BusinessMirror February 14, 2023

With 36K tons of trash, Neda pitches waste reduction

THE Philippines produces 36,000 tons of waste everyday, equivalent to an Olympic-sized swimming pool, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

I n a presentation on Monday, Neda Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon said this is why the government is pushing for the enactment of environmental laws and reforms to promote sustainable consumption.

E dillon said waste reduction is one of the priority actions of the government in the medium term

along with developing and adopting green technologies.

We’ve already heard of waste to energy, but we think that the first thing that needs to be done is to minimize the waste,” Edillon said.

“ It’s the size of one Olympicsized swimming pool every day. So there really has to be a model for how we can reduce this waste,” she stressed.

E dillon said other priority actions include performing life cycle analysis to determine the impact of products on the environment throughout their life.

We must promote consumption and production patterns that maximize current and future welfare, allowing us to balance the pressing needs of today with the optimal preservation of our natural resources for future generations,”

Neda Director General Arsenio M. Balisacan said.

I n the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028: From Plan to Action, Neda, in Chapter 15: Accelerate Climate Action and Strengthen Disaster Resilience, called for the implementation of actions to accelerate sustainable consumption and

production (SCP) in the country.

T his should be done through the Philippine Action Plan for Sustainable Consumption and Production (PAP4SCP) and the operationalization of the Roadmap to Institutionalize Natural Capital Accounting in the Philippines or the NCA Roadmap.

To this end, the PAP4SCP contains various strategies and actions to influence the behaviors and practices of consumers and producers to reduce waste and environmental degradation.

BSP SEEN TO HIKE RATES BY 50 BPS ON INFLATION

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to be aggressive in increasing interest rates this week on the back of the 8.7-percent inflation rate recorded in January 2023, according to Moody’s Analytics.

T he think tank expects the BSP to raise interest rates by 50 basis points in its meeting on Thursday. This will increase the policy rate to 6 percent.

W ith the expected increase, Moody’s Analytics said this will bring cumulative rate hikes since the tightening cycle began in June 2022 to 335 basis points.

“Odds are high that the monetary policy tightening cycle will run for longer in the Philippines than elsewhere in Asia, given stubbornly elevated inflation,” Moody’s Analytics said.

T he Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) earlier said the headline inflation rate was the highest in 15 years while core inflation, which reached 7.4 percent, was the highest in 24 years.

L ocal economists recently warned that persistently high inflation and bloated wage increases could lead to job losses nationwide.

T hey said job losses cannot be discounted at this point given that high inflation could translate to

‘PRESIDENT’S OVERSEAS TRIPS VITAL TO INVESTMENT DRIVE’

By Andrea E. San Juan

higher production losses incurred by firms nationwide.

Economists added that job losses would be possible if businesses/ industries require more funds to pay for higher prices/inflation on inputs, investments, and other spending.

E arlier, the UK-based think tank Oxford Economics also said the performance of the Philippine economy will be below its historical average this year and next year, as GDP growth will not even reach 5 percent in 2023 and 2024.

I n its latest forecast, Oxford Economics said the country’s economic growth will only reach 4.1 percent this year and 4.5 percent in 2024 on the back of sticky inflation, which is expected to dampen demand.

T he think tank is also concerned that the forecast of other institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for the Philippines and other emerging markets, may be too optimistic.

THE President needs to go out of the country to promote the Philippines as a viable destination, Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. said, a day after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. concluded his visit to Japan with an estimated $13 billion of combined contributions and investment pledges for a wide range of projects.

“ We are happy that the President is doing everything he can despite the criticisms with regard to his state visits,” Ortiz-Luis said, partly in Filipino, in a televised interview on Monday.

T he ECOP chief stressed the need for state visits to foster trade and create jobs for Filipinos. He added, mostly in Filipino, “And we are happy that he applies his energy to this, and appreciate it.”

I n his arrival speech late Sunday at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City, Marcos said the commitments are expected

Cha-cha ‘not a priority’ for PBBM, but solons unfazed

current administration.

to generate an approximate 24,000 jobs.

F or his part, Ortiz-Luis said, “It’s not impossible to get 24,000 additional jobs there.”

E COP is the umbrella organization of the business community in the Philippines, tackling national issues related to employment, industrial relations, labor issues, and related social policies.

O rtiz-Luis said he witnessed many Filipino employees working in the hotels and restaurants that they visited in Japan. He added that there could be more than 300,000 Filipinos currently employed in Japan.

Meanwhile, the ECOP chief expressed confidence that among the investment pledges secured from Japan, he thinks the Philippines will benefit most from the infrastructure pledges.

However, he mentioned that the country can also benefit from the areas of services, agriculture, IT projects, and flood control, among others.

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla & Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

ACHANGE in the 1987 Con -

stitution, as some members of Congress are pushing, has become less likely under the

T his, after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced during the weekend that Charter change is not a priority of his administration.

“

It’s not a priority for me because there are so many other things that need to be done,” Marcos said in

DOJ offers ₧6-M bounty on 6 ‘sabungeros’ kidnappers

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin

Remulla made the announcement during his meeting with the families of the missing sabungeros, as he reassured them of the all-out efforts of his office and of law enforcement agencies to bring to justice those responsible for the disappearance of their loved ones.

The search for six individuals involved in the disappearance of the sabungeros is ongoing, that’s why we are offering a P6-million reward to anyone who can provide information on the location or

Cha-cha...

hiding place of the suspects,” Remulla said.

W hen asked where the reward money came from, Remulla replied: “Anonymous.”      R emulla did not provide the names of those covered by the bounty offer, but it may be recalled that last month, the DOJ filed kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges against six individuals believed to be responsible for the disappearance of James Baccay, Marlon Baccay, Claude Inonog, Mark Joseph

Continued from A1

an interview with reporters on his return flight following his official visit to Japan late Sunday.

T he President noted that the previous administration had decided

to push for  Charter change in an attempt to change the economic provisions of the Constitution as well as to transform the type of government for federalism.

Velasco, Rowel Gomez and Rondel Cristorum.

T he suspects  were identified as Julie Patidongan, Marc Carlo Zabala, Virgilio Bayog, Gleer Codilla, Roberto Matillano Jr., and Johnry Consolacion.

The prosecutors also recommended no bail for the temporary liberty of the respondents, who are

However, he pointed out that such economic reforms can be done even under the current 1987 Constitution.

We want to get investments and sometimes [the current Constitution] hampers this. You know these include the issues in owner -

still at large.

T he six allegedly conspired to abduct the victims on January 13, 2022 while on their way to Manila from Tanay, Rizal.

T he complaint said the victims were forced to board a gray van by the accused and were never seen again since.

Venancio Inonog, father of one of the victims, told the DOJ that his son managed to call him on his cellular phone to tell him that they were being forced to board a van. The father said he also heard people screaming before the call was cut off.

Prior to this, the DOJ indicted three Laguna policemen for robbery and kidnapping of e-sabungero agent Ricardo Lasco in August 2021.

T he DOJ identified the policemen as  Police Staff Sergeant Daryl Paghangaan and patrolmen Roy Navarete and Rigel Brosas.

T he DOJ found probable cause to indict the three after they were positively identified by the victims’ relatives during the preliminary investigation.

ship, appropriation,” Marcos said.

But for me, all of those things can be done without the need to change the Constitution,” he added.

D espite such position of the President on the matter, some members of Congress said they will still continue consultations to revise the provisions of the current Constitution particularly on restriction in foreign ownership.  See related story in A5, “House to proceed with Cha-cha talks although PBBM says it’s not a priority.”

Robin unfazed

SENATOR Robin Padilla remains unfazed by signals from President Marcos that Charter change is “not a priority” under the current administration.

A ddressing queries on why proponents should still continue seeking to “reform the economic provisions in the Constitution,” Padilla lamented hearing from past presidents that “they are not prioritizing amending the Constitution, particularly its economic provisions.”

“ It is sad because if we do not make the needed changes to the Charter’s economic provisions,” he said, adding that “ordinary Filipinos will not feel the benefits of progress for our Motherland, or of improvements in their lot in life.”

The senator asserted that “the Foreign Direct Investments [FDI] that we badly need cannot come true without the proper provisions from our Constitution. And most of the pledges by foreign investors from our leaders’ foreign trips will not materialize.”

“ I repeat: In any country, the basic law is the Constitution...

Because of this, I will continue the hearings to update our Constitution. My job in the Senate is to benefit our Motherland and inform our people about what we are doing.”

A s the President’s senatorial candidate in UniTeam, Padilla affirmed that “I support all his priority legislation.”

“ That said, I will pursue my own advocacies, with or without the President’s support, because that is my obligation to the people—and I will stay the course in the Senate, as part of our democracy,” the senator stressed.

S till, he assured that “whether or not my fellow senators support my advocacy, it is important that the people know why our growth as a nation has been held back—and what must be done to address this.”

“ Well, the ones in infrastructure are most remarkable. There are several in services and agriculture, as well as IT projects. All of those are important.” He noted that the flood control projects that were signed are also vital. “All of those are good, I hope they can start right away,” Ortiz-Luis said.

A total of 35 letters of intent (LOI)/agreements were forged between Philippine and Japanese representatives during the discussions covering manufacturing, infrastructure development, energy, transportation, health care, renewable energy, and business expansion.

7 bilateral agreements

MARCOS cited as another highlight of his visit the government’s signing of seven bilateral agreements with its Japanese counterpart covering humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, infrastructure, agriculture, and digital cooperation.

On infrastructure, Marcos signed

Moreover, the PAP4SCP includes programmatic interventions across sectors and levels of government towards decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation.

Meanwhile, the NCA Roadmap provides strategic guidance for the full institutionalization and integration of NCA in the government’s planning, policymaking, investment programming, and comprehensive accounting of the country’s wealth.

Given today’s technological advances, sustained levels of high growth need not be at the expense of the environment. We must promote consumption and production patterns that maximize current and future welfare, allowing us to balance the pressing needs of today with the optimal preservation of our natural resources for future generations,” Balisacan said.

To make sure we are fully aware of the environmental impact of our economic activities,

P rior to the convening of the Joint Committee, “the Sub-Committee on Trade in Goods [TIG] met to discuss the technical operationalization of the TIG Chapter of the FTA, including market access, customs, rules of origin, and trade facilitation,” said DTI.

T he Philippine side was led by Bureau of International Trade Relations (BITR) Director Angelo Benedictos and the EFTA side was represented by Swiss Federal Office for Customs and Border Security Deputy Head Meinrad Muller, on behalf of the EFTA Member States, the DTI said.

EFTA Member states are Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

T he FTA entered into force on June 1, 2018. Since then, DTI said the Philippines was able to “turn around its perennial trade deficit” with EFTA. In 2019, the Philippines posted a trade surplus of US$47.12 million; further rising to US$101.49 million in 2020 and US$129.89 million in 2021 despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Moreover, with the FTA in place, in 2020, around EUR 24.84 million worth of Philippine agricultural

about 377 billion Japanese yen or the equivalent of about US$3-billion loans for the North-South Commuter Railway for Malolos to Tutuban and North-South Commuter Railway Project extension.

A lso on Sunday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) disclosed that Japanese firm Mitsui & Co. will invest at least US$600 million in the country for infrastructure development.

T he PCO disclosed that Mitsui will partner with Filipino tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan for the infrastructure project. Since assuming the presidency on June 30, 2022, Marcos has gone on eight official foreign trips. He has traveled to Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, United States, China, Belgium and Switzerland, to attend the 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF). Similarly, he recently traveled to Japan to establish partnerships and attract investments.

we must measure and properly account for the use of our natural resources,” he added.

R epresentatives from the government, private sector, development partners, and civil society conveyed their messages of support and shared their respective initiatives related to SCP and NCA, which will contribute to the attainment of the overall goal of the PDP Chapter 15 to strengthen the resilience of communities, institutions, and ecosystems to the impacts of natural hazards and climate change.

T his event, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is part of the Neda’s series of advocacy activities that aim to foster a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach in implementing the strategies and priority actions espoused in the PDP 2023-2028. The event was held at the Novotel Manila, Quezon City, on February 13, 2023. Cai U. Ordinario

and industrial products were able to enter the EFTA market with reduced or zero tariff rates.  T hese Philippine products, the agency noted, include tunas, desiccated coconuts, fruits and nuts, processed foods and other food preparations, pasta, malt products, vacuum cleaners, new pneumatic tires, and hairdressing apparatus.  O n the investment front, DTI said Switzerland has been the country’s major partner in EFTA and a “regular” source of foreign investments in the European Region.  I n fact, the DTI noted, from 2018 to the third quarter of 2022, (investment promotion agency) IPA-approved Swiss investments reached P1.40 billion (or US$25.865 million) in these sectors: manufacturing, real estate activities, administrative and support activities.

