BusinessMirror December 12, 2022

IMF experts flag added inflation risk: La Niña

GOVERNMENTS across the world should focus on protecting the purchasing power of citizens as the La Niña weather phenomenon is expected to further increase inflation in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

I n a Blog, IMF economist Christian Bogmans, Chief of the Commodities unit Andrea Pescatori, and Senior Economist Ervin Prifti said food prices will primarily be affected by the La Niña.

T he extreme weather phenomena will place additional upward pressures on commodity prices on top of the impact of the continuing war in Ukraine and rising energy prices.

The risk of food prices increasing again rather than declining during the next couple of quarters remains high. And if these risks weren’t enough, the impact of rising interest

rates on food insecurity could be mixed,” the experts said.

“ That’s because a resulting slowdown in economic activity may reduce personal incomes. Combined with still elevated food price levels, this could increase the number of food insecure people,” they added.

T hey noted that the La Niña is expected for the third straight year in 2023. This is similar to three-year periods which occurred during the first world food crisis between 1973-1976 and again between 1998-2001.

L ast week, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said the highest inflation rate on record using the latest data series of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) was 10.7 percent in January 1999 (full story: https:// businessmirror .com.ph/2022/12/07/

inflation-easing-plan-lacking-its-8-innovember/).

T he IMF experts said higher international food prices are estimated to add 6 percentage points to consumer food inflation in 2022.

L ocally, should this materialize and if the country’s year-to-date inflation of 5.6 percent as of November would be the full year inflation rate, the country’s inflation could exceed 11 percent next year.

However, the passthrough to higher domestic retail food prices could take six to 12 months—another reason why, in addition to the recent weakening of emerging market currencies, many people will have to wait for relief from lower commodity prices,” IMF said.

See “IMF,” A2

9-MONTH EXTERNAL DEBT BREACHES FULL-YEAR ‘21

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

BORROWINGS made by Philippine residents and nonresidents or external debt in the January to September period this year has already exceeded the full-year amount recorded in 2021, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

B SP data showed external debt stood at $107.9 billion as of endSeptember 2022, up by $218 million from the $107.7 billion level as of end-June 2022.

T his amount has already exceeded the $106.428 billion recorded in the whole of 2021. It may be noted that 2021 saw the country’s external debt exceed $100 billion for the first time since 2009.

External debt refers to all types of borrowings by Philippine residents from non-residents following the residency criterion

for international statistics,” BSP explained.

T he data showed the increase in the debt level during the third quarter of 2022 was due to net availments of $3.1 billion, partly offset by $1.2-billion negative foreign exchange (FX) revaluation.

T he amount was also offset by the $893-million transfer of Philippine debt papers issued offshore from non-residents to residents and $778 million negative prior periods’ adjustments.

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE country’s debt service as of end-October contracted by an annualized rate of 11.7 percent to P929.663 billion due to lower amortization payments, latest Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data showed.

L atest Treasury data showed that the national government paid P123.178 billion less in the January-to-October period compared to the P1.05-trillion debt service in the same period last year.

L ikewise, Treasury data showed that debt service in the month of October alone plunged by more than half to P39.817 billion from last year’s P89.066 billion.

T he bulk of the government’s debt service payments were accounted for by amortizations which reached P496.502 billion during the 10-month period.

B Tr data showed this represented a decline of 27.2 percent from the P681.957 billion posted in the same period last year.

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

AS the bulk of tourists in the country start arriving for the holidays, the planned volt-in of the arrival systems of different government agencies continues to be problematic. Passengers landing at Manila’s airport are still dealing with an unfriendly e-Travel website and confusing queues, despite the relief prom -

ised under phase 2 of the new arrival scheme.

Speaking to the BusinessMirror , traveler Bebeth Timbol said the new e-Travel form, on the one hand, “was easy enough to fill up, but it was a long form with a lot of unclear questions. You can fill it out on your phone and you just have to show the [resulting] QR Code to the same people, as what happened when the One Health Pass (OHP) was used.” Timbol arrived on December 3 at terminal 2

of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) at 7 pm on a flight from Osaka. She had previously traveled in October, and used the OHP upon arrival.

R ajah Tours Philippines president Jose C. Clemente III, on the other hand, said a number of his balikbayan  (homecoming Filipino) clients have complained, that the form “is difficult to fill out on the computer.” Balikbayans often make up the bulk of the arrivals during the Christmas season, coming from

the United States, Canada, Europe and the Middle East. Prior to the pandemic, almost 19 percent of balikbayans arrived in December.

Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed arrivals of Philippine passport holders permanently residing abroad have already started climbing from 39,674 in September; 47,126 in October; to 48,709 in November. (Philippine passport holders usually exclude overseas Filipino workers.)

P20,000 for the big ones. ROY DOMINGO

CSC reminds govt execs vs accepting Christmas gifts

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties.”

Similar restrictions were also imposed by Republic Act No. 3109, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

T he CSC head reiterated the restriction will also apply to soliciting sponsorships or advertisements, such as raffle prizes for Christmas or year-end parties.

intent; and those donated by one government entity to another.

However, a government office has the discretion to impose a “no gift policy” for its officers and personnel.

Erring government officials and workers can face fines, suspensions, imprisonment and perpetual disqualification from public service depending on the gravity of their violations.

External debt...

“ Bulk of the recorded availments during the quarter were from the increase in the reported ST (short term) liabilities of banks,” said the BSP, as they sought the offshore market to meet funding requirements for relending, investments, and other FX transactions.

The strengthening of the US Dollar against other currencies brought down the US Dollar equivalent of borrowings denominated in other currencies, providing an offsetting effect on the external debt levels,” it added.

was mainly due to an increase in the ST liabilities reported by banks, which offset prior periods’ adjustments of negative $1 billion, transfer of Philippine debt papers from non-residents to residents of $240 million and negative FX revaluation of $128 million.

I n a statement on Sunday, CSC Chairperson Karlo B. Nograles urged executives and public servants to just politely refuse taking the tokens to avoid such risk. If there is a client or applicant, supplier or contractor, or any other individual, group, or company that you transacted business or regularly transact business with, who

Birth pains...

Passengers still line up twice

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) described the recent issues on arrival services as “birth pains,” and fingered the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) as the culprit, even as Commissioner Norman Tansingco said in a separate news statement that the newly launched e-Travel platform “would allow faster and easier processing

is extending a gift or token to you, just politely decline and explain that you are only doing your job,” he said.

He noted that under Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, they are prohibited from soliciting or accepting, “directly or indirectly, any

Continued from A1

for arriving passengers.”

Its other partner agencies include the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the DOT, Bureau of Customs, Department of Transportation, and BI’s parent unit, the Department of Justice.

Compared to the OHP, where passengers merely upload a PDF of their Vaccination Certificate, Timbol said

T he only few exemptions to the rule are gifts, coming from family members, given without expectation of pecuniary benefit; those coming from persons with no regular, pending, or expected transactions with the government office where the receiver belongs; those from private organizations given with humanitarian and altruistic

with the e-Travel site (etravel.gov.ph), “You manually input your vaxx details. So you have to open it up, which is hard to do if you’re filling it up using your phone.” She also described the site as being “too reactive,” or not user-friendly; with one misplaced touch or option erroneously chosen from a dropdown menu, “You have to scroll through the options again to pick the right one. It takes several tries.”

S he added, arriving passengers still have to line up twice—one for the scanning of the QR code—and an-

I n a related development, Nograles also reminded government offices to ensure their yearend celebration will not hamper their operations and the delivery of their services.

“ Such [events] are not prohibited, but let us ensure our service will continue in our office and will not be disrupted during official working hours,” the CSC official said in Filipino.

other for the Immigration line, when the BI earlier promised the integration of its system with the e-arrival system of the Department of Health/ BOQ and DOT beginning December 1. “From the hallway, after disembarking from the plane, you turn left to scan your QR code, then go to another line for Immigration.”  (See, “Immigration to volt in with DOH/ BOQ, DOT arrivals system,” in the BusinessMirror , November 25, 2022.)

More BI staff, stations needed SHE likewise noted there were separate stations for Filipinos, while the regular Immigration kiosks are now designated for foreign passport holders. “But those stalls [for Filipino passport holders] need more airport people to help travelers [scan their e-passports]. If someone encounters difficulties in scanning their passports and doing the biometrics, it holds up the line. Some of us just moved back to the regular Immigration lines as these cleared up faster.”

T imbol also suggested that BI add more stations: “Three lanes will not cut it…and it wasn’t even busy on the night we arrived.”

Reached for comment, the BI said: “The birth pains encountered on the initial phase of implementation [of the e-Travel platform] are being addressed.  The BOQ is normalizing its procedures, and we expect the removal of the QR code scanning on the second phase of the implementation.”

It added, “The government is doing step by step streamlining, and the system is being managed by competent hands under the DICT.  We see that the implementation of this is a big step towards harmonizing border procedures, and lessening paper requirements for arriving passengers.”

IMF...

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In order to cushion the impact on food prices, the experts said countries should increase targeted social protection spending to a point that their budgets allow. This should be done while allowing higher global prices to pass through domestic costs of goods.

T he expert said that countries should also stimulate domestic food production, while avoiding stockpiling and using reserves, especially those that have accumulated higher stock levels.

This is necessary to allow price signals to rebalance food markets and at the same time to protect vulnerable families’ purchasing power,” the IMF experts said. “External debt relief and grants from international organizations could help finance the expansion of social assistance schemes in developing countries.”

T he experts also noted that high energy prices would lead to more expensive fuel and fertilizer

T he data also showed that yearon-year, the country’s debt stock rose by $2 billion. The increase was driven by net availments of $9.9 billion, largely by the National Government at $5.5 billion and prior periods’ adjustments of $1.5 billion.

B SP, meanwhile said, the transfer of Philippine debt papers from non-residents to residents of $4.9 billion as well as the negative FX revaluation of $4.5 billion partially tempered the increase in the debt stock for said period.

Debt profile

THE BSP said that as of September 2022, the maturity profile of the country’s external debt remained predominantly medium- and longterm (MLT) in nature.

M LT debt, BSP said, pertains to those with original maturities longer than one year with share to total at 84.8 percent.

Meanwhile, ST accounts or those with original maturities of up to one year comprised the 15-percent balance of debt stock and consisted of bank liabilities, trade credits and others.

T he weighted average maturity for all MLT accounts remained at 16.9 years as compared to the previous quarter, with public sector borrowings having a longer average term of 20.5 years compared to 6.8 years for the private sector.

“ This means that FX requirements for debt payments are still well spread out and, thus, manageable,” BSP said.

M eanwhile, the public sector external debt declined to $64.8 billion or by $928 million as of end-September 2022 from $65.7 billion as of end-June 2022, with share to total likewise decreasing to 60 percent from 61 percent.

A bout $56.8 billion or 87.7 percent of public sector obligations were NG borrowings while the remaining $8 billion pertained to debt of government-owned and -controlled corporations, government financial institutions and the BSP.

T he BSP data also showed that private sector debt grew to $43.1 billion as of end-September 2022 from $42 billion as of end-June 2022, with share to total increasing to 40 percent from 39 percent.

T he rise in private sector debt

T he country’s major creditor countries were Japan, which the country owed $13.1 billion followed by the United Kingdom, $3.3 billion and the United States of America, $3.1 billion. BSP gave assurance that the country’s creditor mix continues to be welldiversified.

L oans from official sources such as multilateral and bilateral creditors had the largest share at 37.7 percent of total outstanding debt.

T his was followed by borrowings in the form of bonds/notes at 33.1 percent and obligations to foreign banks and other financial institutions, 22.5 percent; the rest or 6.7 percent were owed to other creditors, mainly suppliers/ exporters.

I n terms of currency mix, the country’s debt stock remained largely denominated in US Dollar at 57.6 percent and Japanese Yen at 8.3 percent.

T he BSP said the 34.1-percent balance pertained to 15 other currencies, including the Euro, Philippine Peso and Special Drawing Rights.

Percent of GDP

WITH this, the BSP said the country’s outstanding external debt (EDT) slightly grew in the third quarter of 2022, while the country’s external debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remained at 26.8 percent similar to that of the previous quarter.

“ The low EDT to GDP ratio, a solvency indicator, indicates the country’s sustained strong position to service foreign borrowings in the medium to long-term. The ratio remains one of the lowest when compared to other ASEAN member countries,” the BSP said.

O ther key external debt indicators also remained at prudent levels. Gross international reserves stood at $93 billion as of end-September 2022 and represented 5.7 times cover for short-term (ST) debt based on the original maturity concept.

T he debt service ratio (DSR) dropped to 5.4 percent from 8.2 percent recorded for the same period last year due to lower repayments accompanied by higher receipts.

T he DSR, which relates principal and interest payments (debt service burden) to exports of goods and receipts from services and primary income, is a measure of adequacy of the country’s FX earnings to meet maturing obligations.

prices. Likewise, they noted, fertilizer prices have doubled compared to the prepandemic period, despite the “pullback in recent months.”

C iting previous IMF research, the experts said around 45 percent of any change in fertilizer prices would feed directly into global cereal prices within four quarters. Given these findings, they said it is possible that the impact of energy costs may not immediately lead to high fertilizer prices.

“ In poorer countries, where farmers use fertilizer more sparingly, reduced use may diminish harvests,” IMF said.

PHL context

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

T he PSA reported that inflation averaged 8 percent in November on

the back of expensive food and nonalcoholic beverages as well as furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance.

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

D epartment of Economics

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

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

GOVERNMENT officials and workers could face sanctions if they accept any gifts amid the Christmas holidays,  according to the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE Philippines’s wine imports this year may reach a four-year high of $60 million driven by higher demand from growing young Filipino population due to increasing purchasing power and deemed health benefits of the alcoholic drink.

T he United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila (USDA-FAS Manila) made the projection, pointing out that wine consumption in the country is continuously growing thanks to the “fast growing” and “highly urbanized” young population.

T he USDA-FAS Manila added that young Filipino consumers are having an “increasingly sophisticated” taste while having better access and the capacity to buy wines.

“At least 20 million people have sufficient income to purchase wines occasionally,” the USDA-FAS Manila said in its recent Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report.

The USDA-FAS Manila explained that despite its relatively low consumption in the entire Philippines, the Philippines has one of the “most exciting” wine markets in the world.

The international agency estimated that wine accounts for only less than one percent of the roughly 2.7 billion liters of alcohol consumed annually in the Philippines.

“Despite tariffs and taxes that inflate the final price by 75 percent, the weak peso, and supply chain setbacks, traders forecast total wine exports to Philippines will reach $60 million in 2022, and will increase five percent annually over the next three years to $70 million,” the USDA-FAS Manila said.

The Philippines’s total wine imports last year rose by 67.64 percent on an annual basis to $60 million, surpassing pre-pandemic level of $55 million.

Aside from rising purchasing power of Filipino consumers, the USDA-FAS Manila noted that the increasing awareness to the health benefits of moderate wine consumption contribute to the growing demand for the alcohol drink.

“The industry is reporting a shift in consumer preference from beer and spirits to wine. While the Philippines produces almost no wine, it is a major producer of relatively inexpensive beer and spirits,” it explained.

Citing traders, the USDA-FAS Manila said sales growth is observed across all price ranges of wine products driven by the post-pandemic recovery of the economy.

“The trade estimates a combination of higher prices and increased sales in mid-priced and premium wines will raise the average price by 20 to 30 percent in the coming years,” it said.

“At the same time, brisk sales of entry-level, value-priced U.S. wines are expected to continue as more consumers become interested in wine and the hospitality and foodservice sectors ease into post-pandemic recovery mode,” it added.

T he USDA-FAS Manila said the US has been the Philippines’s top wine supplier for two decades, after surpassing France in 2002. In 2021, the US cornered 36 percent of the country’s wine market followed by France (20 percent), Australia (17 percent), Spain (7 percent), Italy (6 percent), and Chile (5 percent).

T he USDA-FAS Manila added that wine exports from the US to the Philippines last year reached a record-high of $20 million (3.8 million liters) “as consumers temporarily traded up to more expensive wines during the coronavirus lockdown.”

“In 2021, the Philippines was the largest US wine market in the region, surpassing major transshipment destinations, such as Singapore and Vietnam,” it said.

Citing economic gains, exec cites PHL readiness for ‘30x30’ target

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

THE Philippines is ready and able to go for the global “30x30” target as part of its commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.

T heresa Teñazas, one of the country’s delegates and chief negotiator at the ongoing UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Canada, told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview that the Philippines, one of the mega-diverse countries in the world but also a biodiversity hotspot, is on track in protecting and conserving its rich biodiversity.

Tenazas, a lawyer, is the officerin-charge (OIC) division chief of the DENR’s Biodiversity Management

Bureau (BMB).

“ The Philippine delegation is here to negotiate a legally-binding agreement for the preservation of at least 30 percent of the land and ocean on the planet by 2030,” Tenazas told the BusinessMirror

According to Tanazas, the economic benefits of conserving ‘30×30’ are strong. An independent study prepared by more than 100 economists and experts found that meeting the 30 percent target will generate financial and ecosystem services benefits at least five times the cost.

She added that the Philippines stand to benefit in meeting the “30 x 30” target, being a country besieged by natural calamities. The Philippines receives an average of 20 typhoons every year. It is also vulnerable to climate change-triggered extreme weather events and impacts

like drought, storm surge and sealevel rise.

T he Philippines is the first member-country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to officially support the global target. The latter is one of the goals that will be decided upon at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15), which is referred to as the “Paris Agreement” for nature and people.

T he Philippines has recently joined Cambodia, Japan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and the Maldives as Asian members of the “High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People.”

“As a member of the [HAC], we will definitely support and pursue the 30 x 30, (targets),” Tenazas said.

Co-chaired by Costa Rica, France and the United Kingdom, the HAC

is an intergovernmental coalition of more than 100 countries that have committed to championing the “30×30” target.

T he HAC eyes to help confront an escalating crisis facing the natural world that threatens up to one million species with extinction within decades.

T he Philippines boasts of having a good number of protected and conserved areas in the Asean. It also has 10 Asean Heritage Parks which represents the so-called “cream of the crop” of protected areas in the region.

Establishing protected and conserved areas are among the most effective ways to prevent the destruction of wildlife habitat, which is the biggest driver of biodiversity loss around the world.

T he DENR, the state agency man-

dated to manage the country’s natural wealth, is also required to implement the National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act and the Expanded-Nipas, the Philippine Wildlife Act, National Cavies Act, among other environmental laws.

Scientific evidence shows that conserving at least 30 percent of the planet’s land and the ocean is crucial in addressing global biodiversity loss on top of storing carbon, preventing future pandemics, bolstering economic growth, increasing fisheries’ production and advancing Indigenous rights.

W ith Tenazas are fellow negotiators lawyer Rosette S. Ferrer and Jorace Tupas, DENR Undersecretary Ernesto D. Adobo Jr. is their adviser. Ferrer is also OIC chief of the DENR’s Legal Research and Opinion Division.

distributes land titles in Soccsksargen

THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has distributed a total of 3,524 certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) covering 6,103 hectares of land to 3,273 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Sarangani (Soccsksargen).

Of the 6,103 hectares distributed, 3,692 hectares were subdivided into 2,166 electronic land titles (e-titles) and awarded to 1,871 ARBs, DAR Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III who led the distribution was quoted in a statement as saying.

T he distribution was held under the “Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling,” or “Split,” project of the DAR. The project subdivides collective CLOAs (CCLOAs) that were previously is-

sued by the agency.

“Issuing separate titles for each farmer-beneficiary is better because it enables them to have a clear and defined ownership of the parcels of land they are tilling,” Estrella said.

“It will also give them the freedom to plant whatever they want on the lands awarded to them and not conform with what the majority wants.”

Subdividing the awarded lands covered by a CCLOA would mean that each farmer beneficiary would be given an individual land title based on the actual area or a particular portion of land they are tilling.

Aside from Split land titles, also distributed were certificate of land ownerships award or CLOAs issued under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and government-owned lands under

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

AN advocacy group espousing the interests of ordinary consumers on Sunday urged the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to leverage public-private partnerships (PPP) to attract private investment to develop the country’s digital infrastructure and upgrade the skills of Filipinos to ensure a relevant digital transformation.

