their basic objective and “quickly offered financial relief to individuals and employers, pre vented a rise in poverty, mitigated income inequalities, and helped the economy to recover from the effects of the pandemic.”

But because the government decided to focus on delivering the payments fast without confirming eligibility, it made post-payment verification all the more important, the auditor said.

Despite this, the watchdog found the government’s “veri fication plans did not include verifying payments made to all identified recipients at risk of being ineligible.”

There have also been delays in conducting the verification and the government is “at risk of not completing all planned postpayment verifications within the applicable timelines,” meaning it “may be unable to identify and recover amounts owing.”

Hogan also released an audit on the government’s Covid vaccine procurement program. She found that the government succeeded in acquiring and distributing suffi cient doses but ran up an enormous surplus that may be wasted due to delays in implementing technology to track vaccine use.

The vaccine audit found that at the end of May, Canada had 32.5 million doses in inventory with an estimated value of C$1 billion, the majority of which will expire by the end of 2022 if they’re not donated. An additional 50.6 million doses were deemed surplus and offered for donation, the auditor said, but 13.6 million expired before they could be shipped. Bloomberg News

CONTAINERS are seen at a port in Nanjing in eastern China’s Jiangsu province on October 27, 2022. China’s imports and exports shrank in November as global demand weakened and antivirus controls weighed on the second-largest economy. CHINATOPIX VIA AP

OFFICERS guard a roadblock on a street leading to a police station where an explosion went off in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. A man blew himself up Wednesday outside a police station on Indonesia’s main island of Java in what appeared to be the latest in a string of suicide attacks in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. AP/AHMAD FAUZAN

Agriculture/Commodities

Solon pushes free land distribution under CARP

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

In House Bill 223, Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman said the second phase of CARP, which includes the distribution of fully-subsidized farm lands to qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries, will be instituted. Farmers will no longer be required to pay any amortization for their awarded lands.

T he bill said the beneficiaries will benefit from the government subsidy to the extent of the unpaid amortization and interest charges which are due.

W hile the Constitution mandate on agrarian reform is clear, Roman, chairperson of the House Commit

tee on Women and Gender Equality said the action of the government “is not unambiguous.”

“ The call of the times is not to end agrarian reform program. The challenge of times is to ensure its continuation as an integral compo nent of our national development and social justice program. Mindful of the gaps and the inadequacies of the previous manner of program implementation, we commence the second phase of agrarian reform,” the lawmaker said in a statement.

Under the bill, agrarian reform beneficiaries who have complete ly paid the 30-year amortization

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

DAVAO CITY—The bamboo industry in Davao del Norte got a boost recently after its governor ordered the formulation of a plan that will entice investors to go into the cultivation of the for est product.

Gov. Edwin I. Jubahib has issued a directive in October prioritizing the bamboo sector and the crafting of an investment plan.

Executive Order (EO) No. 39 series of 2022 mandated the creation of the Provincial Core Planning Team that will formulate the Provincial Com modity Investment Plan for Bambo in Davao del Norte.

T he team is mandated “to spear

head the overall management of ac tivities and set the general direction in formulating the Provincial Com modity Investment Plan for Bamboo; ensure that the PCIP for Bamboo is prepared through participatory ap proach and in harmony with national and regional plans; and coordinate with other concerned agencies to facilitate technical assistance to stakeholders in the province.”

The team is headed by Provincial Administrator Josie Jean Rabanoz and Sangguniang Panlalawigan Board Member Nicandro Suaybaguio Jr. of the 1st District of Davao del Norte.

T he EO enforced EO No. 879 se ries of 2010 which created the Philip pine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC). It was created to promote the bamboo industry devel opment project and to prioritize the

schedule and interest charges will be given preference in the award of the new package of support ser vice from the national government which includes initial capital upon issuance of the Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) access to credit facilities and automatic quali fication to various support service including availments for housing, education, and other loans.

T he Department of Agrar

ian Reform (DAR) will issue and serve the Notice of Coverage to all landowners or private agricultural lands whose ownership exceeds the 5-hectare ceiling imposed by Sec tion 6 of Republic Act 6657, other wise known as the “Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Law of 1998,” as amended.

It will also include the distribu tion of individual CLOAs to agrarian reform beneficiaries, except to reten

tion areas of landowners who exer cised such right under Presidential Decree No. 27, which granted reten tion areas exceeding 5 hectares and to landholdings covered by ancestral domain titles and claims.

T he bill indicated that private lands which are over 18 percent in slope and re-devoted for agri cultural development or whose agricultural activity exists will be classified as agricultural, alienable,

and disposable and shall be placed under the coverage of the agrarian reform program.

A ny issue, dispute, or controversy arising from the issuance of the No tice of Coverage will be resolved by the DAR subject to existing rules and regulations without prejudice to the continuation of the land acquisition and distribution process despite the pendency of any such issue, dispute, or controversy.

T he lawmaker said the ownership, use, and disposition of agricultural lands is not just a matter of property rights. “It goes beyond agricultural productivity or food sufficiency. It is about social justice.”

The farmer beneficiary ends up as a mere stockholder subject to the manipulative control of the governing body of a hacienda corporation,” Roman said, adding that the farmer beneficiary is also vulnerable to the dictates of an agrarian reform cooperative.

“Agriculture continues to be one of the weakest links in our country. A higher incidence of poverty is preva lent in the farming sector, particularly among landless farmers and farm workers. Much has been said and done about the agrarian reform program in the Philippines. Much is still to be said. Much is still to be done.”

use of bamboo in furniture, fixtures, and other construction requirements of the government.

In his executive order, Jubahib “expressed the support of the pro vincial government for green prod ucts and the marketing of traditional bamboo products,” according to the provincial information office.

He cited bamboo as “cost-effec tive and attractive complement and or alternative to plastic, metal and wood materials, which has great po tential of generating more jobs and self-employment opportunities in Davao del Norte.”

According to the Philippine Coun cil for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natu ral Resources Research and Develop ment (PCAARD), bamboo is one of the most economically significant non-timber forest products globally.

It belongs to the family of grasses, Gramineae or Poaceae, and is a highvalue crop given its many uses involv ing food and material for buildings, bridges, and furniture. With its abil ity to mitigate flood and soil erosion, bamboo has various economic and ecological benefits.

P CAARD said the Philippines is 6th among the largest exporters of bamboo in the world. The total area of bamboo stands in the Philip pines ranges from 39,000 to 53,000 hectares, mainly naturally growing sporadically or in patches in back yards and riverbanks in forest lands and some private lands and rarely in pure commercial stands. The poten tial production from these areas of bamboo stands has been estimated at an average of 36 million culms per year.

SL Agritech Corp., together with the Department of Agriculture (DA), hosted a study tour for the delegates from the Gambia Standards Bureau, through the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of Philip pines Standards.

T he study tour is in line with Gam bia’s Rice Value Chain Transforma tion Project which aims to contribute to the improvement of the produc tion, processing, and marketing of rice in order to enhance the economic growth of the country.

Gambia’s Rice Value Chain Trans formation Project is the country’s effort towards increasing its rice production by slowly transitioning from subsistence rice farming to wards more commercialized marketdriven farming.

partner for this tour to allow the Gambia delegates to study the quality of the rice production of the compa ny. Being ISO-certified, Halal-certi fied, and a GMP-accredited company, SL Agritech is in the position to share its expertise with the delegates.

We are honored to have been able to share with the delegates from the Gambia Standards Bureau our proven process in researching and developing new technologies and innovations to create premium and high-quality rice products,” SL Agritech Executive Vice President Michelle Lim-Gankee said.

This was also a great opportunity to show the importance of creating strategic partnerships among the public and private sectors to help in attaining sustainable growth and progress in our local food products such as rice.”

AS the global agrifood systems face challenges to feed an ever-growing global popu lation, resilient cereals like millets provide an affordable and nutritious option, and efforts need to be scaledup to promote their cultivation.

T his was the message at the open ing ceremony of the International Year of Millets 2023 (IYM) at the headquarters of the Food and Agri culture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Tuesday.

Millets encompass a diverse group of cereals including pearl, proso, fox tail, barnyard, little, kodo, browntop, finger and Guinea millets, as well as fonio, sorghum (or great millet) and teff. They are an important source of nourishment for millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. They are deeply rooted in Indigenous

Peoples’ culture and traditions and help guarantee food security in areas where they are culturally relevant. Millets are incredible ancestral crops with high nutritional value. Millets can play an important role and contribute to our collective ef forts to empower smallholder farm ers, achieve sustainable develop ment, eliminate hunger, adapt to cli mate change, promote biodiversity, and transform agrifood systems,” FAO Director-General QU Dongyu told participants at the hybrid event.

Greater millet production can support the livelihoods of small holder farmers and can provide decent jobs for women and youth. The revenue created can boost eco nomic growth. With the possibility of a health cereal alternative with millets, the risks associated with

production shocks can be mitigated.

T he IYM 2023 and the push to wards increasing millet production will contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This International Year is a time ly reminder of this important crop. And it provides a unique opportunity to raise awareness of, and to direct policy attention to the nutritional and health benefits of millet con sumption, the suitability of millets for cultivation under adverse and changing climatic conditions and creating sustainable and innova tive market opportunities for many countries around the work for millets to benefit farmers and consumers globally,” Director-General Qu told the audience.

Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Moham

med delivered a video message dur ing the opening ceremony. Indian Minister of State for Agriculture, Shobha Karandlaje, delivered a message from the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India presented the proposal for the In ternational Year and is the chair of the Year’s Steering Committee.

Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Mohammed M. Abubakar, also delivered a key note speech while Panama’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Janaina Tewaney Mencomo, spoke via video message.

I YM 2023 hopes to galvanize interest in millets among vari ous stakeholders like farmers, the youth and civil society and push governments and policy makers to priorities the production and trade in these cereals.

T he project will develop the com mercialization of the rice sub-sector by enhancing the private sector and other stakeholders’ participation in the production, processing, and marketing of rice thereby improving incomes and employment opportu nities for all stakeholders, especially the youth and women.

T he study tour aims to provide the delegates with an overview of the programs, activities, and proj ects created by the DA that high light the standards for food safety and quality control, specifically the production and distribution of rice.

“ This opportunity offers a new perspective for the Gambia delegates as they were shown how the Philip pines distinguishes itself in the re search, development, and manage ment of innovative seed and rice products,” SL Agritech said.

T he company was chosen as a

T he delegates from Gambia were also able to tour the facilities of SL Agritech’s plant in Nueva Ecija where they were able to witness the process of developing the Agri company’s products from the harvesting and milling of palay to the packing and distribution of their well-known rice, Doña Maria.

S L Agritech said it continues to be open to the opportunity to share its knowledge and insights on promoting the development, commercialization, and growth of seeds, specifically hybrid rice tech nology as well as the production of premium quality rice.

As a proponent of improving the agricultural sector, we want to be able to spread our ideas and increase local rice production so that we can work toward our objective of achieving rice self-sufficiency for the next genera tion,” Lim-Gankee said.

ACHRONIC shortage of plan tation workers in Malaysia may cost palm oil produc ers about 20 billion ringgit ($4.6 billion) this year, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, curbing supply and potentially boosting global prices.

P alm growers hired around 14,000 foreign workers this year through November, just a fifth of the industry’s needs and about half of the number approved by the au thorities, according to a survey of

top 10 planters by the association. The country is the biggest producer of the tropical oil after Indonesia.

M alaysia’s palm oil sector is reliant on overseas labor, and has struggled to bring in more workers as movement curbs due to the virus were relaxed. The government as sured the industry it would acceler ate worker approval, but planters say progress is too slow and that’s leading to crop losses. Without enough boots on the ground, many farmers had to leave ripened fruit

rotting on trees.

T he number of foreign workers coming in is “trifling” compared with the amount needed, said Joseph Tek, chief executive of the association that represents 40 percent of the country’s planted palm area. While there have been efforts by various agencies to facilitate worker arriv als, bottlenecks still persist, he said.

M alaysian output of palm oil, used in everything from food and cosmetics to biofuels, is forecast to drop for a third year, to 18 million

tons in 2022, the association said in September.

Concerns over weaker production may support prices of the oil. Palm oil jumped earlier in the year due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but then declined as the supply situation im proved and Indonesia ramped up ex ports. They’ve turned upward again, however, rising about 20 percent since late September. Benchmark futures closed 3 percent higher at 4,086 ringgit a ton on Tuesday.

T he palm oil sector is seeking help

from Malaysia’s new government to expedite the process of bringing in more plantation workers, Tek said.

This includes taking steps like char tering planes and renewing agree ments with governments in source countries to bring in more workers, he added.

Australia’s wheat harvest

AUSTRALIA , one of the world’s larg est wheat exporters, is poised to har vest another record crop this season even as heavy rains hurt yields in

the eastern states, according to the government forecaster.

Farmers are set to gather 36.6 million tons in 2022-23, Abares said, which is a jump of almost 14 percent from its September forecast, driven by spring rains which helped areas in Western Australia and South Australia. It’s also an increase of 1 percent from the previous all-time high last season. Canola production is estimated at 7.3 million tons, the highest ever and 4 percent more than last season. Bloomberg News

ALAWMAKER has called on Congress to commence the second phase of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), giving subsidy in the acquisition and distribution of agricultural lands to beneficiaries and to appropriate funds for it.

Davao del Norte to craft bamboo investment plan SL Agritech, govt back Gambia’s efforts to achieve food security

A FARMER in Central Luzon plants rice in this BusinessMirror file photo.

editorial

Making the Maharlika Wealth Fund fly

Aproposed legislation that has the charm of an earthquake is reportedly being railroaded at the House of representatives. HB 6398 proposes to sequester pension funds under the Government service Insurance system and social security system, as well as funds of state-owned Land Bank of the philippines (LandBank) and development Bank of the philippines (dBp), as seed capital for the envisioned Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF).

The start-up fund of P250 billion is just the appetizer for the ambitious sovereign wealth fund. Future annual infusions are planned from the national budget, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, and other cash cows to be named.

In a press release issued by the House of Representatives, Speaker Martin Romualdez said: “Sovereign wealth funds are state-owned investment funds typically financed by a country’s surplus revenues or reserves. Governments invest these funds in an array of both real and financial assets to stabilize national budgets, create savings for their citizens, or promote economic development.”

The bill, however, embeds certain fatal flaws. For one, the country has no “surplus revenues or reserves” to finance the proposed MWF. It will get seed money from the Government Service Insurance System, P125 billion; the Social Security System, P50 billion; Land Bank of the Philippines, P50 billion; and Development Bank of the Philippines, P25 billion. This is what makes the measure objectionable.

The bill’s proponents certainly know that GSIS and SSS funds are not tax money but private contributions by members and their employers meant for emergency and retirement needs of those members. They say the funds intended for pensions and other benefits will not be impacted because they won’t be touched; only the investible portions will be tapped. But being in the nature of trust funds, those handling them know it’s their duty to minimize risks that could undermine the actuarial life of these funds, or their ability to grow their services to members in the future.

Section 34 of Republic Act 8291 states: “The funds of the GSIS shall not be used for purposes other than what are provided for under this Act. Moreover, no portion of the funds of the GSIS or income thereof shall accrue to the General Fund of the national government and its political subdivisions, instrumentalities and other agencies including government-owned and -controlled corporations except as may be allowed under this Act.”

The law is clear: GSIS funds can’t be used for purposes other than what are provided for under RA 8291.

The LandBank, the DBP and the BSP also have no business investing in the MWF. The Land Bank is supposed to serve the needs of farmers and fishermen, and the DBP, the commercial and industrial sectors. How does their investment in the sovereign wealth fund help further their mission?