From 2018 to the second quarter of 2022, investments from Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein also amounted to P229.4 million (or US$ 4.23 million) in the country’s financial and insurance, manufacturing, administrative, transportation, and storage sectors, DTI noted. A ndrea E. San Juan

T he IMF expects the country’s GDP growth to average 5 percent this year and 6 percent next year. Oxford Economics said this is 0.9 percentage points more than its forecast for 2023 and 1.5 percentage points more than its 2024 outlook. I f this happens, this would be

the lowest growth the Philippines will register since 2020, the first pandemic year, when the economy contracted 9.5 percent. It may be noted that full-year GDP growth, excluding 2020, has consistently been growing faster than 5.5 percent since 2012.

Remulla on Monday offered a P6million reward for anyone who could provide information leading to the arrest of the six suspects in the disappearance of six sabungeros (cockfighting enthusiasts) last year.

REMULLA

The Nation

PNP advisory body sets 3-mo goal to finish screening task

THE task of weeding out senior officials allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade from the Philippine National Police (PNP) is expected to be over in three months as the five-man advisory body tasked to carry out the job held its first meeting.

PNP chief General Rodolfo Azurin Jr., who is also a member of the committee, said the body, whose members include lawyer and former Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. and retired police general and current Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, was scheduled to meet Monday to come up with its own rules on to how it would conduct the screening and assessment.

Earlier, the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. asked police officials from the ranks of colonel and up to submit their voluntary resignations and allow themselves to be subjected to assessments and background investigations in the PNP’s own internal campaign to cleanse itself from officials with links to illegal drugs.

A ll the officials were given until the end of last month to tender their courtesy resignations.

During a news briefing on Monday, Azurin said he and all the members of the panel would meet this week to formulate and review their guidelines in conducting the investigation before the committee, which he will preside, to officially start with its assessments.

“ We will already discuss the ‘house rules’ that we will use in the evaluation and assessments of our third level officers, and in the same manner, part of the discussion will also be on how we intend to finish the job in less than three months,” he said.

T he PNP chief said he had already come up with a draft on the scope, limitations and guidelines of the screening and evaluation, but still the other members could make recommendations of their own.

He said among the issues that they would be looking into during their assessments are the cases involving senior officials in the anti-illegal drugs campaign and the assets of senior police officials.

T he results of the panel’s screening will be forwarded to the National Police Commission, which will also conduct its own evaluation before forwarding it to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who will decide whether he would accept or deny the resignations.

Both Azurin and Abalos earlier defended the call for senior officials to tender their voluntary resignations, calling it as a “drastic move” to weed out officials with alleged links to illegal drugs. Rene Acosta

PCG says Chinese vessel temporarily blinds crew with military-grade laser

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

ACHINESE coast guard vessel targeted a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) boat supporting a resupply mission by the Philippine Navy for soldiers guarding the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) with military-grade laser, temporarily blinding some of the PCG personnel on board.

T he China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel with bow number 5205 also made dangerous maneuvers against the PCG ship BRP Malapascua during the incident, the PCG said in a statement issued on Monday, as it slammed China’s actions within the Philippines’s maritime waters.

T he harassments occurred on February 6 while the BRP Malapascua and its crewmen were supporting the resupply mission of the Navy for Filipino troops watching the Ayungin Shoal who are stationed at the partly sunken BRP Sierra Madre

T he incident occurred less than a week after the visit of United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III to the country wherein both countries agreed to restart the US-Philippines joint maritime patrols in Philippine waters and America’s access to additional locations for its troops’ rotational visits.

“On February 6, 2023, a China Coast Guard [CCG] vessel with bow number 5205 directed a militarygrade laser light at the Philippine Coast Guard [PCG] vessel BRP Malapascua (MRRV-4403) while supporting a rotation and resupply [RoRe] mission of the Philippine Navy in Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea,” the PCG said in a statement issued though its spokesman Commodore Armand Balilo.

T he statement said that as the Malapascua sailed about 10 nautical miles from the shoal, Beijing’s coast guard vessel, which is about four nautical miles away from the PCG vessel, maneuvered from the portside toward Malapascua’s star -

DOJ tosses plunder case vs Bantag to Ombudsman

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has decided to keep its hands off the plunder complaint filed against Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag and six others for alleged misappropriation of P1 billion in public funds intended for the construction of three prison facilities.

In an interview, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said he had instructed his prosecutors to transfer the case to the Office of the Ombudsman, which has primary jurisdiction over plunder cases.  “ I advised them to bring the cases to the Ombudsman. At least, the prosecutors here can refer it to the Ombudsman because we should not be handling things that may be beyond our jurisdiction,” Remulla explained.

Remulla noted that the Ombudsman can look into accusations of plunder motu propio and issue subpoenas to the persons involved and possible witnesses.

“ There is an existing memorandum of agreement between the Ombudsman and the DOJ with regard to handling of plunder cases...That’s why we believe that the elements that are stated in the complaint may very well be one that is within the cognizance of

the Ombudsman and the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman,” Remulla pointed out.

A side from Bantag, also named co-respondents were BuCor officers identified as Technical Superintendent Arnold Jacinto Guzman, Technical Inspector Ric Rocacurba, Technical Inspector Solomon Areniego, Technical Officer 1 Jor-El de Jesus, Technical Officer 2 Angelo Castillo and Technical Officer Alexis Catindig.

T he case was filed by BuCor Acting Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr.

Bantag and his co-respondents are facing   11 counts of malversation of public funds through falsification of official documents, 12 counts of graft and 12 counts of violation of the Code of Ethical Standard For Public Officials and Employees.

T he complaint stemmed from alleged irregularities in the implementation of  the P1 billion project for the construction of three prison facilities, namely, Davao Prison and Penal Farm (Lot 1), Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan (Lot 2) and Leyte Regional Prison (Lot 3).

T he complaint accused Bantag and his co-respondents of conspiring to “systematically orchestrate the diversion, misappropriation and/or consenting or permitting other persons to take public funds” of the BuCor.

Sen. Gatchalian pushes Senate review of implementation of anti-bullying law

By Butch Fernandez   @butchfBM

SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian, warning against the detrimental effects of bullying on students in school campus, spearheaded Monday’s Senate inquiry by the Committee on Basic Education’s review of the implementation of Republic Act No. 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Law.

Presiding over the hearing, Gatchalian aired an alarm over studies indicating the Philippines high on the list having the “highest incidence of bullying, aggression, violence, and offensive behavior in schools” among countries in Southeast Asia.

T he lawmaker, likewise, noted the 2019 Programme for International Assessment (PISA) results

linking bullying to the decline in the academic performance of Filipino students.

“Bullying is an education problem,” Gatchalian stressed, suggesting, “If we want to address learner performance and improve learner outcomes, we also need to make sure that the school environment is safe, conducive and projects confidence for our students.”

T he committee chairman aired hopes by affected sectors eager to “hear from government officials and experts whether or not RA 10627 is still responsive and effective in addressing the problem of bullying in the country’s schools today.”

T his developed as Department of Education assured concerned parents that the DepEd had launched “anti-bullying centers.”

board side.

The Chinese ship illuminated the green laser light twice toward the BRP Malapascua , causing temporary blindness to her crew at the bridge. The Chinese vessel also made dangerous maneuvers by approaching about 150 yards from the vessel’s starboard quarter,” the PCG said.

T he BRP Malapascua later changed its course from Ayungin Shoal and proceeded to Lawak Island to continue its maritime patrol and support the BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV9701) for the PCG’s own resupply mission to its sub-stations in the Kalayaan Island Group.

T he Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) had earlier reported that China’s coast guard has stepped up its patrols in maritime waters that Beijing is claiming in the South China Sea.

T he report said the increased patrols covered and included Scarbor-

ough Shoal and Ayungin Shoal where China has intensified its harassment of Philippine resupply missions over the past months.

Balilo said the “deliberate blocking of the Philippine government ships to deliver food and supplies” to Filipino soldiers aboard the BRP Sierra Madre was a “blatant disregard for, and a clear violation of Philippine sovereign rights” in that part of West Philippine Sea.

In August last year, the same China Coast Guard vessel also prevented PCG ships from getting closer to the Ayungin Shoal while providing security to a Navy resupply mission.

T he Chinese ship removed the cover of its 70mm naval gun when the BRP Teresa Magbanua inched closer to the shoal at a distance of 2.5 nautical miles.

T he said CCG ship, together with two Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) vessels and CCG 5102, formed a 13 nautical mileradius blockade with the Sierra Madre as it prevented Philippine

government ships from reaching the soldiers aboard the partlysubmerged ship.

In this particular mission, it was evident that the CMM vessels took orders from the CCG to prevent the Philippine ships from entering the shoal. The CMM even deployed their utility boats to support the blockade and shadowing by the CCG,” the PCG said.

Despite the incidents, PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu assured they would sustain the presence of their ships in the country’s maritime waters and exclusive economic zones.

The PCG will continue to exercise due diligence in protecting the country’s territorial integrity against foreign aggression,” he said.

“Despite the dangerous maneuver of the much larger CCG ships and their aggressive actions at sea, the PCG ships will always be in the West Philippine Sea to sustain our presence and assert our sovereign rights,” he asserted.

Construction work starts on MMSP’s Anonas and Camp Aguinaldo stations

E ducation Assistant Secretary for Operations Dexter Galban confirmed the department’s commitment to stop bullying among Filipino students nationwide.

A t the public hearing on the Anti-Bullying Act last Monday, Galban reported “the Department of Education [DepEd] has been supportive of the Anti-bullying Act of 2013 and created several units within the department from Child Protection Units to Child Rights Education Desks.”

He added that the DepEd recently merged the two as the Learners’ Rights and Protection Office, confirming, “We have even launched the Learners Rights TeleSafe Contact Centers last November to increase our capacity to gather reports on bullying.”

MINISTER for Economic Affairs of the Embassy of Japan, Mr. Nihei Daisuke on Monday joined Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista at the groundbreaking ceremony for Contract Package 103 of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), supported by the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).

D uring the ceremony, Minister Nihei said, “In the near future, Filipinos will be able to enjoy a comfortable and convenient subway system equipped with cuttingedge Japanese technology.” He also emphasized that that the Japanese government, together with JICA and Japanese contractors, will continue to provide unwavering support until the Philippines’s first subway dream comes true.

Bautista, for his part, said the ceremony inside the military camp signified the “multi sectoral” sup -

DOH logs 1,101

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

port for the subway’s completion.

CP 103 provides for the construction of the MMSP’s Camp Aguinaldo and Anonas Stations.

“ Today is another critical step towards that aspiration towards the convenience and comfort of Filipino commuters towards a transport infrastructure that catalyzes economic rebound. The socioeconomic benefits of the MMSP even exceeds our expectation,” he said.

Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. will undertake the project, which costs over P21.13 billion. It also involves the construction of an underground segment that will connect the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2’s Anonas Station to the MMSP’s Camp Aguinaldo Station.

Bautista likewise expressed his gratitude to the Japanese government for supporting the country’s first-ever underground railway.

“ We would like to express once again our gratitude to the gov -

ernment of Japan, through His Excellency Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa, for their unwavering support to this country’s first underground railway system,” said Bautista.

Metro Manila Subway will cut across eight cities that will stretch from Valenzuela City to FTI-Bicutan in Parañaque City with a spur line to Naia Terminal 3 in Pasay City. Spanning 33 kilometers with 17 stations, the subway system will cut travel time between Quezon City and Pasay City to 35 minutes from the current 1 hour and 10 minutes.

T he project is expected to be completed in 2028.

C ontract Package 103 of the MMSP, signed on November 3 between Department of Transportation and Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co., will construct two underground stations—Anonas and Camp Aguinaldo—as well as the tunnels connecting them. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Covid cases from Feb. 6 to 12

According to the DOH, the daily average case per day has been pegged at 157. On February 12, there were 426 severe and critical cases admitted to the hospitals. Ofthe2,243ICUbedsforCovid patients, 311(13.9 percent) are occupied.   O ver 73 million individuals or

94.57 percent of the target population are vaccinated against Covid, while 21 million individuals were given their booster shots.

On the other hand, 6.9 million senior citizens or 79.47 percent of the target A2 population received their primary series.

SRA Board okays importation of 440,000 MT of refined sugar

allowed to arrive starting April 1.

Corporate culture is relationship culture

own values, motivators and your “sense of purpose.” In addition, you must represent your own interests with self-confidence, and at the same time be open and constructive for the views of others.

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T he Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Board approved on Monday a sugar order (SO) that would authorize the entry of 440,000 MT of refined sugar in the country for domestic use.