There is no more argument that digital is the way to go,” CitizenWatch Philippines Co-convenor Orlando O. Oxales was quoted in a statement as saying.

What we need to plan carefully and execute effectively is how we can achieve real digital transformation not only in select sectors or geographic locations, but across the archipelago,” Oxales added. “Collaborating with the private sector, providing more incentives and instituting a digital skills improvement program are key steps to achieve this.”

Earlier, Marcos said the country needs to be “even smarter, even bolder in finding digital solutions” to the several challenges facing the country today.

In the current environment described as volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguois situation Oxales said the government must simultaneously develop both physical and digital infrastructure as the Philippines makes its way out of the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.

These efforts should complement ongoing telco [telecommunications] network upgrades and expansion,” he said.

Supporting MSMEs

IN its “Philippine Economic Update” released last June, the World Bank said it sees digital infrastructure investments strengthening the digital economy and boosting recovery.

We should take the cue from the Bank’s recommendations especially on the matter of tapping PPPs to achieve near-universal connectivity,” Oxales said.

He said financial transactions have gone digital especially for millions of ordinary and unbanked consumers who are now using payment platforms as their default mode of payment for everyday purchases.

Further, the WB said the Philippines should “promote investment in connectivity by ensuring an efficient allocation of spectrum and advancing public private partnership models for infrastructure.”

“ The government, through the DICT, can stimulate increased mobile network expansion in rural areas through an efficient spectrum allocation by the operator (for 4G/ LTE and 5G).”

T he WB said it would entail reviewing and revising regulations on spectrum allocation for mobile broadband.

“Consideration may be given to the creation of incentives for attracting additional investment in broadband internet in underserved and unserved regions,” the World Bank said.

A side from connecting Filipinos, Oxales said the new administration must also pursue digitalization to promote inclusivity, in particular empowering the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Executive Order 75.

Of the CLOAs under CARP, 1,143 CLOAs covering 2,216 hectares of land were awarded to 1,220 ARBs, while 215 CLOAs under EO 75 covering 194 hectares of land were given

to 182 ARBs.

Estrella also cited House Bill 6336, which aims to condone the existing loan of farmers has been approved on its second reading by the House of Representatives.

“ When the law is enacted, ARBs who are yet to receive their awarded land under the CARP will receive it without any obligation to pay any amortization,” Estrella said. Jonathan L. Mayuga

Nation

BusinessMirror

Marcos flies to Brussels, wears two hats for

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. vowed to push for Philippine interest as the country coordinator of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) with the European Union (EU) during the summit of both regional blocs this week in Brussels, Belgium.

I n his pre-departure speech at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City Sunday night, Marcos noted that with the said designation, he was tasked to discuss Asean’s agenda in its Commemorative Summit with

EU on Wednesday.

“This will be the first meeting between Asean and EU Member States’ Leaders at the EU Headquarters,” Marcos said.

However, he gave assurances that he will also include the country’s priorities in the talks, particularly in post-pandemic economic recovery, trade, maritime cooperation, and climate action.

“Although I am representing the Philippines, I am now also representing all of Asean. But nonetheless, as I have mentioned, Philippine interests will always enter into all my discussions,” Marcos said.

Prior to the Commemorative Summit, Marcos will also attend the 10th Asean-EU Business Summit on Tuesday.

“These events will provide an opportunity to drum up economic interests once again and engagement for the Philippines in view of the presence of key business leaders in Europe at the event,” Marcos said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said the President will meet with several multinational firms to secure possible investments to the country.

He is also set to hold bilateral talks with King Philippe of Belgium

as well as other European countries, including Estonia, the Czech Republic, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands and the European Union.

As part of his traditional itinerary abroad, Marcos will also meet with the Filipino community in Belgium.

“After the successful series of Summits hosted by Asean Chair Cambodia last month, I look forward to a productive and meaningful Summit that recognizes Asean and the EU’s four-and-a-half decades of long-standing relations,” Marcos said.

By Glen Jacob Jose

THE chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) announced more than 78,000 individuals wanted by the law for various criminal cases has been arrested in the past 12 months.

PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo S Azurin Jr. said last Saturday that based on the consolidated assessment report released by the PNP Directorate for Operations, the PNP arrested a total 78,293 individuals as of December 7.

Azurin said that during the period, some 2,940 tagged as members of organized crime groups were rounded-up. He added that 381 were “neutralized” and 162 criminal group members surrendered. A total of 369 firearms were confiscated.

Since the start of the year, 2,440 alleged members of communist groups surrendered to authorities, the PNP chief said. A total of 1,133 firearms were confiscated during these operations, he added.

According to Azurin, the recent accomplishment against communist groups and its support systems are “clear manifestations of the strong partnership of PNP, other government agencies, local government units and stakeholders who willingly extended full support to the implementation of Executive Order 70 to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC).

He said authorities dismantled 17 guerilla fronts. Temaining active groups are already weakened after their leaders were either captured or slain in internal security operations, Azurin said.

“These landmark operational accomplishments by PNP units nationwide showcase the sincere dedication, compassion and diligence of our PNP personnel in furtherance of the PNP’s peace and security framework to win against all forms of criminality,” he added.

Meanwhile, in PNPs campaign against loose firearms, 32,441 firearms were confiscated, 9,724 individuals were arrested and 4,930 cases were filed in court.

In other non-index crime cases, PNP units arrested a total of 3,135 persons in the campaign against illegal logging, 29,572 individuals were apprehended in campaign against illegal fishing, while 103,159 were arrested for illegal gambling.

Azurin commended “our hardworking PNP personnel who made each police operation successful.”

THE Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) announced last Saturday it has allowed the resumption of face-to-face visitation of prisoners.

“Bilang maagang pamasko sa ating mga PDL at sa kanilang mga pamilya, muli po nating pinapahintulutan ang pagkakaroon ng face-to-face visitation sa ating mga pasilidad. Bahagi ng pagmamalasakit natin sa kanila ang gawin ang lahat ng paraan upang makapiling din nila ang kanilang mga pamilya,” BJMP chief Jail Director Allan S. Iral was quoted in a statement as saying. [As an early Christmas to persons deprived of liberty (PDL) and their families, we are again allowing face-to-face visitation in our facilities. Part of our concern for them is to do everything possible so that they can be with their families as well.]

Considering the congestion rate in the majority of BJMP jail facilities, only 25 percent of the total PDL population of the jail facility shall be allowed to avail of face-to-face visitation in a single visitation day.

Only immediate family members of PDL shall be allowed to visit and avail of the “Contact Visitation”—provided that their names are included in the “Approved Visitor’s List” found in the national monitoring system and PDL single carpeta system and that they have scheduled their visit.

To ensure that everyone is protected from the virus, visitors who wish to avail of an in-contact visitation must be fully vaccinated, preferably with a booster shot against Covid-19 and proof of this must be presented prior to jail entry, according to Iral.

In the event that visitors are not vaccinated, they may enter the jail facility as long as they can show proof that they tested negative for Covid-19 through an RT-PCR test or antigen test taken 24 hours to 72 hours prior to entry.

Visitation hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. while on Saturday and Sunday are from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., resuming at 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Mondays and Fridays are reserved for PDL’s washday and sanitation of the entire jail facility.

Other modes of visitation such as the e-dalaw program for PDLs are still available to maximize visitation and in cases where face-to-face visitation can-

not be implemented due to heightened community risk level, security, or other related circumstances.

Of the 477 jail facilities under the BJMP, only those with at least 85 percent of their personnel and PDL are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 shall implement in-person or contact visitation.

A s of Friday, a total of 126, 440 PDL, or 97.44 percent out of the 129,766 jail population already received Covid-19 jabs, data from the BJMP revealed.

O f the 126,440 PDL vaccinated, 116,398 already received their first dose, 112,772 completed their second dose and 10,042 were inoculated with a single dose vaccine.

Meanwhile, 106,134 PDL (81.79 percent of the jail population) had already received their booster shot against Covid-19.

In Metro Manila, BJMP-NCR Regional Director Jail Chief Superintendent Efren A. Nemeño recently confirmed that all 39 jails are now ready for the resumption of Contact Visitation next week.

E arlier this week, jails in the National Capital Region have already conducted dry runs to ensure the proper implementation of procedures and protocols for the entry of visitors inside the facility.

“ While we are mindful of the influx of visitors this season, we are also ensuring the operational readiness of our jail facilities particularly their management plan and security protocols during the holiday season,” Nemeño said.

T he BJMP Regional Covid-19 Task Force is tasked to monitor the conduct and implementation of contact visitation in all jail facilities under their jurisdiction.

L ast March 20, 2020, the BJMP implemented the absolute lockdown of all its jail facilities nationwide. During the easing of jail lockdown in April 20, 2022, jail visits were allowed but was limited to “no contact visitation” wherein visitors and PDL meet but are separated by a physical barrier.

Only essential items such as additional medicines and special dietary requirements can be brought to the facility by the families of the PDL subject to usual searching procedures and security protocols. Glen Jacob Jose

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

DAVAO CITY—The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the region’s interim Parliament, wrapped up its 2-day public consultation in Tawi-Tawi on the proposed Bangsamoro Local Governance Code (LGC), to snowball its commitment to enact the remaining code of laws for the region by the first quarter of 2023.

Member of Parliament Susana S. Anayatin said the discussions revolved around the proposed code’s “inclusivity, its provisions on qualifications and disqualifications for elective local positions, and antipolitical dynasties.”

The youth sector was vocal among the issues raised, Anayatin said.

Bensar Muin, founder of the Youth Development for Patikul Association, said the youth “strongly supported” the anti-political dynasties provision in the proposed LGC, saying the code gave “leadership potential an equal chance to participate.”

Muin and the representatives of other youth organizations, lauded the BTA for including the youth sector in the legislative process.

Anayatin said one group from Tawi-Tawi reacted to the proposal that those seeking provincial, city, and municipal positions must at least reach college-level education was.

Princess Rabeah Abdulrahim, representative of the Tawi-Tawi Alliance of Civil Society Organizations, said that the Parliament should look into the educational requirement provision in the proposed LGC.

Deputy Speaker Paisalin Tago acknowledged the participation of the youth and women sectors on the proposed code.

“It shows that they are much more concerned with what is happening

up

in their environment and want to protect the rights of the youth and women,” he said.

Women sector

MP Don Mustapha Loong said he wanted the points raised be put on paper and said he recognized the importance “not only of the position papers but also of the comments and opinions during the consultation.”

T he comments and suggestions would be the basis and foundation for improving the code at the committee level, he added.

MP Tarhata Maglangit thanked the women’s sector for participating in the event, assuring them that the proposed code is being carefully crafted to ensure women’s participation and that the gender code will be reviewed afterward.

Charina Izuierdo-Isahac, founder of the women’s group Bansag Babai Inc., thanked the Parliament for “upholding women’s and children’s rights” by incorporating the anti-violence against women and children’s desk and the Local Council for Protection of Children in the proposed code.

Anayatin assured participants “that should the proposed BTA Bill 30 be enacted, it will be instrumental in bringing about the change that the people of Barmm [Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao] desires.”

“The BLGC provides how services from the regional office are cascaded down to provincial offices,” Anayatin said.

She said the proposed bill received support from Tawi-Tawi Sanib Pwersa Kabataan Inc., a coalition of 83 active youth organizations in the province recognized by the Bangsamoro Youth Commission.

Anayatin said the youth coalition “believed that the Bangsamoro LGC is critical in establishing a stronger and responsive government system for the LGUs.”

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced that Metropolitan Manila mayors have agreed to impose a moratorium on the confiscation of driver’s license of traffic violators as well as the interconnectivity with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to quickly identify recidivist traffic offenders.

T he moratorium was issued by the Metro Manila Council, the governing and policy-making body of the MMDA, during its meeting last Saturday with Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos Jr. and LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Jose Arturo M. Tugade. The meeting focused mainly on the proposed single ticketing system for the National Capital Region (NCR).

T he single ticketing system is targeted to be implemented in the first quarter of 2023.

M MDA Acting Chairman Romando S. Artes added that no

driver’s license shall be confiscated while the LTO is working on its interconnectivity.

Every LGU in NCR will pass an ordinance on this matter. For now, the existing ordinance/traffic laws of each local government unit (LGU) shall prevail,” Artes, also a lawyer, said. “Subject to the passage of an ordinance, they are allowed to continue to confiscate driver’s licenses of erring motorists.”

H e said that Metro Manila mayors heeded the call regarding confiscation of driver’s license of erring motorists.

Single ticketing system

ABALOS expressed his gratitude to the NCR mayors for heeding his appeal concerning driver’s license confiscation.

He reiterated that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) “maintains the authority of the LTO to confiscate driver’s license as the leading law enforcement agency in implementing traffic laws and the safety of the motoring public.”

I n 2020, BusinessMirror reported that bef-re celebrating their 15th birthday, a total of 59 children got married in 2017, according to data released by the PSA.

W hile none of these teen brides were married in the Roman Catholic Church, 31 of them were married according to Muslim tradition and 17 were married through a tribal ceremony. The data showed two

Lower amortizations slash 10-mo debt service to ₧929.7B

In October, amortizations plunged by 88.47 percent to P6.632 billion, from P57.530 billion a year ago.

M eanwhile, interest payments posted double-digit growth in the 10-month period ending in October and in the month of October this year.

B Tr data showed interest payments reached P433.161 billion in

the January to October period this year, a 16.79-percent growth from the P370.884 billion in 2021.

For the month of October, interest payments grew 5.23 percent to P33.185 billion from P31.536 billion posted last year.

T he BTr data showed interest payments made domestically reached

P328.617 billion in the January to October period while foreign interest payments reached P104.544 billion during the period.

For October, domestic interest payments reached P22.407 billion while foreign interest payments amounted to P10.778 billion during the period.

Domestic interest payments were

were married through other religious ceremonies and one was married through civil rites (full story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/10/18/becoming30-at-12/).

continued from a1

composed mainly of interest payments for Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds amounting to P214.323 billion in the 10-month period and P17.636 billion in October.

T his was followed by Retail Treasury Bonds at P100.116 billion in the January to October period this year and P3.575 billion in the month of October.

Agriculture/Commodities

PHL asks Brazil to cut tariffs on coco products

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T he Department of Agriculture (DA) said its high-ranking officials met with Brazilian diplomats to discuss agricultural cooperation between the Philippines and Brazil. The discussions included Manila’s request to lower Brazil’s 55 percent tariff on Philippine coconut and coconut-related products.

Desiccated coconuts, coconut water and concentrates, virgin coconut oil, and fractions of unrefined coconut oil are among the top ten Philippine export products to Brazil,” the DA said in a recent statement.

T he value of the Philippines’s total exports of coconut products to Brazil last year declined by 30 percent year-on-year to $5.041 million.

In terms of volume, shipments of coconut products to Brazil plunged by 46.27 percent to 2.224 million kilograms from 4.14 million kg in

2020, based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data.

PSA data showed that some of the country’s exports to Brazil last year were electronic products ($137.766 million), chemicals ($12.119 million) and seaweeds ($9.737 million).

Shipments of Philippine products to Brazil reached $191.290 million last year, 18.3 percent higher than the $161.712 million recorded in 2020.

D uring the meeting, Senior Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban expressed to Brazilian Ambassador Jose Maria de Souza e Silva the Philippines’s intent to export fishery products and to import porcine meal and sexed riverine buffalo sperm from Brazil.

For his part, de Souza sought for the creation of a “model system” of inspecting meat and meat products

from Brazil to the Philippines that would allow the former to be “coresponsible” with the quality and standards of the shipments, making the whole process “more flexible” and “more agile.”

A joint team consisting of Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Live-

stock and Food Supply (MAPA) and the Philippines’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) shall be created to study processes and procedures to adopt in order to maintain a dynamic Philippines-Brazil relation in agriculture,” the DA said.

Brazil has been the country’s top poultry meat supplier, particularly for mechanically deboned meat (MDM), which is a primary raw material used by local meat processors to manufacture products like hot dogs and canned meat goods.

T he country’s exports of coco -

nut products last year expanded by 58.7 percent to a 4-year high of nearly $2 billion from $1.23 billion in 2020, according to data from the PSA.

PSA data indicated that coconut oil led all coconut products in terms of total export value last year at $1.443 billion, which was 60.5 percent higher than the $898.995 million recorded in 2020.

Historical PSA data showed that the value of coconut oil in 2021 was the highest since 2017, when it reached $1.614 billion.

This is also the first time since 2019 that export receipts from coconut oil amounted to at least $1 billion. The country’s value of coconut exports in 2019 reached $932.044 million.

A side from coconut oil, the value of other coconut-based products, such as desiccated coconut and copra meal, posted double-digit growth rates.

T he value of desiccated coconut exports last year rose by 52.2 percent to $396.96 million from $260.74 million in 2020 while shipments of copra meal/cake grew by 50.6 percent year-on-year to $66.56 million.

PSA data also showed that shipments of other coconut products went up by 72.5 percent to $45.12 million last year from $26.16 million in 2020.

THE Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) marked International Mountain Day 2022 last December 9 with a high-level event at its headquarters in Rome, a series of celebrations around the world and a new study that sheds light on the issue of gender equality in mountains.

International Mountain Day, celebrated every December 11, aims to raise awareness about the importance of mountains to life and seeks to build alliances that bring positive change around the world. FAO is the lead UN agency for mountains and for organizing the Day, which was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 2002.

T he theme of this year’s edition is “Women move mountains.”

In mountainous regions, more than 50 percent of women carry out agricultural activities.

Yet, women face discrimination in some form or other in many walks of life, and mountain women are particularly at risk when men emigrate in search for work.

T his means women are often the primary managers of mountain resources, as well as guardians of biodiversity, keepers of traditional knowledge, custodians of local culture and experts in traditional medicine. It also means that they face a number of additional constraints.

On top of lacking access to credit, land ownership, markets, trainings and digital access, they are even more exposed to the negative impacts of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. Women in mountain regions can also be victims of gender-based discrimination in many sociocultural environments and work sectors traditionally dominated by men.

Gender equality is central to

FAO’s mandate to achieve food security for all by raising levels of nutrition, improving agricultural productivity and natural resource management, and improving the lives of rural populations,” FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said in his opening remarks at the ceremony in Rome.

It is time to value mountain women and strengthen our support, providing them with access to what they need, especially to science, innovation, digitalization and technology.”

A mong other highlights, it showcased a video and fashion show illustrating the recent collaboration between the Peruvian women’s collective Illariy Threads4Dreams and Stella Jean. For this collaboration, Stella Jean travelled to the village of Tolconi, located 4800 metres above sea level in the Peruvian Andes, to

create garments using multicoloured alpaca fibre for a 2023 fashion collection and other items to be sold directly by the women online. Through this partnership—borne from an earlier collaboration between the FAO Women’s Committee and the Mountain Partnership—the women are creating new models that can fetch higher prices on international markets.

Mountain women

TO mark this year’s edition of International Mountain Day, FAO has published a study highlighting the stories and voices of mountain women, with a focus on rural areas and mountain tourism. The publication was produced together with the Mountain Partnership Secretariat and the Feminist Hiking Collective, a member of the Mountain Partnership and the Mountain Women of the World network.

T itled “Mountain women of the world: Challenges, resilience and collective power,” the study is based on in-depth interviews with 313 local mountain women in 8 countries—Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Italy, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal and Tanzania.

T he interviewees were engaged in a range of activities, such as farming and handicrafts, as well as working in the tourism industry as guides, porters, cooks or guesthouse managers.

T he study found that women’s work is socially, politically and economically invisible in most countries. Achieving recognition for the value of their work—whether paid and unpaid—remains a challenge for many mountain women. Working women in many mountain regions also have limited access to basic health services and education.

I mproving their lives requires funding and a series of policies, including granting women the right to resources and services under equal conditions as men and facilitating their access to local, national and international markets through training and priority access to loans and other financial services.