The BSP is an independent body established to protect our financial system. As lender of last resort, why should it invest in the MWF?

The proposed MWF is an investment vehicle. And all investments carry some degree of risks. For example, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and exchangetraded funds can lose value if market conditions sour. If the MWF investments fail, the impact on retirees would be terrible. Both the GSIS and SSS are very careful in their investment decisions because they have to secure the future generations of Filipinos.

The MWF’s stated mission is “to reinvigorate job creation and reduce poverty.” We are all for this, and we want the MWF to push the country to grow. That’s why we are offering our two cents’ worth to help make it fly. But first, proponents need to address the objectionable and controversial provisions of the bill. They can do this by sourcing MWF funding from government assets. The Malampaya funds, privatization of government-owned and -controlled corporations, and sale of government lands are good starting points.

There’s no need to tap the private contributions of GSIS and SSS members. That money is for their retirement; it must not be exposed to any kind of risk. The government has enough assets that can be used for the proposed sovereign wealth fund. MWF proponents can’t just sequester GSIS and SSS members’ contributions—that’s against the law. These politicians must be reminded that they are in power because of the votes of millions of GSIS and SSS members. If these powerful politicians want to offend these people, they do so at their own peril. As a wise man once said, “There are few things more powerful than people united.”

Inflation: We aren’t there yet

OUTSIDE THE BOX

THe past months have been difficult for businesses as increases in prices of raw materials and wholesale finished products as well as fuel have squeezed both gross and net margins to the breaking point.

The latest annual inflation number of 8.0 percent in November 2022 from 7.7 percent in October gives the highest annual rate change since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. The Consumer Price Index increase of 0.90 percent in November of 2022 over the previous month is the same as in October and June and is lower than the 1 percent in January 2022.

That is not satisfying. However, what I also see is that in the past 30 days there have been noticeable price increases to improve margins in light of the higher costs. For example, my favorite wine merchant was selling his imported products at P695. That was increased to P890, a substantial increase of 28 percent, which is obviously now reflected in the new inflation numbers. Is this the top?

On November 4, Brent crude oil was trading at $98 per barrel. Currently the price is $84 or 14 percent lower. The peso appreciated by 3.4 percent. According to the Depart-

ment of Energy, from that same period, the “common price” of RON 100 in Makati City is unchanged at P73.35. The price of Diesel has decreased from P79.25 to P71.70, or 9.5 percent lower. While the percentage decrease is good, it is not great. But it is a move in a better direction.

President Marcos said inflation is “running rampant and out of control” after data showed price increases moved to a 14-year high in November. President Marcos also said: “The main drivers of that inflation, unfortunately, are still imported.” Not exactly accurate. The internals of the inflation number are relatively constant in November as for prior months. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco up 10.6 percent. Food inflation at the national level rose by 10.3 percent in November 2022, from 9.8 percent in October 2022.

Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals up 10.3 percent. Milk, other

Initially, inflation is an economic event such as price reaction to higher global crude oil prices. Over time it becomes a psychological event such as people lining up at the gas stations on Sunday night to fill the tank when they know that gas prices will be increased on Monday morning.

dairy products, and eggs up by 9.4 percent. Sugar, confectionery, and desserts increased by 38 percent. The grain and dairy categories are the “imported inflation.” The sugar price is because we have an industry that is “out of control” as we know. We have yet to see any cohesive strategy for the balance between locally produced and imported agricultural products, which might be made sense of and addressed if and when a permanent full-time agriculture secretary is appointed.

“I’m happy to be able to inform you that the Philippine economy continues to recover from the negative impact of the pandemic. In fact the country is on track to maintain its strong economic performance and achieve the government’s target of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent for 2022,” Marcos said.

That is all well and good but ignores the reality of “Nominal GDP Growth” and “Real GDP Growth” when inflation is part of the equation.

The doubling of interest rates and

presumed central bank intervention have tempered the depreciation of the peso against the US dollar but also helped by the dollar’s recent depreciation against global currencies. However, they did not help in any measurable way to keep inflation in check unless you think inflation would be 20 percent without these moves.

I have written about this before, which is why government policy makers usually screw things up when they try to “fight” inflation. Initially, inflation is an economic event such as price reaction to higher global crude oil prices. Over time it becomes a psychological event such as people lining up at the gas stations on Sunday night to fill the tank when they know that gas prices will be increased on Monday morning.

However, at some point such as after months of higher inflation— ours started rising this past June —the psychology enters a new and more dangerous phase. This is when businesses raise prices in anticipation of more inflation, such as in Argentina where the first thing the business owner does when opening the store is to post a new higher price just for that day. This is more dangerous because it is a result of losing confidence in government. We are not there yet—“yet” being the operative word.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.

Trump’s companies convicted in executive tax dodge scheme

By Michael R. Sisak | The Associated Press

NeW YorK donald Trump’s company was convicted of tax fraud Tuesday for helping executives dodge taxes on extravagant perks such as Manhattan apartments and luxury cars, a repudiation of financial practices at the former president’s business as he mounts another run for the White House.

A jury found two corporate entities at the Trump Organization guilty on all 17 counts, including charges of conspiracy and falsifying business records. Trump himself was not on trial. The verdict in state court in New York came after about 10 hours of deliberations over two days.

The conviction was validation for New York authorities that say their three-year investigation into Trump and his businesses is continuing. The probe, which began as an inquiry into hush-money payments made on Trump’s behalf, later morphed into an examination of the company’s asset valuation and pay practices.

The company faces a fine of up to $1.6 million. Sentencing is scheduled for January 13. The defense said it will appeal.

“A former president’s companies

now stand convicted of crimes. That is consequential,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said outside the courtroom. “It underscores that in Manhattan we have one standard of justice for all.”

Trump, a Republican who launched his 2024 campaign last month during the trial, blasted the verdict as a part of a Democrat-led “MANHATTAN WITCH HUNT!”

“This case is unprecedented and involved no monetary gain to these two Corporations,” Trump said in a statement, adding: “New York City is a hard place to be ‘Trump’.”

The verdict adds to mounting legal woes for Trump, who faces a criminal investigation in Washington over the retention of top-secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, as well as efforts to undo the results

of the 2020 presidential election.

Those inquiries are being led by a newly named Justice Department special counsel. The district attorney in Atlanta is also leading an investigation into attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn his loss in that state.

The verdict also comes amid a series of self-inflicted crises for Trump in recent weeks, including anger over his dinner with a Holocaustdenying white nationalist and the antisemitic rapper formerly known as Kanye West, and the former president’s for the “termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution” to address his baseless claims of mass election fraud.

The Trump Organization—and Trump’s management of it—was at the center of “The Apprentice,” the reality show that solidified his global celebrity. That fame in turn helped fuel his unlikely political rise, allowing him to sell himself to voters as a successful businessman who could take lessons from that sphere and apply them to Washington.

The Manhattan case against

the Trump Organization was built largely around testimony from the company’s former finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, who previously pleaded guilty to charges that he manipulated the company’s books to illegally reduce his taxes on $1.7 million in fringe benefits. He testified in exchange for a promised fivemonth jail sentence.

To convict the Trump Organization, prosecutors had to convince jurors that Weisselberg or an underling he worked with on the scheme was a “high managerial” agent acting on the company’s behalf and that the company also benefited.

Trump Organization lawyers repeated the mantra “Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg” throughout the month-long trial, contending that he had gone rogue and betrayed the company’s trust. Weisselberg attempted to take responsibility on the witness stand, saying nobody in the Trump family knew what he was doing.

“It was my own personal greed that led to this,” an emotional Weisselberg testified.

“Trump”

John Mangun

Protection from identity theft and fraud is essential for digital banking success

By Pia Arellano

Digital banking has given consumers greater control over their finances, making it possible to make purchases, bill payments, and transfer money between accounts with a few clicks on the computer or smartphone.

However, as more Filipinos embrace the opportunities made possible by digital banking, fraudsters are also adapting their practices in attempts to take advantage of the growing Philippine digital financial landscape—only being stopped in their tracks by fraud analytics and risk based authentication solutions, coupled with greater consumer education and awareness.

Facing off against fraud

Tackling fraud is by no means an easy task. While Philippine findings from the latest TransUnion quarterly fraud analysis show an 11 percent year-on-year decrease from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022, a deeper dive into the figures shows that fraudsters directed their attempts toward specific sectors. The logistics industry saw the biggest annual growth in suspected digital fraud attempts coming from the Philippines at 236 percent. The telecommunications industry experienced the second largest year-onyear increase in the rate of suspected digital fraud coming from the Philippines at 45 percent, while gambling placed third with a 32 percent uptick.

The possibility of falling victim to digital fraud continues to be a consideration in the daily lives of Filipino consumers. Results from the latest TransUnion consumer Pulse Study conducted in May and June 2022 show that phishing remained the leading fraud scheme, with 42 percent of consumers having experienced a phishing attempt. Phishing is a method of identity theft that relies on individuals unwittingly divulging personal information that fraudsters could use for illegal activities.

a d ditional findings from the study show that 90 percent of Filipinos were concerned about sharing personal information, with 77 percent of the respondents having expressed fears over the invasion of privacy, and 70 percent afraid of identity theft.

With the prevalence of phishing schemes in the country and consumers’ concerns about the safety of their personal information, these findings show the importance of taking every possible measure to prevent and build greater trust between consumers and financial institutions.

Staying vigilant, staying ahead One of the most promising tools in the fight against identity theft is the use of a r tificial intelligence. Banks and other financial institutions can leverage a i solutions that can be customized to seek out minor inconsistencies in customers’ banking and transaction activity to assess whether they may be fraudulent. a longside strengthening their backend systems against fraud, banks must also continue to educate consumers to be proactive in protecting themselves against identity theft. Utilizing different pass-

words for different accounts can limit the damage done in the event of fraudulent activity, for example. Multi-Factor authentication (MFa) technology that only grants access to users after they presented two or more pieces of electronic evidence to an authenticating mechanism are also effective at limiting fraudsters’ ability to act.

However, the rise of a i solutions and other technological advancements designed to combat fraudulent practices should not be a reason for complacency in addressing fraud. While global commerce gives online retailers and marketplaces opportunities to reach customers around the world, because cross-border transactions encompass multiple countries, there can be difficulties for individual jurisdictions to monitor fraud risk.

Furthermore, data privacy and protection regulations vary across regions with fraudsters determined to find loopholes to commit cross-border transaction crimes. This means that fraud is no longer limited by geographic constraints and accessing tools to prevent it is important for business and lenders worldwide.

TruValidate™,TransUnion’s flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite, automatically leverages intelligence from billions of transactions and over 40,000 websites and apps, helping businesses and lenders discover anomalies, assess risk, and confidently identify good consumers.

even though the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts across industries declined by 14 percent from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022, attempts at fraud are likely to continue, as fraudsters move to target different industries and consumers. Understanding where fraud comes from and what types of fraud are most prevalent can give businesses an edge in combatting it.

While businesses continue to shore up their defenses against fraudulent practices, fraudsters will continue to search for ways to exploit vulnerabilities. a s more Filipinos continue to transact online in the growing digital economy, businesses must continue to keep abreast of the latest data-driven, automated fraudfighting solutions. c oupled with continued awareness campaigns to educate the public to stay vigilant, these measures ease the friction for both businesses and consumers for transacting in an increasingly digital world.

Pia Arellano is the president and CEO of TransUnion Philippines. She has over 25 years of industry experience across banking, payment solutions, telecommunications, and remittance services. She has been instrumental in establishing TransUnion as a risk management and data solutions and insights partner of banks and financial institutions in the Philippines.

But prosecutor Joshua Steinglass alleged in his closing that Trump “knew exactly what was going on” and was “explicitly sanctioning tax fraud.”

Bragg slipped into the courtroom as the verdict was being read. a f terward he refused to answer questions from reporters, ducking behind a glass door as he was asked if he regretted Trump wasn’t charged personally. new York attorney general l et itia James, whose office assisted in the investigation, called the verdict a “clear message that no one, and no organization, is above our laws.”

in some ways it’s a limited victory for prosecutors, however. no one, save for Weisselberg, is going to prison. no one is putting a padlock on Trump Tower or forcing the company out of business. a nd a potential $1.6 million fine is a rounding error on the budget of an enterprise that boasts billions of dollars in assets.

Still, the Trump Organization may now run into some trouble getting loans and making deals, and new York city could have more leverage to try to end the company’s contract managing a city-owned golf course in the Bronx. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington and Jill Colvin and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.

BusinessMirror

On budgeting, academe-stakeholder partnerships for public service, and details of my vision for UP

By Fidel R. Nemenzo, D.Sc.

last month, i spoke about my vision for UP during the public forum featuring all nominees for the university presidency. it has three dimensions: (1) an agile UP that brings its expertise in emerging and traditional fields to anticipate and respond to disruptions and adapt to changes; (2) a smart UP that will push for digital transformation in research and learning; and (3) a high-impact UP that will produce innovative and policy-relevant research that can address many of our country’s problems.

This is not the place to go into the details (you may read my entire vision and mission here if you wish) but let me focus on (1) and (3), which are related.

a n agile and high-impact UP will entail intercampus collaboration, and by extension, interdisciplinary research. each UP campus has its own strength, and one of my plans, if chosen president, is to bring together and synergize expertise across disciplines and campuses.

These include agricultural policy innovations (through UP los Baños), advancement of the blue/maritime economy (UP Visayas), digital transformation (UP Open University), and the promotion of cultural heritage and indigenous studies (UP Baguio and UP Mindanao).

a nd we should not forget the various institutes and centers in the university such as the c e nter for West Visayan Studies, the Philippine g e nome c e nters in Davao, Miag-ao and Diliman, or the cordillera Studies c e nter in UP Baguio. a s always, we can rely on the longstanding expertise of Diliman, Manila, c ebu, and Tacloban in ST e M , the humanities, and the social sciences.

There is also much to look forward to from the innovative programs in UP Diliman, which include data science, artificial intelligence, and space engineering. indeed, the work of our engineering faculty and students led to the launch of the Diwata and Maya satellites, the space engineering track in our MS program and the creation of the Philippine Space a gency. i also envision a partnership with the DOST to promote MSMe start-ups.

Over the years, i have worked with various UP campuses on different projects and have fostered close relations with their faculty and staff, many of whose support i am thankful for. each campus already does admirable work, and UP can do so much more if we bring them all closer to, and in communication with, each other.

each campus also brings different perspectives grounded in their respective locales. a l l of us can learn from one another and correct each other’s biases and blind spots—in the service of the nation. That synergy will be the envy of any modern business organization.

i ndeed, there is a need for transformation and innovation, but

We are all in this together. As a national university, UP will be always prepared to lend a hand to all sectors that need its know-how. But it will also listen to their needs, and make reasonable adjustments to its policy, curriculum, and research agenda without compromising academic freedom.

they are rooted in the initiatives of past UP administrations. My idea of a smart UP—which we implemented in Diliman through the development of data management systems for budgeting, hiring, procurement, payroll—builds on the initiatives of former president a lf redo Pascual and what President Danilo c oncepcion’s administration achieved during the pandemic, when the university transitioned to remote learning.

Smart UP also hews to the spirit of laws like the a nti-Red Tape act (a RTa), which seeks to streamline many government procedures. One of UP Diliman’s procurement platforms, eBODega won a government Best Practice award from the Development academy of the Philippines (Da P) in 2021.

like all visions, mine is ambitious; so where will the money come from?

UP will always have a budget, but it can and should also generate its own resources. These funds will add to UP’s share of the national budget. i believe that by showing the public the contributions of UP, we will be able to generate the resources for our university’s needs.