T he national government has also approved the importation of 64,050 MT of sugar through the minimum access volume (MAV) mechanism.

SRA board member Pablo Azcona, who represents the sugarcane planters, confirmed these developments to the media after the Board’s meeting on Monday.

T he SO for the government’s latest import program was signed by

Senior Agriculture Undersecretary

Domingo F. Panganiban, SRA Administrator David John Thaddeus

P. Alba, SRA Board Members Maria Mitzi V. Mangwag and Azcona.

SO import program

THE 440,000-MT import volume will be divided as follows: 200,000 MT for consumer use and 240,000 MT for buffer stocking purposes. The imported sugar will enter the country on a staggered basis, Azcona explained. T he 100,000 MT can enter the country as soon as possible, while the other 100,000 MT will only be

T he remaining 240,000 MT can enter anytime and shall form the two-month buffer stock as earlier ordered by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

A ll the imported sugar will be initially classified as “C” sugar or reserved sugar and shall undergo the usual conversion guidelines by the SRA board prior to domestic consumption.

“ The conversion will be dependent on the decision of the Sugar Board based on the inventory,” Azcona said.

A zcona noted that the latest import program would be allocated for consumer use, which also includes industrial users.

MAV import program

AZCONA disclosed that the SRA board is still in the process of ironing out the guidelines for the 64,050-MT MAV importation program.

He explained that the MAV Management Committee (MMC) approved the utilization of the sugar MAV. He added that the SRA will still have the power to classify and reclassify the sugar imported under the said trade mechanism.

We will do the implementing rules and regulations of the MAV [importation]. We already have a draft guidelines, but we will still change it to address the issues we have discussed,” he added.

For one, Azcona said, the SRA board is proposing that the arrival of the imported sugar under MAV will be between mid-April and endAugust. Furthermore, all the stocks under the MAV shall be consumed before the start of the next crop year on September 1.

T he issue that the SRA is clarifying with the MMC is whether the 64,050 MT volume would be raw or refined sugar.

It can be recalled that no less than Marcos instructed Panganiban last December to fast-track the facilitation of sugar importation using the MAV mechanism. (Related story:  https://businessmirror.com. ph/2023/01/02/govt-mulling-overmav-scheme-for-sugar-imports/)

L atest SRA price monitoring report showed that the average price of refined sugar in Metro Manila wet markets as of January 27 was at P98 per kilogram, while those sold in supermarkets were averaging P100.59 per kilogram.

PBBM renews push for RCEP ratification

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

THE Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would help boost the competitiveness of the country’s agriculture sector, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said.

In an interview with the media on Sunday on board PR001 on his return trip from Japan, Marcos stressed RCEP will grant the country access to non-traditional suppliers of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, which will be beneficial for local farmers.

Without RCEP, we cannot do that,” Marcos said.

“So we are going to continue to increase our investment in the agricultural value chain. That will make us more competitive,” he added.

T he President made the assurance amid concerns RCEP could flood the

country with imported agricultural products, which could be detrimental to local farmers and hamper the government’s goal of achieving food supply sufficiency.

All our markets that are mentioned in RCEP are already open. There will be no [new market] which will be opened [by RCEP],” Marcos said.

Wasted opportunity RCEP is a free trade agreement (FTA) signed by Asean together with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

It is expected to cut tariffs on some goods to create common standards for e-commerce, trade, and intellectual property, among others.

Currently, only the Philippines has yet to ratify RCEP, which is required before both countries could implement its provision.

Despite the pending ratification

by the Senate of RCEP, the President has already promoted the country’s inclusion in the said FTA during his official visit in Japan last week.

“ The reason that I talked about RCEP is because I am quite confident that it will soon be passed [by the Senate],” Marcos said.

He noted the country cannot waste the opportunity of joining the RCEP since it could further help boost the country’s trade.

I think time will prove—yeah, time will prove that it is a—it is to our advantage. Since what we are after is more trade,” Marcos said.

LEDAC meeting

THE Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) committed to push for the ratification of the RCEP during its meeting on Monday at Malacañang.

Two LEDAC participants, Senate

President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Loren Legarda, assured they will “jointly defend the ratification of RCEP on the Senate floor.”

Aside from the RCEP, the LEDAC also committed to pass 10 other priority legislation by June 2 this year.

T hese include the bills for the Amendments to the Build-OperateTransfer Law/Public-Private Partnership bill, Medical Reserve Corps, Philippine Center for Disease Prevention and Control, creation of the Virology Institute of the Philippines, and Mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps and National Service Training Program.

A lso included in the list are the legislation for the Condonation of Unpaid Amortization and Interests of Loans of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs), Internet Transactions Act/E-Commerce Law, Maharlika bill, Attrition law,/AFP Fixed Term and the Salt Industry Development Bill.

By Henry J. Schumacher

A n answer to the question of the common what for and where to allows organizations to align themselves clearly, to position themselves for the future, and to involve all employees. This creates scope for successful relationships that enable cultural change.

L et’s believe in meaningful action and visionary alignment:

1.) Companies with meaning and vision learn early, quickly, and permanently.

2.) The people in the company are happier, more motivated, and more productive.

3.) Relationships are strong, people in the company become resilient and fit for the future.

4.) This makes the company more effective and reduces complexity.

5.) Teams make faster and better decisions.

6 .) The interaction between employees and customers is increasing.

7.) It leads to sustainable growth and success in the market.

8.) It always contributes to the common good.

Part of this progressive exercise are successful relationships in the work context and the ability to engage in open and transparent communication.

You may think that it would be easy to learn to meet oneself and others as equals in a constructive dialogue, but equality requires maturity.

It requires a lot of maturity and clarity, such as knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, your

So the question is:

Do you meet yourself and others self-aware and at eye level?

Do you treat your counterpart with respect—regardless of whether this person shares your opinion?

A re you open and interested in the opinion of others?

Are you ready to want to understand your counterpart and to temporarily leave your “world” for this?

Are you interested in a we— or do you want to assert your idea/ your position/your attitude?

Why these questions?

NUMEROUS projects regarding cultural change and team development show the danger of an everwidening gap in the work force or between the teams. There are people who embrace the increasingly complex and dynamic reality, and others who are left frustrated and disillusioned by too many change campaigns in the organization. At the same time, if you ask them, they all just want the opportunity to do a good job.

I n a positive environment, structures and rules allow you to have fun at work, and to make you feel that you belong. Especially in today’s complexity and dynamics, it is important to address the diversity of perspectives in the work force, to welcome them and to act transparently at eye level.

We need eye level to enable both individual trust in management and collective trust in the company. And thus (again) building up an intrinsic connection in and with the organization to tackle all changes and the design of something new together. If people succeed in acting as equals in an organization, they strengthen their relationships. If you strengthen your relationships, you also strengthen the willingness and ability to change in the company.

L et’s unlock the power of human connection as corporate culture is relationship culture.

Feedback is appreciated; contact me at hjschumacher59@gmail.com

IFthe relationship within an organization is missing, employees are less satisfied, less motivated, and less productive.

THE Philippines has allowed the importation of 504,050 metric tons (MT) of sugar, bulk of which being refined, to augment local supply and pull down the elevated prices of the commodity in the domestic market.

PBBM’s stand, House to pursue Cha-cha talks‘

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz  @joveemarie

THE House Committee on Constitutional Amendments will continue holding public hearings and consultations on the proposed Charter change (Cha-cha), the panel chairman said on Monday. (See related story in A1, “Cha-cha ‘not a priority’ for BBM, but solons unfazed.”

C agayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, committee chairman, issued the statement following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s statement that the country could attract foreign investments even with the present 1987 Constitution.

We respect the opinion of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on constitutional amendment measures. We will of course consider it. But as an independent branch of government, the House of Representatives and Congress will proceed with its public dialogues on this issue,” Rodriguez said.

T he House Committee on Constitutional Amendments was conducting hearings in Iloilo City.

We laud and commend President Marcos Jr. for trying to entice foreign businessmen in his trips abroad to invest their money in the country. He is our best salesman. But certain restrictive provisions of the Charter could be impeding investments,” the lawmaker pointed out.

In our hearings at the House of Representatives last week and in Cagayan de Oro City last Friday, the overwhelming recommendation was to rewrite the Constitution’s economic provisions to allow for more foreign investments,” Rodriguez said.

He said participants also suggested the calling of an elected Constitutional convention to propose Charter changes.

The emerging consensus is to relax restrictions on the entry of foreign capital into the country,” he said.

He added that his committee would hold more consultations in other parts of Luzon.

Speaker Martin Romualdez has said if

the House decides to initiate the process of proposing amendments to the Constitution, its goal would be to encourage investments that would generate more economic activities, job opportunities and income for the people.

He said the tweaking of the Charter’s economic provisions could be the “last piece in the puzzle” of attracting more foreign investments.

E arlier, Romualdez said congressional deliberations on the proposed Constitutional amendments are more focused now on the need to encourage investments that would further stimulate economic activities, create job opportunities, reduce poverty and lower prices of goods and services.

“ The proponents of the lifting of the economic provisions in the Constitution agree on one thing: opening the economy wide for inflow of foreign capital is the key to address the aspirations and ideals of Filipinos in present times,” Romualdez said.

He said investment restrictions on foreign ownership range from requiring at least 60 percent Filipino ownership to total prohibition.

He added that the Constitution prohibits foreign ownership in mass media and allows only 30 percent foreign capital in advertising agencies, and 40 percent in educational facilities.

In the education sector, foreign ownership caps prevented the Philippines from hosting topnotch universities seeking to establish a presence in Asia,” the House Speaker pointed out.

He added that while the country has been addressing foreign ownership limitation that has constrained investment in many sectors through legislation such as the Public Services Act, the Retail Trade Liberalization Act and the Foreign Investment Act, “fundamental investment restrictions enshrined in the Constitution could not be corrected by simple legislations or by Executive decisions.”

By Andrea E. San Juan

THE Board of Investments

(BOI) announced it would be inviting global investors in agriculture and food production sectors to invest in Bukidnon’s 40-hectare Industrial zone.

I n a recent meeting with Bukidnon local government officials led by Governor Rogelio Neil Roque, Vice Governor Clive D. Quiño and First District Rep. Jose Manuel Alba, BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said “this endeavor is very promising and we truly believe in Bukidnon’s potential to be a global food manufacturing hub.”

T he BOI, through its Investments Assistance Service, said in a news statement issued on Monday that it facilitated the meeting which focused on the development and promotion of the Bukidnon Domestic Industrial Zone.

A ccording to the investment promotion agency, in the meeting, the Provincial Planning and Development Office of Bukidnon presented the competitive advantages of the province and why the province would be an ideal location for a domestic industrial zone.

T he BOI, in turn, said it committed to assist the local government in promoting the industrial zone by inviting possible developers and locators.

To realize this, Rodolfo said, “We are proposing to schedule a series of roundtable meetings with industry stakeholders and industrial zone developers in the next three months from January 2023 to solicit inputs and interests and ready the industrial zone for strategic promotions.”

T he BOI managing head said the agency is looking at showcasing “this kind of investment opportunity”

in international roadshows in countries like South Korea, who Rodolfo said, can potentially bring their food production facilities to Bukidnon.

K nown as the food basket of Southern Philippines (Mindanao), Bukidnon has a “progressive” agriculture-based economy with products such as pineapple, tomato, coffee, rubber, cattle, and bamboo, the BOI noted.

“ With high altitude, relatively flat land area, and consistently good weather, Bukidnon also boasts of its competitive advantages for the agriindustry,” the BOI said.

T he investment promotion agency said the province is among the top producers of regular bamboo and “has the most abundant supply” of Asper of giant bamboo in the country.

M oreover, the BOI said Bukidnon’s “opportunity-driven infrastructure, including improved all-weather provincial road networks and enhanced barangay connectivity serve as facilitating factors for greater economic development.”

A ccording to BOI, the province already hosts big players in the food production business, including Del Monte Philippines Inc., Republic Biscuit Corporation and Liwayway Marketing Corporation, which may help attract similar projects to consider Bukidnon as their investment destination.

T he investment promotion agency also noted that the province’s main source of economic prosperity is its “rich” agricultural land and “thriving” commercial industry with export activities to other regions and to US markets.

“ With agriculture, forestry and fishery as main economic drivers, Bukidnon is hailed as the 5th richest province in the country in 2022 by the Commission on Audit,” BOI said.

‘Despite

Govt to promote Bukidnon as next global food makers hub, says BOI’s Rodolfo

Valentine’s

In friendship and in marriage, love

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

KABANKALAN, Negros Occidental—Not only are Garle de Jesus, Helen Ibañez, and Bernadeth Mocon enjoying their long friendship but their thriving marriages as well. All are retired teachers in this city.