T he study also offers reasons for optimism. Technologies such as the Internet are allowing women to organize themselves into so-called “networks of solidarity,” and this trend was accelerated during Covid-19, with 61 percent of respondents telling researchers they had connected with other women during the pandemic.

A s one mountain woman in the study is quoted as saying, “In times of challenges, people get closer, and life in the mountains is full of challenges.”

International Mountain Day 2022: FAO aims spotlight on gender equality Vietnam

COFFEE farmers in Vietnam, the world’s biggest grower of the robusta variety, collected about 40 percent of the 2022-23 crop as of early December amid concerns about bean quality due to prolonged rains, according to Nguyen Nam Hai, head of the nation’s coffee association.

E xtensive rains hit major coffee-producing provinces of Dak Lak, Gia Lai and Kon Tum this month while farmers’ bean-drying capacity is still limited, Hai said during a meeting attended by agriculture ministry officials, coffee producers and traders on Saturday. Output is seen dropping 10 percent from an estimated 1.8 million tons in the 2021-22 season as growers in some regions cut investments while product costs increased, the Hanoi-based Vietnam Coffee Cocoa Association said in a report released during the meeting.

Y ields and production are lower in farms that also grow profitable crops such as durians and peppers because growers pay less attention to coffee plants, according to the report.

V ietnam grows coffee in 20 provinces on over 710,000 hectares, up 67,370 hectares from 2015, with production area representing

more than 90 percent, according to the report, which cited 2021 data from the agriculture ministry. The nation garnered a record high $3.9 billion from exporting 1.68 million tons of coffee of all types in the 2021-22 season, with robusta beans making up 89percent of total shipments, Hai said.

Juice shortage

AMERICA’S top orange juice maker is set for a record decline in the crop this season, signaling that a global shortage of the breakfast beverage will only get worse.

F lorida will likely produce 20 million boxes of oranges in the season that runs Oct. 2022 to Sept. 2023, down 51 percent from the year-ago period—the biggest drop in data going back to 1913, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand report, or WASDE. That would also be the smallest output since 1937. A box weighs 90 pounds (41 kilograms).

T he decline follows damage from hurricanes, frost and bugs.

T he shrinking of supply exacerbates global shortages, including in top-citrus grower Brazil, where output has been hobbled by adverse weather. Production

in California, now the largest orange grower in the United States and top fresh fruit supplier, was unchanged.

F lorida’s crop has been decimated by citrus greening, a devastating crop disease that causes fruit to shrivel and fall prematurely and can cause a bitter taste. Earlier, Hurricane Ian and Tropical Storm Nicole devastated the crop, which the USDA accounted for the first time in its most recent estimate. The department previously noted that frost was a concern.

T he shortage raises the cost outlook for beverage makers including Minute Maid owner CocaCola Co. and PAI Partners, which owns Tropicana, that could be passed onto American consumers at the breakfast table. Florida lawmakers sent a letter to House Appropriations Committee leaders seeking disaster relief funding for the state’s citrus industry.

“ The loss from hurricanes is mostly recoverable, but the greater issue is disease,” said Judy Ganes, who runs J Ganes Consulting LLC and has tracked the citrus industry for more than three decades.

Orange juice futures declined 4 percent Friday, but are up 5.7 percent this week and 54 percent on the year.

‘FOREIGN BENEFACTORS

SUPPORT IRRI’ Sen. Cynthia Villar, during the Commission on Appointments (CA) committee hearing on the ad interim appointment of Renato Umali Solidum as secretary of Science and Technology last December 7 reminded resource persons and members of the panel that the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is not a Philippine supported organization but an international one based in the Philippines. “Actually, IRRI is being financed by foreign benefactors and the biggest one is Bill Gates and the instruction of Bill Gates is to support Africa. So, we cannot expect a lot from IRRI because it depends on who is financing the project of IRRI,” Villar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, explained. She said the rice agencies of the country are the Philippine Rice Research Institute attached to the Department of Agriculture and the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization. Villar thanked Solidum for sending her reading materials on enhancing agriculture and for the productivity of crops, fishing, livestock, poultry and dairy. “I guess the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is not only for technology but also for agriculture,” she

MANILA is urging Brasilia to reduce the hefty tariff it slaps on local coconut products to boost the Philippines’s “competitiveness” in the Brazilian market.

Bakhmut City ‘destroyed’ as Russia steps up assault in eastern Ukraine

By Jamey Keaten The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine—Russian forces have turned the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut into ruins, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, while Ukraine’s military on Saturday reported missile, rocket and air strikes in multiple parts of the country that Moscow is trying to conquer after months of resistance.

The latest battles of r u ssia’s 9 1/2 month war in Ukraine have centered on four provinces that r u ssian President Vladimir Putin triumphantly—and illegally— claimed to have annexed in late September. The fighting indicates r u ssia’s struggle to establish control of those regions and Ukraine’s persistence to reclaim them.

Zelenskyy said the situation “remains very difficult” in several frontline cities in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. Together, the provinces make up the Donbas, an expansive industrial region bordering r u ssia that Putin identified as a focus from the war’s outset and where Moscow-backed separatists have fought since 2014.

“Bakhmut, Soledar, Maryinka, Kreminna. f or a long time, there is no living place left on the land of these areas that have not been damaged by shells and fire,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, naming cities that have again found themselves in the crosshairs. “The occupiers actually destroyed Bakhmut, another Donbas city that the r u ssian army turned into burnt ruins.”

Some buildings remain standing in Bakhmut, and the remaining residents still mill about the streets. But like Mariupol and other contested cities, it endured a long siege and spent weeks without water and power even before Moscow launched massive strikes to take out public utilities across Ukraine.

The Donetsk region’s governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, estimated seven weeks ago that 90% of the city’s prewar population of over 70,000

South Korean parliament calls for Interior Minister’s dismissal

SOUTH Korea’s n a tional a ss embly passed a motion calling for the dismissal of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min amid criticism over the management of a deadly pre-Halloween crowd crush.

The main opposition party used its majority in parliament to pass the motion, with backing from 182 of the 183 lawmakers who cast ballots, and one vote declared invalid, according to yo nhap n e ws. The ruling party, which opposed the dismissal motion, boycotted the vote, the report said.

Some government officials including the interior minister have been under pressure over the incident that killed more than 150 people in Seoul during Halloween celebrations. Lee apologized last month over the crush, saying the nation has unlimited responsibility for the safety of its people.

Even as the motion was passed, President yo on Suk ye ol is widely expected to reject it, according to the report. Bloomberg News

had fled in the months since Moscow focused on seizing the entire Donbas.

The Ukrainian military General Staff reported missile attacks, about 20 airstrikes and more than 60 rocket attacks across Ukraine between f r iday and Saturday. Spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said the most active fighting was in the Bakhmut district, where more than 20 populated places came under fire. He said Ukrainian forces repelled r u ssian attacks in Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk.

r u ssia’s grinding eastern offensive succeeded in capturing almost all of Luhansk during the summer. Donetsk eluded the same fate, and the r u ssian military in recent weeks has poured manpower and resources around Bakhmut in an attempt to encircle the city, analysts and Ukrainian officials have said.

a f ter Ukrainian forces recaptured the southern city of Kherson nearly a month ago, the battle heated up around Bakhmut, demonstrating Putin’s desire for visible gains following weeks of clear setbacks in Ukraine.

Taking Bakhmut would rupture Ukraine’s supply lines and open a route for r u ssian forces to press on toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk. r u ssia has battered Bakhmut with rockets for more than half of the year. a ground assault accelerated after its troops forced the Ukrainians to withdraw from Luhansk in July.

But some analysts have questioned r u ssia’s strategic logic in the relentless pursuit to take Bakhmut and surrounding areas that also came under intense shelling in the past weeks, and where Ukrainian officials reported that some residents

were living in damp basements.

“The costs associated with six months of brutal, grinding, and attrition-based combat around #Bakhmut far outweigh any operational advantage that the # r u ssians can obtain from taking Bakhmut,” the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank in Washington, posted on its Twitter feed on Thursday.

The r u ssian Defense Ministry said Saturday that r u ssian troops also pressed their Donbas offensive in the direction of the Donetsk city of Lyman, which is 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of Bakhmut. a c cording to the ministry, they “managed to take more advantageous positions for further advancement.”

r u ssia’s forces first occupied the city in May but withdrew in early October. Ukrainian authorities said at the time they found mines on the bodies of dead r u ssian soldiers that were set to explode when someone tried to clear the corpses, as well as the bodies of civilian residents killed by shelling or who had died from a lack of food and medicine.

On f r iday, Putin lashed out at recent comments by former German Chancellor a n gela Merkel, who said a 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine negotiated by f r ance and Germany had bought time for Ukraine to prepare for war with r u ssia this year.

That deal was aimed to cool tensions after pro- r u ssia separatists seized territory in the Donbas a year earlier, sparking a war with Ukrainian forces that ballooned into a war with r u ssia itself after the f e b. 24 full-scale invasion.

Ukraine’s military on Saturday also reported strikes in other prov -

inces: Kharkiv and Sumy in the northeast, central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia in the southeast and Kherson in the south. The latter two, along with Donetsk and Luhansk, are the four regions Putin claims are now r u ssian territory. a month ago, r u ssian troops withdrew from the western side of the Dniper r i ver where it cuts through Kherson province, allowing Ukrainians forces to declare the region’s capital city liberated. But the r u ssians still occupy a majority of the province and have continued to attack from their news positions across the river.

Writing on Telegram, the deputy head of Zelenskyy’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said two civilians died and another eight were wounded during dozens of mortar, rocket and artillery attacks over the previous day. r e sidential areas, a hospital, shops, warehouses and critical infrastructure in the Kherson region were damaged, he said.

To the west, drone attacks overnight left much of Odesa province, including its namesake Black Sea port city, without electricity, regional Gov. Maxim Marchenko said. Several energy facilities were destroyed at once, leaving all customers except hospitals, maternity homes, boiler plants and pumping stations were without power, electric company DTEK said Saturday.

The Odesa regional administration’s energy department said late Saturday that fully restoring electricity could take as long as three months and it urged families whose homes are without power to leave the region if possible.

Bangladesh opposition rallies to demand PM quit before polls

By Julhas Alam The Associated Press

DH a K a , B angladesh—Tens of thousands of opposition supporters rallied in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday to demand the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and install a caretaker before next general elections expected to be held in early 2024.

The supporters of the Bangladesh n a tionalist Party, headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, reached the protest venue in Dhaka overnight amid tight security while Home Minister a s aduzzaman Khan warned of dire consequences in case of violence from the rally.

Hasina and her ruling a w ami League party, which returned to power in 2018 for the third consecutive time, have repeatedly ruled out the opposition’s demand, saying a caretaker government goes against the spirit of the country’s constitution.

The venue at Golapbagh in Dhaka was filled up by Saturday morning and the crowd spilled out into streets when

opposition activists chanted slogans such as “Down with Hasina” and “We want a fair election.”

Saturday’s rally was the 10th from the main opposition party after it announced in September it will hold protests in 10 big cities across the country. a l l the previous rallies outside Dhaka drew huge crowds despite challenges including what the party said were politically motivated transport strikes and intimidation by security agencies and the ruling party. Both police and the ruling party denied such allegations.

The rally in Dhaka was held during heightened tension after police stormed the party headquarters following clashes between police and opposition supporters on Wednesday, leaving at least one dead and 50 injured. Police arrested more than 400 opposition activists.

On f r iday, detectives raided homes of two senior party leaders, including Secretary General Mirza f a khrul Islam a l amgir. Both were denied bail.

Zahiruddin Swapan, a former twotime opposition lawmaker and party

spokesman, told The a s sociated Press that by Saturday afternoon about 1.5 million opposition supporters joined the rally.

“We want a free and fair election. To facilitate that, this repressive government must go, Parliament must be dissolved, and a new Election Commission should be installed,” he said. “They came to power through vote rigging and intimidation.”

f a ruk Hossain, a spokesman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told a P t hat the venue has a capacity of maximum 30,000 people and if the adjacent streets were considered, the rally could not have drawn more than 60,000 people.

Witnesses said up to 100,000 opposition activists joined the rally. a n e lection-time caretaker government system was introduced in the constitution in 1996 to oversee national elections, but it was nullified in 2011 under Hasina through passage of a constitutional amendment and after the Supreme Court ruled the system was contradictory to the constitution.

Iran support of Russian military expected to grow

Iran is likely to step up its backing for r u ssia’s military, according to the UK government, as the Kremlin seeks to expand missile strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 1.5 million people in the Odesa region lost power after r u ssian strikes with Iranian-made drones Saturday night.

n a T O’s chief civilian warned of the risk that other European countries might be dragged into a “full-fledged” war. The city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region has been destroyed, Zelenskiy said earlier.

Key developments:

More than 1.5 million lose power in Odesa area M O r E t han 1.5 million people were without power in the Odesa area after r u ssian attacks with Iranian-made drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“Unfortunately the hits were critical, so it takes more than just a period of time to restore electricity,” he said in his nightly video address. “It doesn’t take hours, but a few days. The power system is now, to put it mildly, very far from a normal state.”

Kyiv and eight regions, from Lviv in the west to Sumy in the northeast, have the most widespread blackouts, Zelenskiy said. “Energy facilities are hit almost every day,” he said.

Ukraine urges Red Cross to help war prisoners a n D r I y yE r M a K , Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, met with Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, the President of the International Committee of the r e d Cross, in Kyiv.

He urged the r e d Cross to help ensure the rights of Ukraine’s prisoners of war, to ensure medical help is provided to them and to make every effort that r u ssians “stop using forceful methods of influence on captured Ukrainians.”

ye rmak was accompanied by relatives of prisoners of war captured by r u ssia during its invasion of Ukraine, the president’s office said in

a statement.

Duolingo sees spike in people learning Ukrainian a f T E r r u ssia invaded Ukraine in f e bruary, over 1.3 million people around the world took up learning Ukrainian in a show of solidarity, language app company Duolingo said. Interest soared in the weeks after the invasion began, peaking in late March and remaining steady for the rest of 2022. Ukrainian was the fastestgrowing language in countries far away from the conflict, including a r gentina, Japan, and Vietnam, and among Ukraine’s neighbors as well.

NATO chief warns of RussiaNATO war risk

naT O Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there’s “no doubt that a full-fledged war is a possibility,” according to the a ss ociated Press. He told n o rwegian broadcaster nr K i n an interview that the conflict in Ukraine could “go horribly wrong” and spoke of the need to avoid dragging other European countries into a war.

“We are working on that every day to avoid that,” a P quoted Stoltenberg as saying.

Russian drone attacks cause widespread power failure in Odesa

rUSSI a n troops attacked energy facilities in the Odesa region with single-use Iranian-made drones, causing significant damage and leaving thousands of people without electricity, local authorities said on f a cebook. r o cket attacks targeted settlements in Sumy and Zaporizhzhia as well as southern region of Kherson, killing at least two people and wounding eight.

Ukraine’s air defense said on f a cebook it shot down 10 out of 15 Iranian-made loitering drones over the southern regions of Kherson, Mykoaiv and Odesa. n o c asualties were reported, though residential buildings were also damaged.

“The situation is quite difficult as power was cut in Odesa and almost the whole region,” Bratchuk said. Only hospitals, maternity wards and critical facilities have electricity.

Bloomberg News

Senior US officials to visit China to follow up on Xi-Biden meet

THE U S will send a delegation to China in the coming days, following up on President Joe Biden’s meeting w ith Chinese President Xi Jinping last month at the G-20 meeting in Indonesia.

T he move is to continue “responsibly managing the competition” between the two countries and “explore potential areas of cooperation,” the US State Department said in a statement on Saturday.

The visit will also prepare for Secretary of State a ntony Blinken’s planned early 2023 trip to China.

The delegation will comprise a s sistant Secretary of State for East a s ian and Pacific a f fairs Daniel Kritenbrink and n a tional Security Council Senior Director for C hina and Taiwan Laura

r o senberger.

The two officials also plan to visit South Korea and Japan as part of their Dec. 11-14 a s ian trip, to hold consultations on a “range of regional and bilateral issues,” the release s aid, without elaborating.

Last month, Biden and Xi held their first inperson meeting since the coronavirus pandemic rocked the world. Biden said both countries have a responsibility to “prevent competition from becoming anything ever near a c onflict,” while Xi said the two sides “need to find the right direction” and “elevate the relationship.”

The two countries still have plenty of disagreements, including about Taiwan and over US moves to limit China’s economic and technological advancement. B loomberg News

AN aerial view of Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles with the Russian troops, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine on Friday, December 9, 2022. AP Photo/LIBKo S

Biden cements trump-era steel, aluminum tariffs in WtO snub

By Joe Deaux

The U s Trade Representative issued a strong rebuke of the World Trade Organization’s decision that former President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% duty on

aluminum violates international rules. i t ’s the strongest statement yet from the White h o use that Biden has no intention to remove the duties, which would potentially alien -

ate one of his most important bases of support: steelworkers.

“The Biden Administration is committed to preserving U s n ational security by ensuring the long-term viability of our steel and aluminum industries, and we do not intend to remove the s e ction 232 duties as a result of these disputes”, Adam h o dge, a spokesman for the U s Trade Representative, said in a statement.

There was much discussion in the leadup to the 2020 election and the early days of Biden’s presidency whether he would roll back the tariffs, which manufacturers from Caterpillar i n c. to Whirlpool

Corp. to h a rley Davidson i n c. had long complained were hurting U s co mpanies. The president instead chose to make some soft concessions to key allies, such as the European Union, while keeping the s e ction 232 tariffs, which the U s sees as vital for national security, in place for most others.

Two industry insiders familiar with the matter said the U s T R’s stance on the ruling gives them certainty the president won’t roll back the s e ction 232 tariffs. The metals industry already was taking a victory lap with U s s t eel Corp. commending Biden for defending the industry and the United s t eelworkers calling the WTO’s decision “just plain wrong.”

The U s rebuke still leaves the door open for the president to tinker with the duties but not in a way that will fundamentally change the landscape. The administration’s defense of the tariffs comes as it studies ways to use similar, untested measures to isolate China and boost its climate credibility.

“Legally, they’re correct. The WTO cannot declare that a U s law is invalid. All they can do is impose sanctions for not changing it,” said Lewis Leibowitz, a trade lawyer who has long represented companies that opposed the tariffs. “But i t hink they were a mistake and they’re creating disincentives for manufacturing and eventually it’s going to hurt the sector.” Bloomberg News

New abnormal: Climate disaster damage ‘down’ to $268 billion

thal spring heat wave, then devastating floods from June-October took over 1,700 lives and untold livelihoods,” said Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell climate Research Center in Cape Cod. “Many other surprising, less publicized, and alarming events wreaked havoc on local communities, such as the sudden collapse of the lucrative snow crab fishery in the Bering s e a, rapid demise of European glaciers, inundation of several coastal villages in Alaska by ex- tropical cyclone Merbok.”

“Additional heat in the atmosphere is sucking moisture out of soils, exacer -

bating drought and heat waves,” Francis said. “Evaporation from oceans and land also increases the amount of moisture in the air, which provides more fuel for storms and heavier downpours.”

s w iss Re’s Bertogg said although climate change is at work he estimates two-thirds, perhaps more, of the rise in damages is due to more people and things in harm’s way.

Urbanization across the globe puts more people in dense environments, which increases damage when disaster hits, Bertogg said. Then add urban sprawl that takes those cities and makes them

geographically bigger and thus more vulnerable, he said. A good example of that is how wildfires started damaging more homes in California as more homes got built in rural areas, he said.

Plus more construction is being built on the coast and along waterways making them more vulnerable to storms and flooding, with flooding as “the biggest threat for the global economy,” Bertogg said.

But NOAA’s s m ith keeps searching for a little silver lining in storm clouds: i just hope the trends get a little bit less profound and less stressful for society. We all need a break.”

By Seth Borenstein AP Science Writer

This past year has seen a horrific flood that submerged one-third of Pakistan, one of the three costliest U s hurricanes on record, devastating droughts in Europe and China, a drought-triggered famine in Africa and deadly heat waves all over.