We need to protect, if not increase, what is due to the university. This will involve assuring stakeholders that UP’s expertise will have a clear return of investment. it s research and pedagogy shall be channeled to help solve policy issues, or its curriculum will continue to produce students with industry-relevant competencies and critical skills that will prepare them for jobs, provide for their families, and contribute to nation-building.

To harness UP’s expertise also entails strengthening the linkages and lines of communication between and among the university, other government agencies, lgUs, civil society, and the private sector.

We are all in this together. a s a national university, UP will be always prepared to lend a hand to all sectors that need its know-how. But it will also listen to their needs, and make reasonable adjustments to its policy, curriculum, and research agenda without compromising academic freedom.

Though UP can and will produce research that can be critical, that criticism is also done in the spirit of public service and policy improvements. There have been some tensions between UP’s relationship with many of its stakeholders, including the government. But we can help ease them through constant dialogue and collaboration.

Dr. Nemenzo is the current chancellor of UP Diliman, the largest of the 8 constituent universities of the University of the Philippines System. He has a Doctor of Science degree in mathematics from Sophia University in Tokyo and has been a member of the UP faculty since 1992.

Ukraine leader defiant as drone strikes hit Russia again

By Jamey Keaten | The Associated Press

KY iV, Ukraine—Drones struck inside Russia’s border with Ukraine on tuesday in the second day of attacks exposing the vulnerability of some of Moscow’s most important military sites, experts said.

Ukrainian officials did not formally confirm carrying out drone strikes inside Russia, and they have maintained ambiguity over previous high-profile attacks.

But Britain’s Defense Ministry said Russia was likely to consider the attacks on Russian bases more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the border with Ukraine as “some of the most strategically significant failures of force protection since its invasion of Ukraine.”

k remlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian authorities will “take the necessary measures” to enhance protection of key facilities. Russian bloggers who generally maintain contacts with officials in their country’s military criticized the lack of defensive measures.

a fire broke out at an airport in Russia’s southern ku rsk region that borders Ukraine after a drone hit the facility, the region’s governor said Tuesday. i n a second incident, an industrial plant 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Ukrainian border was also targeted by drones, which missed a fuel depot at the site, Russian independent media reported.

“They will have less aviation equipment after being damaged due to these mysterious explosions,” said Yurii i h nat, spokesman for the a i r Force command of the a r med Forces of Ukraine. “This is undoubtedly excellent news because if one or two aircraft fail, then in the future, some more aircraft may fail in some way. This reduces their capabilities.”

Moscow blamed ky iv for unprecedented attacks on two air bases deep inside Russia a day earlier. 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 some of the most audacious inside Russia during the war. in the aftermath, Russian troops

carried out another wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian territory that struck homes and buildings and killed civilians, compounding damage done to power and other infrastructure over weeks of missile attacks.

a p proximately half of households in the ky iv region remain without electricity, the regional governor said Tuesday, while authorities in southern Odesa—which was hard hit Monday—say they have managed to restore power to hospitals and some vital services.

i n a new display of defiance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled near the front line in the eastern Donetsk region. Marking Ukraine’s a r med Forces Day, he vowed to push Russian forces out of all of Ukraine’s territory. everyone sees your strength and your skill. ... i ’m grateful to your parents. They raised real heroes,” Zelenskyy said in a video address to Ukrainian forces from the city of Sloviansk, a key Ukrainian stronghold in the east.

US Secretary of State a ntony Blinken, speaking at a news conference in Washington, said the United States has “neither encouraged nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside of Russia.” But he said the US is determined—along with many other countries that back ky iv—to make sure that the Ukrainians have “the equipment that they need to defend themselves, to defend their territory, to defend their freedom.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry’s charged that the attack was launched with Soviet-made drones. a f ter the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which split Russia and Ukraine into separate countries, Ukraine inherited some Soviet-designed Tu-141 Strizh drones, which entered service in the 1970s and have a range of 1,000 kilometers (over 600 miles).

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking at a news conference in Washington, said the United States has “neither encouraged nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside of Russia.” But he said the US is determined—along with many other countries that back Kyiv— to make sure that the Ukrainians have “the equipment that they need to defend themselves, to defend their territory, to defend their freedom.”

They were designed for reconnaissance duties, but can be fitted with a warhead that effectively turns them into a cruise missile. Unlike modern drones, the Strizh, or Swift, drones can stay in the air only for a limited amount of time and fly straight to a designated target. Their outdated technology makes the drones easily detectable by modern air defense systems— and easy to shoot down.

a Russian pro-war blogger posting on the Telegram channel “Milinfolive” on Monday hit out at Russian military leadership, alleging that incompetence and lack of proper fortifications at the airbases made Ukrainian drone strikes possible.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said three Russian servicemen were killed and four others wounded by debris, and that two aircraft were slightly damaged in the strikes Monday.

a f ter Ukrainian forces took control in november of the major Russian-occupied city of k herson, neither side has made significant advances.

But Ukrainian officials have indicated that the country plans to pursue counteroffensives during the winter when frozen ground is conducive to moving heavy equipment. k herson city is still being hit by Russian rocket attacks but if Ukrainian forces establish firm control there it could be a bridgehead for advancing toward c r imea.

Pro- k r emlin political analyst Sergei Markov said the latest strikes by Ukraine “have raised questions

about security of Russian military air bases.”

The engels base hosts Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers that have been involved in strikes on Ukraine. Dyagilevo houses tanker aircraft used for midair refueling.

i n a daily intelligence update on the war in Ukraine, Britain’s Defense Ministry said the bombers would likely be dispersed to other airfields.

Speaking in a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Peskov said that “the Ukrainian regime’s course for continuation of such terror attacks poses a threat.”

Peskov reaffirmed that Russia sees no prospects for peace talks now, adding that “the Russian Federation must achieve its stated goals.”

Ukrainian rocket attacks killed six people in the separatist-held city of Donetsk, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of where Zelenskyy spoke, said Denis Pushilin, head of the Russia-backed Donetsk People’s Republic. He said one of those killed was a 29-year-old member of the DPR parliament.

Russia, meanwhile, maintained intense attacks on Ukrainian territory, shelling towns overnight near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that left more than 9,000 homes without running water, local Ukrainian officials said.

The towns lie across the Dnieper River from the nuclear plant, which was seized by Russian forces in the early stages of the war. Russia and Ukraine have for months accused each other of shelling at and around the plant.

The head of Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, which borders Russia, said that Moscow launched over 80 missiles and heavy artillery attacks on its territory. governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said the strikes damaged a monastery near the border town of Shalyhyne.

i h nat, the Ukrainian air force spokesman, said the country’s ability to shoot down incoming missiles is improving, noting there had been no recent reports of i ranian-made attack drones being used on Ukrainian territory. Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

‘COUNTRIES IN BRUSSELS SUMMIT MUST ADDRESS CLIMATE, LABOR ISSUES’

ALABOR group is seeking ac countability from the par ticipants of the European Union-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Com memorative Summit in Brussels next week on the issue of climate change and labor rights.

Federation of Free Workers (FFW) Vice President Julius Cain glet said the EU should pressure the Philippine government and other ASEAN members to address the issue of labor rights violations within their regional bloc.

We want them to make sure the manufactured products that cross borders [are] not the result of slave labor, child labor for a comprehensive working condi tions,” Cainglet said.

I n his speech during the ongo ing 17th Asia and the Pacific Re gional Meeting (APRM) in Singa pore of the International Labour Organization, the workers spokes person, Felix Anthony, raised con cern on the reported rampant labor rights violations in three ASEAN

countries, namely Myanmar, Cam bodia, Philippines.

F FW together with other labor groups are calling for an end on such attacks in the said countries.

For its part, ASEAN should call on the EU to commit to addressing climate change, the labor leader said.

He noted the carbon footprint of Europe, the Americas, and Chi na have caused extreme weather events which devastated other countries, including the Philip pines.

That is one accountability which should be addressed be cause climate change affects us all,” Cainglet said.

P resident Ferdinand “Bong bong” R. Marcos, Jr. is expected to attend the EU-ASEAN Summit on Dec. 14, 2022.

T he Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier said among the possible topics to be discussed in the summit is the pending free trade agreement between EU and ASEAN. Samuel P. Medenilla

WB flags debt spike even in mid-income countries like PHL

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

EFFORTS to reduce debts should be implemented even among middle-income coun tries like the Philippines as external debt levels have significantly risen during and after the pandemic, ac cording to the World Bank.

T he World Bank’s new Inter national Debt Report placed the country’s external debt at $106.428 billion as of 2021. This is 8.05 per cent higher than the $98.494 billion posted in 2020 and 62.858 percent more than the $65.35 billion posted in 2010.

T he country’s long-term debts reached $87.425 billion while the country’s short-term external debt amounted to $15.09 billion in 2021.

Increases in the size of debt and debt payments underscore the need to create a more effective debt reduc tion process for low- and middleincome countries in debt distress,” the World Bank report stated.

Given the changes in debt com position, creating such a process has become challenging and requires co operation from all major creditors. The growth of debt also underscores the need for greater debt transpar ency,” the report added.

I n 2022, the World Bank said global growth is slowing sharply. Amid one of the most internation ally synchronous episodes of mon etary and fiscal policy tightening the world has seen in 50 years, the risk of a global recession next year has been rising.

“ Currency depreciations have made matters worse for many de veloping countries whose debt is de nominated in US dollars. The 2021 debt-to-GNI improvement, as a re sult, is likely temporary,” the World Bank said.

I n an Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) Blog, John Beirne and Pradeep Panthi warned that the depreciation of the currencies of emerging market economies (EMEs) could worsen external debt levels.

Beirne is vice-chair of research and a senior research fellow at ADBI and Pradeep Panthi is a research associate.

T he ADBI tandem said over 80 percent of external debt is denomi nated in US dollars. In this context, it is notable that compared to other regions, emerging and developing Asia has a lower share of external debt to GDP overall.

T he Philippine peso, the research ers noted, has depreciated by 11.7 percent against the US dollar. This

is the largest depreciation among the country’s peers in the ASEAN-5 (the four others being Singapore, Thai land, Indonesia and Malaysia).

“ Economies that have high lev els of external debt denominated in US dollars are particularly exposed, with debt sustainability threatened by surges in the local currency value of the debt and rising debt servicing costs,” the ADBI researchers said.

Therefore, while emerging Asia overall remains exposed to US dol lar appreciation in terms of external debt risks, it is less exposed than other regions,” they added.

Meanwhile, the World Bank said at the end of 2021, the external debt of these economies totaled $9 tril lion, more than double the amount a decade ago. During the same pe riod, the total external debt of IDA countries, meanwhile, nearly tripled to $1 trillion.

On edge of debt crises

RISING interest rates and slowing global growth risk pushing a large number of countries into debt cri ses. About 60 percent of the poorest countries are already at high risk of debt distress or already in distress.

“ The debt crisis facing devel oping countries has intensified,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “A comprehensive approach is needed to reduce debt, increase transparency, and facilitate swifter restructuring—so countries can focus on spending that supports growth and reduces poverty. With out it, many countries and their governments face a fiscal crisis and political instability, with millions of people falling into poverty.”

At the end of 2021, IDA-eligible countries’ debt-service payments on long-term public and publicly guar anteed external debt totaled $46.2 billion—equivalent to 10.3 percent of their exports of goods and services and 1.8 percent of their gross national income (GNI), according to the report.

T hose percentages were up sig nificantly from 2010, when they stood at 3.2 percent and 0.7 percent respectively. In 2022, IDA countries’ debt-service payments on their pub lic and publicly guaranteed debt are projected to rise by 35 percent to more than $62 billion, one of the highest annual increases of the past two decades.

T he World Bank also said China is expected to account for 66 percent of the debt-service payments to be made by IDA countries on their of ficial bilateral debt.

BTr chief seeks close review, but cites safeguards of MWF

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

We support the calls to study the bill to ensure that risk manage ment is in place,” de Leon said in a statement on Wednesday.

Upon reading the bill, we note that there are already eight mea sures that will safeguard the in tegrity of the Fund,” she added.

De Leon enumerated eight safety measures found in the current ver sion of the MWF bill that includes the “strict” adherence to the San tiago Principles and the provision that the fund shall be governed by all applicable government laws, rules and regulations.

D e Leon emphasized that an audit mechanism is also in place to ensure transparency and account ability on the use of the proposed MWF. Besides an internal auditor, an internationally-recognized au diting firm will serve as the ex ternal auditor of the MWF, the national treasurer noted.

Fifth, the Fund will be under the scrutiny of no less than the Commission on Audit,” she said.

“ The books and accounts of the MWF shall be subject to the exami nation and audit of the Commission on Audit pursuant to Article IX of

the 1987 Philippine Constitution,” she added.

D e Leon pointed out that an ad visory body will be formed to assist the Board of Directors in formulat ing the general policies related to the investment and risk manage ment of the MWF.

T he Advisory Board will be composed of the Secretary of Fi nance, the Secretary of Budget and Management, the Treasurer of the Philippines and the Socio economic Planning Secretary and Director-General of the National Economic and Development Au thority (Neda).

The Advisory Board will be sought for consultation in case of transactions that will affect Bal ance of Payments and monetary aggregates, especially those which impact domestic liquidity and re serve money,” she said.

D e Leon added that the MWF will also be under the watch of a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee (JCOC) tasked to over see, monitor, and evaluate the im plementation of the MWF. Lastly, she noted that there is a provision in the current bill of the MWF that would “prevent unnecessary” with drawals from the fund.

We agree that we need to en sure that all these safeguards are in place for the protection of the funds of the people. However, with the proper safety measures, I believe we should be able to pro ceed with the Maharlika Wealth Fund as this will ultimately ben efit our people,” the National Treasurer said.

E arlier, economic managers and lawmakers insisted—in the face of concerns raised by some experts as well as lawmakers, in cluding Sen. Imee Marcos—that the proposed MWF will not suf fer the same fate as the infamous 1MDB fund of Malaysia because it will have enough accounting and transparency safeguards. The 1MDB mess resulted in the jailing of former Prime Minis ter Najib Razak for corruption in what has been described as one of the biggest money-laundering scandals in modern times . (Re lated story: https:// business mirror .com.ph/2022/12/06/ maharlika-fund-wont-end-uplike-1mdb-dof/).

Climate-tied drills are also a must, says CCC chief

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

MORE frequent extreme weather incidents prompt ed the Climate Change Commission (CCC) on Wednesday to call for the conduct of “disaster drills.”

CCC Commissioner Robert E. Borje said the concerned govern ment agencies should consider pre paring the public for other “climate change-induced risks” such as su per typhoons.

And may I say that perhaps it’s also appropriate to consider ty phoon preparedness as part of the plan. If we have a national earth quake day or earthquake drill, it is probably good if we have similar ac tivities for climate change induced risks and hazards so everyone will be prepared for anything that could happen,” Borje said.

T he proposal, Borje said, is now being discussed by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Man agement Council (NDRRMC) and Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

CCC made the remark after a magnitude 5.3 earthquake hit parts of Luzon and Visayas on Wednes day afternoon.

T he jolt disrupted the operations of private companies and govern ment offices as their workers were evacuated.

NATIONAL Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon has joined the calls to scrutinize the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) while pointing out that the current version of the fiscal measure already has numerous safety measures to ensure prudent use of national government’s coffers.

CHRISTMAS CHEER A man installs a decorative Christmas light on a giant lantern in Taguig City’s Lakeshore area, where the city government has set up a go-to place for people eager to savor the early holiday experience. ROY DOMINGO

DE LEON: “We support the calls to study the bill to ensure that risk management is in place.”