Being married, they said, doesn’t mean that everything is perfect but having God in their shared journey, made their path smoother. Being married for over 30 years, for them is already an incredible milestone.

The first meeting

GARLE met her husband Ronaldo in Fortress College where she was working. Ronaldo was then playing basketball. It was Ronaldo’s brother Bobet who introduced him to her in 1985.

She found Ronaldo also known as Boyet attractive because of his musical giftedness. Boyet also happens to be Bernadeth’s second cousin. They finally got married in 1990 and have been married for 32 years.

Bernadeth, the mother of this reporter, said that for my father Claudio, it was love at first sight

when he saw her in Dacongcogon Sugar and Rice Milling Company in Negros Occidental.

Meanwhile. Helen, who is also Bernadeth’s second cousin, met Melvin at a party of their common friend in 1982. From there, the courtship began.

Christ-centered relationship

MAKING a marriage work is not a walk in the park.

However, the three were able to face the challenges by making God a priority in their marriage.

Putting Christ as the center of our marriage,” Garle said, when asked what made their relationship strong. She has been married to Boyet for 33 years.

Th is was echoed by Helen, who has been married to Melvin for 36 years and Bernadeth, who has been married to Claudio for 42 years.

W hen the going gets tough, they said that they entrust everything to God.

They always put their faith and trust iin God when it comes to their family.

For Helen’s part, being a wife of a seafarer, she had to be strong and optimistic back then for her five children.

She understood that her hus-

band had to sacrifice to provide for their needs while she was looking after her children and working at the same time.

Celebrating anniversarieswedding and Valentine’s Day

GARLE and Helen do celebrate their wedding anniversary and sometimes go on a Valentine’s date with their respective husbands. For Bernadeth, it is a different story. She and Claudio never celebrated their anniversary nor experienced any Valentine’s Day activities.

W hen asked, Bernadeth simply replied “Para ano [What for]?” She said that what is important is that they are still together.

You and me against the world UNLIKE Garle and Helen, Bernadeth and Claudio’s love story did not start well.

It was a struggle from the very start for Bernadeth had a strict mother and opposed Claudio’s courtship. When her mother discovered their relationship, she went berserk.

Bernadeth then sent her to Mindanao, from Negros Occidental, to stay with her cousins in 1978.

But the plan of Bernadeth’s mother to separate them did not succeed. Claudio followed Bernadeth a few months later. In 1979,

I was born and they decided to get married the following year.

In 1982, they decided to return to Negros for life in Mindanao was really hard for them. It was also difficult to find a job.

But the wrath of Bernadeth’s mother was far from over.

“I will accept you and your babies but not your husband,” Bernadeth recalled what her mother told them the first time she saw them. She was pregnant with their second child at that time.

However, Bernadeth stood by her husband.

“He did everything for us not be hungry in Mindanao and I guess it is not fair if I will leave him.”

“If she will not accept your Papa, then we have no choice but leave…” she said. They proceeded to house of her husband’s family in

Talisay, Negros Occidental where they were accepted.

But as they say, time heals all wounds/ Bernadeth’s mother eventually gave in.

Marriage problems

HELEN shared that there were times that her husband does not obey her. “ We have to talk it out. Explain our sides, our faults, and apologize,” she said, adding that she doesn’t like that their misunderstandings will consume them even for a minute.

Garle, on the other hand, will stay calm if her husband is angry. “ There are times, we don’t have the same stand on some things,” she said. In every difficulty, prayer works, she said.

THE SECRET TO A LONG-LASTING MARRIAGE AND ‘GIVE AND TAKE,’ ACCORDING

By Patrick V. Miguel

ABOUT 30 years ago, Dandino

Irinca worked as a construction painter, where he met his wife Janet, through her father who was the foreman at the same construction project. Janet’s father brought Dandino to their house, and that was how he met his future wife and future mother of their five children. It was love at first sight for Dandino, who immediately grew fond of Janet and decided to court her.

He was 26 at that time, and she was 21. Asked about her decision to answer Dandino’s request to be his girlfriend, Janet said she saw how genuine and serious he was with her.

It did not take long until Janet got pregnant, and the couple decided to elope and live together in Dandino’s parents’ house.

However, they did not immediately tie the knot. It was only when they had two kids that they finally decided to get married.

Dandino said that their biggest struggle at the beginning was money. They both had trouble making ends meet since Dandino did not have a permanent job as a

construction painter. Janet, at the same time, was a homemaker who took care of the kids.

“ We were always short on cash when we started living together,” he said.

But they still got through it. Proud of how far they have come now, Janet said, “We worked very hard.” Now, they have their own house in Antipolo, Rizal, and their now five children are all working professionals.

With five kids, Janet recalled, “It was a real challenge for the both of us because we had to find the means to buy food, pay their tution and their allowance.”

But despite the financial struggles they had to overcome along the way, Dandino and Janet still stayed together. The secret to this is simple, according to them, to “give and take.”

Give and take,” based on their definition, is understanding what the other needs and meeting halfway without overly-compensating one of the other.

W henever they have a fight, Janet, who admitted to being very outspoken, said that Dandino would always back down and wait

until the heat cools off.

Dandino agreed to this, saying, “If you see that your wife is starting to tell you off or giving you a sermon, do not think that you are ‘under’ her. You have to understand her.”

You have to understand what she wants because this will not have a bad effect in any way in our relationship,” he added.

They said that this has helped avoid major fights between the two. The longest that they have been in a fight was three days, and all of this was made possible for their “give and take” system.

‘For better or for worse’ For Romy and Ella (not their real names), being open to each other and communicating is the key to a long-lasting marriage. This Marikina-based couple have been married for 42 years, as of writing. With three children, Romy and Ella have since retired, being 70 and 66 respectively. Romy is a retired civil engineer, meanwhile Ella was a nurse.

“Ask and listen what your wife needs and wants from you,” he said. “At the same time, your wants and needs from her.”

Conti’s Celebrates All Kinds

THIS year, Conti’s Bakeshop and Restaurant is making Valentine’s extra special with not just one, but two delightful treats.

F oremost is the beloved cake brand’s latest creation, Mud About Mousse. A triple-decker mousse laying on a bed of luscious chocolate sponge topped with strawberry slices and brownie brittle, the

cake captures the many layers of delectable feel-good emotions that love contains plus a few textures that make it exciting. This Mud is sure to make everyone even more mad about their love for cake.

Even more flavors are packed in the new Conti’s Petite Set, a collection of four different mini cakes that can be availed as package or individually. There’s something

for every taste – traditional classic in Choco Overload; coffee in Cookieccino; fruity in Strawberry Shortcake; and local fave in Ube Custard. Whether you and your loved ones are enjoying one or several or all of these cakes, this Petite Set is sure to give you big satisfaction.

A s some sort of cherry on top, each purchase of Mud About Mousse and Petite Set will come with a special L-O-V-E cake topper

Helen and Melvin Ibañez have been married for 36 years.

Boyet and Garle De Jesus have been married for 32 years

love endures

Children are blessings

ALL their children are all grown ups, and some already have family of their own.

Garle’s eldest daughter Dexyll

Garll now works as a government employee, Ron Arvill who is a graduate of Culinary and Hospitality Management of University of St. La Salle-Bacolod, and Zhaine Garl, is a home-based BPO employee.

Bernadeth’s three other children are also currently working. The second child Claudio works in a BPO company, Pamela Kristine, a nurse in Singapore, and the youngest Moises Julio is a Municipal Trial Courts in Cities process server.

Meanwhile, all of Helen’s children are abroad.

The eldest, Mel Richard, is a nurse in New Zealand, Melvlen Joy is also a nurse in New Zealand where she lives

GIVE A THOUGHTFUL GIFT THIS VALENTINE’S WITH THE LIMITED-EDITION TOBLERONE LOVE CARDS

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with her husband and a daughter, Mel Bryle, nurse in Australia, Mel Kevin, nurse in Canada, while the youngest, Mel Angelica is currently taking up Global Business Management at Centennial College in Canada. Garle, Helen, and Bernadeth enjoy bonding together. Sometimes they are accompanied by their respective husbands.

W hen they are together with their other friends namely, Mildred, Vilma, Nenette, Bethel, Suzzie, and Virgie, there are a lot of laughs. They are also busy serving God in their respective churches.

Garle, Helen, and Bernadeth are thankful to God for the longevity of their marriage and will always remember their vow: “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part…”

MARRIAGE IS COMMUNICATION TO MARRIED COUPLES

DON’T we all love to express affection through gifts? When it comes to romantic gifting, ‘it’s the thought that counts,’ they say— but sometimes, the pressure is all too real as expectations are high. We find a way to avoid cookie-cutter messages and generic gifts that often fall flat. This Valentine’s season is a better time to #BeMore -

Thoughtful and to wear our hearts on our sleeve. However, nailing that perfect gift is not as easy as we think. You could probably relate: you seek out and buy a present with the intention of making a loved one happy, but realize when you give the gift that it falls short of expressing your emotions or being the best gift that fits your loved one. Toblerone wants to re -

mind Filipinos that it only takes a little bit more thoughtfulness to get the perfect gift.

We know that nothing makes the heart flutter more than thoughtful gestures. This Valentine’s fall head over heels for the Toblerone Love Cards, a premium, and limited-edition animated card that you can personalize for your loved ones.

Be more thoughtful with

your #TobleroneLoveCards by writing down feelings you’ve always wanted to put into words or draw out the thoughts you’ve always imagined. That way, the gift doesn’t only end when you finish the Toblerone bar but also stays as a heartwarming reminder of a thoughtful Valentine’s Day gesture for your loved one. How’s that for a one-of-a-kind, thoughtful, and premium gift?

Romy admitted that open communication is not always the answer, saying that it is okay to argue sometimes.

He said, “open communication is not always the key. It’s good to argue sometimes [and] come out at the end of the day [with] a win-win situation and agree on a common ground.”

Romy added, “Just be honest and be respectful. Talking to each other makes you more comfortable

Kinds of Love

starting February 10 until supplies last.

D iscovering the ideal Valentine's Day treat has become effortless thanks to Conti's.

If you're considering sharing a sweet surprise or simply want to spoil yourself during this time of love, they offer the perfect cake to suit your needs.

Available on www.contis.ph delivery, Conti’s FB Messenger, and hotline (8580-

with each other. Support each other, learn to say ‘sorry’ and ask for forgiveness and forgive too.”

A sked about the biggest struggle they had to hurdle as a couple, Romy said that it’s his wife’s medical condition. Ella is currently undergoing chemotherapy, which has also affected their finances.

Romy said with optimism, “We still stand as one, for better or for worse.”

8888). Order Conti’s cakes too at Grab, Foodpanda, and Takeout in all Conti’s stores. The Conti’s Valentine's cakes are not valid in conjunction with other promos and discounts. T he delightful Conti’s cakes are available in over 70 Conti’s branches nationwide. To know more about Conti’s Bakeshop & Restaurant, visit www.contis. ph or check out their Facebook (@contisph), Instagram (@contis_ph), and TikTok (@ contisph) pages. Other pages bearing the name and images are fake. They do not in any way represent the brand.

For Janet and Dandino Irinca, marriage is give and take.

Claudio Jr. and Bernadeth Mocon, parents of BusinessMirror reporter Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco, have been married for 42 years.

The World Turkey probes contractors as quake deaths pass 33,000

disaster struck.

Asian stocks sink ahead of US inflation update

By Joe Mcdonald AP Business Writer

BEIJING—Asian stock mar -

By Justin Spike, Zeynep Bilginsoy & Sarah El Deeb The Associated Press

ANTAKYA, Turkey—Turkish authorities are targeting contractors allegedly linked with buildings that collapsed in the powerful February 6 earthquakes as rescuers found more survivors in the rubble Sunday, including a pregnant woman and two children, in the disaster that killed over 33,000 people.

The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 quakes that struck nine hours apart in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria rose to 33,185 and was certain to increase as search teams find more bodies.

As despair bred rage at the agonizingly slow rescues, the focus turned to assigning blame.

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said 131 people were under investigation for their alleged responsibility in the construction of buildings that failed to withstand the quakes. While the quakes were powerful, many in Turkey blame faulty construction for multiplying the devastation.

Turkey’s construction codes meet current earthquake-engineering standards, at least on paper, but they are rarely enforced, explaining why thousands of buildings toppled over or pancaked down onto the people inside.

Among those facing scrutiny were two people arrested in Gaziantep province on suspicion of cutting down columns to make extra room in a building that collapsed, the state-run Anadolu Agency said. The justice ministry said three people were arrested, seven others were detained and another seven were barred from leaving Turkey.