Yet this wasn’t climate change at its worst.

With all that death and destruction in 2022, climate-related disaster damages are down from 2021, according to insurance and catastrophe giant s w iss Re. That’s the state of climate change in the 2020s that $268 billion in global disaster costs is a 12% drop from the previous year, where damage passed $300 billion.

The number of Us weather disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damage is only at 15 through October and will likely end the year with 16 or 17, down from 22 and 20 in the last two years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But because of hu rricane i a n, overall damage amounts are probably going to end up in the top three in American history.

Weather disasters, many but not all of them turbocharged by human-caused climate change, are happening so frequently that this year’s onslaught, which 20 years ago would have smashed records by far, now in some financial measures seems a bit of a break from recent years.

Welcome to the new abnormal.

“We’ve almost gotten used to extremes. And this year compared to many years in the past would be considered a pretty intense year, but compared to maybe the most extreme years, like a 2017, 2020 and 2021, it does look like ... a slight adjustment down,” said NOAA applied meteorologist and economist Adam sm ith, who calculates the billion dollar disasters for the agency. “We’re just getting used to it but that’s not a good way to move into the future.”

Wildfires in the United st ates weren’t as costly this year as the last couple years, but the Western drought was more damaging than previous years, he said. America’s billion dollar disasters in 2022 seemed to hit every possible category except winter storms: hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, heat waves, hail storms and even a derecho.

When it comes to 2022’s financial damages globally and the United st ates, i a n, which walloped Florida, was the big dog, even though Pakistan’s flooding was more massive and deadly. i n t erms of just looking at dollars not people, i a n’s damages eclipsed the drought-triggered African famine that affected more people. it a lso overshadowed river levels in China and Europe that dropped to levels so low it caused power and industrial problems and the heat waves in Europe, i n dia and North America that were deadly and record-breaking.

smith said NOAA hasn’t finished calculating the damages from i a n yet, but there’s a good chance it will have more than $100 billion in damage, pushing past 2012’s s up erstorm s a ndy that swamped New York and New Jersey, ranking only behind 2005’s Katrina and 2017’s h a rvey for damaging hurricanes.

i n the 1980s, the United st ates would average a billion-dollar weather disaster every 82 days. Now it’s every 18 days, sm ith said. That’s not inflation because damages are adjusted to factor that out, he said. it ’s nastier weather and more development, people and buildings in harm’s way, he said.

Globally “if you zoom in the last six years, 2017 to 2022, this has been particularly bad” especially compared to the five years before, said Martin Bertogg, sw iss Re’s head of catastrophic peril.

it felt like a regime change, some people called it a new normal,” Bertogg said. But he thinks it was more getting back, after a brief respite, to a long-term trend of disaster costs steadily rising 5% to 7% a year.

U s climate envoy John Kerry said the increasing number of di -

sasters makes the case for reducing emissions.

“You’re spending money now because we’re not doing the things we ought to be doing,” Kerry said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We’ll be spending a hell of a lot more under much more stringent circumstances than we are today if we don’t move faster.”

Not every year has to be a whopper. The U s got a break in 2019 when there were “only” 14 billion-dollar disasters, NOAA’s s m ith said.

“A growing body of evidence indicates that climate change is increasing the variability as well as the average” of weather disasters, said st anford University environment director Chris Field, who led a United Nations 2012 report on extreme weather. “What this means is that in some years we get hit harder than others. i n o ther years we get hit like never before.”

“The important thing is that the trend in disasters is increasing,” Field said. “And it will continue to increase until we halt the warming.”

Looking at damages, mostly insured losses, can give a skewed picture because how much a disaster cost depends greatly on how wealthy the area that the disaster hit, less so than the scale of the disaster itself, said Debarati Guha- s a pir, who runs the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.

And even more important, these figures are about dollars, not people, and that distorts the true picture, said Guha- s a pir and University of Washington health and climate professor Kristie Ebi.

“What is insured is a small fraction of total infrastructure and the people killed in Pakistan,” which lowers the damage amount despite 1,700 people killed, Ebi said.

The flood in Pakistan, which submerged one-third of a country that’s bigger than Texas, was not the only thing that hit that developing country.

“Pakistan just couldn’t catch a break this year. A January snowstorm killed 23 followed by a le -

If there were any hope President Joe Biden would undo his predecessor’s divisive trade tariffs that caused upheaval in the global steel and aluminum markets, it all but evaporated friday.

President Joe Biden has no intention to remove the duties imposed by former president donald trump on steel and aluminum imports. BloomBerg photo

H O mes are surrounded by floodwaters in sohbat Pur City, a district of Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, Aug. 30, 2022. this past year has seen a horrific flood that submerged one-third of Pakistan, one of the three costliest Us hurricanes on record, devastating droughts in europe and China, a drought-triggered famine in Africa and deadly heat waves all over. A p p h oto/Z A hid h u ss A in

editorial

PHL:

Still

managing growth and inflation

THe subject matter of the e-mail hit like an arrow through the heart and not in a good way as if it had been from Cupid, ancient Roman god of love. “Good news on inflation [except in the Philippines],” said the folks at Capital economics, the consulting firm out of London. “Of the nine countries in the region to have reported November inflation figures, the y/y rate dropped or was stable in eight of them”; except the Philippines. “Core inflation, which is a better indicator of underlying price pressures, also increased and is now at its highest level since 2008.”

Capital attributes the high inflation to strong post-pandemic economic growth creating pressure on the demand side raising prices and “the disruption to food supplies from Typhoon Noru [Super Typhoon Karding].” Two things to consider. Post-pandemic Philippine consumer spending peaked in the fourth quarter of 2021, just under the historic high level in Q4 2019. Since January 2022, consumer spending has been decreasing, down about 11 percent since the peak. We can find no indication that those numbers are inflation-adjusted, meaning the total amount “You The Consumer” spent may be higher than last year because prices are higher. While we will grant that the crop losses due to bad weather do raise prices due to supply disruptions, it is annoying to constantly hear that fact. It is like always blaming your bad choices in life because you did not get enough hugs as a child. This “weather-related food inflation” only means that government has done nothing to mitigate this eternal problem since forever.

We always keep a few candles in the kitchen cabinet because we know there will eventually be a brownout. We also store some sardines knowing that the next typhoon may disrupt food supplies. Why can’t government do the same?

However, much more serious than inflation is “stagflation” where the economy does not grow but prices continue to go up. Stagflation is the combination of slow or falling economic output plus high inflation. Capital Economics: “We expect [PHL] inflation to peak over the next couple of months and then fall steadily throughout 2023 as gross domestic product [GDP] growth slows.” Currently the Philippines has “high” inflation and “high” economic growth, and that is good, all things considered.

Stagflation was prevalent among the seven major market economies from 1973 to 1982. US annual inflation as measured by the change in the consumer price index (CPI) peaked at 13.5 percent in 1980. Nominal GDP growth was negative that year. But the worst period was when “real” GDP growth—growth adjusted for inflation—was negative for several years.

Globally, Europe is in the biggest trouble. Europe’s energy supply shock is creating a painful stagflation. Euro Area nominal GDP growth for 2022 is declining, last recorded at 2.3 percent from 4.3 percent during the previous quarter and forecast to end the year at about 3 percent. However, the annual inflation rate in the Euro Area is still running at 10 percent in November from a record high of 10.6 percent in October.

While not textbook stagflation as a group, the individual numbers are horrible. The UK, Italy, and Poland are having above 11 percent inflation, with Germany, Austria, and the European Union all above 10 percent. On GDP growth, Germany, and France—the drivers of the continent’s economy—can barely manage 1 percent.

The Philippines is still holding the growth/inflation line. But global oil prices better stay relatively low, and the economy needs to keep getting stronger.

A busy December, for a change

RISING SUN

IT seems like everyone is busy preparing for the holidays, either shopping for gifts or planning activities with loved ones. For today’s column allow me to give a few suggestions. I’d love to start with a reminder that December is National Volunteer Month, based on Presidential Proclamation No. 55. As such, we are being called to volunteer our time and energy despite our busy schedules and limited resources. Find local or community events you can help with, or initiate your own volunteer activity. A good way to start is by finding out what your strengths and interests are and letting those lead your next steps.

If you’re looking for special Christmas events you can bring your family or friends to, consider attending the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ lighting event and concert on December 15 at the CCP Front Lawn. Titled “Binurda,” it’s the open-to-public light and sound show that CCP holds for free every year. A few days prior, the Philippine Madrigal Singers will

be holding a live Christmas Carol Concert, “Himig ng Pasko,” on December 12 at the City Hall Grounds, Nueva Ecija. Those who are not from Nueva Ecija can still enjoy the show online by tuning in from 6 p.m. to the Facebook page of the CCP.

The “Tanawin: A Thanksgiving and Listening Party” is happening on December 14 from 8 p.m. on-

Those looking for gift ideas will be happy to know that they can buy local handwoven products like tops, dresses, coats, skirts, and more from the Itneg Handwoven Natural Traditional Treasure based in Brgy. Namarabar, Penarrubia, Abra. They use natural dyes and pure cotton to produce fashionable garments with traditional art embroidery. To place your orders, you may reach out to Luis Agaid through 09977050250.

wards at 123 Block in Mandala Park, Mandaluyong City. This concert features OPM female rock icons Kitchie Nadal, Barbie Almalbis, Aia de Leon, Acel Bisa, Hannah Romawac, and Lougee Basabas.

A special treat for Quezon City residents is the “Pasko na Naman sa Diliman” musical concert happening on December 15 at 6 p.m. featuring the University of the Philippines Symphony Orchestra. It is a free open-air concert for the general

public happening at the UP Diliman Amphitheater. The next day, December 16 at 6:30 p.m., it’s the UP Jazz Ensemble’s turn to hold a concert at the UP Theater Driveway, still in UP Diliman. Titled “Jazz Christmas F2F,” the concert also features Lynn Consuelo Sherman-Samson, Iskollas, and the UP College of Music Staff Shakers.

Those looking for gift ideas will be happy to know that they can buy local handwoven products like tops, dresses, coats, skirts, and more from the Itneg Handwoven Natural Traditional Treasure based in Brgy. Namarabar, Penarrubia, Abra. They use natural dyes and pure cotton to produce fashionable garments with traditional art embroidery. To place your orders, you may reach out to Luis Agaid through 09977050250.

Finally, the Paskong Pinoy artwork of national artist and master cartoonist Larry Alcala is featured on this year’s Christmas cards by UNICEF. Make a donation to get a set (or more) of these holiday cards. Visit https://donate.unicef.ph/campaign/ christmascards to donate.

The 24 hours of hikes that end year of fighting inflation

By Simon Kennedy | Bloomberg Opinion

THe world’s biggest central banks will this week wrap up the most aggressive year for interest-rate hikes in four decades with their fight against inflation still not over even as their economies slow.

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday is set to raise its key rate by 50 basis points to a range of 4 percent to 4.5 percent, the highest since 2007, and to signal more increases in early 2023.

A day later, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are likely to follow with half-point moves. And higher borrowing costs are also in the cards in Switzerland, Norway, Mexico, Taiwan, Colombia and the Philippines.

The year ends much differently than it started. Back in January, most policymakers were acknowledging they were wrong to have bet 2021’s inflation surge would soon fade, but still assuming they could restrain prices with a steady constriction of policy.

Instead, multiple metrics show how an acceleration in global inflation to around double-digits forced them to squeeze hard:

Bank of America Corp. has spotted around 275 rate hikes this year, enough for one every trading day, with just 13 cuts.More than 50 central banks have executed once-rare 75 basis-point increases, some joining the Fed in doing so repeatedly.

A Bloomberg Economics gauge of global rates is projected ending the year at 5.2 percent, up from 2.8 percent in January. Although signs are

mounting that inflation has peaked in most places, the big question now is what happens in 2023.

The worst case is inflation proves stubborn and recessions begin, creating a stagflationary nightmare for central banks. The best hope is consumer-price growth retreats fast enough to enable policymakers to stop jacking up rates and consider reducing them to boost growth.

While many investors expect a pivot at some point, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and ECB President Christine Lagarde, both of whom will speak this week, say their focus remains on tackling inflation even if doing so hurts demand and hiring.

Federal Reserve W HILE the Fed is expected to begin tempering the pace of monetary policy tightening this week with a half-point hike, the target rate for overnight bank lending will continue to be lifted in early 2023.

Another 50 basis point boost would amount to 4.25 percentage points worth of interest-rate increases over 2022, a year that saw inflation soar to a four-decade high and left policy makers scrambling.

Fed officials, who conclude their two-day policy meeting Wednesday, will get one final peak at a key inflation metric when the government on

Tuesday issues the November consumer price index. Economists project 0.3 percent increases in the overall and core measure that excludes food and fuel. On an annual basis, both gauges are seen moderating.

European Central Bank

THE ECB will probably hike rates by 50 basis points, after inflation in the euro area slowed for the first time in 1 1/2 years last month. Yet with consumer-price growth still at 10 percent, a third consecutive 75 basis-point move can’t be completely excluded and some of the more hawkish rate setters have suggested they’d back such a step. The Governing Council’s decision will also be influenced by new quarterly economic forecasts, which will likely see a downgrade in growth and upgrade in inflation projections for 2023.

Additionally, policymakers are scheduled to decide on the key pillars of their strategy to unwind debt of nearly €5 trillion ($5.2 trillion). The actual process—known as quantitative tightening or QT—won’t start until next year, with economists expecting it to kick off in the first quarter.

Bank of England

THE BOE is widely expected to boost its benchmark lending rate a half point to 3.5 percent, which would be the highest since 2008. With inflation at a 41-year high of 11.1 percent and consumers increasingly expecting elevated prices for the next few years, policy makers led by Governor Andrew Bailey have said they will act forcefully to prevent a

wage-price spiral.

A darkening outlook for the economy makes this month’s decision more difficult than the last. A recession is now underway and expected to last into 2024, and households are suffering from the tightest costof-living squeeze on record. Energy prices are at least six times higher than usual, and colder-than-normal weather is buffeting the UK for the first time since last winter.

Swiss National Bank

SW ITzERLAND is also dealing with soaring inflation, yet at 3 percent— less than a third of that in the surrounding euro area—SNB policymakers will likely opt for a half-point move instead of repeating September’s oversized 75 basis-point step.

The strong franc—for years a thorn in the side of SNB President Thomas Jordan—is now supporting the economy as it allows the Swiss to avoid imported inflation. The central bank is still likely to reiterate that it’s willing to intervene in currency markets if needed.

Norges Bank

NORWAY S central bank set to raise its key rate by 25 basis points as inflation data for last month showed a slowdown in both headline and underlying price growth. Those numbers have allowed speculation about bigger increases in borrowing costs to retreat, with some analysts becoming more convinced that the December hike will be the last in the cycle.  Other recent data releases highlighting the gloomiest economic outSee “Hikes,” A9

Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

Griner swap reveals dilemma US faces in freeing detainees

By Rebecca Santana & Eric Tucker | The Associated Press

WAShinGTOn A Taliban drug lord convicted in a vast heroin trafficking conspiracy. A Russian pilot imprisoned for a scheme to distribute cocaine across the world. And a Russian arms dealer so infamous that he earned the nickname “Merchant of Death.”

Those are just some of the convicted felons the United States government has agreed to release in the last year in exchange for securing the release of Americans detained abroad. It’s long been conventional wisdom that the US risks incentivizing additional hostage taking by negotiating with adversarial nations and militant groups for the release of American citizens. But the succession of swaps has made clear the Biden administration’s willingness to free a convicted criminal once seen as a threat to society if that’s what it takes to bring home a US citizen.

The latest swap occurred Thursday when WNBA star Brittney Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who played pro basketball in Russia and was easily the most prominent American to be held overseas, was freed in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The exchange drew some criticism, including from Republican lawmakers, and raised concerns that Bout, who was tried and convicted in American courts, was being traded for someone the US regarded as a wrongful detainee convicted in Russia of a relatively minor offense.

Administration officials acknowledged that such deals carry a heavy price and cautioned against the perception that they are the new norm, but the reality is that they’ve been a tool of administrations of both political parties.

The Trump administration, seen as more willing to flout convention in hostage affairs, brought home Navy veteran Michael White in 2020 in an agreement that freed an Iranian American doctor and permitted him to return to Iran.

The Obama administration pardoned or dropped charges against seven Iranians in a prisoner exchange tied to the nuclear deal with Tehran. Three jailed Cubans were sent home in 2014 as Havana released American Alan Gross after five years’ imprisonment.

Jon Franks, who’s long advised families of American hostages and detainees, said it’s not true that the US can just throw its might around and get people released.

“The maximum pressure mantra just doesn’t work—and, by the way, I don’t think prisoner trades undercut maximum pressure,” said Franks, the spokesman for the Bring Our Families Home Campaign.

Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February after customs agents said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. Bout, who was arrested in 2008, was sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in prison on charges that he conspired to sell tens of millions of dollars in weapons that US officials said were to be used against Americans.

The trade highlights a trend in recent years of Americans being detained abroad and held hostage not by terrorist groups but by countries looking to gain leverage over America, said Dani Gilbert, a fellow in US foreign policy and international security at Dartmouth College.

Gilbert said the idea that the US doesn’t negotiate for hostages is a “misnomer.” She said that really only applies when an American is being held by a US-designated terrorist organization, but otherwise the US has historically done whatever is necessary to bring Americans home.

What is different, she said, is over roughly the last decade there’s been a trend of foreign governments as opposed to terrorist groups detaining Americans abroad, often on trumped-up charges. She noted that in July the US introduced a new risk

indicator on its travel advisories— a “D”—for countries that tend to wrongfully detain people.

“Currently there are about four dozen Americans who are considered wrongfully detained, which puts them in this category essentially of being held wrongfully or unlawfully by a foreign government, perhaps for leverage,” she said. “Those cases have really been on the rise in recent years.”

Gilbert said she was nervous that trades like the Griner-Bout deal would encourage other authoritarian leaders to use similar tactics.

During a ceremony Thursday celebrating Griner’s release, President Joe Biden urged Americans to take precautions before traveling overseas.

“We also want to prevent any more American families from suffering this pain and separation,” he said.

Bout earned the nickname “Merchant of Death” for supposedly supplying weapons for civil wars in South America, the Middle East and Africa.

But Shira A. Scheindlin, the former federal judge who sentenced Bout, said while he had a history as an international arms dealer selling weapons to unsavory characters, at the time of his arrest in a US sting operation he appeared to be largely out of the business.

“We’re not talking about someone who at that point in his career was actively dealing arms to terrorists,” she said.

Scheindlin said during an interview after Bout was released that she thought that the time he had spent behind bars was adequate punishment. She said she always thought Bout’s sentence was too long and she would have given him a lesser one if she hadn’t been confined by statutory mandatory minimums.

The attention paid to Griner’s case has raised questions about whether her celebrity and the public pressure it generated pushed the Biden administration to make a deal where it hasn’t in other cases. Left out of the deal was Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive who had regularly traveled to Russia until he was arrested in December 2018 in Moscow and convicted of what the US government says are baseless espionage charges.

Jared Genser, a Washington lawyer who represents the family of Siamak Namazi, who has been held in Iran since 2015, said Griner’s celebrity undoubtedly gave her supporters access to the highest levels of American power in a way that few others get. That also showed Vladimir Putin how “desperately the president wanted to get” Griner out, Genser said.

Elsewhere in the world, American citizens have been detained for years.

Saudi dissident Ali al-Ahmed, who runs the Washington-based Gulf Institute, has a cousin who was detained in Saudi Arabia in 2019 and was released earlier this year but still can’t leave the country. Al-Ahmed works to help other families with loved ones held in the oil-rich Gulf kingdom. He said detainees like his cousin don’t have the celebrity of someone like Griner, and he feels not enough attention is being paid by the US government to them.

“ They should not favor Americans of certain background over another American,” he said. “There has not been equality here.”