BORJE

Meralco taps spot market for electricity requirement

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

The Manila electric Co. (Meralco) has started sourcing from the Wholesale electricity Spot Market (WeSM) the supply withheld by SMC Global Power holdings Corp. (SMCGP) which was the subject of the recent 60-day Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Court of Appeals (CA).

In a press briefing on Wednesday, Meralco officials said the utility firm has received the notice of cessation from the power generation arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), covering the 670megawatts (MW) power supply agreement (PSA) with South Premiere Power Corporation (SPPC), a unit of SMCGP.

Currently, the utility firm is sourcing the supply covered by the PSA from WESM.

“Based on the notice that SPPC sent Meralco yesterday they will stop accepting nominations from Meralco beginning midnight today. Beginning earlier this morning, Merlaco started sourcing from the spot market,” said Meralco economics utility head Lawrence Fernandez.

He said the price of power pur-

chased by Meralco from SPPC under the PSA stood at around P4.3per kwh and accounted for around 12 percent of Meralco supply for last month.

“For spot market price, we don’t have prices yet today but based on IEMOP [Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines] reports from Monday and Tuesday, it ranges from P7 to 9 per kwh.”

Meralco officials could not yet categorically say if power rates will go up soon as a result of its decision to source supply from WESM. However, WESM prices are now higher than the rates of SPPC.

“We might see prices remain where they were last two days, but again, we need to see what the supply situation will be for the next couple of weeks. At the same time,

we need to anticipate what the other 90 percent of Meralco supply sources, how they will move, before we can say the overall gen cost will be for January,” Fernandez said.

In the last two days, WESM prices reached P7 to P9 per kWh.

Electricity spot market prices were affected by the yellow alert notice issued by the grid operator for the past few days.

“We still have around two weeks remaining for the supply month and we also don’t know the trend of spot market prices will be for the coming days. The last two days-when WESM prices reached P7 to 9 per kwh-- those were days when NGCP [National Grid Corporation of the Philippines] declared a yellow alert on the Luzon grid. Hopefully today, with the cancellation of yellow alert, prices will be lower,” Fernandez said.

Based on Energy r e gulatory Commission (E r C ) records of Meralco billings for November, the 670MW SPPC PSA accounted for 13.4 percent of Meralco supply and priced at P4.2455 per kWh while average WESM price for the same period stood at P8.47 per kWh.

Negotiations

MEr A LCO meanwhile, is negotiating with other generation companies to secure the 670 MW supply and shield its customers against volatile and potentially higher WESM prices.

“Our priority is to ensure continuity of stable, reliable, and ad-

DPC plans foray into solar energy

DMCI Power Corp. (DPC) will venture into solar power next year, a move that will boost its energy portfolio to around 150megawatts (MW).

“Next year, we are targeting to include solar energy in our mix. We have a 4MW solar plant that’s set to operate in Masbate by 4th quarter of 2023,” said DPC President Antonino E. Gatdula Jr.

DPC now has a consolidated installed capacity of 148MW located across Masbate, Palawan and Oriental Mindoro. Its energy portfolio

includes diesel, bunker and thermal.

It has spent around P745 million to install an additional 11 MW of generation capacity in Masbate, boosting its total installed capacity in the province by 21 percent.

“One plant is already operational while the other is set to run within the month. These investments are in line with our commitment to provide adequate, reliable and dependable power supply in missionary areas,” added Gatdula. For January to September, energy sales in Masbate increased by 11 percent from 100GWh

FOr BES Asia has unveiled the 16th edition of its annual Heroes of Philanthropy list, which highlights leading businessmen in the Asia-Pacific region who demonstrated a strong personal commitment to philanthropic causes such as education, the environment, to name a few.

The unranked list of 15, with nine new entries, highlights philanthropists who are donating from their own fortunes and giving personal time and attention to their select causes. The list does not include corporate philanthropy except for privately held companies where the individual is a majority owner.

Philanthropists in India, Australia and Hong Kong all have three each on the list, followed by Japan which has two. Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore all have one each. “Previous honorees are considered if they have made recent significant contributions that justify a relisting. One example is ronnie and Gerald Chan. The Hong Kong

billionaire siblings in October gifted $100 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to establish a new school for design. This comes on the heels of last year’s $175 million donation to the University of Massachusetts,” the magazine said.

Gautam Adani, India’s richest person, pledged 600 billion rupees, or about $7.7 billion, when he turned 60 in June, making him one of India’s most generous philanthropists.

The money will address healthcare, education and skill development, and will be channeled through the family’s Adani Foundation. The Adani Foundation, founded in 1996, has been spearheaded since the start by his wife Priti Adani, who is the chairperson. Each year, the founda-

to 111GWh on robust demand.

Last November 4, DPC deployed and operated a 3MW diesel plant in Pio V. Corpuz. Meanwhile, final testing and commissioning of an 8MW diesel power plant in Cataingan is currently underway. The Cataingan plant is targeted to go online by mid-December. DPC was established in 2006 to energize the small and remote islands in the country that are not connected to the main power grid. It is currently the biggest off-grid power provider in the Philippines. Lenie Lectura

equate supply for all our customers. We are exhausting all efforts to mitigate any impact of these developments on our customers’ electric bills,” the company said.

Fernandez said Meralco is currently evaluating two offers from generators but could not yet finalize a deal. “We’re evaluating two offers. One from GNPower and other one is from Ilijan. They have different rate structures so we need to evaluate them together, to see what’s the best that will lead to the lowest cost.”

It can be recalled that the SMCGP and Meralco filed a joint petition for a temporary rate hike--which was rejected by the ErC , despite proving to be the least costly for power consumers.

Thereafter, the Court of Appeals (CA) issued a Notice of resolution and a TrO enjoining the ErC and Meralco from implementing the ErC order denying the joint petition filed by SPPC and Meralco for temporary relief for a 60-day period. Continued on B2

Manila-Perth flights to start in 2023–PAL

LEGAC y carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will commence flying between Manila and Perth in March, providing a direct link between the Philippines and Western Australia for the first time.

Starting March 27, the thriceweekly PAL services between Manila and Perth will utilize the airline’s long-range Airbus A320 new engine option (neo) aircraft.

“We are delighted to say, ‘Mabuhay, Perth!’ as we expand our network to Western Australia,” said Philippine Airlines President and COO Captain Stanley K. Ng.

“The new nonstop flights give Philippine Airlines and travel partners a great opportunity to promote the Philippines as a prime tourist and business destination for travelers in Western Australia. Likewise, we invite Filipinos to do business in Perth or visit family members while discovering this dynamic Australian region and building new friendships.”

For his part, Perth Airport CEO Kevin Brown said the new service is a “win” for Western Australia’s business, tourism, and exports.

“This exciting new route will inject more than 52,000 seats into the market each year. We’re keen to see more Filipino students choose to study in Perth to help the educa-

tion sector as well as our tourism and hospitality markets. The same is true in reverse. With more than 7,000 islands and amazing beaches on offer, the Philippines also offers Western Australians an attractive holiday destination,” he said.

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to Australia Ma. Hellen B. De La Vega said the new service can open up more opportunities for both countries.

“I wish to congratulate Philippine Airlines and Perth Airport on the launch of the nonstop flight between Manila and Perth. The Philippines has a strong relationship with the State of Western Australia given our trade, investment and people to people connections.

I look forward to more opportunities to reinforce this relationship with the help of Philippine Airlines,” she said.

Australia is the Philippines’ third largest source of tourist visitors, with more than 89,000 Australians visiting the Philippines in 2022 thus far.

Perth is PAL’s fourth Australian gateway, after Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. PAL offers a total of 20 weekly direct flights to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Lorenz S. Marasigan

tion helps nearly 3.7 million people across India.

Last year, Australian cofounders of Canva, Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht signed the Giving Pledge, promising to donate the majority of their shares in the $26 billion graphic design platform to support charitable initiatives.

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing has over the past 12 months donated over HK$1 billion ($128 million) to various initiatives in mainland China, Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world through the Li Ka Shing Foundation. This includes HK$150 million to fund research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Medicine and over HK$70 million to fight Covid-19.

The foundation has sought to ease pressure on Hong Kong’s public health system by supporting private hospitals in treating non-Covid patients and funding the purchase of protective materials for elderly homes and meals for the underprivileged. VG Cabuag

Maharlika fund bill set to pass second reading

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

THE House of Representatives will approve the proposed P270-billion Maharlika Wealth Fund on second reading before the Christmas break of the Congress on December 17.

This was announced by House Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” M. Dalipe, one of the authors of House Bill (HB) 6398 or the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund Act (MWFA).

“As far as the Committee on Rules is concerned, we can approve the bill on second reading this December,” Dalipe said.

Earlier, Albay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman asked Congress not to fast-track the approval of HB 6398.

Lagman said the proposal must pass the “furnace of exhaustive legislative debates and searching scrutiny.”

The measure proposes to initially exact funding a total of P270 billion for future investments from top government financial institutions (GFIs), such as the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS) and national government.

Step back

HOUSE Deputy Minority Leader and Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy encouraged her fellow lawmakers to take a step back and examine its mechanics more cautiously.

“The theory behind a sovereign wealth fund is very sound and many developed countries have used it as an effective way to manage assets and pursue development projects,” Herrera said.

“With that being the case, the Philippines has the opportunity to model our own fund based on the successful best-practices of other nations. Unfortunately, even the source of funds of the MWF raises a number of serious questions,” she added.

The lawmaker provided “a simple analogy.”

“Imagine a cooperative fund that was put up by security guards, or delivery riders, for example. Would it make sense if these funds were used to benefit someone who was never a security guard or a delivery rider?,” she said. “Or how about the association dues of a private village or community? Can this be used to aid someone who never lived there and never contributed to the pooled fund?”

Similarly, since the SSS and GSIS

are consolidated funds that are collected from registered members, Herrera feels that using these to benefit non-members and non-contributors may be a violation of their respective charters.

Intent, function

THE lawmaker, likewise, advised that the fundamental intent and function of the proposed MWF be clarified.

According to Herrera, “normally, there are two types of funds—one to manage surplus resources such as foreign exchange or natural resource revenues and the other to manage state assets or to implement development projects.”

“Singapore, for instance, has two SWFs: GIC, to manage and invest its foreign exchange and Temasek, to operate state assets,” she explained.

Building on this point, the lawmaker cited the emotional and financial gravity involved in the source of funds.

“We are talking about GSIS and SSS contributions here, which are quite literally something that countless Filipinos have worked all their lives to build. Retirees, the elderly, those who get sick, or injured on the job—they are counting on these funds to help them during difficult times,” Herrera added. “Wealth building and high returns should not be the investment strategy of the GSIS and SSS. Rather, it should be to ensure the safety of the principal as much as possible.”

Value-added benefits

HERRERA also wants to know the value-added benefits the MWF can bring to the country.

The bill said that the MWF adheres to the principles of good governance, transparency and accountability. The fund shall be sourced from the investible funds of the country’s top performing GFIs, the Treasury of the Philippines and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The bill said the fund shall be used to invest on a strategic and commercial basis in a manner designed to promote fiscal stability for economic development and strengthen the top performing GFIs through additional investment platforms that will help attain the national government’s priority plan.

The establishment of the MWF was patterned after the sovereign wealth fund of other countries, to maximize the profitability of investible government assets.

BPI eyes ₧5B from peso fixed-rate bonds issue

AYALA-LED Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) intends to raise P5 billion from its peso fixed rate bonds to help finance or refinance the business requirements of eligible Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), BPI said its “Reinforcing Inclusive Support for MSMEs Bonds,” or “Rise Bonds,” are peso fixed-rate bonds due in 2024.

These are part of the P100-billion bond program approved by its Board of Directors last May 18, 2022. The Rise Bonds is consistent with our sustainable funding framework, the lender claims.

“Support for such MSMEs is seen to be critical in the post-crisis recovery of an economy battered by high unemployment, rising inflation, and disrupted supply chains,” a BPI statement read.

The country’s third-largest lender by asset said the bonds will have a tenor of one-and-one-half years, offered at a minimum investment amount of P1 million and in additional increments of P100,000. It said the issue size has an option to upsize, subject to investor demand.

The offer period will be from January 9 to 20, 2023, and the issue and listing date will be on January 30, 2023.

BPI Capital Corp. and the Manila branch of ING Bank NV are the joint lead arrangers of the offer with the

former as sole selling agent.

BPI and the joint lead arrangers reserve the right to update the offer terms and the periods and dates prescribed above, as deemed appropriate and with due notice.

Under BPI’s “Sustainable Funding Framework,” loans to MSMEs may be considered social projects eligible to be financed or refinanced by “green, social, and/or sustainability bonds,” if such loans meet any of the classifications.

These classifications include those that benefit underdeveloped region/s or whose qualifications set in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s Manual of Regulations for Banks, and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Guidelines on the Issuance of Social Bonds under the Asean Social Bonds Standards in the Philippines.

The classifications also include those that can otherwise be expected to support and promote underserved and under-banked segments of the population or those that benefit those negatively impacted by natural calamities, with significant consequences on the people, public health, infrastructure, assets, or the economy.

The lender said MSMEs contribute significantly to the Philippine economy. They account for 99.6 percent of businesses and 64.7 percent of total employment in the country.

Cai U. Ordinario

ADB lends $40M for 380 telco towers in Mindanao, Visayas

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

munication antennas. The project will support common tower sharing allowing multiple mobile network operators to lease the same location.

Tiger Infrastructure, meanwhile, will be responsible for construction, land leasing, operation, and maintenance. All telecommunication equipment installed on the towers will belong to the tenants.

continue to respond to demand for reliable mobile network connectivity in Asia,” he added.

Tiger Infrastructure is jointly owned by Cell Tower Services Pte. Ltd (CTSP) and Daily Life Renewable Energy Pte. Ltd (DLRE), both incorporated in Singapore.

ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD) said the loan was granted to Tiger Infrastructure Philippines Inc., which intends to build 380 telecommunications towers in the Mindanao and Visayas regions of the Philippines.

The financing comprises $25 million from ADB’s ordinary capital resources and a $15 million loan from the “Leading Asia’s Private (Leap) Infrastructure Fund” administered by the ADB.

“Digital connectivity’s impact

in helping to achieve Sustainable Development Goals cannot be understated, especially in areas like education, health care, financing, and payments,” ADB PSOD Director General Suzanne Gaboury said.

“This project will improve access to the digital economy in the underserved regions of Visayas and Mindanao and have a tangible impact on the quality of life for local communities,” she added.

Telecommunication towers support one or more wireless telecom-

The Philippines has only 164 towers per 1 million people or about 27,000 telco towers as of 2021, one of the lowest coverage rates in the region. The Government of the Philippines estimates that an additional 60,000 towers are needed by 2031 in unserved and underserved areas.

“We are honored to receive this support and endorsement from ADB. Together, we share a vision of supporting Philippines’ development through mobile network connectivity and digital transformation,” Tiger Infrastructure Group Executive Chairman Simon Skouboe said in a statement.

“We are confident that by working with ADB, Tiger can strengthen our digital infrastructure portfolio as we

CTSP is known for telecommunications towers business with projects around the world, while DLRE is involved in customized design, engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning services for renewable energy systems across Asia and the Pacific.

LEAP is an ADB-managed fund capitalized with a $1.5 billion commitment by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Established in 2016, it is focused on the delivery of high-quality and sustainable private sector infrastructure projects. These projects aim to reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency, and offer accessible and affordable health care, education, and communication services to ADB’s developing members.

PBBM calls for prudence in use of govt resources

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called for “prudence” in the use of government funds and assets due to “scarcity of resources.”