Two contractors held responsible for the destruction of buildings in Adiyaman were arrested Sunday at Istanbul Airport while trying to leave the country, the private DHA news agency and other media reported. One detained contractor, Yavuz Karakus, told DHA: “My conscience is clear. I built 44 buildings. Four of them were demolished. I did everything according to the rules.”

Rescuers reported finding more survivors amid increasingly long odds. Thermal cameras were used as crews demanded silence to hear those trapped.

In hard-hit Hatay province, a

50-year-old woman who appeared badly injured was carried out by crews in the town of Iskenderun.

Similar rescues in the province saved two other women, one of them pregnant, according to broadcasters TRT and HaberTurk.

HaberTurk showed a 6-yearold boy rescued from his wrecked home in Adiyaman. An exhausted rescuer removed his surgical mask and took deep breaths as several women cried in joy.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca posted a video of a young girl in a navy blue jumper who was found alive. “There is always hope!” he tweeted.

Rescuers in Antakya, elsewhere in Hatay province, pulled a man in his late 20s or 30s from the rubble, saying he was one of nine trapped in the building. He waved weakly as he was removed on a stretcher as workers applauded and chanted, “God is great!”

German and Turkish workers rescued an 88-year-old in Kirikhan, German news agency dpa reported. Italian and Turkish rescuers found a 35-year-old man in Antakya who appeared unscathed, private NTV television reported.

A child was freed overnight in the town of Nizip, in Gaziantep, state-run Anadolu Agency said, while a 32-year woman was found in a wrecked eight-story building in Antakya and asked for tea when she emerged, according to NTV.

Those were the rare exceptions.

Backhoes and bulldozers prepared a large cemetery in Antakya’s outskirts as trucks and ambulances brought a steady stream of black body bags. Hundreds of graves were marked with simple wooden planks.

Hatay’s airport reopened Sunday after its runway was repaired, and military and commercial planes ferried in supplies and will take away evacuees.

There are 34,717 Turkish personnel involved in rescue efforts.

On Sunday, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said they were joined by 9,595 personnel from 74 countries, with more on the way.

In the Syrian capital of Damascus, the head of the World Health Organization warned that the pain will ripple forward, calling the disaster an “unfolding tragedy that’s affecting millions.”

“The compounding crises of conflict, Covid, cholera, economic decline, and now the earthquake have taken an unbearable toll,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Tedros said WHO experts were waiting to enter northwestern Syria “where we have been told the impact is even worse.”

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, visiting the TurkishSyrian border Sunday, said Syrians are “looking for international help that hasn’t arrived.”

“We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned,” he said, adding, “My duty and our obligation is to correct this failure as fast as we can.”

In the town of Atareb, in opposition-run northern Aleppo province, Abdel-Haseeb Abdel-Raheem returned Sunday to his ruined fourstory building to try to salvage any valuables but could find only blankets, pillows and some clothes. His aunt and her husband died there, but their three children survived.

With no international rescue efforts in the war-battered region, the 34-year-old had to recover the bodies himself.

“You can’t hear someone inside screaming and sit tight. You can’t sit still. You can’t have the heart to hear someone [crying for help] and you do nothing,” he said, sitting above a mound of debris.

Political disputes have held up aid convoys sent from areas of northeast Syria controlled by USbacked Kurdish groups to those controlled by the Syrian government and by Turkish-backed rebels who have fought with the Kurdish groups over the years.

A UN aid convoy sent to northwestern Syria through government-held areas was postponed due to obstruction from Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, an al-Qaida affiliated group ruling Idlib province, a UN spokesperson told The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, UN aid convoys continue to cross from Turkey into northwestern Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing.

The first UN convoy only reached northwest Syria from Turkey on Thursday, three days after the

Before that, it was only a steady stream of bodies coming through Bab al-Hawa: Syrian refugees who had fled the civil war and settled in Turkey but died in the disaster, being returned home for burial.

The earthquake death toll in Syria’s northwestern rebel-held region has reached 2,166, according to the rescue group the White Helmets. The overall death toll in Syria stood at 3,553 on Saturday, although the 1,387 deaths reported for government-held parts of the country hadn’t been updated in days. Turkey’s death toll was 29,605 as of Sunday.

Turkey’s Justice Ministry announced the establishment of Earthquake Crimes Investigation bureaus to identify contractors and others responsible for building works. It would gather evidence; instruct experts including architects, geologists and engineers; and check building permits and occupation permits.

A contractor was detained Friday at Istanbul airport before he could leave the country. He built a luxury 12-story building called Ronesans Rezidans in Antakya, and when it fell, it killed an untold number. He was formally arrested Saturday.

In leaked testimony published by Anadolu, the man said the building followed regulations and he did not know why it didn’t stay standing. His lawyer suggested his client was a scapegoat.

Under programs that allowed building owners to pay fines instead of bringing them up to code, the government agency responsible for enforcement acknowledged in 2019 that over half of all buildings in Turkey—accounting for some 13 million apartments—were not in compliance.

The detentions could help direct public anger toward builders and contractors, deflecting it from local and state officials who allowed apparently substandard construction to proceed. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, already burdened by an economic downturn and high inflation, faces parliamentary and presidential elections in May.

The nongovernmental business organization TURKONFED estimated the earthquake damage at $84.1 billion, based on statistics from the devastating 1999 quake in northwestern Turkey, including $70.1 billion in housing and $10.4 billion to gross domestic product.

Rescue crews have been overwhelmed by the widespread damage that has affected roads and airports, making it even harder to move quickly.

Erdogan acknowledged the initial response was hampered by the damage, with the worst affected area 500 kilometers (310 miles) in diameter and home to 13.5 million. During a tour Saturday, Erdogan said such a tragedy was rare, referring to it as the “disaster of the century” in multiple speeches.

In New York City, mourners gathered Saturday at a mosque to remember a family of four from the borough of Queens who were killed while visiting relatives in Turkey. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said Burak and Kimberly Firik and their sons, aged 1 and 2, died in the disaster.

Bilginsoy reported from Istanbul.

kets sank Monday ahead of a US inflation update that traders worry might lead to more interest rate hikes.

Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul declined. Shanghai advanced. Oil prices declined.

Traders hope Tuesday’s inflation data will show upward pressure on US prices is easing, which might encourage the Federal Reserve to ease off efforts to cool business activity and hiring. They worry a strong reading after estimates of 2022 inflation were revised up last week would reinforce plans to keep rates high and possibly increase them.

A strong inflation figure “can move through risk assets like a wrecking ball,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo sank 1.1 percent to 27,354.81 while the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.5 percent to 3,276.39. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.6 percent to 21,060.77.

The Kospi in Seoul declined 0.9 percent to 2,447.77 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.3 percent to 7,410.30. New Zealand and Singapore retreated while Jakarta gained.

On Friday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.2 percent to 4,090.46. The index ended the week with a loss of 1.1 percent, its biggest weekly decline since December.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 percent to 33,869.27. The Nasdaq fell less than 0.1 percent to 11,718.12.

Stocks have been rallying since last month on hopes the Fed might start cutting rates as early as late this year. That is despite warnings by Chair Jerome Powell that rates will stay elevated for an extended period until inflation pressures are extinguished.

Other central banks in Europe and Asia also have raised rates to

cool inflation.

Wall Street raised its forecast of how high the Fed might raise rates after Powell said last week there is a “significant road ahead” to get inflation down to its 2 percent target. He warned against expecting inflation to “go away quickly and painlessly.”

The US government revised December inflation to 0.1 percent over the previous month, up from the earlier estimate of a 0.1 percent decline. The November figure was raised to 0.2 percent over the previous month from 0.1 percent.

Traders expect Tuesday’s report to say consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in January over the previous month.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond, or the difference between the market price and the payout at maturity, widened to 3.73 percent on Friday from 3.66 percent.

The yield on the two-year Treasury ticked up to 4.50 percent from 4.48 percent. It was at 4.08 percent just over a week ago and is near its highest level since November.

Equities analysts have cut forecasts of first-quarter earnings for companies in the S&P 500 by 4.5 percent due to the impact of inflation and slowing economic activity, according to strategists at Credit Suisse.

News Corp. fell 9.4 percent after the owner of The Wall Street Journal and other media reported weaker quarterly results than expected. Expedia lost 8.6 percent after reporting weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected.

In energy markets, benchmark US crude lost 75 cents to $78.97 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.66 to $79.72 on Friday. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, shed 71 cents to $85.68 per barrel in London. It gained $1.89 on Friday to $86.39.

The dollar gained to 131.85 yen from Friday’s 131.50 yen. The euro declined to $1.0666 from $1.0672.

Pope worried about Nicaraguan bishop sentenced to 26 years

By Megan Janetsky The Associated

Press

MEXICO CITY—Pope Francis on Sunday expressed sadness and worry at the news that Bishop Rolando Álvarez, an outspoken critic of the Nicaraguan government, had been sentenced to 26 years in prison.

It’s just the latest move against the Catholic Church and government opponents, and comes amid growing concern for Álvarez.

“The news that arrived from Nicaragua has saddened me no little,’’ the pontiff said, expressing both his love and concern at a traditional Sunday gathering in St. Peter’s Square.

He called on the faithful to pray for the politicians responsible “to open their hearts.”

Álvarez was sentenced Friday, after refusing to get on a flight to the United States with 222 other prisoners, all opponents of President Daniel Ortega. In addition to his prison term, Álvarez was stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship.

The bishop said if he boarded the plane, it would mean he was admitting he was guilty to a crime he never committed, according to a person close to Álvarez who asked not the be identified out of fear of reprisal.

“Let them go and I’ll stay and serve out their sentence,” he said that Álvarez told him.

Until now, no one has been able to contact Álvarez, nor confirm where he is or if he is safe, he said.

That concern was also echoed in Nicaragua’s capital, when Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes said someone had asked him what they could do for Álvarez.

“Pray, that is our strength,” Brenes told those gathered inside the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

“Pray that the Lord gives him strength, gives him judgment in all of his actions.”

The comments by Pope Francis and Cardinal Brenes on Sunday were the first made publicly by the church about the expulsion of the prisoners—several priests did board the flight—and of Álvarez’s sentence.

Ortega ordered the mass release of political leaders, priests, students and activists widely considered political prisoners and had some of them put on a flight to Washington Thursday. Ortega said Álvarez refused to board without being able to consult with other bishops.

Nicaragua’s president called Álvarez’s refusal “an absurd thing.” Álvarez, who had been held under house arrest, was then taken to the nearby Modelo prison.

In the run-up to Ortega’s re-election in November 2021, Nicaraguan authorities arrested seven potential opposition presidential candidates to clear the field. The government closed hundreds of nongovernmental organizations that Ortega has accused of taking foreign funding and using it to destabilize his government.

The former guerrilla fighter has long had a tense relationship with the Catholic Church. But he targeted it more directly last year in his campaign to extinguish voices of dissent. Ortega kicked out the papal nuncio, the Vatican’s top diplomat in March. Later, the government shut down several radio stations in Álvarez’s Matagalpa diocese ahead of municipal elections. Álvarez was arrested in August along with several other priests and lay people, accused with undermining the government and spreading false information.

The Associated Press writer Christopher ShermaninMexicoCitycontributedtothisreport.

Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Abby Sewell in Beirut, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Sarah El Deeb in Atareb, Syria, contributed

excavator driver waits for a rescue team to recover the body of an earthquake victim from a collapsed building in Antakya, southeastern Turkey on Sunday, February

2023. Six days after earthquakes killed tens of thousands in Syria and Turkey, sorrow and disbelief are turning to anger

tension. Many in Turkey have a sense that there has been an ineffective, unfair and disproportionate response to the historic disaster. AP/BERNAT ARMANGUE

CHINA’S weekly Covid deaths in hospitals slumped to less than 1,000 as the record wave of infections that rippled through the country following the abandonment of Covid Zero abates.

There were 912 fatalities linked to Covid at hospitals between Feb. 3 and Feb. 9, down from 3,278 a week earlier, according to a report from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In the latest tally, 27 people died from respiratory failure and 885 died from other underlying diseases while infected with Covid.

Official figures show a continued, rapid decline in deaths since the chaotic early days of China’s pivot away from Covid Zero that saw crematoriums overwhelmed and residents struggling to get medical care. But the country’s virus figures have repeatedly

drawn criticism for a lack of transparency after authorities narrowed their definition of what counts as a Covid death.

While they’ve since reported on fatalities that fall outside the narrower definition in an attempt to appease those concerns, the true toll could be hundreds of thousands higher than the official tally, which only counts deaths at hospitals.

Daily Covid-related deaths at hospitals peaked at around 4,273 on January 4, and in total there have been more than 83,000 fatalities since December 8, according to CDC figures.

China is not likely to see another wave in the coming months and the chance of getting infected for people who haven’t got Covid yet is now low, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at China’s CDC, said at a press briefing last week.