The family of another prominent American held overseas—Austin Tice—also expressed frustration in a statement Thursday. Associated Press reporter Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

A meaningful celebration

Joel L. Tan-Torres

DEBIT CREDIT

Conclusion

BY March 2023, the accountancy profession, led by the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy (BOA), will be commemorating it’s centennial year. The theme for the centenary celebration is “Celebrating the Past, Transforming the Present, Shaping the Future.” This is a very apt message that the leaders and stakeholders of the profession should heed since a serious look at the present state of affairs and the imperatives of the future is a must to have a truly meaningful celebration.

There have been several issues that have arisen in the past years in the accountancy profession and the different sectors impacted by the profession. These sectors include the educational institutions offering accounting programs; the accounting students and Certified Public Accountants licensure examinees aspiring to become future CPA; the accounting-aligned students who continue to hope that they will be given the opportunity to be recognized as accounting professionals; and the propagation of a culture of research and advanced graduate studies among accountants.

These include also the local business community that requires the services of accountants; the international business and service communities that tap the talents of the

Filipino CPAs; and the public accounting and auditing sectors that need to address the many challenges of regulation, recruitment of CPA staff and demands of their clients.

The government sector also has concerns and issues that should be addressed. These include all government agencies that require and hire CPAs to pursue their mandates; and the regulators on the accounting and aligned services, including the BOA, Commission on Audit, Burea of Internal Revenue, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Philippine Tax Academy. The Congress also are concerned with issues of the profession, including amendments to the Accountancy Law, revisions of the provisions of the Continuing Professional Development law, and other pertinent legislative concerns

The international business and service communities that tap the talents of Filipino CPAs also have a stake in the direction and development in the profession. This is a diverse sector that includes global employers and accounting service outsourcers; international accounting professional recognition bodies; and foreign accounting regulators that are parties to the mutual recognition agreements that the Philippines has entered into or can pursue in the future.

that accountants have a role in.

The international business and service communities that tap the talents of Filipino CPAs also have a stake in the direction and development in the profession. This is a diverse sector that includes global employers and accounting service outsourcers; international accounting professional recognition bodies; and foreign accounting regulators that are parties to the mutual recognition agreements that the Philippines has entered into or can pursue in the future.

As a professional, the Filipino CPA should be concerned with the effective role of their professional organization/s, the need for lifelong learning or continuing professional development and training, the cleansing of the “notarial CPA” and the not-so-talked-about establishment of a prominent CPA Philippines brand. The last suggestion brings to

mind the initiative of institutionalizing the professional title “Acct” for CPAs, which I started when I was the Chairman of the BOA. I also think that the centennial period should be a good time to build an Accounting Museum that will gather important memorabilia and curated articles and information about the Philippine accounting profession and its many achievements and personalities.

I have previously suggested in an accounting conference that these various stakeholders, led by the BOA and other accounting leaders, convene a summit where these various concerns can be discussed and addressed. These issues include such major concerns as addressing the quality (or subpar quality) of accounting education, assessing the performance in the CPA exams of schools (and their graduates), academia-industry gaps, enhancement of the CPA Licensure examinations, providing a more effective regulation of the profession, amendment of the Accountancy Law, and a host of other concerns.

I encourage my fellow accountants…let us move forward to have a meaningful centenary celebration.

Joel L. Tan-Torres was the former Dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business. Previously, he was the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy, and partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co. and the SyCip Gorres and Velayo & Co. He is a Certified Public Accountant who garnered No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979. He is now back to his tax practice and can be contacted at joeltantorress@ yahoo.com

New year holds promise for China IPOs after a record 2022 haul

ChineSe companies raised a record amount in initial public offerings (iPOs) at home this year, defying a global slump. And with the end of Covid Zero in sight, 2023 could be set for another strong showing.

Listings in Shanghai, Shenzhen and the recently inaugurated Beijing exchange brought in $92 billion this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s propelled China’s share in the global tally for IPO proceeds to 46 percent, nearly four times the US, from just 13 percent at the end of last year.

After a push by local authorities in recent years, a slew of factors have enabled the feat. Policy easing in the Asian country has been a key catalyst just as rising borrowing costs deterred listings in traditional venues such as Hong Kong and London. At the same time, China’s crumbling real-estate market forced many investors to look for an alternative to put their money to work.

“The pipeline of high-quality Chinese companies with ambitions of an IPO has only grown during 2022, and will continue to do so throughout 2023,” said James Bean, an ECM portfolio manager at Myriad Asset Management. “Many of these will look to raise capital as soon as there is further evidence of success in the transition to a post Covid-Zero economy and support for the domestic labor market,” among other reasons, he said.

Past performance has also played a role in luring buyers. Newly listed shares in China tend to fare much better on average than the overall market due to valuation rules that regulate IPOs.

Overall, there have been 391 de-

buts in China this year. Nine of them raised above $1 billion, accounting for about 40 percent of all deals of that size or bigger globally. New York bourses hosted only two IPOs of that magnitude, Hong Kong had three and Europe had just one, in Germany.

China’s domestic pipeline for next year is solid. About 376 companies have announced IPO plans over the past six months that are now under pending status, data compiled by Bloomberg show, meaning they could go public in 2023.

More reforms

SOME of the largest deals early in the year were a consequence of SinoAmerican tensions. Telecom provider China Mobile Ltd. and energy producer CNOOC Ltd. both listed at home after being kicked out of the US market following their inclusion on a blacklist created during Donald Trump’s administration. In China, they raised $8.6 billion and $5 billion, respectively, and are trading well above their listing prices.

Changes to a registration system for listings over past years helped boost the interest of issuers, as they simplified the overall procedure. The reform was first tested in Shanghai’s Star Board for tech companies, and then introduced in Shenzhen’s ChiNext Board in 2020. There were expectations it would be expanded to the entire onshore market this year, but that has yet to materialize.

Yi Huiman, the chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said during a forum in November that reforms should be deepened going forward.

Sectors to watch AC TIVITY also picked up for additional share sales after the government in November ended a ban on listed companies selling more shares at home. Some 17 listed Chinese property developers or firms with real estate businesses announced plans to raise more equity funds since Nov. 28, the Financial News reported on Thursday. Thirteen of them are expected to raise a combined 90 billion yuan ($12.9 billion), according to the report.

“The A-share market has been quite resilient compared with the Hong Kong market,” said Ivy Hu, managing director for Asia ECM at UBS AG in Hong Kong. Looking forward, “for the real estate sector, we should see more already-listed companies doing additional fundraising. New IPO listings are likely to mainly come from different sectors.”

For potential first-time share sales, Hu highlighted sectors tied to China’s reopening story, including consumer goods and hotels. “Additionally, EV/battery-related and solar is an important theme that people have been talking about for some time,” she said. “That includes carbon neutral and new energy companies.”

Stellar performance

SH ARES of mainland IPOs are up by a weighted average 29 percent this year over their listing price, versus a 5.5 percent increase in New York

and a 6.2 percent drop in Hong Kong. Investors should become selective as more companies go public, potentially leading to a decline in returns by IPO stocks, according to Aoping Zhang, dean of privately-run Zengliang Research Institute in Beijing.

“The number of companies to trade below their IPO level will increase in the future, as more companies list, more investors focus on the quality and valuation,” Zhang said. “But as you can see, some of new stocks can still provide investors with great returns. Meanwhile, regulators are paying more and more attention to protect individual investors.”

To be sure, the domestic market cannot entirely fulfill the funding needs for Chinese companies. Valuation rules are strictly set by regulators, the investor universe is not nearly as diversified as in Hong Kong, and the time needed ahead of a listing is much longer than abroad.

With the US market almost entirely shut for Chinese issuers, many of those listed in the mainland chose to sell shares in Europe, particularly in Switzerland, a trend that is also seeing continuing next year. More large-size listings could also return to Hong Kong once market sentiment improves.

Meanwhile, local banks have vastly dominated the underwriting of Chinese onshore IPOs this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Citic Securities Co. Ltd., China International Capital Corp. Ltd. and China Securities were the top bookrunners, with a combined market share of about 42 percent, the data show. With assistance from Pei Li, Swetha Gopinath and Julia Fioretti / Bloomberg

look since the financial crisis have also underpinned that view, even as Norges Bank’s latest estimates from September indicate a peak rate of 3 percent over the course of winter, projecting an additional quarter point hike early next year.

Mexico & Colombia

THE central banks of Mexico and Colombia this week bring the curtain down on an unprecedented year for monetary policy in Latin America. Should the week’s two decisions

line up with forecasts, Latin America’s big five inflation targeting central banks will have raised rates by a cumulative 30.75 percentage points in 2022, setting a new annual mark by way of 40 rate hikes, four pauses and no cuts.

Mexico’s central bank, known as Banxico, is forecast to raise its key rate for a 13th straight meeting to 10.50 percent with a half-point hike. While headline inflation has peaked and is heading back to the 3 percent target, core readings remain over 8 percent. The consensus among analysts has Banxico’s terminal rate at 11 percent after additional tightening in early 2023.

On Friday, look for Banco de la República to deliver a third straight 100 basis-point hike and 11th straight overall to put the key rate at 12 percent. Economists see this as the end of the hiking cycle though some analysts put the top 100 basis points higher at 13 percent.

Elsewhere in the global economy

THE Hong Kong Monetary Authority will move in lockstep with the Fed, due to the currency peg, meaning another likely increase in rates, while central banks in the Philippines and Taiwan are also predicted to hike.

The Bank of Russia is expected to hold rates steady on Friday, with

its latest round of easing ending as inflation risks grow. The Kremlin is touting the smaller-than-expected GDP contraction this year, but the central bank has warned that new G-7 restrictions on oil sales could hit output as they kick in next year.

Beyond central banking, markets will be watching data out of China, where retail sales, investment and industrial output numbers due Thursday are set to show a deepening in the economy’s struggles in November as Covid Zero restrictions—now being eased—weighed on activity. With assistance from Vince Golle, Robert Jameson, Malcolm Scott, Craig Stirling, Ott Ummelas and Gregory L. White / Bloomberg

LABOR GROUPS EYE TALKS WITH PBBM AHEAD OF ILO MISSION

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

LABOR groups are now eyeing to meet with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. by next month before the arrival of the International Labor Organization (ILO) high level tripartite mission (HLTM) in the country.

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) President Raymond C. Mendoza said Malacañang has yet to provide them a possible date for their request.

“ We are still waiting for the schedule [of the President]. We hope it will be next year before the high-level mission comes,” Mendoza told BusinessMirror in an interview.

T he HLTM is scheduled to arrive on Jan. 23, 2023 and will look into the alleged over 50 killings of labor unionists as well as the harassments of local labor groups.

Federation of Free Workers (FFW) President Sonny Matula said they hope they to raise all of their priority labor agenda during the meeting with the President.

We are also proposing a dialogue with the president to discuss our labor agenda and other labor issues including those to be covered by the mission,” Matula said.

A mong the issues they will present are reforms in the existing wage mechanism created under Republic

Act 6727 of the Wage Rationalization Act; establishment of a robust public employment program; an end to illegal contractualization and trade union repression both in the private and public sector, and the holding of regular labor summits for policy reforms discussion.

L abor groups have criticized how Marcos has yet to disclose his “labor agenda” months after being elected in power.

T he planned dialogue with the President was announced by the labor coalitions Nagkaisa and Paggawa and Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) as early as last November, but at that time they have revealed a target date for it.

Many teen moms have partners over 10-20 yrs older, PSA data shows

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

OVER a thousand births by adolescent Filipinas were sired by fathers who were more than 20 years older than them in 2020, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

B ased on the data, some 1,121 children were born to adolescent girls between 10 and 19 years, and sired by men who were over 20 years their senior in 2020.

T he data also showed 25,803 children were born to adolescent girls and sired by men who were 6 to 10 years older; and another 8,464 children were born to girls and sired by men 11 to 20 years their senior.

“ Fathers who are more than 10 years older than the adolescent mothers are responsible for about 6 to 7 percent of births, every year, from 2016 to 2020,” PSA said. “However, almost one in five adolescent births do not have information on the age of the father.”

T he data also showed that 2,113 children were born to 10 to 14 year olds. Majority of these or 592 births were sired by 15- to 19-year-old male adolescents.

T his was followed by 418 births sired by fathers aged 20 to 24 years old and 140 were sired by fathers aged 25 to 29 years old.

T he data also showed two children of 10 to 14 year olds were sired by men aged 45-49 years old; and one each was sired by a 50- to 54-year-old man and another by a 55- to-59-year-old man.

I n total, some 876 children were sired by men whose ages were not stated in the birth registrations.

While the number of total adolescent births is declining, births to mothers younger than 15 years old has been slightly increasing each year, apart from the onset of the pandemic in 2020,” PSA noted.

B etween 2016 and 2020, registered births to adolescent mothers aged 10-14 years increased by 11 percent from 1,903 in 2016 to 2,113 or 0.14 percent of all registered births in 2020.

10-14-year-old moms

DURING this period, an average of five to

seven births daily are to mothers 10-14 years old. Moreover, the birth rate in 2016 was 37.2 per 100,000 females 10-14 years old, which was up by 8.4 percent in 2020 or 40.3 births per 100,000 women aged to 10-14 years.

Meanwhile, among the 15- to 19-yearolds, the majority of their children or 66,850 were fathered by those aged 20 to 24 years old.

T his was followed by 36,772 children sired by men in the same age group as the women or 15 to 19 years old and 18,741 children sired by 25 to 29 year old men.

A closer examination of the data also showed 31 children born to teenage girls were sired by senior citizens aged between 60 and 64 years old and 22 children sired by older seniors aged 65 and over.

“ In 2020, 23.8 percent of live births to adolescent mothers aged 10 to 19 years old have fathers in the same age group, exhibiting an increasing trend from the registered share of 18.6 percent in 2016,” PSA.

T he number of registered live births to adolescent mothers or those aged 10 to 19 years showed a decreasing trend in the past five years.

A decline of 22.7 percent in adolescent births was observed from 2016 to 2020 with 203,085 and 157,060 births, respectively. These births consistently made up about one-tenth of all live births in the country.

From 2016 to 2020, the adolescent birth rate has been declining each year.  Between this period, a decrease of 24 percent was observed from 20.1 per 1,000 females aged 10 to 19 years in 2016 to 15.2 per 1,000 females in 2020.

M ajority of births to mothers 10 to 19 years old, in the period 2016 to 2020, were first-order births accounting for more than 80 percent of the total adolescent births in the country each year.

M eanwhile, between 15 and 17 percent of the births are second-born to mothers 10 to 19 years old, while the remaining 1 to 2 percent were third or higher-order births.

Malampaya consortium: No live contract for Ilijan gas sale

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

A t the weekend, the Malampaya consortium said there is “no live contract” for the supply of gas from Malampaya between SPPC and SPEX, now Prime Energy. It said that the Ilijan GSPA had already lapsed last June. Without a live contract Malampaya gas cannot be sold legally to SPPC, it pointed out.

T he consortium also stressed that diverting the gas to Ilijan could result “in depriving the other power producers with active contracts in the Luzon grid of natural gas.”

T he gas from Malampaya is currently being utilized to feed the gas plants that are mostly owned and operated by First Gen Corp. The volume of gas is nearing depletion, “so the supply covered by Service Contract 38 needs to be fairly distributed.”

T he consortium, in a statement, said there is no refusal to sell it to the Ilijan plant “because there is no legal means by which the sale of gas to the plant could be made.”

T he consortium is composd of the Philippine National Oil Company- Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC), UC38, and Prime Energy Resources Development B.V. (Prime Energy).

S MC Global Power had said in a press statement that the Ilijan facility is on extended outage following the refusal of Shell Philippines Exploration BV (SPEX) to supply the 70 petajoules (PJ) in banked gas from Malampaya that SPPC acquired from PNOC in June 2022.

I n the meantime, SMC’s power arm said it is conducting repair works on the power plant to improve its fuel efficiency and generation ramp rate. The original gas supply agreement of the Ilijan Plant with Malam -

paya also expired in June 2022.

P rime Energy  acquired the 45-percent operating stake of SPEX in the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project effective November 1, 2022. The renaming of SPEX to Prime Energy  is already in process following the acquisition of SPEX shares.

P rior to the SPEX and Prime Energy transaction, SPPC purchased the remaining banked gas of PNOC for $1.2 billion. Based on a filing, SPPC entered into a gas supply agreement for 70.26 petajoules of banked gas with PNOC at a daily volume of dispatch sufficient to run the Ilijan plant at 45 percent to 75 percent plant factor. This volume of gas is adequate and expected to support the Ilijan plant’s fuel requirements until February 2024.

T he PNOC had confirmed earlier that it sold the remaining uncontracted banked gas to SPPC under the Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) executed on June 23.

Moreover, the consortium said there is no basis to the claim that the Luzon power grid would be affected if the Ilijan power plant was not given priority in Malampaya’s banked gas allocation.

T here is no additional power that would be generated by the unwarranted priority distribution of banked gas to Ilijan, it said. “If gas is supplied to Ilijan, the sum is the same. This will actually mean less supply to the other power plant-customers,” the consortium explained.

Finally, it said all banked gas that can be distributed is already being distributed as per the contract terms. “There is no such thing as banked gas stored that belongs to SPPC or anyone else. The consortium parties, which include government agencies, are diligently applying the terms of the contract and ensuring that all that can be done, within the terms of the contracts in place is done to produce gas and support power generation,” it said.

PBBM thanks Palace press for support in public

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

hosted a dinner for the members of the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) Saturday night, thanking them for their support in public information.

W elcoming everyone, the President said attending a gathering and partaking in a meal is important during the holiday season, especially for Filipinos.

It is always important to take…especially pagka ganito na ano, ganito na holiday lalo na sa Pinoy, ang Pasko, it’s always important to take a step back a little bit,

recharge and think again about what we are doing and that’s what Christmas is to me,” the President said in his brief message to the members of the MPC in Malacañang.

So this is our version for all of you who have been so supportive…I know you have been working very, very hard to get the news out so that people know what’s going on, what we are doing here,” the Chief Executive said.

P resident Marcos thanked the members of the Palace press and extended his Yuletide message during the event.

THE Malampaya consortium said over the weekend that it is not refusing the sale of banked gas to SMC Global Power unit South Premier Power Corporation (SPPC), which operates the 1,200-MW Ilijan power plant in Batangas province.

POWER BOOST A Meralco lineman fixes cables on a street in Malate district in Manila in this recent photo. On Friday, the Manila Electric Company announced that their customers’ bills for December are expected to rise as one of several refund programs mandated by regulators is about to end. ROY DOMINGO

MENDOZA

Meralco sees power sales rising on demand recovery

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

wards the commercial segment, whose share in total sales rose to 35 percent from 33 percent a year ago.

Residential accounted for 35 percent from 37 percent, while industrial segment’s contribution was retained at 30 percent.

“We are looking at close to 6-percent gigawatt [GWh] sales growth for the year 2022 compared to 2021, and this actually also 4 percent higher than 2019 numbers,” said Meralco Chief Commercial Officer Ferdinand Geluz.

he said the main drivers of the projected growth could be attributed to the strong commercial segment.

“The rebound of the strong com-

mercial segment as well as modest growth in industrial sector driven by some industries such as plant, F&B [food and beverage] really gave a boost.”

The utility firm earlier reported that as of end-September this year, sales volumes increased by 6 percent to 36,553 GWh from 34,398 GWh in the same period last year.

Sales mix continued to shift to-

Meralco President and C e O R ay C. e s pinosa said surpassing pre-pandemic levels would mean that demand for power, particularly from the commercial segment, will continue to grow as Meralco recovers and move forward from the pandemic.

The utility firm is also expecting to surpass last year’s core income of P24.6 billion after it posted P19.6 billion from January to September.

“Despite the challenges the country is currently facing, including elevated food and energy prices, Meralco expects power demand to continue growing, which makes the

energy sector maintain its critical role in supporting economic growth and progress.

As we anticipate robust pandemic recovery efforts, there is good indication that Meralco will surpass our 2021 CCNI [Consolidated Core Net Income],” Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

CCNI for January to September rose by 9 percent to P19.6 billion from P18.1 billion in the same period last year with the sustained growth in energy sales and higher earnings of its power generation business from projects both locally and in Singapore.