During the courtesy call of Manila local officials in Malacañang last Wednesday, Marcos emphasized the importance of coordination between the national and local government to “reduce wastages” in their operations.

ESG fund downgrades top $125B as Axa adds to tally

ASSET managers have now removed the European Union’s top ESG designation from at least $125 billion in portfolio funds, as figures from Axa Investment Managers add to the industry total.

The French investment firm, which said earlier this year it was in the process of downgrading 45 socalled Article 9 funds, said on Tuesday the move has affected €20 billion ($21 billion) of portfolio assets. The figure represents market values at the end of June and includes openended funds and other mandates, an Axa spokesperson said.

Asset managers including BlackRock Inc., Amundi SA and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s NN Investment Partners are among those to have stripped the Article 9 designation from funds after the EU said it must be reserved for 100 percent sustainable investments, with some allowances for hedging and liquidity. That’s a threshold that less than 5 percent of Article 9 funds actually meet, Morningstar Inc. said in its third-quarter analysis of the industry. The development risks angering clients and has led to criticism of the EU’s environmental, social and governance investing rules, known as the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

Europe’s top retail investor group, Better Finance, has already demanded meetings with the EU Commission and the bloc’s markets watchdog, ESMA, to seek assurances that such reclassifications aren’t exposing client savings to greenwashing.

ESMA chair, Verena Ross, has made clear she’s intent on “investigating greenwashing more closely.” What a fund calls itself “is one of the most significant identifiers of investment funds for investors, especially retail investors, and a great marketing tool,” she said in a December 6 speech.

“We are concerned that some funds are using ESG or sustainability-related terms in their names without necessary living up to the corresponding sustainability features.”

Axa’s head of sustainability coordination and governance, Clémence Humeau, has said the firm’s goal is to “explain the long-term intention and the short-term challenges” of the EU rules to clients. It’s all about being “proactive and transparent in our communications with clients,” she said in October.

She also said the wave of reclassifications has led some to question the value of SFDR designations.

“There is now a widespread understanding within the industry of the limitations of the system,” Humeau said.

The EU Commission is now looking into the confusion surrounding SFDR fund classes and preparing a comprehensive assessment of how market participants are adapting to the regulation, according to financial markets and services commissioner, Mairead McGuinness. She recently told lawmakers that asset managers have adopted a softer interpretation of the EU’s ESG rulebook than was intended by its authors. Bloomberg News

“So we have to be very careful [on] how we deploy what resources that we have. And again to maximize those resources we have to be in very close coordination, both the national government and local government such as the City of Manila,” the President said.

He also reiterated the statement when the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) presented to him Philippine banknotes bearing his signature and

new coin series with the BSP logo.

“Be assured that it is the policy of this administration, to ensure that every peso and every centavo that the government spends in its programs and projects will be to the benefit of all Filipinos,” Marcos said.

The Chief Executive made the pronouncements after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 44 million novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccines were wasted due to natural disasters, temperature excursions, and discolorations.

The statement also comes as the country’s outstanding debt as of September soared to P13.52 trillion.

Marcos said the government could save resources and by eliminating duplications in its operations.

“And that’s why it is extremely important that the local government and the national government work very, very closely so that we maximize all our efforts to alleviate the problems that our people face—the rising cost of food, fuel,” Marcos said.

SUMITOMO Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) Inc. is facing a 55 billion rupee ($670 million) tax bill from India on its roughly $2 billion acquisition of Fullerton India Credit Co., far outweighing what the Japanese lender has set aside, according to people familiar with the matter.

The South Asian government’s tax department has asked the bank to pay the amount on behalf of seller Fullerton Financial Holdings Pte., arguing that it should have withheld the sum during the acquisition, the people said, asking not to be named as the information isn’t public.

Sumitomo Mitsui had held back only $170 million for the deal which completed last year, taking its additional tax liability to $500 million, they said. The demand was made in late November, one of the people said.

The demand to SMFG comes after India ended multiyear tax spats with global companies from Cairn Energy Plc to Vodafone Group Plc, that were tarnishing the nation’s image as a business-friendly destination. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had scrapped a nine-year-old rule on retroactive taxes in 2021, that had triggered tax demands of billions of dollars.

The sudden request leaves Sumitomo Mitsui facing much higher costs than initially anticipated. Japan’s second-largest lender is working with India’s government and Fullerton to find a solution, the people said. Fullerton Financial is a unit of Singapore’s state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte and owns the remaining 25 percent of Fullerton India, according to its website.

Faced with weak growth prospects at home, Sumitomo Mitsui has been allocating resources to Asia’s emerging markets in recent years and acquired a 74.9 percent stake in Fullerton India last year, marking the first entry into the country’s retail financial business by a Japanese bank.

A spokesman for Sumitomo Mitsui declined to comment on the specific transaction and said that the lender is “taking actions that comply with local laws and regulations and will continue to take appropriate measures” based on these.

A spokesman for India’s finance ministry didn’t respond to an email and calls seeking comment, while a Singapore-based representative for Fullerton Financial did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AlocA l infrastructure firm was able to secure a $40 million worth loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to improve digital connectivity in Visayas and Mindanao.

SMFG said to face $670M tax on Fullerton India deal

FRONTIER RISKS This undated photo courtesy of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas shows (left) Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (FRBC) President and CEO Loretta J. Mester and BSP Senior Assistant Governor Johnny Noe E. Ravalo discussing ideas on current global systemic risk issues and the future agenda for financial stability at the sidelines of the 10th Financial Stability Conference held in Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America, cohosted by the FRBC and the US Treasury’s Office of Financial Research.

Health& Fitness

Enjoy this season by eating better and not less—expert

By Rory Visco Contributor

HOW important is Christmas to Fili pinos? Well, it’s a question that many feel does not de serve to be asked anymore. Being the only predominantly Catholic nation in Southeast Asia and one of only two in Asia (the other be ing Timor-Leste), the Philippines celebrates the start of the Christ mas season the moment the “’Ber” months kick in.

Christmas in the Philippines is generally about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ but it is also the time of indulging in gloriously excessive amounts of food whether with family, friends, officemates and what-have-you. But with con cerns about health fast creeping up on many who indulge too much on gastronomic delights, how does one eat healthy during Christmas?

So how does one eat healthy during Christmas?

NOW how does one avoid being tempted from devouring the lechon, dinuguan, spaghetti, fried chick en, and all other mouth-watering dishes commonly prepared before, during and even after Christmas?

For Dr. Virgith Buena, Nutritionist / Dietician from the Cardinal San tos Medical Center, it is important to know about a healthy diet com

posed of the “macronutrients” such as carbohydrates, fat and protein, then vitamins and minerals or the “micronutrients,” and then fiber, which acts as fuel for the colon, and there is also water, which composes 60 to 70 percent of the body.

It is important that our body has enough water to prevent dehydra tion and that it acts as a solvent for all nutrients and helps trans port these nutrients to all parts of the body, she said. “Water also participates in metabolic reactions, regulates the body’s temperature, and acts as lubricant and cushion around joints and inside the eyes and the spinal cord, maintains blood volume, prevents dehydra tion and constipation, especially for the elderly, who mostly don’t want to drink water to avoid frequent trips to the toilet,” Dr. Buena said in her presentation during the re cent episode of the “Stop C.O.V.I.D. Deaths” webinar titled “Pasko na Naman: Healthy Holiday Eating.”

Smart eating during the holidays

EATING healthy is also about eating smart, Dr. Buena says, where one should eat a variety of nutritious food in moderate amounts and stick to regular meal times. She also em phasized the consumption of fruits and vegetables to give one a sense of fullness of the stomach and sup presses the urge to eat more. It is also good to eat small but frequent meals. “Many usually skip breakfast

but will over-indulge during lunch time, which is bad; same for those who skip meals. If you eat dinner at 7 pm then eat breakfast at 7 am the following day, it’s the same as fasting, that’s why it’s called ‘break fast’ because you break the fast,” Dr. Buena explained.

She also shared mindful eating tips like using a small plate, lim iting distractions, slowing down and tasting the food, enjoy meals with others, avoid skipping meals or healthy snacks especially those who are trying to lose weight, eat sitting down to avoid eating too fast and enjoy the food, and make the plate look festive by adding fruits and vegetables.

Christmas is also the perfect time for family members to re unite with one another, especially since the onset of the pandemic where people were unable to cel ebrate Christmas with the family due to the lockdowns and com munity quarantines. But family reunions during the holidays, Dr. Buena said, are also the time where people tend to overeat because of the presence of “potluck” food. “Make sure you will eat healthy so be the one to bring healthy food in a potluck. More importantly, the mindset should be about visiting the people you love or those im portant to you, not the food that is on the table. Socializing is a way to prevent you from indulging into mindless eating and better yet, eat

until you are satisfied, not stuffed,” Dr. Buena said.

Bouncing back

THE trouble for many after eating too much during the holidays is how to go back to their normal eating mode and avoid eating on a holiday mode. Dr. Buena said it is impor tant to get over the guilt and just be careful next time. Staying busy is also good, but it should not be an excuse to skip meals and eat only when one feels hungry, she said.

Dr. Buena also pointed out that since it’s the Christmas season, this means the holding of more social events so she advised to avoid or go easy on them. She again repeat ed the need to drink more water, and not to cut the carbohydrates completely because it is the body’s main source of energy. More im portantly, she reiterated the value of making healthy eating choices as part of one’s lifestyle. Once it is mastered, there is no need to look for anything more.

“With food, moderation is key. Fill up on fruits and vegetables, eat complex carbohydrates because it has fiber, which is the fuel for the body’s colon and avoid cancer, eat healthy fats and oils, limit protein intake and more of high fiber, lim it sugar and salt. Finally, water is important so keep hydrated at all times,” she said.

“The most important thing is ‘Eat Better, Not Less.’”

Employee health care, sustainability, robust business top priorities of Pilipinas Shell

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

STILL confronted by the ensuing pan demic and external factors such as the lingering climate change issue and oil crisis brought about by the ongoing UkraineRussian war, Pilipinas Shell Corp. has managed to cope with these challenges through key strategies, from enabling employee adapt ability of the remote work setup under the new normal to cutting its carbon emissions while tapping renewable energy (RE) sources and providing customer-centered products that drive community growth and prosperity.

At the recent Philippine Digicon 2022, Pili pinas Shell Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lorelie Quiambao-Osial talked about innovation and the “need to dare to rei magine the future” while learning to embrace change in a prolonged crisis.

“Our biggest challenge is that we were going through a crisis of uncertainty in all aspects,” she said during the event’s “Wom en Leaders Panel” discussion. “As a woman and a leader, I anchor on the different roles I play as a mother, a daughter, and a wife to address various challenges and adapt to dif ferent situations.”

Caring for employees’ health

WITH regards to the company’s remote work strategies that were implemented during the lockdown periods, Shell focused on “the 3 C’s: care, continuity, and cash,” per the president and CEO.

Since the issue on mental wellness, apart from the fear of contracting Covid-19, has been on the rise, the petroleum giant has provided the needed support to ensure the safety of its workers physically and mentally while working at their abodes.

“We pivoted our health-care arrangements to ensure that our employees are safe whether they are at home or on-site,” Osial said.

Taking care of the people that make up the organization is a top priority of the firm.

“At Pilipinas Shell, we continue to create paths for talented and hardworking individu als towards empowering them in the workplace and their communities so they may grow and prosper,” the top executive noted.

“We ensure equal opportunities for every one and have people succeed based on their merits, as we nurture them to be the best ver sion of themselves,” she cited.

As an entity, Pilipinas Shell is not only mindful of the plight of its employees, but also makes sure that its operations remain intact

amid the pandemic.

We safeguarded our business continuity by ensuring we make a valuable impact on the industries we support by providing them with quality goods and services,” Osial said.

”And of course, we made sure that the company is financially resilient by adapting our marketing strategies on what is happening, as well as experimenting with different ways of working,” she added.

Taking sustainability by heart A HEALTHY environment is everybody’s busi ness. With this in mind, it seriously takes sus tainability by heart.

O sial tackled their environmental efforts in response to global changes with the imple mentation of a plan towards decarbonization called “Powering Progress” by providing cleaner energy to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

“At the heart of the strategy is sustainabil ity. Locally, we zoned in on our operations and real estate and adjusted them so that they are ready for the future by greening our offices and our communities,” she noted.

O sial added that Pilipinas Shell has entered into joint ventures with other RE players to raise its capacity and maintain onshore projects of such kind nationwide.

“Globally and nationally, businesses and technologies are evolving and becoming keener in tapping alternative or renewable energies. Through Shell Energy Philippines [SEPH], we have been providing wholesale renewable energy while offering cleaner, flexible, and competitive energy solutions for businesses,” she said.

Among the company’s recent projects, Shell Recharge is an electric vehicle charging service that was launched in Shell Mobility Station Malamplasan to further decarbonize mobility and establish the infrastructure and interest for electric cars.

O ther nature-friendly solutions found in such facility across the country include biker-friendly spaces, rain-catchers for irri gation, and usage of eco-bricks made from recycled plastics.

All these efforts have led to recognition of Pilipinas Shell by consumer data company Statista, which included it in the top 50 bracket of the “Philippines’ Best Employers 2023” list.

The results came after a survey was done on over 11,000 employees of more than 2,000 firms with at least 250 employees in the country. The respondents rated their organizations based on salaries, job growth, work-life balance, work culture, and reputation, among others.

Measures needed to curb the effects of

IT i s estimated that oral diseases affect nearly 3.5 billion people.

Oral diseases, while large ly preventable, pose a major health burden for many coun tries and affect people through out their lifetime, causing pain, discomfort, disfigurement and even death, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Untreated dental caries (tooth decay) in permanent teeth is the most common health condition according to the Global Burden of Disease 2019.

In the Philippines, the 2006 National Oral Health Survey (NOHS) revealed that 97.1 per cent of six-year-old children suffer from tooth decay.

Serious public health problem T HE D epartment of Health (DOH) said that oral disease continues to be a serious public health problem in the Philip pines. Mainly, the oral health problems are dental caries (tooth decay) and periodontal disease (gum disease).

These two oral diseases are so widespread that 87 percent of Filipinos suffer from tooth decay and 48 percent have gum disease based on the 2011 Na tional Monitoring and Epide miological Dental (NMEDS) Survey.

The combined ill effects of these two major diseases, al though not considered killer diseases (except oral cancer), weaken bodily defense and serve as portal of entry to other more serious, potentially dan gerous and opportunistic infec tions overlapping other diseas es present. Serious conditions include arthritis, heart disease, endocarditis, gastro-intestinal diseases, and ocular-skin-renal diseases.

Aside from physical defor mity, these two oral diseases may also cause disturbance of speech significant enough

to affect work performance, nutrition, social interactions, income, and self-esteem.

School performance

P O O r oral health, the DOH said, poses detrimental effects on school performance and mars success in later life. In fact, children who suffer from poor oral health are 12 times more likely to have restrictedactivity days (USGAO 2000).

In the Philippines, tooth ache is a common ailment among schoolchildren, and is the primary cause of absentee ism from school.

Dental and oral diseases create a silent epidemic, plac ing a heavy burden on Filipino schoolchildren.

Vice President and Educa tion Secretary Sara Z. Duterte is pushing to implement man datory toothbrush drills for the school year 2024-2025.

Duterte stressed the im portance of dental health and spreading awareness among learners as part of the holistic program, which aims to mold the character and well-being of the children for once neglected, may pose risks if they reach adulthood.

“We will teach you life skills, service, values, in the basic education program and that in cludes good hygiene and tooth brush drills,” Duterte recently said in a television interview, adding that it is also part of her personal advocacy that she learned from her father, former President r r o drigo Duterte.