Bloomberg News

Ex-minister Christodoulides wins Cyprus presidential election

By Menelaos Hadjicostis The Associated Press

NICOSIA, Cyprus—Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides was elected as the new president of Cyprus in a runoff election Sunday, pledging to revive stalemated reunification talks with the nation’s breakaway Turkish Cypriots and to form a coalition government with women filling half of the Cabinet positions.

With 100 percent of ballots counted, Christodoulides had 51.9 percent of the vote and his runoff rival, veteran diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, had 48.1 percent, according to official election results. Mavroyiannis conceded defeat before the vote tally was complete.

Christodoulides, 49, campaigned as a unifying force for ethnically divided Cyprus, eschewing ideological and party divisions. His message resonated with a wide swath of voters.

“I’m looking you all in the eye and I sincerely make you this promise: I’ll do everything I can to appear worthy of your trust,” Christodoulides told supporters at his victory rally. He made a special reference to the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Turkish Cypriots, including members of a volleyball team, were among the more than 33,000 people declared dead in the disaster as of Sunday.

“We share in their mourning, and I want to assure them that we stand by their side,” the president-elect said.

Mavroyiannis, who previously served as Cyprus’ ambassador to the United Nations, had positioned himself as the agent of change, ushering in a new political era following a decade of rule by outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades.

He ran as an independent, but the support he received from the communist-rooted AKEL party, the country’s second-largest political party, may have pushed swing voters into backing Christodoulides.

Speaking to a somber crowd of supporters, Mavroyiannis, 66, who also was Anastasiades’ chief negotiator with the nation’s breakaway Turkish Cypriots, said he would not pursue an “active and daily role” in politics but remained willing to offer his counsel to the new government, if asked.

“I want to congratulate Nikos Christodoulides for his election victory and to wish more power to him,” Mavroyiannis said. “I’m saddened that we couldn’t fulfill the hopes and expectations for a large progressive changes that our homeland needs.”

Christodoulides appeared to have won with support from members of the Democratic Rally (DISY) party, whose leader, Averof Neophytou, failed to make it into the runoff. The DISY leadership decided not to formally back either candidate and left it to members of the country’s largest party to vote as they saw fit.

Many DISY party insiders had blamed Christodoulides, a long-time party member, for running against Neophytou and splitting the party vote.

However, many did not want the AKEL, Mavroyiannis’ main backer, to regain a foothold in government and feared the diplomat becoming the next president of Cyprus would

World

Oil drops as slowdown concerns vie with Russia’s supply cutback

By Sharon Cho

OIL retreated as concerns about slowing global growth offset Russia’s plan to curb supply in retaliation for western sanctions.

West Texas Intermediate fell below $79 a barrel after soaring by more than 8 percent last week. Although Moscow will reduce supply by half a million barrels a day in March as curbs on flows tighten, investors remain wary that the Federal Reserve needs to keep pushing interest rates higher to tame inflation. The Fed’s drive has weighed on appetite for risk assets including commodities.

continued fallout for the energy market from the war in Ukraine, as well as the impact from China’s reopening after Covid Zero curbs were dropped. Last week, Saudi Arabia raised prices for Asian buyers, signaling it is optimistic about demand. In addition, there has been a host of minor supply disruptions in Europe.

AN oil tanker is moored at the Sheskharis complex, part of Chernomortransneft JSC, a subsidiary of Transneft PJSC, in Novorossiysk, Russia, on October 11, 2022. A Russian official says the country will cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day next month in response to the West capping the price of its crude over the war in Ukraine. According to multiple Russian news media reports, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Friday, February 10, 2023, that “we will not sell oil to those who directly or indirectly adhere to the ’price ceiling.’” AP

threaten the country’s fragile economy and pro-Western trajectory.

Critics fault AKEL for bringing Cyprus to the brink of bankruptcy a decade ago and for maintaining a pro-Moscow slant.

Amid the bickering within DISY, Anastasiades, a former party leader, took the unusual step of issuing a statement suggesting that DISY members should work to thwart an AKEL-backed government.

He urged the party’s voters to safeguard the island’s Western orientation and its deepening alliance with the US.

Christodoulides said he has already received congratulatory messages from world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and US Sen. Robert Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“Our country’s European, Western orientation is our steady compass for tomorrow,” Christodoulides said.

Trying to mend fences with Christodoulides and divisions within DISY, Neophytou said the president-elect could count on the party’s support “for the good of the country.”

Christoulides inherits the challenge of trying to restart moribund peace talks with the country’s Turkish Cypriots, who declared independence nearly a decade after a 1974 Turkish invasion that followed a coup aimed at union with Greece.

The island’s reunification has eluded politicians during over nearly a half-century of negotiations, despite progress on the shape of an overall peace deal.

A potential resolution became more complicated following the 2017 collapse of talks at a Swiss resort that many believed had come tantalizingly close to producing a breakthrough.

Turkey, the only country to recognize the minority Turkish Cypriots’ independence, has since turned its back on a United Nationsbacked arrangement for a federated Cyprus. It advocates instead a two-state deal, which the UN, the European Union, the US and other countries have rejected.

As the government spokesman and Anastasiades’ close confidant at the time, Christodoulides was a key insider during the failed peace drive in Switzerland. He has blamed Turkey’s insistence on maintaining a permanent troop presence and military intervention rights in a reunified Cyprus as the main reason the negotiations unraveled.

Christodoulides has said he draws the line at those two Turkish demands but would utilize Cyprus’ European Union membership to engage with Ankara on ways to break the current deadlock.

“The current state of affairs cannot be considered a solution to the Cyprus issue, and I have expressed my readiness to make use of our European Union membership to break the deadlock and lead us to a settlement as quickly as possible, to reunify our homeland,” Christodoulides said from his campaign headquarters, flanked by his wife and four daughters.

On the economy, Christodoulides said a top priority would be to maintain fiscal discipline without endangering the country’s social safety net and to effectively deal with unauthorized migration.

The White House said Russia’s plan to slash oil output, which was announced on Friday, showed the extent to which President Vladimir Putin is willing to use resources like energy as a weapon. Despite the move, Moscow’s partners in the Opec+ coalition signaled they won’t boost production to fill in for the cutback.

Oil has had a bumpy start to 2023 as investors contend with the

“The slowdown of global growth will be on investors’ minds as we push through 2023 but the challenge is trying to balance that with a China recovery,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING Groep NV. “We are seeing some profit-taking after the scale of the move last week.”

Investors have been reassessing prospects for how much higher US borrowing costs will likely go this year after a run

of robust data, coupled with Fed policymakers warning that there’s scope for further tightening. Key inflation figures due on Tuesday will shape the next stage of that debate.

In addition in the oil market, both the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency are due to release monthly market reports on Tuesday and

Wednesday, respectively, offering them an opportunity to comment on the impact of Russia’s supply cutback.

“In the short term, I suspect prices are going to remain fairly range-bound due to the first-quarter surplus,” Patterson said. “As we approach mid-year, we expect the market to tighten, which should push prices toward $100.”

Bloomberg News

Sanctioned Chinese balloon firm linked to ‘terminator of drones’

By Bruce Einhorn

ONE of the Chinese entities blacklisted by the US for alleged links to a global espionage balloon program is part of a state-owned conglomerate that develops products including antidrone systems and blimps.

China Electronics Technology Group Corp.’s 48th Research Institute is one of six companies or institutes that the US Commerce Department put on an export blacklist Friday because of ties to People’s Liberation Army aerospace programs.

That followed the US military shooting down a giant Chinese balloon off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month. The US has said China is using high-altitude balloons for intelligence and reconnaissance activities, while Beijing responded by saying the object was a weather-monitoring device that

blew off course. Since then, the US has shot down three other objects in its airspace.

CETC has a history with surveillance balloons, state media reports show. Its 38th Research Institute has worked on a balloon equipped with radar, video surveillance equipment and other technology, Xinhua reported in 2017. The same institute helped develop a 32-meter-long blimp, about the same length as a Boeing Co. 737-500 plane, that could carry devices weighing as much as 220 kilograms (485 pounds), Shanghai Daily reported in late 2018.  Balloons are just part of CETC’s product portfolio, which includes radar, communication and surveillance systems.

Its No. 14 Research Institute showcased a portable counter-drone radar in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing in 2021, according to a report at the time in the Global

Times. Dubbed the “terminator of drones,” the system can be carried by a single soldier and is able to “detect low-altitude, small and slow targets despite strong noise waves close to the ground,” the newspaper said.

CETC and its affiliates have been hit by US sanctions several times in recent years for ties to China’s military, suggesting the latest moves may have limited impact.

In 2020, the Trump administration included two CETC institutes on the Commerce Department’s “Entity List,” restricting their ability to purchase US software and components.

“I’d look at these less as shutting down a major tech transfer avenue and more as a relatively low-cost option for showing action domestically as well as communicating displeasure to Beijing,” Blake Herzinger, a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise

Institute, said of the latest sanctions. They are “clearly calibrated to the specific issue of the PLA balloon surveillance program to avoid horizontal escalation to other sectors,” he said.

CETC was one of 31 companies sanctioned by a Trump executive order in November 2020. The Biden administration added two CETC research institutes to the list in August last year and several more affiliates in December.

“The issue with China though is that it’s hard to separate the PLA from the commercial sector—a lot of this tech is dual use,” said William Kim, a consultant at the Marathon Initiative, a Washington-based think tank. “I’m not sure the US can sanction every company or even academic institution that might be helping the PLA make balloons.” With assistance from Rebecca Choong Wilkins/Bloomberg

Report says companies’ climate targets not what they claim to be

By Frank Jordans The Associated

Press

BERLIN—Climate commitments by companies aren’t always as green as they seem. A new report concludes major brands are exaggerating how ambitious their efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions are—in effect misleading consumers, investors and governments.

The report published Monday by the Europe-based environmental think tanks NewClimate Institute and Carbon Market Watch examined 24 companies, including KitKat manufacturer Nestle, French retailer Carrefour and automaker Volkswagen. It found that only one company—shipping firm Maersk—had climate plans with “reasonable integrity” while the rest were assessed to be moderate to very low.

“For the majority of companies, we found their climate strategies to be lacking,” said Thomas Day, a researcher at

the NewClimate Institute who co-authored the report.

Actual emissions cuts resulting from the companies’ plans would amount to less than half those needed by 2030 to help meet the Paris climate accord’s goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), it found in its second annual assessment.

The researchers also questioned companies’ pledges to achieve “net zero’’ emissions, arguing that most consumers would understand that to mean largely stopping the release of planetheating gas into the atmosphere.

“These net zero pledges, they actually amount to a commitment to reduce the emissions of those companies by just 36 percent,” said Day. Companies either claim the rest will be removed from the atmosphere by artificial or natural means—socalled carbon offsets—or simply remove large chunks of their emissions from the tally.

This was the case, for example, for Carrefour, which excludes 80 percent of its stores from the net zero target for 2040, according to the report. The company was among four corporations ranked as having climate plans with “very low integrity,” along with American Airlines, food processing company JBS and Samsung Electronics.

Carrefour said it disagreed with the report, adding that its climate efforts had been validated by independent experts— a position also taken by Swissbased Nestle, whose targets were labeled as having “low integrity.”

“We will continue to pursue a holistic strategy of reducing our emissions and removing carbon from the atmosphere through measures that deliver benefits to the millions of people connected to our company’s operations,” Nestle said in a statement.

Volkswagen, whose targets were also assessed as having “low integrity,” said it was committed

to meeting the goal of the Paris accord, noting that it plans to invest €52 billion ($55.5 billion) in electric vehicles by 2026.

“We support the NewClimate Institute’s concern to achieve the greatest possible transparency and comparability in the climate goals of large companies,” it said.

The report’s authors said their findings highlighted the need for greater transparency and stricter regulation of corporate climate efforts, to prevent companies from greenwashing their environmental impact— particularly when making ‘net zero’ claims.

“In many ways, carbonneutral products are similar to cancer-neutral cigarettes,” said co-author Gilles Dufrasne of Carbon Market Watch. “There is no robust scientific basis behind those claims, and most consumers are just completely confused about what those claims would mean.”

China’s Covid deaths in hospitals drop 72% in a week as wave eases

editorial N

Deepfakes blur the line between fact and fiction

PR or National Public Radio is an American nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. In March 2022, it exposed a fake video depicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling his soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender the fight against Russia. Called “deepfake,” the short video circulated on social media and was placed on Ukrainian news website by hackers.

A New York Times article on February 7, 2023—The People Onscreen Are Fake. The Disinformation Is Real—talks about two broadcasters, purportedly anchors for a news outlet called Wolf News, which are not real people. They are computer-generated avatars created by artificial intelligence software.