Reported net income, meanwhile, went up by 20 percent to P19.8 billion from P16.5 billion in 2021.

Consolidated revenues stood at P314.9 billion, 36 percent higher than from P231.7 billion mainly due to higher pass-through charges on account of persisting increases in global fuel prices.

SC help to resolve Calax ROW issues eyed

The Department of Public Works and highways (DWPh) is seeking the assistance of the Supreme Court (SC) to address the right of way (ROW) roadblocks that have caused delays in the completion of a segment of the P35.7-billion Cavite Laguna ex pressway (Calax).

Public Works Director for PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) Alex G. Bote said the agency plans to bring its expropriation proceedings filed before the Tagaytay, Cavite Regional Trial Court (RTC) to the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA).

The OCA is a department under the SC that investigates judicial misconduct of lower courts.

“We’re preparing a letter to the Office of Court Administration to fasttrack the acquisition process,” Bote said, referring to the acquisition of easement for the Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange subsection of the Calax.

Currently, the Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange is at 64.8 percent com-

pletion rate. One critical portion of the expressway lacks a parcel of land roughly 450 meters long which prevents the company from opening another section of the Calax.

This fifth of the eight segments of the 45-kilometer expressway spans at 3.9-km, with 2x2 lane expressway from Silang east Interchange to Aguinaldo highway in Cavite. Upon completion, this will serve more motorists, including the 298,000 residents of Silang, given the reduced traffic situation. “It will be a big help if the court will accept our deposit and issue a writ of possession,” Bote said.

he was referring to the P5-million initial payment based on the rough estimate the agency’s engineers conducted as stipulated in Republic Act 10752 or the Road Right of Way Act.

Under the OCA Circular No. 1132019, the RTC should immediately issue a writ of possession within 7 working days upon the deposit to the court of the amount equivalent to

the sum of 100 percent of the value of the land based on the current relevant zonal valuation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue issued not more than 3 years prior to the filing of the expropriation complaint.

“What we are asking is that we are given the chance to deposit the check that we hold and issue and reinstate the power of writ of possession,” Both said. With the ROW issues, MPCALA holdings Inc. (MhI), the builder and operator of the Calax, had to delay the opening of the segment to the first quarter of 2023 instead of endDecember this year.

“We only have two remaining properties for acquisition, but that’s already in court for some time,” Bote said. “By now, we can’t make it by December. But we’re still hoping that we can complete. For example, we can settle the issue within the month, definitely February or March of 2023, Aguinaldo Interchange will be operational.” Lorenz S. Marasigan

Last week

Share prices gained last week mainly on the big gains made by investors on Tuesday, despite a record-setting inflation rate for November.

The benchmark Philippine Stocks exchange index rose 90.47 points to close at 6,580.12 points.

The main index gained 232.25 points on Tuesday, but lost more than half of it the next trading session. It was a fourday trading week, as December 8 was a public holiday.

average daily trading reached P5.28 billion, still lower than the year-to-date average of about P6 billion.

Foreign investors, which made up half of the trades, were net sellers at P1.54 billion.

among the sub-indices, only the Industrial index fell by 32.29 points to close at 9,279.81, while all others closed in the green.

The all Shares index gained 17.75 to 3,437.40, the Financials index was up 2.76 to 1,639.38, the holding Firms index climbed 107.87 to 6,361.57, the Property index gained 33.75 to 2,859.10, the Services index rose 44.95 to 1,732.41 and the Mining and Oil index increased 173.11 to 10,576.38.;

For the week, losers edged gainers 106 to 98 and 43 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers were Makati Finance Corp., Prima Media holdings Inc., Dizon Copper-Silver Mines Inc., LBC express holdings Inc., Now Corp. and Ionics Inc.

Top losers, meanwhile, were F and J

this week

TraDINg may still be volatile this week as extending the main index’s ascent may be difficult due to lingering economic concerns.

Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, senior research analyst at Philstocks Financials Inc., said the upside risks to inflation could still come from food and electricity prices. On a positive note, downside risks to inflation are seen stemming from the strengthening peso and declining global oil prices.

aside from inflation concerns, offshore recession worries amid the Federal reserve’s monetary tightening may weigh on sentiment.”

Investors are also expected to watch out for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s policy decision with a 25 to 50 basis points policy rate hike anticipated by the market this week.

“Investors are expected to watch out for clues regarding the outlook of the country’s inflation on the BSP’s upcoming policy meeting. aside from this, investors may also take cues from our upcoming foreign direct investments and foreign trade data,” he said.

Meanwhile, broker 2Tradeasia said capital markets are expected to gyrate with the United States Federal reserve’s

final policy meeting for the year, which will also happen this week.

“Baseline expectations is for the Fed to hike by slightly less aggresive 50 basis points to end its four consecutive 75 basis points increases,” it said. “It will be interesting how the local central bank will handle the terrain for 2023 given the recent inflation data went outside the consensus comfort range.”

Chartwise, the local market may continue to test its resistance at 6,600 points, while immediate support is seen at its 200-day exponential moving average.

stock picks

BrOker regina Capital Development Corp. advised clients to buy when its support price holds on the stock of globe Telecom Inc. (gLO) as last week’s scene saw the stock reversing its earlier-day losses as bargain hunters entered the scene.

“however, all indicators are still relatively bearish toward the stock. That said, it’s more likely to see gLO trade sideways, at least for this week, before it continues its climb towards P2,400,” it said.

globe’s share price was last traded on Friday at P2,160.

Meanwhile, the broker gave a buy recommendation for pullbacks on the stock of ayala Land Inc. as the bulls are preparing to push it for a breakout.

“The (technical) indicators unanimously signal buy,” it said.

Shares of ayala Land closed last week at P29.20 apiece. VG Cabuag

Chip shortage affects production of Yamaha motorcycles–exec

By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

YAMA h A Motor Philippines Inc. (YMPh) said its production is currently affected by the shortage of semiconductors, among others.

“Due to the lack of component parts, we are not able to use (our) full capacity as of yet. Maybe this is coming from the lack of semiconductors,” YMPh President h i roshi Koike told reporters in a recent interview.

According to Koike, demand is not a problem as dealers are “asking for more”. however, he said YMPh is currently facing “purely supply” problems caused by the semiconductor shortage.

“Biggest reason is the semiconductors because although people may not know, motorcycles use quite a bit of semiconductor compared to before. With antilock braking system (ABS), you need a sensor and now you have the keyless ignition. Also, we have the function where you can connect your smartphone. There are so many areas where we use semiconductor,” Koike said.

The YMPh president also noted

that among the models, NMAX, their best-selling model and their recently-launched model Fazzio use “more semiconductors.”

“All the stock is gone and we’re having difficulty to replenish our stocks,” the YMPh chief said.

Koike said YMPh sources most of its chips from Taiwan and Malaysia. But, he said they get some of the parts from Indonesia.

On Monday, Oxford e conomics said, “Taiwanese chip exports have softened, although remain at more elevated levels, as do those from Malaysia. But overall, we expect final demand for semiconductors to fall further over the next couple of quarters as the global economy weakens.”

“So it’s more of an Indonesian supplier who gets it and puts it into ABS units and so on. They supply us,” Koike said.

Aside from chips, the YMPh chief said the firm is also having difficulty sourcing rare metals used for making semiconductors.

Koike said rising costs had pushed the firm to implement price increases. “Costs have gone up to more expensive fuel. Also, freight costs are also rising.”

Prince holdings Corp. B shares, Concrete aggregates Corp. a and B, anchor Land holdings Inc., Vistamalls Inc., eagle Cement Corp., Megawide Construction Corp. and eeI Corp.

The Manila electric Co. (Meralco) expects electricity sales to grow by “close to 6 percent” this year compared to last year, buoyed by the strong recovery of various economic sectors.

Banking&Finance

BOC moves to plug leaks, stem smuggling under Senate probe

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

ACTING on the initiative of Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, the Senate starts this Monday its scrutiny into the alleged graft-ridden practices by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), enabling entry into the country’s ports untaxed imported multimillion-worth of smuggled goods.

In pushing for a Senate probe to assess options for more effective remedial legislation to counter unchecked leaks in import revenues due the government, Gatchalian is banking on legislators to eventually come up with tighter adequate reforms to plug the revenue leak.

For a start, Gatchalian said senators are expected to “assess the modernization program of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) amid the influx of

smuggled products into the country.”

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee conducting the inquiry, said over the weekend that senators sitting in the investigating panel would first conduct on December 12 an ocular inspection and walk-through of the modernization program of the BOC in the Port Area, Manila. They are expected to be accompanied by the officers and members of the Senate Tax

Study and Research Office (STSRO).

The senator cited the unabated entry of smuggling goods that needs this problem to be addressed, more so with the coming Christmas season and the deluge of consumers, Gatchalian said. [“Napansin natin na patuloy pa din ang pagpasok ng mga smuggled goods at kailangang matugunan ang problemang ito lalo na ngayong magpapasko at dagsa ang mga mamimili.”]

Still, the lawmaker signaled he remains optimistic that the concerned agency’s ongoing modernization program would help arrest incidence of smuggling in the country.

Collection performance

GATCHALIAN said that “the BOC’s revenue collection performance would improve if the smuggling of various goods is effectively addressed.” He projected that higher budgetary allocations to finance government’s projects can be realized if revenue-collecting agencies are able to meet their target.

The lawmaker recalled that just recently, BOC agents intercepted more than P63 million worth of

frozen goods from Hong Kong and China. He also noted that last week, the government confiscated a cargo of 100,000 kilos of white onions that were undervalued and misdeclared as bread and pastries.

Moreover, Gatchalian recalled that the BOC set a revenue collection target of P671.66 billion for 2022, collecting P320.5 billion by end of May this year.

The lawmaker, likewise, cited a major component of the agency’s modernization program focuses on transitioning from a largely manual and paper-based organization to a modernized customs agency, achieving global standards and full modernization by 2024.

The modernization program also involves the integration of the Ports of Manila, Cebu, and Davao and the Manila International Container Port to the Customs Operations Center located in the bureau’s head office in Port Area, Manila. In 2021, the BOC posted a total revenue collection of P645.77 billion, a 20-percent rise from a total collection of P537.69 billion in the previous year.

24 hours of hikes that end year of fighting inflation

THE world’s biggest central banks will this week wrap up the most aggressive year for interest-rate hikes in four decades with their fight against inflation still not over even as their economies slow.

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday is set to raise its key rate by 50 basis points to a range of 4 percent to 4.5 percent, the highest since 2007, and to signal more increases in early 2023.

A day later, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are likely to follow with half-point moves. And higher borrowing costs are also in the cards in Switzerland, Norway, Mexico, Taiwan, Colombia and the Philippines. The year ends much differently than it started. Back in January, most policymakers were acknowledging they were wrong to have bet 2021’s inflation surge would soon fade, but still assuming they could restrain prices with a steady constriction of policy. Instead, multiple metrics show how an acceleration in global inflation to around double-digits forced them to

squeeze hard: n Bank of America Corp. has spotted around 275 rate hikes this year, enough for one every trading day, with just 13 cuts n More than 50 central banks have executed once-rare 75 basis-point increases, some joining the Fed in doing so repeatedly n A Bloomberg Economics gauge of global rates is projected ending the year at 5.2 percent, up from 2.8 percent in January

Although signs are mounting that inflation has peaked in most places, the big question now is what happens in 2023.

The worst case is inflation proves stubborn and recessions begin, creating a stagflationary nightmare for central banks. The best hope is consumerprice growth retreats fast enough to enable policymakers to stop jacking up rates and consider reducing them to boost growth.

While many investors expect a pivot at some point, Fed Chair Jerome

Perspectives

Preparing for the possible

WHILE all signs are pointing toward the risk of recession in most countries, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) continue to be optimistic about the future and their ability to weather a recessionary storm.

The lessons of the past two disruptive years have not been forgotten. SMBs are putting their houses in order and getting ready for new growth opportunities that will open when the economy rebounds.

Two recent reports support this outlook. The insights from a global survey of 1,325 CEOs, captured in the KPMG 2022 CEO Outlook “Growth strategies in turbulent times” shows, for example, that CEOs globally have learned to navigate the unpredictable, are confident in their companies’ resilience, and are relatively optimistic about their growth prospects over the next three years.

The second indicator is a recent poll of SMBs in Canada where optimism is running high, and 83 percent of the respondents are feeling optimistic about their growth over the next few years. Most are expecting a recession, and they know that pain is coming, but they’re already taking steps to weather the storm by tightening their belts, implement-

ing hiring freezes, and pausing any new technology investments.

Corporate resilience is not new in the context of the Philippines. As the country’s borders reopen following a series of lockdowns and restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the business industry has gradually returned to normal operations, in-office transactions and wider public mobility.

According to KPMG in the Philippines Advisory Principal Jerome Andrew H. Garcia, “business leaders are attempting to recover from the adverse effects of the pandemic by optimizing the utilization of both human and financial resources.”

“However, there are changes that have already left permanent imprints on how businesses run, such as providing employees with flexible work schedules and integrating modern technology in various business methodologies,” he added. Garcia believes that these developments contribute to business leaders’ and decision-makers’ positive outlook despite the threat of a recession in the coming years.

Short-term disruption and longterm growth: Balancing both WHILE they’re optimistic about

Powell and ECB President Christine Lagarde, both of whom will speak this week, say their focus remains on tackling inflation even if doing so hurts demand and hiring.

Federal Reserve

WHILE the Fed is expected to begin tempering the pace of monetary policy tightening this week with a half-point hike, the target rate for overnight bank lending will continue to be lifted in early 2023.

Another 50 basis point boost would amount to 4.25 percentage points worth of interest-rate increases over 2022, a year that saw inflation soar to a four-decade high and left policy makers scrambling.

Fed officials, who conclude their 2-day policy meeting on Wednesday, will get one final peak at a key inflation metric when the government on Tuesday issues the November consumer price index. Economists project 0.3 percent increases in the overall and core measure that excludes food and

fuel. On an annual basis, both gauges are seen moderating.

European Central Bank

THE ECB will probably hike rates by 50 basis points, after inflation in the euro area slowed for the first time in 1 1/2 years last month. Yet with consumerprice growth still at 10 percent, a third consecutive 75 basis-point move can’t be completely excluded and some of the more hawkish rate setters have suggested they’d back such a step. The Governing Council’s decision will also be influenced by new quarterly economic forecasts, which will likely see a downgrade in growth and upgrade in inflation projections for 2023.

Additionally, policymakers are scheduled to decide on the key pillars of their strategy to unwind debt of nearly €5 trillion ($5.2 trillion). The actual process—known as quantitative tightening or QT—won’t start until next year, with economists expecting it to kick off in the first quarter.

Bloomberg News

Ex-cabinet execs join call to scrap Maharlika Fund

LAMENTING the weak justification and objectionable features of the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF), former Cabinet officials have backed opposers, on grounds of its “lack of principles of prudential regulation and risk management, conflict-of-interest avoidance, transparency and accountability.”

Fellows and members of economic think tank Action for Economic Reforms (AER), faculty members and professor emeriti of the University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University and other universities as well as former senior government officials, including former Cabinet Secretaries and Undersecretaries, called on the Executive and Congress to scrap the bill creating the MWF.

Among the group’s signatories are: UP Professor Emeritus Solita Collas-Monsod, Dr. Maria Socorro Gochoco-Bautista, Dr. Emmanuel S. de Dios, Dr. Edita A. Tan and Dr. Maria Serena I. Diokno; former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo; former Finance Undersecretary Milwida M. Guevara; former National Economic and Development Authority Secretaries Cielito F. Habito and Dante B. Canlas; former Neda Deputy Director General Emmanuel F. Esguerra; former Department of Finance Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa S. Habitan; former Tourism Sec-

retary Alberto A. Lim; and, former Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad.

In a statement affirming their strong opposition, they cited grounds such as: lack of principles of prudential regulation and risk management; conflict-of-interest avoidance; transparency; and, accountability.

The signed statement lamented that “this muddled, inconsistent and redundant bill is only setting the MWF up for failure and will only enable cronyism, rent seeking and corruption.”

Despite the removal of the GSIS and SSS pensions as fund sources for the MWF, AER Executive Director Filomeno S. Santa Ana III still noted that “the premise of the proposal is questionable and its timing is inappropriate.”

“Even if we get the concept right, we return to the question: What is the fund for?” Santa Ana said. “We just don’t have the right conditions for a sovereign wealth fund, as a sovereign wealth fund is created to solve the problem of a surplus, which we do not have.”

Moreover, he said that “as BSP dividends usually go to the national government, allocating these dividends towards the MWF would mean a huge opportunity cost for our national government agencies and our annual appropriations.”

Butch Fernandez

their company’s growth prospects over the next three years, they also recognize the need for getting the right balance between the current reality and their future prospects.

Short-term strategies are priority number one: boosting productivity, looking at operational efficiencies, managing costs, eliminating complexity, and keeping an eye on cash flow. The future outlook will be focused on high-quality, highmargin products, paying down high-interest debt, and keeping a sharp eye on emerging opportunities. Most are planning to increase their headcount in the next three years to drive their growth, though many agree that finding and recruiting skilled employees will likely be more of a challenge in the coming years.

Building strength from the inside

WITH a glass-half-full view of the future, the majority of SMBs expect the recession to be relatively mild and short-lived. They are choosing to strengthen their business from the inside in the short term by finding ways to work smarter, be leaner, and make their operations more productive and efficient.

The pandemic forced many to “go digital” virtually overnight, but most companies in the survey expect to pause their digital transformation plans over the next few months—purely as a temporary decision due to concerns about losing their competitive edge.

Mary Jo Fedy, National Leader, KPMG Enterprise in Canada has suggested, “Pausing capital investments in digital can be a good strategy to wait out economic concerns, but this response shouldn’t apply to investing in the digital skills and acumen of your people.

“A slowdown provides an opportunity to better align talent and technology. And investing in training and upskilling your workforce on new technological advancements can achieve even greater efficiencies and better business solutions in the long term.”

Short-term pain for long-term gain

THE world is about to face another test of resiliency, but the struggle is nothing new. Taking cues from the pandemic, many SMBs are taking cues from their experiences during the pandemic, upskilling their teams, and preparing for the possible by laying the groundwork for

longer-term growth. There is no better time than now for companies to begin preparing for the future, and here are a few suggestions for getting started:

n Keep doing what works: Continue putting time, effort, and talent towards optimizing the changes and investments you’ve already been making, but don’t lose sight of strategies that generate growth.

n Learn from the past: Leverage the lessons learned about resilience. The pandemic imparted its share of insights when it comes to managing supply chain disruptions, realigning cost structures, and reducing expenses. Now is the opportunity to draw on them.

n Prioritize future-proofing: Staying competitive will require a workforce that is trained and adept in embracing the changes, challenges, and digital transformations. It will also require time and resources to develop a compelling ESG story, and be ready with the processes, talent, and technologies to evolve with your customers.

n Upskill your talent: Organic growth rests on people. Use this moment to build your team and/or upskill the people in your roster to extract full benefit from your busi-

ness investments and strategies. Prepare your team to take advantage of new and emerging technologies and protect against a growing cyber threat landscape. At the end of the day, your people are your first line of defense.

What lies ahead is still unknown and remains a mystery. Hence, business leaders are required to take action right now. Having foresight or the ability to anticipate future phenomenon will enable corporate leaders to turn threats into possible opportunities.

The excerpt was taken from the KPMG Thought Leadership publication: https://home.kpmg/xx/en/ blogs/home/posts/2022/11/future-growth.html.

© 2022 R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine partnership, and a member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved.

For more information, e-mail ph-kpmgmla@ kpmg.com or visit www.home.kpmg/ph.