Treatment

T H E D OH said that dental car ies is treated by removing the decayed tissue and then placing a filling in the cavity to restore the tooth function.

If not treated early, these children become susceptible to irreversible periodontal disease as they enter adoles cence and approach adulthood.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

THE D epartment of Health (DOH) said that lung cancer, considered a si lent killer, is one of the most common types of cancer in the Philippines.

Over 17,000 Filipinos died of lung cancer in 2020.

In line with the Lung Cancer Awareness Month last month, HealthJustice Philippines re minded Filipinos to take care of their lungs.

smoking is the major cause of lung cancer,” he stressed adding that smoking also causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

To achieve healthy lungs, Dr. Galvez Tan, who is also a for mer DOH Secretary, said that one should avoid exposure to secondhand smoke, indoor pol lutants like chemicals, outdoor pollutants, and cold or other re spiratory infection.

THE p andemic reminded us of the unpre dictable nature of health. But along the same vein, it showed us the strength of collaboration in the community, one that has remained constant throughout the course of Covid-19.

Especially in local health-care systems, we saw how the combined efforts of community volunteers, frontliners, and members allowed us to slowly pivot toward health, safety, and recovery.

To further empower community health, SM Foundation Inc. (SMFI) and Uniqlo recently col laborated to upgrade three new health facilities in Rizal—the Abnai Barangay Health Station in Taytay, the San Roque Barangay Health Station

in Angono, and the Angono Rural Health Unit II-Mahabang Parang building.

Aside from improving the health environ ment, SMFI and Uniqlo also provided mobile play cabinets for children, medicine storage cabinets, essential medical equipment, fur niture, and appliances necessary to deliver strong preventive and primary care services to their respective communities. The health facilities also received emergency Go Kits+ to help boost their emergency and disaster response.

Medical care whenever, wherever D URI n G t he inauguration and turnover ceremo ny of the 13th health center upgraded through

the partnership, SMFI Executive Director for Medical Programs Connie Angeles thanked local medical frontliners as she underscored the value of promoting accessible, quality, and patient- and family-centered care to reduce hospital congestion and achieve better health care outcomes.

“In these trying times, we believe that health centers are vital for community surveil lance and response. With the country weather ing various natural disasters and the Covid-19 outbreak, we have seen that an uncontrolled spread of communicable diseases after a natural disaster has been a great challenge, especially in grassroot communities,” Angeles noted.

“We do hope that this collaboration for

social good with Uniqlo will reduce the vul nerability of your community in times of di sasters and provide you with a strong medical infrastructure that will ensure the welfare of our stakeholders and provide you with access to medical care services, whenever and wher ever they need it—even in times of disasters,” she added.

The SMFI’s Health and Wellness Program upgrades public health centers of grassroots communities, complemented by its medical caravans across the country. To date, it has renovated more than 160 health and wellness centers and served more than 1 million patients in its medical missions.

To know more about the social good pro grams and stories of SMFI, follow SM Foundation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube @SMFoundationInc.

In the US, HealthJustice Phil ippines cited that vaping has been linked to 68 deaths and over 2,807 cases of lung injury related to vaping. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), likewise, HealthJustice noted, has called this outbreak EVALI, or E-cigarette or Vaping product use-Associated Lung Injury.

“For your overall health, it is important to have healthy lungs. That is why it is necessary that you prioritize your lung health,” said Health Justice trustee Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan.

Under r e public Act No. 11215 or the National Integrated Can cer Control Act, the DOH will lead, coordinate and supervise the nationwide yearly obser vance of Lung Cancer Awareness Month every November.

“Also, smokers should quit for

“Visit your doctor regularly to prevent diseases, eat healthy food and exercise for being physi cally active can help keep your lungs healthy,” Dr. Galvez Tan concluded.

Lung cancer ranked second among the most common types of the disease in the Philippines and is the leading cause of mor t ality in the country among all types of cancer, recent data from GLOBOCAN 2020, the online da tabase of Global Cancer Observa tory (GCO), showed.

According to GLOBOCAN 2020, lung cancer ranked second among the most common type of the disease in the Philippines af ter recording a total of 19,180 or 12.5 percent of the total 153,751 new cases in both males and fe males in all age groups in 2020. Breast cancer ranked first with 27,163 new cases last year.

Uniqlo, SMFI bring new life to health centers in Rizal

oral diseases—DOH

Stop smoking, eat healthy, exercise and prevent lung cancer—expert

Parentlife

Let’s empower homes on early childhood education

With over 100 titles for release, Little Explorers offers solutions to help children develop the six developmental domains identified as critical in the National Early Learning Framework (NELF) policy document of the government-mandated ECCD

Council:

■ Language Development: Develop and grow vocabulary and conversation skills through ageappropriate exercises

■ Physical Health, Well-being and Motor Development: Develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination

research, experience and partners on lifelong and early childhood learning, we carefully crafted Little Explorers to help establish strong foundations and promote proper holistic development in our children as early as possible,” adds Buhain.

packaging that rouses everyone’s consciousness in choosing a product that can actually help build the future.

“Filipinos never fail to support one another in hard times. Let’s use that incredible force for good every time we make a purchase—to vote with our peso about what is important to us,” said founder Nanette Medved-Po.

True to its vision of “Business for Good,” HOPE aims to encourage consumers and businesses alike to participate in collective actions towards nation-building.

The Department of Education reports a shortage of 91,000 public school classrooms nationwide. The lack of classrooms only exacerbates the already weak position of the Philippines as last of 79 OECD countries in a 2018 survey for Math, Reading, and Science competencies, which has been compounded by over two years of no face-to-face learning.

“The HOPE classrooms have been a huge help for our community, teachers and of course, our learners who have all been motivated to complete their studies and reach for their dreams,” says Dexter Tejedor, the teacher-in-charge of Bagong Silang High School, HOPE’s 100th classroom.

SCIENTIFIC studies have shown that 90 percent of a child’s brain development happens before the age of 5. From 1 to 2 years old, babies begin to explore and discover things. At 2.5 to 3 years old, toddlers start to develop their personality and expand their vocabulary. When they turn 3.5 years old, they start to interact with other kids and adults.

This underscores how vital early childhood education (ECE) is for every child’s lifelong learning development. In fact, a 2019 study published by Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) found that learners who were reported to perform early literacy and numeracy tasks very well scored over one standard deviation higher than their peers who could not do these tasks well. This is proof that the urgency of calling attention to ECE is not just a local conversation, but something that is being championed in the international scene.

“As a lifelong learning partner to every Filipino, Rex Education has always believed that investing in ECE and the early development of foundational skills in our children is crucial in making sure they are ready for life. As we launch our newest brand, Little Explorers, we hope to fuel the conversation on the importance of early childhood care and development (ECCD) in the Philippines, and empower parents and learning companions of our children with quality, research-based and age-appropriate learning solutions to start their children’s learning even before formal schooling,” said Don Timothy Buhain, chief executive officer of Rex Education.

Parents are the most critical contributors and champions of education for children at home. Little Explorers hopes to inspire parents and guardians to be more purposeful about enhancing the learning environment of the kids, and to observe ECCD practices at home so that children can start their journey early in becoming Filipino whole learners— healthy, safe, engaged, supported, challenged and values-oriented.

■ Character and Values Development: Impart an understanding of honesty, manners, love, respect, and other good morals

■ Cognitive/Intellectual Development: Boost critical thinking and attention skills

■ Social and Emotional Development: Develop and improve empathy, self-awareness, and social interaction

■ Creative-Aesthetic Development: Develop a child’s innate talent and creative skills

“We share the hearts of our Edukampyon parents and guardians who want nothing but the best for their children. This is why we believe that the best learning experiences start at home. Using Rex’s wealth of

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Rex launched Little Explorers on December 1, 2022, at Novotel in Cubao. With the theme “Early Childhood Education Matters: Strengthening the Development and Foundations for Learning of Young Children,” the event aimed to spark conversations on the importance of ECE and put Little Explorers in the hands of every young learner and every Edukampyon parent and learning companion who wants to set their children up for success.

I was invited to a panel discussion with Gender Studies chairman of the Philippine Social Science Council Dr. Excelsa Tongson, DSD, and senior sales manager of WOOP Mama Club Stephanie Alviso to share and exchange knowledge on the topic: “How to unlock our young learners’ potential by focusing on early childhood education.” I feel so lucky to also have had the chance to meet the chairman of Rex Education, Atty. Dominador Buhain.

More inforation on Rex Education’s early childhood education initiatives can be found at www. rex.com.ph. ■

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Since time seems to speed up around the holidays, the global lifestyle brand has also curated thoughtful online exclusive gift sets in a range of choices for those who need to gift quick and are always on the go during the busiest time of the year.

From only 25 students, they now have a population of 106 indigenous people learners.

HOPE works closely with the Department of Education to build classrooms especially in “last mile” locations where construction proves most challenging. Thanks to consumers of HOPE in a Bottle, there have been 122 classroom builds to date across the country.

Since its launch in 2012, HOPE has been committing 100 percent of profits to help close the classroom gap and invites everyone to support children in public schools which make up 87 percent of the student population.

HOPE is a B Corp-certified organization that invests in education, agriculture, and environment programs that support interventions for underserved communities. It was recently awarded Best for the World B Corp, meeting the highest levels of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance both profit and purpose.

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Japan police arrest 3 teachers in nursery abuse case

BY MARI YAMAGUCHI The Associated Press

TOKYO—Police have arrested three teachers at a nursery school in central Japan on suspicion they routinely abused toddlers, including hitting their heads, holding them upside down and locking them up in a bathroom, in a case that triggered outrage and allegations of a cover-up. The Shizuoka prefectural police said they arrested three women on Sunday on suspicion of assaulting at least three toddlers in June at a nursery school in the city of Susono at the foot of Mount Fuji.

Susono Mayor Harukaze Murata told reporters Monday that he also filed a criminal complaint

against the school director, Toshihiko Sakurai, for allegedly covering up the abuses. He urged police to widen their investigation.

In one case in June, one of the teachers is accused of holding a boy upside down. Another teacher pushed a girl in the face, according to police, and the third slapped the head of another boy. Their arrests followed Saturday’s police search of the private school in response to the city’s revelation last week of 15 counts of alleged abuses between June and August.

Results of an internal probe revealed the three teachers routinely abused toddlers in their care, including slapping their face and heads, forcing them to cry, threatening them with a cutter knife, verbally abusing the children by calling them “ugly” and

“fat,” locking them up inside a toilet or storage room, according to the city.

Murata, the mayor, accused the school director of “covering up” by having other teachers sign a paper requiring them to conceal the problem and delaying giving an explanation to the parents, calling his handling “heinous.” The three teachers, all in their 30s, reportedly told investigators that their treatment of the toddlers was “discipline,” while the director said he had the document signed only to protect privacy of those involved and denied trying to cover up the abuses. The city has faced public criticism for sitting on the case for more than three months since a whistleblower first came forward to reveal “inappropriate” cases at the school in mid-August.

Murata said he takes the criticism seriously and will take a pay cut for two months while also punishing three senior officials.

Separate investigations into possible abuse have been ongoing in two other nursery schools.

In Sendai, northern Japan, officials are conducting an internal probe following allegations that children had to strip into their underwear during meal time so they don’t dirty their clothes. At a school in another northern city of Toyama, police are investigating teachers on suspicion they locked up crying children in a storage facility or poked their back with a stick to order them to move. Experts say nursery teachers tend to be low paid and schools face chronic staff shortages and a harsh working environment.

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RIGHT in time for the resumption of in-person learning, HOPE

NANETTE MEDVEDPO is the founder of Generation HOPE.

Manila Water Foundation makes sanitation visible in Bicol Region on World Toilet Day

support WASH initiatives to support community health and well-being.

A day before the WTD celebration, family toilets for household partners were handed over in Barangay San Francisco, Bombon, Camarines Sur through the Roots to Shoots (RTS) program. This is the three-year nutrition, livelihood, and WASH synergy project among Manila Water Foundation, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc., and World Vision Philippines.

Since 2021, a total of 102 family toilets have been handed over to program partners, targeting families with nutritionally challenged children within the first 1,000 days of life. For this year, through the WASH component of the RTS Program, 60 toilets were built in five communities in the municipalities of Bombon and Pasacao, Camarines Sur, ensuring basic access to sanitation for marginalized, rural communities.

Rotary, DENR conduct massive tree planting in QC to protect environment for the future generations

WITH its founding ethos of "Tamang Gawa, Gawang Tama," 1Rotary Trading Corporation recently partnered with the Department of National Resources (DENR) in its massive tree planting drive to stress the need to protect the environment for future generations.

To amplify sustainability awareness, 1Rotary launched its "Plant Trees, Plant Hope" campaign earlier in the recently concluded tree planting activity held at the La Mesa Eco Park, Quezon City, as part of

the company’s longstanding commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Headed by 1Rotary’s President Rodel Eusebio and EVP Jinky Eusebio, 1Rotary team was able to plant 500 saplings.

“Small actions, when collectively taken, generate a major impact,” said 1Rotary’s Marketing Department Head, Kacy Cruz. “We wanted to take one further step and motivate our employees to volunteer to plant trees to make an even bigger impact.”

1ROTARY Mancom, office, stores and warehouser personnel, together with DENR-NCR Site Development Officers, Ma. Mariella Tamondong and Nina Katrina L. Gabitanan.

IN line with the celebration of #WorldToiletDay2022 last November, Manila Water Foundation trooped to Barangay Caranan in Pasacao, Camarines Sur. With the WTD 2022 theme “Making the Invisible Visible,” MWF organized an onsite event highlighting the sanitation gaps in

rural coastal communities with support from the Local Government of Pasacao.

In an afternoon of water access, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) learning sessions, community members, barangay health workers, and barangay nutrition scholars were encouraged to lead and

In partnership with PHILUSA Corporation and Orocan, hygiene and sanitation products were also handed over to the household partners to ensure effective maintenance of their new family toilet. This milestone is part of MWF’s celebration of #WorldToiletDay2022 in its commitment to bring WASH for all communities.

Businessman Sy, PAO head Acosta top TOFIL 2022 awards for exemplary contribution to PHL society

THE JCI Senate Philippines, JCISP-TOFIL Foundation, and the ANSA Foundation have announced The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Laureates for 2022. This year’s honorees were chosen from among dozens of candidates from across the country and were selected after careful deliberation by a noted panel of judges in light of their exemplary and noteworthy contributions towards the upliftment of Philippine society.

This year’s laureates are:

HANS T. Sy (Business and Resilience)

– As chair of SM Prime Holdings Executive Committee, Sy has played a pivotal role in developing Philippine mall culture even while steering the company towards green and sustainable architecture.

Dr. Ruben Villareal (Agricultural Science) – With work spanning over six decades, Dr. Villareal’s work has paved the way towards a better understanding and appreciation of plant sciences, particularly in the field of corn propagation.

Dr. Persida Rueda Acosta (Justice and Law) – Having served as Chief Public Attorney since 2001, Dr. Acosta is noted for her contributions and innovations at the Public Attorney’s Office, particularly in her efforts to provide accessible and relevant services to underserved clients.

Engr. Maria Catalina Cabral (Government and Public Service) – In a career that has spanned close to 40 years, Cabral has made a name for

herself as a public servant as well as an engineer. As Undersecretary for Planning and Service, she has spearheaded integrative and inclusive projects across various sectors.