“In one video, a news anchor with perfectly combed dark hair and a stubbly beard outlined what he saw as the United States’ shameful lack of action against gun violence. In another video, a female news anchor heralded China’s role in geopolitical relations at an international summit meeting. But something was off. Their voices were stilted and failed to sync with the movement of their mouths.”

New York Times said videos of the broadcasters were distributed by proChina bot accounts on Facebook and Twitter, in the first known instance of “deepfake” video technology being used to create fictitious people as part of a state-aligned information campaign.

“This is the first time we’ve seen this in the wild,” said Jack Stubbs, the vice president of intelligence at Graphika, a research firm that studies disinformation.

Graphika said it discovered the deepfake videos while following social media accounts linked to a pro-China misinformation campaign known as “spamouflage.” In these campaigns, political spam accounts plant content online and then use other accounts that are part of a network to amplify the material across platforms.

AI software, which can easily be purchased online, can create “videos in a matter of minutes and subscriptions start at just a few dollars a month,” Stubbs said. “That makes it easier to produce content at scale.” Graphika linked the two fake Wolf News presenters to technology made by Synthesia, an AI company based above a clothing shop in London’s Oxford Circus. The five-yearold startup makes software for creating deepfake avatars. A customer simply needs to type up a script, which is then read by one of the digital actors made with Synthesia’s tools.

Victor Riparbelli, Synthesia’s co-founder and CEO, said those who used its technology to create the avatars discovered by Graphika had violated its terms of service, which said that the company’s technology should not be used for “political, sexual, personal, criminal and discriminatory content.”

Although the use of deepfakes in the recently discovered pro-China disinformation campaign was ham-handed, it opens a new chapter in information warfare. The New York Times said: “In China, AI companies have been developing deepfake tools for more than five years. In a 2017 publicity stunt at a conference, the Chinese firm iFlytek made deepfake video of the US president at the time, Donald Trump, speaking in Mandarin. IFlytek has since been added to a US blacklist that limits the sale of American-made technology for national security reasons.”

“Deepfake technology has the ability to create talking digital puppets. The AI software is sometimes used to distort public figures, like the Zelenskyy video announcing surrender. But the software can also create characters out of whole cloth, going beyond traditional editing software and expensive special effects tools used by Hollywood, blurring the line between fact and fiction to an extraordinary degree.”

With few laws to manage the spread of the technology, disinformation experts have long warned that deepfake videos could further sever people’s ability to discern reality from forgeries online. Those predictions have now become reality.

Experts said deepfakes have been used to create fake news, false pornographic videos and malicious hoaxes, usually targeting well-known people such as politicians and celebrities. Given the people’s natural inclination to believe what they see on social media, deepfakes can “potentially distort democratic discourse; manipulate elections; erode trust in institutions; jeopardize public safety and national security; and damage reputations.”

It would do well for our lawmakers to set clearer rules about how artificial intelligence, including deepfake technology, could be used in the country.

The inflation rate in perspective

Manny B. Villar

THE EnTrEprEnEur

INfLAtIoN affects all aspects of the economy, from consumer spending, investment decisions and job generation to government programs, tax policies and interest rates.

It is government’s job to rein it in to avoid an erosion in the purchasing power of the people. The inflation rate hit 8.7 percent in January 2023 but I expect it to eventually taper off in the coming months. Border and trade restrictions in many countries are easing, including those in China—a major supplier of industrial goods and components.

Inflation inarguably remains a major concern for the Philippines and other countries. Even the most advanced economies saw soaring inflation last year, with the Euro area reporting 9.2 percent, the United Kingdom, 10.5 percent and the

United States, 6.5 percent in December 2022.

Japan, which used to register near zero price changes in the past, recorded an inflation rate of 4 percent, the highest in four decades. Globally, inflation averaged more than 8 percent last year.

Among G-20, or the group of the 20 largest economies in the word, Argentina had the highest inflation of 94.8 percent in December, followed by Turkey with 64.3 percent and Russia with 11.9 percent.

As a mid-income economy in Southeast Asia, the Philippines was not spared by global developments

Prosperity in chaos

OuTSIDE

John Mangun

THE BOX

LoNg before we knew the future, on January 24, 2020 I wrote a BusinessMirror editorial titled “China’s Health Problem Is our Problem.”

“Between November 2002 and July 2003, an outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in southern China caused an eventual 8,098 cases, resulting in 774 deaths reported in 37 countries with about a 10 percent mortality rate. We must be on guard.”

Now is the time that we must have a long and deep-dive examination of the performance of both the government and the private sector during the past three years. Or not.

A public discussion of social and economic issues is almost always about the “Big Picture.” Occasionally we hear of individual stories but (and I hate to use this example once again), it is “The death of a million is a statistic. The death of one man is a tragedy” way of thinking.

The “Big Picture” is not always the “Little Picture.” One of the largest paintings (202 cm × 314 cm)

Because of the sudden spike in demand, global crude prices have gone through the roof, leaving oil-importing countries such as the Philippines highly vulnerable. As the US began raising interest rates to contain inflation, emerging currencies such as the peso depreciated substantially against the US dollar. The weaker currency made the impact of imported inflation all the more painful.

that led to unrestrained price surges. The grounding of cargo ships and airlines at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 eventually led to a logistics nightmare in 2022, when demand for commodities suddenly rebounded. These developments were compounded by the border lockdown in China and the war between Ukraine and Russia that disrupted the global food supply.

Because of the sudden spike in demand, global crude prices have gone through the roof, leaving oil-

None of us can change the world. Nonetheless, we can paint our personal “little picture” to be one of Prosperity in Chaos.

importing countries such as the Philippines highly vulnerable. As the US began raising interest rates to contain inflation, emerging currencies such as the peso depreciated substantially against the US dollar. The weaker currency made the impact of imported inflation all the more painful.

The inflation rate, or the change in the consumer price index, reached 8.7 percent in January 2023, the fastest in more than 14 years, per the report of the Philippine Statistics Authority. While I would not want to play down the impact of the latest data, we should analyze it against the backdrop of global developments. Simply put, it is a part of our adjustment in the post-pandemic era.

As inflation began to spike across countries, central banks responded with tighter monetary policy. Volatility in financial markets increased, and the peso depreciated, leading to higher importation costs, concurs the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. A confluence of global and local supply shocks drove food prices higher, including higher energy prices that See “Villar,” A11

you a P1,024 net profit today. Own the company you are a customer of and pay your bill to.”

created is Primavera by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli. The little picture is that Botticelli incorporated roughly 500 identifiable plant species in the scene, including nearly 200 types of flowers in his allegorical celebration of spring.

To read the comments of politicians, pundits, and some people, the price of onions is not only a national security issue but could easily trigger the Philippines into a failed state. Honestly, I do not care. Since the price of onions went ballistic, I stopped using onions. When I did feel the need for some onion flavor, I sprinkled a bit of dehydrated onion on the dish before serving. One of my business associates—a vegetarian—never eats onions or garlic, so no “Onion Inflation” in our houses.

I do sympathize with those who

may have been forced to exhaust their life savings to keep onions on the table. But I am a strong believer in “Prosperity Chaos,” which is sort of similar to those attached to “Prosperity theology,” “the religious belief that financial blessings are always the will of God.” Except in my belief, your will is critical.

I make it a point not to criticize a person’s beliefs, but this makes sense to me. “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish.”

Therefore, I do all that I can to figure out how to prosper particularly in times of chaos and with Covid, war in Ukraine, and a global financial/ economic system in meltdown. What could be more chaotic?

In a group I belong to, someone sent “Manila Electric Co. reduces power rates for February by P0.0106 per kilowatt-hour. This means residential customers consuming 200 kWh could see a decrease of around P2 in their power bill.” My response was “Meralco share price, P315, up 11.31 percent today. A P10,000 investment yesterday would have given

Catching a one-day move in MER or other issues is of course not inevitably realistic. However, here are the one-year price movements and current cash dividend yields of some selected issues: Semirara Mining 22 percent price appreciation and 15 percent yield, Premium Leisure Corp. with 22 percent and 9 percent, and DMCI Holdings up 40 percent while paying 8 percent cash. No recommendation, but these are examples.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index has risen from 5,932 to 6,876, up 16 percent (and the index tracking First Metro Philippine Equity up 14.5 percent) since the week of October 3, 2020. Note this: The Consumer Price Index for Philippines, which indexes the actual prices of the “inflation basket of goods” not the rate of change, was at 105.3 in October 2020 and is now at 121.4, increasing by 15.3 percent. Perhaps do the “inflation protection” math.

None of us can change the world. Nonetheless, we can paint our personal “little picture” to be one of Prosperity in Chaos.

US holds drills in South China Sea amid tensions with China ‘Mahal kita’

BEIJING—The United States Navy and Marine Corps are holding joint exercises in the South China Sea at a time of heightened tensions with Beijing over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon.

The 7th Fleet based in Japan said Sunday that the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been conducting “integrated expeditionary strike force operations” in the South China Sea.

It said exercises involving ships, ground forces and aircraft took place Saturday but gave no details on when they began or whether they had ended.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and strongly objects to military activity by other nations in the contested waterway through which $5 trillion in goods are shipped every year.

The US takes no official position on sovereignty in the South China Sea, but maintains that freedom of navigation and overflight must be preserved. Several times a year, it sends ships sailing past fortified Chinese outposts in the Spratly Islands, prompting protests from Beijing.

The US has also been strengthening its defense alliance with the Philippines, which has faced encroachment on islands and fisheries by the Chinese coast guard and nominally civilian but governmentbacked fleets.

The US military exercises were planned in advance. They come as already tense relations between Washington and Beijing have been exacerbated by a diplomatic row sparked by the balloon, which was shot down last weekend in US airspace off the coast of South Carolina.

The US said the unmanned balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals, but Beijing insists it was a weather research airship that had accidently blown off course.

The balloon prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes trip to Beijing

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and strongly objects to military activity by other nations in the contested waterway through which $5 trillion in goods are shipped every year.

aimed at easing tensions.

After first issuing a highly rare expression of regret over the balloon, China has toughened its rhetoric, calling the US shootdown an overreaction and a violation of international norms. China’s defense minister refused to take a phone call from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the matter.

The United States has since blacklisted six Chinese entities it said were linked to Beijing’s aerospace programs as part of its response to the incident. The House of Representatives also voted unanimously to condemn China for a “brazen violation” of US sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.”

The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for several years, the Pentagon said. The US says Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.

In its news release, the 7th Fleet said the joint operation had “established a powerful presence in the region, which supports peace and stability.”

“As a ready response force, we underpin a broad spectrum of missions including landing Marines ashore, humanitarian disaster relief, and deterring potential adversaries through visible and present combat power,” the release said. AP

atty. irwin C. nidea Jr.

Tax law for business

LovE is in the air. But tax is forever. My daughter will cringe if she sees this.

It is true though that after your date tonight, the havoc that is brought about by some tax developments continues.

First, is the dynamics on how the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) formulates the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan (SIPP), which is the list of industries and businesses that may qualify for tax incentives under CREATE, including vat zero-rating on qualified local purchases.

As we all know, the cross-border doctrine is dead. The incentives given by PEZA to some of its locators are now in limbo, especially businesses that are only considered as supporting export enterprises. They must now seek FIRB approval to be in the SIPP list.

Just recently, the ecozone logistics services enterprises (ELSEs) were recognized as an eligible industry in the SIPP. This is after the Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Board of Investments (BOI), and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) resolved the eligibility of ELSEs to vat zero rating incentives, among others.

The BOI has released Memorandum Circular (MC) 2023-001 on January 31, 2023 to clarify that logistics

As we all know, the cross-border doctrine is dead. The incentives given by PEZA to some of its locators are now in limbo, especially businesses that are only considered as supporting export enterprises. They must now seek FIRB approval to be in the SIPP list.

services is one of the activities that support exporters and are qualified for vat zero rating, as provided under CREATE.

The tax incentives of ELSEs have been cast in stone by the BIR under Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 15-2023, dated February 3, 2023.

This RMC is a welcome development for ELSEs. They deserve to be given tax incentives because they play an important part in the business of an export enterprise.

But how about other industries that also play an important part in supporting the operations of an export enterprise? Do they also need to lobby to many government agencies to deserve their own BOI Circular or BIR revenue circular affirming their tax incentives? The FIRB must recognize the importance of other ecozone locators that provide support to export enterprises.