This article is for general information purposes only and should not be considered professional advice to a specific issue or entity. The views and opinions

herein are those of the author

KPMG

do

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or the BusinessMirror

expressed

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not necessarily represent

International,

Philippines

CROSS BORDER PAYMENTS These photos courtesy of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shows BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto E. Tangonan (left photo, right) shaking hands with Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on regional payment connectivity at the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit held last November 14 in Bali, Indonesia. Right photo shows the leaders of ASEAN central banks that inked the MOU, namely, Bank of Thailand Deputy Governor Ronadol Numnonda, Monetary Authority of Singapore Managing Director Ravi Menon, Governor Warjiyo, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus and Deputy Governor Tangonan. Photos courtesy of the Bangko sentral ng PiliP nas

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Pronouns, nonbinary people and the Club Q attack

By JEFF McMILLAN The Associated Press

The Colorado Springs gay bar shooting suspect’s assertion of being nonbinary has put gender identity and pronouns—and some sensitive questions around them—back in the spotlight.

Respecting Anderson Lee Aldrich’s request to be referenced with they/them pronouns does not amount to placating someone accused of a heinous act, nonbinary people and advocates say.

But they do worry that Aldrich’s high profile as a crime suspect could lead to negative assumptions about all nonbinary people. And they stress that any skepticism about Aldrich’s gender identity shouldn’t be used as an excuse to doubt all nonbinary people or cast aspersions on how they use pronouns.

Critics of nontraditional gender identities—that is, of people who do not identify strictly as man or woman, boy or girl—often ridicule the use of gender-neutral pronouns such as they/them, and the notion that Aldrich may be using them as some sort of stunt or potential legal defense has been an undercurrent in the legal handling and media coverage of the case.

Here's a look at nonbinary people, along with the pronouns they may use and how those words figure into the Aldrich case:

What does nonbinary mean?

“Binary” refers to thinking of gender as two categories of “man” and “woman.” “Nonbinary” refers to people who identify or express their gender outside those two categories and acknowledges—as do the American Medical Asso -

ciation, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association — that gender is a range or spectrum.

Some nonbinary people may think of themselves as a mix of genders, or of no gender at all. Some people's experience of gender can shift over time.

A person can still identify as a man or woman and be nonbinary if their experience extends, even if only at times, beyond the binary experience of being a man, for instance. Some nonbinary people consider themselves transgender, and nonbinary people are generally grouped under the umbrella of LGBTQ people.

In short, being nonbinary, as with any gender identity, including feeling like a man or woman, is a sense of self. But unlike sex—the quality of being male, female or intersex, all of which can be medically identified and documented—gender is a social construct and so is an unprovable quality, something to be taken at a person's word.

Pronouns

P R o N ou NS continue to evolve, as they always have.

Some nonbinary people are fine using traditional, gendered he/him or she/her pronouns.

Some people—nonbinary or not use only they/them pronouns, rejecting an association with or

making a statement about the gender binary. Some people use multiple sets of pronouns, mixing he/him with they/them, for instance. When and how those pronouns are used may depend on what gender a person feels like at any given time.

Some people use what are often called neopronouns—coined words such as “ze” and “zim." They are not widely used and are unfamiliar to many people, but they do offer the benefit of grammatical clarity; unlike “they” as a singular personal pronoun, observers probably wouldn't confuse a neopronoun with references to other people or things in verbal or written passages.

The AP Stylebook, the journalism industry's standard word usage guide, advises that “as much as possible, AP also uses they/ them/their as a way of accurately describing and representing a person who uses those pronouns for themself.”

o ther word usage guides, including those produced by NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists and the advocacy group GLAAD, also advise journalists to use the pronouns that people request.

Is Aldrich genuinely nonbinary?

Aldrich, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, accord -

ing to defense court filings, was arrested at the club and has been charged with over 300 counts, including hate crimes. They have not entered a plea or spoken about the events or a motive.

There have been no indications, in what's known of Aldrich’s social media engagement or interactions with other people, that Aldrich publicly identified as nonbinary before the shooting. The bar where the attack was carried out is a longtime gathering spot for LGBTQ people in Colorado Springs, and no one has said they remember Aldrich being there before.

When Aldrich requested a name change in Texas in 2016, at age 15, the petition used he/him pronouns, and there was no option on the form for a nonbinary gender marker. But it's not unusual for people to reach self-discovery about their gender later in life.

Are Aldrich’s pronouns relevant to the case?

The defense team has said in court filings that the suspect is nonbinary, referring to “Mx. Aldrich”—employing a genderneutral courtesy title equivalent to “Ms.” or “Mr.” and pronounced “mix”—in documents and in open court, and saying Aldrich uses gender-neutral they/them pronouns.

Prosecutors, however, have repeatedly used “he” and “his” pro -

nouns. The judge presiding over the case also referred to Aldrich as “he” in court.

Xavier Kraus, a friend of the suspect, says he never heard Aldrich protest when referred to as “he” or “him” or claim a nonbinary identity until after being arrested.

Asked how Aldrich identifying as nonbinary affected prosecutors” decision o n pursuing hate crime charges, District Attorney Michael Allen told reporters it “was part of the picture” but didn’t elaborate.

Someone who is nonbinary can be charged with a hate crime for targeting peers, because hate crime laws are focused on the victims, not the perpetrator, experts say. But bringing a hate crime case to conviction can be difficult, because prosecutors must prove what motivated the defendant, a higher standard than usually required in court.

There is no indication that any of those slain at Club Q in Colorado Springs—Daniel Aston, 28; Derrick Rump, 38; Kelly Loving, 40; Raymond Green Vance, 22; and Ashley Paugh, 35—identified as nonbinary or used gender-neutral pronouns. Aston and Loving have been identified by family and friends as transgender.

Should Aldrich’s pronouns be honored?

“I will probably never refer to

him as such," Kraus says. “It’s disrespectful for him to claim that.”

Matthew Haynes, co-owner of Club Q, says he doesn’t know Aldrich and can’t be sure of the shooter's motives in identifying as nonbinary.

“Would I be surprised that it’s a tactic? o f course I wouldn’t be surprised," he says. “The man has already demonstrated basically pure evil.”

Haynes notes that authorities in Colorado Springs have been meticulous in their use of pronouns and names when identifying victims.

“Twenty years ago they never would have cared about pronouns,” Haynes says.

Carl Charles, a senior attorney with the LGBTQ legal advocacy group Lambda Legal, said his organization trains court staff, including bailiffs, court officers and lawyers, to respect the asserted identity of all the people in a courtroom. And, Charles says, “this is no exception.”

No one would question it if a woman entered a courtroom wanting to be addressed as Ms. and using she/her pronouns, Charles says, and respecting those wishes does not bear on how seriously the court treats her crime.

Aldrich’s case should be handled no differently.

“ u nderstandably, people have some questions about this,” Charles says. “We can respect this person’s asserted identity, we can provide them with the same decorum we provide all defendants in a court of law, and we can also recognize that that in no way condones their reprehensible actions.”

Jeff McMillan is a member of the AP Stylebook committee and serves on the board of directors of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists. Associated Press writers Jesse Bedayn, Jim Mustian, Colleen Slevin and Jake Bleiberg, along with AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner, contributed to this report.

Rev. Paula Stecker of the Christ the King Lutheran Church stands in front of a memorial set up outside Club Q following a mass shooting at the gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Tuesday, November 29, 2022. AP/Thom A s Pei P er T

Why books are the best gifts for all seasons

SHOPPING for gifts is mainly a pleasant chore many of us set out to do during the holidays and all year round. However, finding the most appropriate gifts can be quite challenging and time-consuming, especially when one must choose different sets of gifts for different people. A quick check reveals that the top ten choices for Christmas gift shoppers in the Philippines include cash, food, chocolates, garments, bags and purses—and yes, books!

“A book is a present that one can open again and again and again” is a statement that I encounter so often that the more I give books away, the more I am convinced of its veracity.

generations.

A cherished childhood friend (who moved abroad over twenty years ago) had entrusted to me a loose compilation of her poems written over three decades. I decided to publish it as a gift to her and when I sought her permission, she was delightfully overwhelmed. Her reaction so inspired me to have it done.

The book of poetry is still a work in progress but I’m happy to give my friend a lifetime gift she will treasure.

Some people may consider re-gifting as an a-no-no but re-gifting a book, for me, carries a special sentiment. Giving someone a book that you’ve read and loved and want to share is a touching gesture. I even suggest that before donating books you love to institutions that may not even appreciate these, your could first offer these to people whom you know might want it.

Matters

By Joy Lumawig-Buensalido

Thus, after being in the public relations industry for several decades now, I believe I have chosen books as the one, perfect gift that is simple, timeless, easy to get, affordable, and deeply appreciated by most recipients, especially if you know them well.

This Christmas 2022 seems even more timely for us to give books because after going through the ordeal of pandemic-related restrictions and other woes, many of us have realized that there are practices, habits, and possessions that we can really do without. We have discovered the blessing of having a warm and welcoming home to be “stranded in” and the love and company of a family that cares for you.

Most especially, we have rediscovered the joy memories bring, inspiring us to create more and to keep those memories alive.

As we hunkered down during the health crisis, many of us had the chance to go back to reading, picking up those books that had lain untouched in the shelves.

Here, let me cite a few reasons why I think giving books can help nurture and sustain those precious memories that were such a comfort during those times. And with this, I hope that we stay transfixed by the wonderful world of books even as we start to resume our old activities.

Books can store memories and express your sentiments. How can one even begin to build or store memories that will last a lifetime if one cannot relate such memories to reading, enjoying, creating, or writing a book? When you give a book gift written by a friend or someone you love, admire, respect, work with, or who is important to you, you not only show the author your kind support and friendship, but you also share your own feelings or sentiments with the people you are giving those gifts to. In a very real sense, you are giving something of yourself (and sharing your friendship with the authors) to your thrilled recipients.

A book is a personal gift that can last a lifetime. During the pandemic, a number of individuals and families—sons, daughters, wives, and children of patriarchs/matriarchs—suddenly thought of giving their parents/husbands/relatives/mentors the unique gift of a book written about them and their interesting lives. Can you imagine a more intimate way to honor and remember them than capturing and distilling everything they are and have done? This book would make a highly riveting reading fare that can be shared not only with friends and family, but also with the succeeding

There is always a special or unique book that you can give to each person. Book gifts don’t always have to be profound. They need not be best sellers by award-winning authors or outstanding works of renowned writers. For your friends who haven’t acquired a reading habit, prayer books or inspirational books or even journals or diaries with beautiful sayings would make for great gifts. These might eventually move them to write down their own thoughts and, who knows, their own stories or narratives. Blank pages also look inviting for folks who like to doodle or do sketches, a pastime that could evolve into a serious art-related undertaking.

Books also offer something for everyone.

Whether the readers on your list are into biographies, photography, fashion, science fiction, the classics, an endless variety of book styles, sizes, illustrations, authors, and genres gives you the chance to present whatever will appeal to their tastes.

What I’ve listed so far are my own ideas on why books would make good gifts not only for Christmas or New Year, but for every occasion you need to give one. Or even when there’s none!

I checked out the web site “Bibliophile Talks” and found additional reasons why everyone should consider giving books as gifts:

n Books can give give someone a whole new world to explore. In a way, “reading is a passport to the world.” So it’s one way of traveling for free.

n Books can offer the reader a whole new world “that is fantastical, exotic, unusual and exciting. This unscrews the imaginary power of the mind and makes people dive deep into the amazing world.”

n Now that travel restrictions have been lifted, gifting someone with a book is like sending them on a mental or imaginary vacation for free.

n You can personalize a book.

I already mentioned the last. You can make the book a very personal gift. “Books gifted with a special message inside inspire sweet memories for years and decades to come. A message or inscription always goes well with a book” according to Bibliophile.

Whenever I can, I also make sure that I ask the authors I know to write a personal message for me when I buy their books and I feel that those messages add value not only to my book collection, but also to those who will read my books in the future. A signed book is a part of history and, in a way, even your own personal history.

n Books are the ultimate re-giftables.

There should be a way of exchanging books with friends or people who may be looking for what you want to discard. They might, in turn, offer you a classic or vintage book that is already out of print. Recipe or cookbooks are also re-giftables, especially for culinary enthusiasts or homemakers who want to share what they’ve learned from their pre-loved books.

n Books make people better. Reading makes people more empathetic, according to research. People who read live longer, too. And there is no doubt about the fact that the world needs more empathy. A book can be thoughtful, and sometimes also thoughtprovoking. It may help people express what they may otherwise find difficult to put into words.

n Books can last forever. Again I mentioned this earlier: books can last a lifetime. But even when books suffer from years of “wear ad tear,” the stories and memories that come along with them stay with you forever. Thus, by giving someone a book, “you etch a permanent memory in their mind.”

To wrap it up: What about e-books or reading books on Kindle? Are they also worth giving as gifts?

I was gifted with a Kindle recently but I have yet to read my first book there. To be perfectly honest, I still love the feel of paper and the sensation of turning the pages of a real book. But for those who have completely transitioned to the digital landscape, go ahead and give them a Kindle. It is, after all, still a book!

Here are three books authored by close friends which were launched in the last year. Please consider them as gift suggestions.

Beyond the Box and d i gital Walker are giving the gift of tech this holiday season W ith massive 12.12 sale

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—With Christmas right around the corner, people are scrambling to get their hands on gifts for their loved ones, or even for themselves. And if it’s tech that you want, then Beyond The Box and Digital Walker are right there with major gadget deals.

The Beyond The Box 12.12 Christmas Sale is definitely on! Check out awesome deals worth up to P15,000 off on select products on its official web site and e-commerce stores on both Lazada and Shopee from December 12 to 14.

Save as much as P15,000 on se -

lect products purchased at the BTB web site and in Lazada’s 12.12 Grand Pamasko Sale. A massive 30% discount also awaits on select protection, and 40% for purchases of two. And for every purchase of an iPhone of any model, customers will get 50% off on select cases and screen protectors. Over at Shopee’s 12.12 Mega Pamasko Sale, deals of up to P14,000 are up for grabs. Select products will also be available at P1,212 across all platforms.

At Digital Walker, the Super Walker is off to complete his Christmas mission with up to P6,500 in discount on both the official web site and on Lazada and Shopee as well.

The one-stop shop for all things tech is sweetening the deal across all platforms with an additional 12% discount when customers buy two items. Buyers at the official web site will get a free AfterShokz drawstring bag worth P490 for every Shokz headphones bought. Over at Lazada, every pair of 1More Colorbuds and Color -

buds 2, and Sabbat X12, E12, and G12 entitles the customer to a free case.

Meanwhile, Lypertek Pureplay 27 units will come with a free wireless charger. The same freebies are available on Shopee, but with an additional offering of up to P2,490 worth of free filter for every Momax Purifier sold and free Amazfit Sports Bag for every purchase of Amazfit T-Rex Pro Smartwatch.

Buyers also would not want to miss out on massive price slash for gadgets, accessories, and other types of tech from brands like Marshall, Audioengine, Fitbit, Nothing, UAG, Momax, and HidrateSpark.

Enjoy not-so-silent nights with Marshall’s 35% off offer on select products, along with an additional P112 voucher for a minimum spend of P5,000 on both Lazada and Shopee.

The first 30 customers with P10,000 worth of purchase to get their hands on Stanmore II, Emberton, Uxbridge Google, Stockwell II, Uxbridge Alexa, Tufton, Willen, Emberton II, and Ac -

ton II will get an exclusive premium merch set worth P2,660.

It’s all systems go for holiday parties with all-in-one audio systems from Audioengine. Now is the time to get yours with discounts as much as P2,600 on select products on Lazada. A P112 voucher can also be claimed for a minimum spend of P5,000 per day of the Christmas sale. The first six customers to checkout an Audioengine A2+ Home Music System, Audioengine HD3 Home Music System or Audioengine A1 Home Music System will be given a 30% discount on their DS1 or DS1M Desktop Speaker Stand.

With audiophiles covered, the tech merchants are also rolling out gifts for active people, or even those who want to kickstart their fitness journey. Fitbit is offering up to 50% off on select devices on both Lazada and Shopee. An additional 12% is up for grabs on select Fitbit fitness trackers and smart scales when customers buy two. The first 20 orders of Fitbit smartwatches get a free tote

bag worth P490.

For those who are still not decided what to give their loved ones, Nothing is an option. It’s the perfect time to check out the Nothing Phone (1), with up to P2,000 off and additional P112 voucher without minimum spend. The accessories for the new Phone (1)—bumper case, tempered glass, and adapter—will also come at a lower price tag at 12% off. The same deals are accessible on Lazada and Shopee.

Moreover, why not give your favorite people reliable protection for their pricey smartphones this holiday season? UAG is offering a wide range of cases with a 12.12 exclusive deal of up to 55% off on select items on Lazada. They’re also adding 30% off on select items when customers buy one and 40% on select items when they buy two. They can also maximize their savings with an additional P112 voucher with a minimum spend of P4,000.

As for other accessories and smart

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Joy Lumawig-Buensalido is the President and CEO of Buensalido PR and Communications. She was past Chairman of the Ipra Philippine chapter for two terms.

PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.

devices, Momax is the place to check out. Enjoy up to P3,200 off on select products on Lazada plus an exclusive P112 voucher with a minimum spend of P4,500. For select Momax items, an additional savings of P512 can be redeemed when customers buy two items. A filter worth up to P2,490 will be given for free when a Momax Purifier is purchased.

Last but not least, discover the wonders of smart hydration with HidrateSpark. As a bonus, HidrateSpark is offering up to P300 off plus vouchers worth up to P200. Customers can stack up their savings with another 5% discount for every two HidrateSpark TAP purchased on Lazada and Shopee. Buying a HidrateSpark PRO on Lazada also entitles them to a free tote bag worth P490.

If you’re on a mission to tick all the boxes in your Christmas gift list, seize the chance to score great tech deals at the country’s leading tech curator and digital lifestyle stores, Beyond The Box and Digital Walker.

Babeth Lolarga’s “Moon Hanging Low Over My Window and Other Poems” book is available at physical bookstores like Soli -

daridad on Padre Faura, Ermita, Manila; artbooks.ph at 123 Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong; and Mt Cloud Bookshop, No. 1 Yangco Road, Baguio City. Also, at Shopee and Lazada online stores of UST Publishing House.

Chato Garcellano’s “Necessary Contexts: Essays for our Times” is available through Gantala Press Shopee.

Joseph Pastrana’s “Homespun True Tales of Tweed” is available at https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/homespuntrue-tales-of-tweed-9780578350202

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CELEBRATING THE FESTIVE SEASON

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Hannah Consencino Arnold: The science of beauty

I’VE been training since 2018, actually, so it’s not only a year and a half that I’ve been waiting for this. It’s been four years exactly. Finally, my dream is coming true. I get to represent the Philippines and hopefully bring back our seventh Miss International crown,” a giddy and deeply moved Hannah Arnold said at her send-off ceremony at the Hotel Novotel in Araneta City.

The Fil-Australian beauty is currently competing at the 60th Miss International pageant. The coronation is tomorrow, December 13, at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Thailand’s Sireethorn Leearamwat, who won in 2019, will crown her successor.

The pageant’s thrust is to foster “friendship and goodwill between all nations of the world” through international exchange under the slogans of “achieving world peace through mutual understanding” and “proper understanding of Japan in international society.” It was postponed twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The delay was a bump in the road that I wasn’t expecting. It took me a little bit of time to regain my footing, honestly, because I was a little lost. I wasn’t sure if I was still the representative. There were still so many unknowns. Even [Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc., or BPCI] didn’t know when Miss International would push through,” Hannah, 26, explained.

“I really believe it is still a blessing in the end. I had more time for my advocacy work with DOST. I became an ambassador for Love Yourself Philippines, and Child Hope Philippines,” she added. “I was also able to focus on my personal advocacy such as Books for Tomorrow PH.”

■ Hannah and Her Sisters. Precious Lara Quigaman-Alcaraz, Miss International 2005 and new executive committee member of BPCI, gave Hannah a rousing message: “You said you were preparing for this for four years. But I think you were born for this. This title and the new crown is definitely made for you, and I know you will do so great. At Miss International, we say ‘Cheer All Women.’ Hannah is the kind of person who really cheers everyone. That’s who she is. And if you are cheering everyone, we are also cheering for you.”

Of the Big Four alpha pageants for 2022, Miss Earth had 86 delegates, Miss World has 79 confirmed contestants as of date, and Miss Universe also has 86. Miss International has the least number of delegates at 66.