Nemesio Miranda, Jr. (Visual Arts and Sculpture) – A renowned muralist and sculptor, Miranda has launched and participated in over 100 local and international exhibitions throughout

his decades-long career. Known as “The Father of Imaginative Figurism,” he is also a respected advocate of local arts in his hometown of Angono, Rizal.

Established in 1988, the TOFIL Awards is presented annually to exemplary Filipino men and women over the age of 41. The prize was created with the aim to institutionalize public acknowledgement of exceptional Filipino individuals

THE twelve days of Christmas has found its match with twelve free donuts this Holiday season. The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has a sweet treat for all BPI Debit cardholders as it features #DebitDonutDays promo with J.Co, which will happen on December 8, 15, and 19.

“There is no better way to make the last month of the year count than to make your spending count as well. With face-to-face gatherings at work and with your loved ones, you wouldn’t want to miss this free donut deal that we are exclusively offering to our BPI Debit Mastercard and BPI Debit EMV Cirrus cardholders,” said Jenny Lacerna, Head of Unsecured Lending and Cards Group.

To avail of this limited time offer,

a customer must present a Debit card transaction slip (no minimum spend required) using their BPI Debit Card dated from December 1, 2022 onwards.

Each J.Co box comes with one dozen donuts with pre-selected set of flavors, including Alcapone, Mylosauras, Mr. Green Tea, Caviar Chocolate, Oreology, Tiramisu, Jcoccino, Blueberry More, Katy Berry, Coco Loco, and Heaven Berry.

The #DebitDonutDays promo will be available in all J.Co. branches in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. Promo can be availed via dine-in and take out only. Cardholder may avail of the promo only once per specified promo date.

For more information on this sweet deal, visit www.bpi.com.ph.

Globe Business champions ecosystem mindset to achieve business goals to benefit PHL society

THE Globe Business Leadership Innovation Forum 2022 gathered various enterprise leaders at the Grand Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Manila on December 5, 2022, for an award-winning thought leadership event that aimed to positively impact businesses, society, and the nation by highlighting the importance of synergy and collaboration.

With this year’s theme, “Synergy: Building Ecosystems for Greatness,” LeadIn 2022 empowered industry leaders to help them adopt the ecosystems approach to thrive and grow in today’s landscape.

Through a day filled with enlightening talks and discussions, Globe Business reminded us that in an organization, as with other things, none of us exist in a vacuum. Each person depends on others to fulfill different roles in an organization for it to be successful. By promoting a culture of symbiosis and synergy among stakeholders, harmony is achieved. The result is a thriving ecosystem that propels businesses to attain their goals and, ultimately, towards national progress.

THE

The

Enterprises, Rizalyn Manio Manaloto Trading, and PrimeBeef company.

Further, the British Meat Trade Mission dinner also celebrated the significance of high-quality British meat at an affordable price, especially since British pork exports to the Philippines have increased up to 41 percent. With quality, traceability, and adaptability, as mentioned by Ambassador Laure Beaufils, “Buyers is the goal. We can adapt to your needs and your demands, and the preferences of the market.”

In conclusion, the event was a relevant platform for exchanging good discussions with the importers and further potential to grow exports to the Philippines.

The forum started with a CEO Brunch attended by the country’s top executives, which served as a venue for them to share experiences and insights about collaborative leadership. They shared a hearty meal as they tackled the core ingredients of having a culture of symbiosis and synergy that allows all stakeholders to prosper.

Lead-In 2022’s keynote speaker is an internationally-known expert in the areas of innovation, purpose-driven leadership, and serendipity. Dr. Christian Busch, author of the bestseller “The Serendipity Mindset” and a New York University professor, imparts knowledge on his topic, “Why a culture of symbiosis and synergy allows everyone to prosper.”

Busch highlighted the value of serendipity, the central premise of his bestselling book, and how to make conditions favorable to what he called “smart luck” as opposed to “blind luck.” This tied in with how promoting a culture of ecosystems can bring forth success, not just for the individual but for our collective benefit.

Globe Business also invited Aileen Jiao,

ON its return to a face-to-face leadership event after two years, Lead-In 2022 emphasizes the value of internal ecosystems, featuring Dr. Christian Busch as a keynote speaker discussing the importance of collaboration for businesses.

President and Country General Manager of IBM PH, as a featured speaker, who discussed her thoughts on “Empowering teams by cultivating and nurturing a culture of ecosystem thinking and collaboration.”

Being a digital transformation champion and an advocate of diversity, she is committed to moving Filipino talent, especially women, into key leadership positions and getting the underserved, under-motivated external young breed into the STEM track. She gave inspiration that a shared goal and spirit of collaboration can stir hearts and minds to action. This all leads to exponential growth and development collectively.

Don Rae, Senior Advisor for Globe Business, Enterprise Group, during his talk, “Sharing the idea of Shared Value to stakeholders and partners,” expounded on the greater good that can be achieved by contributing more as companies partake in greater responsibility to society.

This seemingly benevolent motivation is also a strategic one, as it is at the very core of a company’s sustainability and growth. By creating shared value, companies nurture their proclivity and proficiency in forming unique, advantageous partnerships outside of it.

Lead-In 2022 culminated in Networking Night, a conducive atmosphere for learning and forging stronger partnerships among enterprise leaders who participated in the event.

MANILA Water Foundation brings in its campaign for access to water, sanitation, and hygiene in CamSur during the celebration of World Toilet Day last November, in an effort of reduce the sanitation gaps in rural coastal communities

British Chamber of Commerce Philippines partnered with the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), which was represented by Senior Export Manager Susan Stewart, for another UK-PH Meat Trade Mission at One World Butchers, Makati City last December 2, 2022.

Philippines is one of the biggest markets for British meat exports. Through the recently held event, various importers, distributors, and stakeholders attended with representatives from Ramcar, Atkins, Enzed Trade Inc., Global Essential Foods Inc., JMSY Trading, Hexagon, Vanguard, Maharlika Agro Marine Ventures Corps, Golden Tiara

British Chamber celebrates increase in British meat exports in 2nd UK-PHL meat trade mission

Envoys&Expats

Canada’s Saskatchewan Province keen on tapping Pinoy HCWs’ global renown

THE Canadian province of Saskatchewan is actively promoting health-care work prospects for Filipinos exploring enhanced career opportunities and better quality of life.

Minister of Health Paul Merriman, who was joined by government officials and representatives from Saskatchewan Health Authority—the province’s largest healthcare employer—along with postsecondary institutions, shared the said propositions in a reception on November 29.

“I am honored to lead Saskatchewan’s delegation on this important mission that builds on our province’s strong relationship with the Philippines,” Merriman said. “I look forward to [learn] more about this country that trains excellent health-care workers [HCWs] who deliver high-quality care, with great compassion.”

The minister was scheduled to participate in targeted meetings with key officials from partneragencies such as the Department of Science and Technology, as well as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, to “reinforce Saskatchewan’s important relationship with the Philippines” and explore innovative partnership linkages.

He also joined events aimed at strengthening the collaboration on health care among postsecondary institutions.

The delegation members hosted information sessions throughout the week of the reception for Filipino HCWs who are interested in moving to Saskatchewan, as they assisted potential job candidates with processes on licensing and regulatory, immigration, relocation support, and other relevant information.

The Embassy of Canada reported that 3,000-plus applications were received for the sessions, as hundreds of invitations have been sent to eligible attendees.

Merriman assured that they will fully assist Filipino HCWs armed with skills, qualifications, education and training credentials as they enter the local labor force: “We will also provide needed…support for families settling in our communities. We are committed to following ethical principles in [their onboarding], while creating a positive environment that makes us a top destination of choice for their employment.”

The embassy shared that Saskatchewan has experienced great success in welcoming and integrating Filipino HCWs. Home to a thriving, vibrant and growing Filipino-Canadian population of over 36,000 residents born in the Philippines, the province is preparing to welcome additional health-care professionals and their families into its friendly communities.

Opportunities abound

THE minister noted that in the last 15 years, Saskatchewan’s population grew by about 1.5 million, as it saw notable progress and investments in agriculture and other sectors. Notwithstanding, he revealed the province’s dearth in skilled professionals, particularly in health care and allied disciplines.

Merriman openly mentioned their “critical need” for nurses; thus the active recruitment of the said Filipino workers.

Once onboarded, he said they can look forward to “excellent work

conditions,” enjoy one of the “highest compensations” in the province and “seamless integration” with Saskatchewan society, while maintaining work-life balance.

The minister also disclosed the initial requirement of 200 to 300 HCWs, where the retention rate in their line of work is at “90 percent.”

He was also scheduled to meet with officials from the Department of Migrant Workers to discuss Saskatchewan’s work offering to Filipino HCWs.

Known as the “Land of Living Skies,” Saskatchewan is in the heart of Western Canada. According to the embassy, it is home to more than 1.19 million people of various faiths, backgrounds and beliefs.

The province covers 651,900 sq. kilometers; half of the province is covered by forest, one-third is farmland, and one-eighth is freshwater. The landscape is diverse, “and so are the people and the many opportunities the province has to offer.” With a report from Mike Policarpio

Czech Rep. offers solutions in solid waste management

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

THE Czech Republic, through Ambassador Jana Šedivá, has committed to working closely with the Philippines in various areas, including finding solutions to the looming waste crisis in the latter.

This, as the Embassy of the Czech Republic conducted a pioneer conference on solid waste management: “Clean Philippines: Solutions to the Waste Pollution” last November 21 in Makati City, with WASTen z.s. as a partner.

WASTen z.s. is a solid waste-man-

ADMIRAL Hotel Manila’s MGallery recently hosted “Art on the Bay” that celebrated art in all forms. It highlighted the 75th anniversary of the steadfast relationship between the Philippines and France, in partnership with the latter’s embassy and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

The event served as a venue of creative expressions through visuals, music, dance, fashion and culinary arts last November 10 at the hotel’s rooftop dining destinations: the Admiral Club Manila Bay and

Coconut Grove.

Two-time World Hip Hop Dance Champion UPeepz, talented performers from CCP and Alice Reyes’s Dance Philippines opened the night’s first performance.

Executive Chef and Maîtres Cuisiniers de France Cyrille Soenen joined forces with guest chef and restaurateur Antonio “Tony Boy” Escalante of Antonio’s Group of Restaurants in guiding guests to a sumptuous four-hands meal, which produced a fusion of Filipino and French flavors.

Soenen said: “We curated the

agement association in the Czech Republic with 30 members composed of different universities, private companies, as well as research and development organizations. It aims to assist governments in European states in solving their waste crisis, while aiding economic growth in the continent.

In the event, members of WASTen z.s. introduced and discussed various Czech technologies and practices on solid waste management—particularly solutions for separating waste, converting waste to energy, and diverting plastic waste into concrete-

like material. Presenters also tackled benefits of the innovations, and ways they can assist the Philippines in overcoming its issues with solid waste processing.

The afternoon saw a knowledgeexchange session among Czech presenters and their Filipino audience.

The gathering was the first among the series of conferences on solid waste management prepared in Manila by the embassy and WASTen z.s. The Czech delegation was expected to meet with counterparts in Davao City on November 23 and in Cebu City on November 25.

Bike ride in Los Baños marks EU-Asean relations’ 45th year

DIPLOMATS, local government officials and cyclists cruised around Los Baños, Laguna on December 2 to celebrate the 45 years of relations between the European Union (EU) and Asean.

Ambassador Luc Véron led the bike tour, called “Bike45Ride,” where he was joined by Vice-Chancellor Roberto Cereno of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños, Mayor Anthony Genuino and Executive Director Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), together with envoys and other representatives of both regions’ countries.

“This bike tour [was a prelude to the first meeting of the leaders of the EU and Asean member-states’...gathering in Brussels for a commemorative summit on December 14], which will be attended by…President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” confirmed Véron.

The bike ride, he said, was also a concrete way to underscore the importance of cutting greenhousegas emissions to achieve the goal of keeping global warming under 1.5-degrees Celsius.

“The environment and climate change are important areas of cooperation between the two regions, and of the EU’s approach toward the Indo-Pacific,” Véron added.

The cycling meet was held in collaboration with the ACB, UP-Los Baños, Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems, the provincial government of Laguna, and city government of Los Baños.

Prior to the event the EU handed over bike racks to the local UP com-

munity. Bikers were also scheduled to plant trees at the Makiling Botanic Garden, with hopes to further drumbeat the importance of environment protection.

The tree planting was also in accordance with the EU’s “ForOurPlanet Campaign,” which aims to join forces across the globe to take action on the ground #ForNature and the climate, according to the EU Delegation to the Philippines.

The region-wide Bike45Ride was launched in Jakarta, Indonesia in August 2022 as a joint effort to promote a sustainable and greener future by encouraging more people to switch to more environment-friendly modes of transportation.

Asean Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi and EU Ambassador to Asean Igor Driesmans officially launched Bike45Ride. Representatives of the two regions marked the event with a symbolic ride from the Asean Secretariat’s Headquarters to the premises of the EU Delegation in Jakarta.

Aside from the 7-kilometer bike ride on December 2, ambassadors and other diplomats, as well as local government officials, took part in a tree-growing activity at the Makiling Botanic Gardens.

Testament to their shared goal of promoting the conservation and sustainable use of the region’s biodiversity, the ACB and the EU are currently working on a joint initiative on protected areas: the “Biodiversity Conservation and Management of Protected Areas in Asean” project.

IRAN intends to develop a more robust defense relationship with the Philippines.

Thus remarked Ambassador Alireza Tootoonchian during his courtesy call at the Department of National Defense (DND) where Undersecretary for Civil, Veterans and Retiree Affairs Franco Nemesio Gacal received the envoy on behalf of Officer In ChargeUndersecretary Jose Faustino Jr.

that both countries are prone to natural disasters as well as calamities, and share similar security issues related to terrorism and violent extremism.

Tootoonchian conveyed Iran’s desire to organize high-level visits between both countries’ defense officials.

dishes to ensure we highlight both Filipino and French cuisine with our own styles, and matched them with every piece of art being presented in between the five-course dinner.”

The Admiral Hotel team and partners showcased art pieces that featured Filipino and French artistic talents, which made the evening a truly “sensorial journey, and [gave… attendees] a complete experience.” Guests also enjoyed upbeat music and the panoramic view of the iconic Manila Bay sunset.

In the meeting Tootoonchian expressed the intent of Iran to develop defense cooperation with the Philippines—particularly in the areas of disaster management and response, counterterrorism, and self-reliant defense posture (SRDP).

“Undersecretary Gacal expressed that the DND is open to exploring engagements in areas of common interest with nontraditional partners such as Iran, in line with the Philippines’s independent foreign policy,” Defense Spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said.

The Iranian diplomat also noted

“In response, Undersecretary Gacal highlighted that strengthening the Philippines’s SRDP is one of the major thrusts of the current administration, emphasizing its significance in enhancing defense and military capabilities in addressing pressing security challenges,” Andolong said.

“He also shared the current efforts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in combatting foreign terrorist fighters and local terrorist groups in the country.”