Hannah, like all Filipina contenders, is considered a front-runner for the title. She might have her own Wikipedia page but so do a handful of other queens who are also serious competition: Colombia’s Natalia López Cardona, India’s Zoya Afroz, Indonesia’s

The best beauty discoveries of 2022

Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation SPF 30.  I once wore Synchro Skin to a concert, during which I spent hours outdoors. I was sweaty as it was a humid day but the foundation held its ground. At the end of the day (around 11 pm), my face still looked okay and didn’t need retouching. The foundation is almost mask-proof. I say “almost” because if you use a very tight mask, there will be some transfer but otherwise, it’s fine. The best thing about Synchro Skin for me is that it doesn’t just stay on your face but looks good always.

Shiseido has a good 12.12 deal on the Synchro Skin

“We have witnessed your patience, passion and determination as you embark on your long pageant journey. You embody the essence of an inspirational and empowered Filipina queen. We are proud to share that with the international community.”

■ Beauties for SDGs. During the competition, Hannah will wear a Manny Halasan creation for her national costume, Leo Almodal for her evening gown and Justine Aliman for her swimwear. She credits her preparedness to her extensive training at her Aces & Queens beauty camp.

But what excites her the most is the contest’s focus on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals: “I’m going to show all 17 goals and how on an individual level, we can make a difference with a simple act. As my journey continues, I will post [on Instagram] all 17. All of them are equally important. All of them work together under the United Nations for the goals to be achieved by 2030. My personal SDG will focus on quality education [Number 4] and innovation [industry, innovation, and infrastructure, Number 9], that’s where science and technology fits in.”

■ Science and Pageantry. Hannah has a degree in Applied Science in Forensic Studies from the University of Canberra. When she spoke about

Elephant is available online at www.lookatme.com. ph and at LOOK At Me SM Aura Premier and LOOK At Me SM Mall of Asia. The brand also has a lovely store in SM Mega Fashion Hall.

■ Good Light Cosmic Dew Water Cleanser and Moon Glow Milky Toning Lotion. I received three of Good Light’s products in a PR package recently and so far, I’ve been loving these two products. The Cosmic Dew Water Cleanser is a pH balanced gel-to-foam product that gently cleans skin without stripping it of moisture.

“When I am asked what is the relevance of pageantry, this is exactly it: showing that us beauty queens can also excel in other environments and advocate for causes closest to our hearts and skillset. I am ready to raise not only the Philippine flag but also the flag for S&T.

“What I love about science is that when you are about to start an experiment, you’re thinking of your end goal. You come up with a hypothesis of what you want to happen. If it doesn’t work out, you go back and you fix the equation. You fix the bits and pieces that you put into the experiment.

“It’s just like in pageantry. I have that end goal in mind—the crown and the platform. When it doesn’t work out the first time, or when things don’t go as planned, I go back and reevaluate the ‘equation’ or change some things. Then eventually, I would get that goal. So I think science and pageantry are very similar. You have to work toward the little equations and bits and pieces to get that final ‘boom!’” ■

EVERY year, I try to come up with a beauty yearender, which is basically a list of what I think are the best products of the year. This year is slightly different. My list includes some of my best beauty discoveries for 2022 and I enjoyed using every one of them.

■ Shiseido Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation SPF 30. If someone had told me years ago that a foundation can be long-lasting but not look cakey and instead stay dewy for hours, I wouldn’t have believed you. The technology behind this foundation is amazing.

“A combination of transparent pearls, radiant microcrystals, and advanced optical filters balances and adapts to any ambient lighting condition, while an exclusive blend of humectants binds moisture to the skin for 24-hour hydration. Infused with mandarin peel extract to help support skin’s radiance, this weightless foundation offers instant results and lasting luminosity,” said Shiseido in its website about

Radiant Lifting Foundation SPF 30. Check out s.lazada. com.ph/s.ghLOv.

■ Drunk Elephant. The brand is not new to me so I can say I rediscovered it this year. I have always been a fan of the Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil but 2022 was the year Drunk Elephant came to the Philippines and I got to learn more about the brand, which has products with healthy pH levels and use formulations that are familiar to the skin. Drunk Elephant products are also known for not using the Suspicious 6 in any of its products. The Suspicious 6 are essential oils, drying alcohols, silicones, chemical sunscreens, fragrances or dyes, and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). Another thing that the brand is known for is its skincare smoothies, which are basically combinations of its products that are packaged so that you can mix and match them effortlessly.

My favorites include the B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum, the Protini Polypeptide Cream, and the D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Bronzing Drops. Drunk

Moon Glow Milky Toning Lotion has ceramides and hyaluronic acid so it leaves the skin feeling moisturized and nourished. I used the word “feeling” because I honestly don’t know what’s going on in there. The products just feel good on the skin.

■ Pure Culture Wild Algae Super Skin Tonic. Pure Culture is the first Philippine brand to be certified by Safe Cosmetics Australia. Pure Culture’s Wild Algae Super Skin Tonic is a toner to prep and soften your skin. You can also use it as a spot treatment for problematic spots. This skin tonic is also a microbiome-friendly soothing, brightening and balancing formula. It also claims to help reduce skin inflammation. You can shop for Pure Culture products at bit.ly/3HmUtQx.

■ Benefit Wanderful Blush Collection. Benefit Cosmetics revamped its popular line of powder blushes this year and called it the Wanderful World Blush Collection. The brand made the packaging less bulky by removing the brush that came with every Box O’ Powder.

The new collection includes 11 silky-soft powder blushes including Dandelion, Hoola Matte Bronzer, and Multitasking Cheek Brush. The shades include Sunny, a warm coral; Moone, a rich berry; Shellie, a warm seashell-pink; Java, a rosy mocha; Butterfly, a golden orange; and Willa, a soft neutral rose. I love how long lasting these powder blushes are and how they are humidity-resistant. They’re not perfectly mask-proof but they do stay on long enough under a mask. The blushes are triple-milled, which means they’re very fine. The base of these blushes is translucent and not white or pink so they won’t turn ashy on your skin.

You can get these blushes at all Benefit boutiques or their LazMall Flagship Store (s.lazada.com.ph/s. ghr0O)

■ Jason Wu Beauty Hot Fluff multi-use lipsticks. I got to try these lipsticks, thanks to my friend Sara. Hot Fluff can also be used on the eyes and cheeks but I find that they really work better as lipsticks. The Hot Fluff lipsticks are very similar in texture to the Sunnies Face Fluffmattes except they are less emollient and more powdery. They dry down to a comfortable matte finish. My favorite shades are Gingerbread (deep rust), Apple Pie (red with neutral undertones), Danish (eggplant violet), and Souffle (a dusty pink). The shades are universally flattering and can be combined with each other or other brands of lipsticks.

Unfortunately, Jason Wu Beauty isn’t available in the Philippines but you can find them in Target stores in the US.

‘

Cindy May McGuire, Mexico’s Yuridia Durán, and Venezuela’s Isbel Parra.

Hannah also received a heartfelt message from Madam Stella Marquez Araneta, the first Miss International who later on became the head of BPCI:

women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) at the Binibining Pilipinas 2021 finals, the Department of Science and Technology noticed and invited her to be an ambassador. The beauty and brains said:

PHOTOGRAPHY ROJ MIGUEL STYLED BY PATRICK HENRY HAIR AND MAKEUP BY @GHILSAYO ACCESSORIES BY CHRISTOPHER E. MUNAR GOWN BY J VASQUEZ LAYSON

Arcilla captures Zentro net title in Kinaadman

JOHNNY ARCILLA re-asserted his mastery over Charles Kinaadman, pulling through in a wild first set skirmish then dominating the next for a 6-4, 6-0 victory in the Zentro Open National Open Championships at the Zentro Tennis and Recreational courts in Apalit, Pampanga yesterday.

It was the veteran Davis Cupper’s fourth Open singles victory in the season about to end as he continued to roll back the years in pursuit of more titles against a slew of younger rivals and rising players in Group A tournaments of the circuit presented by Dunlop.

T he 10-time PCA Open champion Arcilla also foiled Kinaadman, 6-2, 6-4, in last week’s finals of the Brookside Open with his latest romp bringing his title run to four this year following victories in Puerto Princesa and in Pintaflores Festival in San Carlos, Negros Occidental, which served as part of the Palawan PawnshopPalawan Express Pera Padala circuit put up by Palawan Pawnshop president and CEO Bobby Castro.

A rcilla later matched his Brookside Open “double” feat as he teamed up with Nilo Ledama to beat the top-seeded pair of Vicente Anasta and Eric Jed Olivarez, 7-5, 6-2, in doubles play.

He actually broke Kinaadman twice in the opening set while holding serve thrice to threaten a rout. But the Gov. Jubahib Cup winner in Davao del Norte last September fought back with two breaks, the last in the ninth game, to pull within 4-5.

But the top-seeded Arcilla cut short his rally, breaking back in the 10th to seize control of their match.

He went 5-0 again in the next frame but this time, Arcilla broke Kinaadman in the sixth in shutout fashion to complete another straightset roll over the 24-year-old Cebuano worth P50,000.

O n his way to the title faceoff, Arcilla trampled Joseph Tiamson, 6-2, 6-2, eased past Noel Damian Jr., 6-3, 6-0, then routed Ledama, 6-0, 6-1, in the semis of the event sponsored by Newtech Mega Transport Solutions, Hacienda Galea, People’s General Insurance, Corp., Subic Truckboy International and Dingalan Fireworks.

SISI-JOVZKIE SHOW IN SUBIC

By Josef Ramos

SUBIC—Sisi Rondina and Jovelyn Gonzaga booked a 22-24, 21-12, 15-12 victory over Genesa Jane “Jen” Eslapor and Floremel Rodriguez in an all-Filipino final of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures that brought the best out of both pairs amid impending injuries.

C ramps started to creep from Rondina’s right leg up her thigh in the entire match and Eslapor called for a five-minute medical timeout in the second set to suppress cramps that rose from her thighs to her abdomen.

Those near misfortunes didn’t spoil an anti-climactic final witnessed by a big crowd at the Subic Bay Sand Court as Rondina carried her Purple team past Eslapor’s stubborn Blue side on Sunday afternoon marked by an

Southwoods snares two titles

MANILA Southwoods

chalked up an emphatic final-round performance to rule the 72nd Fil-Am Men’s Invitational—its ninth straight title—Fil and Am Championship divisions in Baguio City on Sunday.

Southwoods’s Fil crew closed out with 128 points at the Baguio Country Club with Carl Jano Corpus again topscoring with a one-under 60 for 37 points. He got solid support from Jeff Jung (34), Gabriel Manotoc (27) and Kristoffer Arevalo (26) for a 72-hole total of 541 in the premier division.

A idric Chan didn’t play because he had to return to the US due to school requirements.

I don’t look at other teams. I just want to make sure that when we come to a tournament, we are 100 percent ready to play,” Southwoods captain Thirdy Escaño said. “Although it was unfortunate that Aidric had to fly out early because of exams in the US.”

Forest Hills finished second with 473 points after a 116 on Rodel Mangulabnan’s 30 points, Edison Tabalin and Iñigo Raymundo’s 29s and Joshua Buenaventura’s 28.

Team SPES, a rookie team in the world’s largest amateur tournament, checked in at third (104-465), followed by Januarius Golf (99-445), Time Cargo Logistics (105-429) and X1R-Tipsy Pig-Mizuno (103-422).

occasional overcast sky.

We were tired...after having gone through the competition, the pressure and the strong opposition,” said Rondina, the most decorated among the four finalists with back-toback bronze medals at the Southeast Asian Games.

E slapor came off the medical timeout with four consecutive service aces to push her side closer to Rondina’s, 10-12, in the decider.

R ondina, who was often seen pulling the toes of her right foot upwards to avoid cramps, endured and nailed the match’s last three points for the title.

I could hardly jump, even during our pre-final training,” said the back-to-back Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist with Bernadeth Pons, who is under rehab for a shoulder injury.

R ondina and Gonzaga—and their final victims—were relieved after the final and in a hurry to go home.

A ll four had flights booked— Rondina to Cebu, Rodriguez to Negros Occidental and Eslapor to Cagayan de Oro—for Sunday night at Manila’s airport in anticipation of an early exit from the tournament organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF).

Honestly, we never expected this one, all of us,” said Gonzaga, who’s returning to Manila to attend to personal matters—especially her obligations at the Philippine Army— also on Sunday night.

“ No party for us,” both said.

A big crowd came to see the final but which team they rooted for was hardly audible. They appreciated both sides who regaled their fans with exciting exchanges and daredevil dives for errant balls.

Credit to them [EslaporRodriguez pair], they are also good and strong,” said Gonzaga, adding she could now relax and get that deep

sleep she was deprived off heading into the tournament.

E slapor and Rodriguez played with less pressure, too, and treated the final like a mere training session.

“ It’s all-Filipino so we went out there playing as if we were just training,” Rodriguez said. “But yes, they gave us a good fight and and we fought hard, too.”

PNVF president Ramon “Tats” Suzara said the 1-2 finish in a Volleyball World event is the best performance by any Philippine team.

“ It’s unbelievable, these pairs were formed not a long time ago, but they immediately showed cohesion and winning form on the court,” Suzara said. “The result augurs well for Philippine volleyball and for sure, the PNVF national team program will push toward getting better in the international arena.”

R ondina and Gonzaga booted out Israel’s Yahli Ashush and Anita Dave, 20-22, 21-8, 17-15, while Eslapor and Rodriguez eliminated Japan’s Miyu Sakamoto and Mayu Sawame, 16-21, 28-26, 15-13, in the semifinals played Sunday morning.

Sakamoto and Sawame beat the Israelis, 21-15, 21-18, in the battle for the bronze medal.

Tipjan Pithak and Taovato Poravid beat Kaewsai Dunwinit and Techakijvorak Intuch, 21-15, 21-19, in the all-Thailand men’s final, while Latvia’s Martin Plavins and Mikhail Samoilov downed Thailand’s Jongklang Surin and Nakprakhong Banlue, 21-19, 21-17, to capture the bronze medal.

art of terrific defense.

Pacquiao was all over DK Yoo, who’s same age at 43 as the former senator, in the six-rounder that lived to its billing as an exhibition match that intended to merely “entertain.”

I thought Manny looked very relaxed and was just here to entertain the fans,” MP Promotions head Sean Gibbons, who was at ringside, said. “DK Yoo showed tremendous heart going the whole six rounds.”

Pacquiao was a raging bull at the onset and battered Yoo with body shots, at times toying with his taller

Pacquiao ‘soundly beats’ DK Yoo

D

D K Yoo tried to hit Pacquiao with jabs but Pacquiao merely played with the Korean.

I think Manny [Pacquiao] is ready to take things to the next level if he wants a real fight,” Gibbons said.

The charity fight’s proceeds will go to the victims of the war in Ukraine and Pacquiao’s housing project for the homeless in General Santos City.

P acquiao announced his retirement September last year after losing to Cuban Yordenis Ugas their World Boxing Association welterweight figth on August 21, 2021. Josef Ramos

MOROCCO SENDS RONALDO, PORTUGAL HOME FROM DOHA

DOHA, Qatar—Africa finally has a team in the World Cup semifinals, and so does the Arab world.

Morocco delivered a seminal moment in the nearly 100year history of soccer’s biggest tournament, beating Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal team, 1-0, Saturday in another shocking result in the first World Cup staged in the Middle East.

W hile a tearful Ronaldo headed right down the tunnel—and maybe into international retirement—after the final whistle, Morocco’s players tossed their coach in the air and waved their country’s flag as they linked arms in front of celebrating fans.

Pinch me, I’m dreaming,” Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou said. “Morocco is ready to face anyone in the world. We have changed the mentality of the generation coming after us. They’ll know Moroccan players can create miracles.”

Youssef En-Nesyri scored the winning goal in the 42nd minute to

continue an improbable run that has generated an outpouring of pride in the Arab world, inspiring displays in Arab identity from fans in different countries.

A frica is also rejoicing at finally having a nation advancing to the levels typically only reached by European or South American teams. Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010) all reached the quarterfinals but got no further.

Morocco has broken through, setting up a semifinal match against defending champion France.

The 37-year-old Ronaldo, one of soccer’s greatest players but now a fading force, didn’t start for the second straight game and came on as a substitute in the 51st minute. He missed his only chance to equalize in stoppage time.

The five-time world player of the year is set to finish his career without capturing the World Cup or ever getting to the final. He walked right off the field after the final whistle, only briefly stopped by two Morocco players wishing to shake his hand and a spectator who confronted him near the entrance to the tunnel, and was crying as he headed to the locker room.

I f this is the end for Ronaldo at international level, he’ll finish with 118 goals—a record in men’s soccer— and a European Championship title but not soccer’s biggest prize. He only got as far as the semifinals at the World Cup, in 2006.

Our players are distressed,” said Portugal coach Fernando Santos, who shrugged off questions about his own future and added that he didn’t regret not starting Ronaldo. “Cristiano is a great player and he came on when we thought it was necessary. But no, no regrets.” AP

I r ecall how during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Zinedine Zidane, in his final World Cup appearance, singlehandedly dismantled Brazil with… Brazilian-like moves. And that was one of my favorite Selecao lineups that had Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Adriano, Kaka, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Ze Roberto, Juninho Pernambucano, and Robinho.

Zidane was imperious in central midfield making magic happen, dancing around tackles and defenders. He even fed Thierry Henry for the match’s only goal.

I n fact, if you dial that back to the 1998 World Cup in France, Zidane scored two goals in the 3-nil shutout of Brazil in the finals.

analysis were alien concepts to the sport? Or even sports in general. Now, it’s the norm.

You can see how programs are built to bear fruit in a few years’ time.

I t hink Brazil has relied on their plethora of stars and their natural talent. Sort of like the way the Americans have for international basketball.

But when they fell in the 2004 Olympics, they finally needed a serious program in place. And they have since regained their superiority in international basketball.

Brazil has much to learn from the Americans.

W hen they hosted the World Cup in 2014, they received the biggest hiding yet, 7-1, at the hands of eventually champions, Germany. That was humiliating. A national tragedy that many many people have not forgotten. And the ouster of their national team in Qatar will only bring back that ugly memory.

I n various chat fora or social media, I have heard people postulate that Brazil’s play has taken a step backwards.

I d isagree.

The world has simply caught up to the Brazilian’s brilliance.

I n 2006 when Italy won it all, they showed the world the

I n 2010, Spain, playing the tiki taka style of football won it all.

I n 2014, a German side was the beneficiary of new tactics, training regimen, or even preparation—uncommon for their national team—that was first displayed under their coach in 2006, Jurgen Klinsmann.

I n 2018, a France team was the epitome of pace, power, athleticism, and grit, won it all. This is the modern game.

R emember when scientific training, nutrition, and data

I n all this time, I recall how Brazilians complained that even if their team won, they did it without that flair their style of play is known for. Really? Style. You may get 100 points for style but if you don’t win it doesn’t mean anything.

It certainly hasn’t helped that there is enormous pressure placed on their side to win it all.

No side wants to lose. They all want to win it all.

There will be no shortage of Brazilian stars playing in Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, and North America. None. If they want to regain their throne, I believe they have to re-adjust their way of looking at the Beautiful Game.

GOLD medal winners Sisi Rondina and Jovelyn Gonzaga, silver medalists Genesa Jane “Jen” Eslapor and Floremel Rodriguez and bronze medalists Miyu Sakamoto and Mayu Sawame with Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

EIGHT-DIVISION world champion Manny Pacquiao won his out-of-retirement exhibition fight with South Korean YouTuber and mixed martial artist DK Yoo via unanimous decision at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Goyang, South Korea.

opponent who took a left straight to the face to close the bout.

K Yoo, who has 650,000 subscribers in YouTube, went down twice although the second one was called as a slip.

THE referee restrains an amused Manny Pacquiao as DK Yoo lies on the canvas. PHOTO WENDELL ALINEA

CRISTIANO RONALDO loses his chance to win soccer’s biggest tournament.

JOHNNY ARCILLA continues to flash championship form.