Both officials are looking forward to developing bilateral defense relations and studying possible areas of cooperation between the two defense and military establishments. Priam Nepomuceno/PNA

TRIPLE CELEBRATION Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega (from left), Ambassador Tull Traisorat and papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown raise their glasses as they led the local festivities of the Kingdom of Thailand’s National Day on December 5. The event coincided with the birth anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, as well as the Southeast Asian nation’s Father’s Day. MIKE POLICARPIO

WITH GREAT REVERENCE Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa recently visited sacred sites in southern Metro Manila such as the Japanese Memorial Cemetery, Peace Kannon Statue, Peace Prayer Pagoda, as well as the memorial to Kiyoshi Osawa, who is honored as “Honorary Citizen of Muntinlupa City.” EMBASSY OF JAPAN

WAGING WAR VS. AIDS Ambassador MaryKay Carlson of the United States (third from left) leads the donation of 86,000 human immunodeficiency virus viral-load cartridges to Department of Health officials, in observance of World AIDS Day in Manila on December 1. Senator Ana Theresia Hontiveros (right) applauds in approval. An HIV viral load measures the level of HIV in a blood sample. YANCY LIM/PNA

MINISTER of Health Paul Merriman (right) MIKE POLICARPIO

AMBASSADOR Michele Boccoz and General Manager Matthieu Busschaërt

AMBASSADOR Luc Véron (center), diplomats and stakeholders prepare to pedal for “Bike45Ride.” TWITTER: @EUINTHEPH

Beach Pro Tour kicks off in Subic

THE Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures kicks off Thursday (December 8) with 11 men and 14 women teams vying in the knockout qualifiers at the Subic Bay Sand Court.

O nly four squads from each gender will advance to the main draw of the major international beach volleyball tournament organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF).

The pairings were determined during Wednesday’s preliminary inquiry supervised by International Volleyball Federation technical delegate Barry “Baz” Wedmaier of Australia.

The men’s qualifiers feature 11 teams from Thailand, Czech Republic, Austra lia, Japan, USA, Israel and Austria.

The top four teams will join 11 squads from host Philippines (three), Latvia, Thailand, Gambia, Japan, Israel and Lithuania in Thursday’s main draw of the event supported 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.

Fourteen squads from Japan, Norway, Singapore, Czech Republic, Netherlands, USA, Canada, South Korea and France, on the other hand, are figuring in the women’s qualifiers where also the best four teams will make the 12-team main draw that already includes the Philippines (three), Japan, Thailand, Lithuania, Singapore, Israel, Italy and Austria.

The Futures event is the third major international competition that the PNVF hosted this year. The first two were a men and women leg of the Volleyball Nations League last June at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the Asia Volleyball Confederation Women’s Cup last August at the PhilSports Arena.

RAMOS, 21, KEYS PORTUGAL WIN

LUSAIL, Qatar—A chant of “RONALDO! RONALDO!” swept around the biggest stadium at the World Cup, followed by loud jeers when the fans realized their idol wasn’t coming onto the field.

C ristiano Ronaldo was, in fact, sitting in the Portugal dugout, looking glum and still wearing a substitute’s bib. And the guy who started instead of him on Tuesday was about to complete a hat trick.

A fter Ronaldo was dropped from the starting lineup in a bold call by Portugal coach Fernando Santos, Goncalo Ramos—the superstar striker’s unlikely replacement—made himself an instant star by leading the team to a 6-1 win over Switzerland and into the World Cup quarterfinals.

R amos, a 21-year-old forward wh o only made his Portugal debut last month, demonstrated the kind of clinical finishing for which Ronaldo was once known in scoring the first goal in the 17th minute and adding others in the 51st and 67th.

N o player had scored a hat trick in his first World Cup start since Germany striker Miroslav Klose in 2002.

Not even in my wildest dreams did I think about being part of the starting team for the knockout stage,” said Ramos, an unheralded striker who plays for Benfica and counts Ronaldo as his soccer idol along with Robert Lewandowski and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

It was around the hour mark that fans throughout the 89,000-seat Lusail Stadium started to implore Santos to bring on the 37-year-old Ronaldo, and they got their wish in the 72nd minute. Portugal had the game wrapped up by then, with defenders Pepe and Raphael Guerreiro also having scored. Rafael Leao added another goal in stoppage time.

Ronaldo didn’t score—he still hasn’t in the knockout stage in any of his five World Cups—and after briefly celebrating with his teammates following the final whistle, he walked off the field on his own, perhaps wondering where his career goes from here.

He is currently without a club after leaving Manchester United midway through the World Cup, and he might no longer be the starter for his country.

The rest of the Portugal team hung around to applaud its fans at one end of the stadium. A quarterfinal match awaits against Morocco on Saturday and Santos now has to decide whether to stick with Ramos or restore Ronaldo, the top scorer in men’s international soccer and one of the game’s greatest ever players.

Santos said it was a strategic decision to drop Ronaldo and not a disciplinary one, having expressed unhappiness during his eve-ofmatch news conference Monday at the striker’s attitude after he was substituted against South Korea in the team’s final group game.

“ What we have to do is think about this team collectively,” Santos said, before talking about Ronaldo. “I will always consider he is a very important player to have in the team.”

Th at might now be a substitute and an experienced head in the locker room rather than a starter.

R amos was a surprise replacement—he had previously only made three substitute appearances for Portugal— and took his chance.

After sweeping Reinforced title, Angels’ next mission: Open tiara

CAUGHT up in the euphoria of a successful title-retention drive in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference, Petro Gazz coach Rald Ricafort couldn’t help but postulate on a naturalized player who could anchor their bid for a coveted Open crown the next time out.

“ Perhaps, we’ll have to get a naturalized player,” said Ricafort in jest when asked of the team’s bid for the elusive Open title after back-toback runner-up finishes to Creamline in the past two editions of the league’s centerpiece tournament.

The all-Filipino’s tough … because the other teams are that tough—

they’re all-star teams,” Ricafort said.

“Like Creamline, the Rebisco teams, F2 Logistics. But we keep working hard, who knows, we’ll snatch one someday.”

A fter retaining the Reinforced crown in emphatic fashion— sweeping first-time finalist Cignal HD on Tuesday night—Petro Gazz now trained its sights on the premier championship and Ricafort and the Angels will have three full months to figure out a way to make things work out when the league kicks off its new season in February.

“ We need to work things out, we’re getting there little by little,” he said.

B ut Ricafort, who took over from the 2019 Reinforced champion

coach Arnold Laniog during the offseason, and the Angels would want to savor the moment before plotting their next move.

No Angel relished the championship more than import Lindsey Vander Weide.

This is by far the most fun I’ve had in a long time playing (volleyball),” said the University of Oregon product, who posted a league first by winning the Best Import and the Finals MVP honors behind her conference-long brilliance.

B ut it’s the experience playing in the country, she said, that made her journey with the Angels truly memorable.

Zamboanga, Jackie Buntan, Jenelyn Olsim, Jeremy Pacatiw, Geje Eustaquio and, of course, the defending strawweight champ, Joshua Pacio.

T he Pinoy crowd was noisy, expressive and united in cheering for the Pinoy athletes. Wearing flashing LED wrist bands, they were not just heard but seen—like twinkling stars in the cavernous darkness, assuring the Pinoy warriors that they were around and that they’ve got their backs.

Win some, lose some

THE twin mixed martial arts (MMA) events of ONE Fight Night 5 and ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks on December 3 was a sumptuous feast that Filipino MMA fans helped themselves to in unli-fashion.

Twelve Filipino MMA athletes participated in the extravaganza that kept adding on exciting names to the already stacked card. Brandon Vera, Eduard Folayang, Jhanlo Sangiao, Drex Zamboanga and the winner of the ONE Warrior Series, Adonis Sevilleno, were late additions to the list that had already sparkled with Denice

“ The crowd was insane!” exclaimed Fil-Am fighter out of Redondo Beach, California, who dominated UK opponent Amber Kitchen. Born and raised in the US but 100 percent Filipino by blood, Jackie had never experienced fighting in front of a Filipino crowd before. She was clearly touched and propelled by the yells of her kababayans

I’m so happy that I finally got the chance to fight in front of my countrymen,” said Denice Zamboanga, who asserted her might over Chinese foe Lin Heqin. “It’s really different when you hear the crowd cheering. I was overwhelmed by their support. Sobrang malaking bagay ’nun sa akin.”

A foreign journalist remarked right after the fight that Pinoy fans are indeed vastly different. Crowds in other countries are diehard MMA fans, he acknowledged. But they don’t show the same level or degree of support that Pinoy fans give to their athletes or admired MMA heroes.

“ I had no idea what I was coming into (playing in the Philippines). This is my first season and I just heard stuff about it and I couldn’t have it any better,” said Vander Weide, who also expressed her great respect and admiration for the fans. “This is just amazing,” The Filipino fans are insane. I’ve never experienced something like this in my entire life,” she said. “It’s crazy. I think this is how volleyball fans should be, so I really appreciate them showing up and supporting all the time.”

HIDILYN GOES FOR GOLD

By Josef Ramos

well in training although she admitted that she’s “a little bit nervous” as she prayed for the only gold missing from her collection that includes victories in the Asian Games, World Cup the Southeast Asian Games.

Weightlifting Federation World Cham pionships to the Olympic title she won last year in Tokyo.

This is my comeback and it’s very, very important for Team HD to strat egize,” said the 31-year-old Diaz-Nara njo who competes in the women’s 55 kgs class in the world championships Colombia is hosting in Bogota.

D iaz-Naranjo’s event is set at 8 a.m. (Manila time) Thursday.

Diaz-Naranjo will face challenges from 11 weightlifters led by top-seeded Colombian Rosalba Estela Morales del Aguila, the US’s Shyla Mariah Moore and Chinese-Taipei’s Guan Ling Chen.

Diaz-Naranjo said everything went

I’m at my usual weight (55 kgs), my strength is also there and I feel so excited,” she said. “It’s really hard to come back, but I believe everything is possible with God.”

Day 1 of the competitions on Wednesday, meanwhile, didn’t go the other Filipino bets’ way.

R io 2016 Olympian Nestor Colo nia finished seventh with a total lift of 243 kgs in the men’s 55 kgs ruled by Thailand’s Theerapong Silachai (265 kgs). Vietnam’s Ngo Son Dinh (260 kgs) clinched silver and South Korea’s Kim Yongho (also 260 kgs) bagged bronze.

R osegie Ramos and Lovely Inan didn’t make the top eight of the women’s 49 kgs class.

Fighting Maroons return to Finals

UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) gets a shot at keeping its crown as the Fighting Maroons beat the National University (NU) Bulldogs, 9-61, to return to the Finals of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Guards Terrence Fortea, Gerry Abadiano and JD Cagulangan deliver the goods when it mattered most for UP to secure a ticket to the Finals.

We’re happy that we’ll be getting another chance to win the championship,” said UP Head Coach Goldwin Monteverde, whose enter team played heads up in the absence of top Maroon Carl Tamayo who left the game in the first half with an ankle injury.

We started out flat. Losing Carl in the first half, he wasn’t 100 percent, the team responded well to the challenge given to us,” Monteverde added.

U P will face the winner of the other semifinal between Ateneo and Adamson University.

frontrunner Malick Diouf led UP with 17 points, 21 rebounds and three blocks, while Zavier Lucero added 12 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.

Jake Figueroa made 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Kean Baclaan finished with 14 points for the Bulldogs.

NU, meanwhile, got back at De La Salle University—the team that halted the Lady Bulldogs’ 108-game winning streak—93-61, in Game 1 of the women’s best-of-three also at the Big Dome.

The Lady Bulldogs go for their seventh-straight championship on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

“ It’s a short series so our mindset is to get the first one,” NU head coach Aris Dimaunahan.” The girls’ energy, their focus, the way they moved the ball today was truly awesome.”

M ikka Cacho sent 5 of 7 from the field to finish with 16 points on top of four rebounds and three assists, while Rhocel Bartolo had 12 points for the Lady Bulldogs.

Manotoc leads Southwoods’ charge in Fil-Am Invitational

MANILA Southwoods opened its title defense of the Fil-Championship title with a flourish with its young guns playing superbly as advertised in the 72nd FilAm Men’s Invitational Wednesday at the Camp John Hay Golf Club course in Baguio City.

Gab Manotoc and Carl Corpuz went 3-under 66 for 39 points apiece to lead Southwoods’ scoring binge—Jeff Jung accounted for 37 and Aidric Chan added a 33— for a whopping 148 points.

Forest Hills amassed 129 points on the 39 of Rocky Co, 32 of jungolfer Edison

Tabalin, 30 of Jose Rodelio Mangulabnan and 28 of Augusto Pacheco. Januarius Golf Team was a surprise third with 121 points. Terence Macatangay led the attack with 35 points and got enough support from Kirby Lachica’s 33, Ray Sangil’s 31 and RJ Rizada’s 22.

SPES Team 1 (116), Time Cargo Logistics 1 (110) and X1R-TipsyPigMizuno (107) rounded out the order of finish for the day.

M anila Southwoods’ second unit also led the Am-Championship with 119, way ahead of Royal Northwoods (103) and RivieraBatangas Barakos (95).

Time Cargo Logistics Team-2 had a 92-point performance at the Baguio Country Club course although its lead was sliced to two by a surging Forest Hills in the Am-A division.

Joseph Tambunting starred for Time Cargo with 26 points, Renie Floro and David Guangko produced 23 and 22, respectively, while Rusty Bayani added 21 that hiked the team’s two-day output to 182 points.

3-under

O n that magical night, Zamboanga and Buntan were joined in the winners’ circle by Drex Zamboanga, Jhanlo Sangiao and Jeremy Pacatiw. The TRex downed ONE Warrior Series winner Sevilleno via unanimous decision. Jeremy Pacatiw took the starch out of Vietnamese opponent Tial Tang whom he forced to tap out in the second round with a deep triangle choke.

But it was Jhanlo Sangiao, son of legendary Lakay founder and coach Mark Sangiao, who delivered the most smashing performance of all. The Sangiao scion, also called “The Machine” like his father, demolished Anacleto Lauron in the first round with a rear-naked choke, following a relentless treatment of ground and pound. So impressive was Jhanlo in just his second ONE appearance that ONE founder, chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said in the post-fight press conference: “He will be a champion one day.”

But alas, not all Pinoy fighters were successful that night. Jenelyn Olsim got knocked out by Meng Bo in just 24 seconds of the first round. Eduard Folayang’s fight against Edson Marques was stopped early when a right-hand swing by Marques sent Folayang falling head first to the mat at the 2:53 mark of the first. Geje Eustaquio was also knocked out in the first round by China’s Hu Yong.

B ut perhaps the most dramatic defeat of all was Brandon Vera’s. Back in harness after a long absence,

The Truth faced Iranian Amir Aliakbari in ONE 164. But at 3:37 of Round One, Aliakbari managed to overpower Vera on the mat, punching him repeatedly in the head and causing the referee to halt the fight.

T he TKO had repercussions beyond just a loss absorbed by the most dominant heavyweight of an era. Vera retired right then and there before the crowd that still cheered him on despite the sour outcome. “ Pasensya na ha?” he said over the mike, still wearing that lovable grin that captivated his fans for so long.

A mid thunderous applause he made his way back to the dugout, his baby son, wife and entourage in tow.

But the unkindest cut of all? Yes, Joshua Pacio’s championship belt was pilfered by Jarred Brooks.

Could this be the end of an era? Reporters asked at the post-fight presscon. Could the results in ONE Fight Night 5 and ONE 164 be saying that it is time for the classics to move on and give way to new names and rising stars?

C hatri Sityodtong said he will talk it out with the Lakays and ponder the future.

Meanwhile the ONE parade marches on. ONE Championship will make its US on-ground debut in May at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The card will be headlined by the highly anticipated trilogy bout between MMA legend Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes who are currently tied at 1-1.

GONCALO RAMOS, a 21-year-old forward who only made his Portugal debut last month, demonstrates the kind of clinical finishing for which Cristiano Ronaldo was once known in scoring the first goal in the 17th minute and adding others in the 51st and 67th. AP

THE world watches as Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo tries to annex a gold medal at the International

THE Petro Gazz Angels savor their title conquest in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.

Most Valuable Player race

GAB MANOTOC goes

66 for 39 points.