The second development is on the renewable energy sector. The Philippines has fully opened it to foreign ownership. On November 15, 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued Circular 2022-11-0034, which

By Colleen Long, Lolita C. Baldor & Zeke Miller

The Associated Press

WASHINGToN—A US fighter jet shot down an “unidentified object” over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden. It was the fourth such downing in eight days and the latest military strike in an extraordinary chain of events over US airspace that Pentagon officials believe has no peacetime precedent.

stipulates that foreign investors can now own 100 percent stake in the exploration, development, and utilization of solar, wind, hydro, and ocean or tidal energy resources and exercise full control over the operations and profits of these companies. Foreign investors with existing investments in the Philippines on renewable energy may acquire the shares of their Philippine joint venture partners. This circular came into effect on December 8, 2022.

This is very good for the environment and a giant step for the Philippines’ goal to be carbon neutral.

But foreign investors must be aware that they might not be able to recover the input value added tax that they will incur during the construction of their renewable energy plants. There is a Supreme Court decision saying that input VAT cannot be recovered if there are no corresponding zero-rated sales in the VAT returns. Construction of renewable energy plants takes years. Local purchases and importations are made during these years, and consequently, input VAT is incurred. Since no sales were made during these years, it appears that as it stands now, the corresponding input VAT will not

be returned.

The law must be amended to reflect the needs of the present time. Investors will appreciate predictability and a guarantee that all input VAT that they will incur during the construction and pre-operation stage of their renewable energy plants will be refunded. Otherwise, they will be turned off and the efforts of our government to encourage foreign investments in renewable energy will go to waste. If the law on VAT is inadequate, then let us improve it. All three branches of government must come together. It must be a whole of nation approach.

It is an urban legend, that Fr. Ferriols of Ateneo explained the difference between “I Love You” and “Mahal Kita.” In I Love You, “I” and “You” pertain to two individuals. The first is a lover, and the other is the one who is loved. When you say Mahal Kita, “ kita” means “us.” The Filipino language compared to the English language is more powerful as it espouses oneness, cohesion.

I hope that like our language of love, Filipinos find unity in purpose and in action.

The author is a senior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of WTS Global.

led to increased fertilizer and farming costs. The African Swine Fever and Avian Influenza affected meat production in the Philippines, aggravated by the impact of successive typhoons on agricultural production.

As the domestic economy continued to recover from the pandemic, robust pent-up demand began to contribute to price pressures. Such price pressures spilled over to other commodities and services, such as transportation and restaurant services. Then came the petitions for higher transportation fares and minimum wage increases.

The Philippines in perspective is part of the global trade and we are in fact a major food importer. While we export tropical fruits, coconut and fish, we also ship in food items, such as rice, wheat, apples, grapes, meat and dairy products. We secure more than 90 percent of our fuel from other nations. The actual value of producing these products and the transportation and distribution costs from the production site to the retail market determine the final prices paid by consumers. Other contributing factors are import tariff, taxes and retail store markup.

When we emerged from the pandemic-induced recession in 2020 and part of 2021, the supply chain was not adequately prepared to handle the surge in consumer demand in 2022, resulting in price spikes. Slowly, the market has coped with the situation, and is expected to return to normal operations soon.

This is why I believe that inflation will eventually ease in the coming months. The Development Budget

Coordination Committee, which consists of economic managers, predicts the inflation rate will moderate to a range of 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent in 2023 before returning to the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent in 2024 until 2028.

Keeping the inflation rate within the government’s target range will make economic growth more inclusive and sustainable. Stable prices contribute to conducive business environment, where predictability allows companies to chart their expansion and hiring plans.

Global developments are mostly beyond our control, but this is not to say we cannot do anything to keep prices manageable. The government and the central bank are doing their parts to mitigate the impact of imported inflation. The government, for one, has decided to liberalize rice importation to bring down the cost of the staple. It also authorized the importation of onion and sugar to stabilize local prices.

I agree with the government’s specific measures to cushion the impact of inflation, including the modernization of the agriculture sector and ensuring energy security. Short-term measures include the temporary easing of import restrictions, price monitoring and targeted social support.

The government and the BSP are capably managing the situation, and we will soon see inflation rate return to a level typically suited to a rapidly growing economy such as the Philippines. The rising inflation rate can be contained—it should not derail the country’s economic expansion.

Part of the reason for the repeated shootdowns is a “heightened alert” following a spy balloon from China that emerged over US airspace in late January, Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of NORAD and US Northern Command, said in a briefing with reporters.

Since then, fighter jets last week also shot down objects over Canada and Alaska. Pentagon officials said they posed no security threats, but so little was known about them that Pentagon officials were ruling nothing out — not even UFOs.

“We have been more closely scrutinizing our airspace at these altitudes, including enhancing our radar, which may at least partly explain the increase,” said Melissa Dalton, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense.

US authorities have made clear that they constantly monitor for unknown radar blips, and it is not unusual to shut down airspace as a precaution to evaluate them. But the unusually assertive response was raising questions about whether such use of force was warranted, particularly as administration officials said the objects were not of great national security concern and the downings were just out of caution.

VanHerck said the US adjusted its radar so it could track slower objects.

“With some adjustments, we’ve been able to get a better categorization of radar tracks now,” he said, “and that’s why I think you’re seeing these, plus there’s a heightened alert to look for this information.”

He added: “I believe this is the first time within United States or American airspace that NORAD or United States Northern Command has taken kinetic action against an airborne object.”

Asked if officials have ruled out

extraterrestrials, VanHerck said, “I haven’t ruled out anything at this point.”

The Pentagon officials said they were still trying to determine what exactly the objects were and said they had considered using the jets’ guns instead of missiles, but it proved to be too difficult. They drew a strong distinction between the three shot down over this weekend and the balloon from China.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted that airmen in the 148th Fighter Wing, an Air National Guard fighter unit in Duluth, shot down the object over Lake Huron.

The extraordinary air defense activity began in late January, when a white orb the officials said was from China appeared over the US and hovered above the nation for days before fighter jets downed it off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That event played out over livestream. Many Americans have been captivated by the drama playing out in the skies as fighter jets scramble to shoot down objects.

The latest brought down was first detected on Saturday evening over Montana, but it was initially thought to be an anomaly. Radar picked it up again Sunday hovering over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it was going over Lake Huron, Pentagon officials said Sunday.

US and Canadian authorities had restricted some airspace over the lake earlier Sunday as planes were scrambled to intercept and try to identify the object. According to a senior administration official, the object was octagonal, with strings hanging off, but had no discernable payload. It was flying low at about 20,000 feet, said the official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss

The Pentagon officials said they were still trying to determine what exactly the objects were and said they had considered using the jets’ guns instead of missiles, but it proved to be too difficult. They drew a strong distinction between the three shot down over this weekend and the balloon from China.

Meanwhile, US officials were still trying to precisely identify two other objects shot down by F-22 fighter jets, and were working to determine whether China was responsible as concerns escalated about what Washington said was Beijing’s large-scale aerial surveillance program.

An object shot down Saturday over Canada’s Yukon was described by US officials as a balloon significantly smaller than the balloon— the size of three school buses—hit by a missile February 4. A flying object brought down over the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday was more cylindrical and described as a type of airship. Both were believed to have a payload, either attached or suspended from them, according to the officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. Officials were not able to say who launched the objects and were seeking to figure out their origin.

The three objects were much smaller in size, different in appearance and flew at lower altitudes than the suspected spy balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after the US missile strike.

The officials said the other three objects were not consistent with the fleet of Chinese aerial surveillance balloons that targeted more than 40 countries, stretching back at least into the Trump administration.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC’s “This Week” that US officials were working quickly to recover debris. Using shorthand to describe the objects as balloons, he said US military

and intelligence officials were “focused like a laser” on gathering and accumulating the information, then compiling a comprehensive analysis.

“The bottom line is until a few months ago we didn’t know about these balloons,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said of the spy program that the administration has linked to the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military. “It is wild that we didn’t know.”

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at rwin.c.nideajr@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 330. sensitive matters.

Eight days ago, F-22 jets downed the large white balloon that had wafted over the US for days at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. US officials immediately blamed China, saying the balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals and could maneuver itself. White House officials said improved surveillance capabilities helped detect it.

China’s Foreign Ministry said the unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course. Beijing said the US had “overreacted” by shooting it down.

Then, on Friday, North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined US-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected and shot down an object near sparsely populated Deadhorse, Alaska.

L ater that evening, NORAD detected a second object, flying at a high altitude over Alaska, US officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday and was over the Yukon, a remote territory, when it was ordered shot down by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In both of those incidents, the objects were flying at roughly 40,000 feet. The object on Sunday was flying at 20,000 feet.

The cases have increased diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, raised questions about the extent of Beijing’s American surveillance, and prompted days of criticism from Republican lawmakers about the administration’s response. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Michael Balsamo, Ellen Knickmeyer and Tara Copp contributed to this report.

US jets down 4 objects in 8 days, unprecedented in peacetime

A12 Tuesday, February 14, 2023

House OK of Maharlika bill questioned in SC

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573 & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

TRADE DEAL WITH EFTA WORKING WELL–DTI

President is clearly circumventing the legislative process in the other house without certifying the bill as urgent.”

Petitioners stressed: “By its nature, a presidential certification of urgency short-circuits the normal processes in Congress in terms of law-making. As such, the presidential power must only be used when there is an actual ‘public calamity or emergency’.

emergency or calamity requires the curtailment of these processes,” the bloc said.

T he petitioners also lamented the lack of transparency in the voting process on the Maharlika Bill, noting that at least 22 sections of the proposed law were amended during the period of individual amendments on second reading, nine sections were inserted including Article X, and a penalty clause in one section was deleted.

THE Philippines and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states have confirmed  that the free trade agreement is “working well” and has no “critical implementation” issues to date, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

At the Inaugural Joint Committee Meeting hosted by EFTA Member States recently, the Philippines and the EFTA States “officially assessed” the implementation of the free trade agreement (FTA).

respective utilization rates, DTI said a “key highlight” of the meeting was the official preview of the PH-EFTA FTA online interactive web tool.

T his web tool, DTI noted, will help Philippine and EFTA exporters maximize their preferences under the FTA.

We are privileged to be the EFTA’s first recipient partner of this online web tool to promote the PH-EFTA FTA. This will really benefit the Philippines and EFTA business community,” Rodolfo said.

I n a 22-page petition, the  socalled Makabayan bloc representatives also sought the nullification of the certification of urgency issued by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on House Bill No. 6608, also known as the “Maharlika” Bill and the nullification of the approval of HB 6608 on third reading.

T he group is also asking the Supreme Court to establish guidelines for the use of Presidential Certification under Article VI, Section 26 (2) of the 1987 Constitution, to ensure that this presidential power is exercised in accordance with the Constitution’s intent and spirit.

T he petitioners asserted that there has been a long history of abuse of the presidential power to certify proposed legislation as urgent, despite the absence of a “public emergency or calamity” as mandated by the 1987 Constitution, by several past administrations and even by the present administration, as seen in the Maharlika measure’s approval in the House.

T he petitioners—Bayan Muna

Chairman Neri Colmenares, former Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate, ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Francisca “France” Castro, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Danniel Manuel—clarified that the petition does not question the legality of the Marcos administration’s plan to create the so-called Maharlika Investment Fund as part of its long-term economic program to address lack of foreign investments in the country.

T he main issue in their petition, said the filers, is the supposed violation of the constitutional requirements for the issuance of presidential certification of urgency for the passage of a proposed law.

L ikewise, the petitioners are seeking the Court’s issuance of guidelines on the exercise of presidential certification under Article VI, Section 26 (2).

“The practice of requesting for

and issuing a presidential certification on urgency for ‘public emergency or calamity’ must be tempered as it distorts the requirements and processes imposed by the 1987 Constitution and its framers for the passage of a law. It is hoped that the Honorable Court, through herein petition, will issue some guidelines necessary to ensure that the same will not be abused in the future and by future administration,” the petitioners said.

A rticle VI, Section 26 (2) states that “no bill passed by either House shall become a law unless it has passed three readings on separate days, and printed copies thereof in its final form have been distributed to its members three days before its passage, except when the President certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency.”

T he petitioners ascribed grave abuse of discretion in Marcos’s exercise of presidential power under the said constitutional provision because there was no declared public calamity or emergency to anchor the certification for the Maharlika measure.

T he petitioners also asserted that the House of Representatives committed grave abuse of discretion when it approved the Maharlika Bill on third reading without complying with the constitutional requirements under Article VI, Section 26 (2).

T he absence of the same certification for the Mahalika Investment Fund bill version in the Senate, or Senate Bill No. 1670, only proves the lack of public calamity and emergency that the certification was supposed to address, petitioners pointed out.

T hey noted that “when the President certifies a bill as urgent in one house of Congress but not in the other, this constitutes a distorted and a grave abuse of discretion in the exercise of presidential power under Article VI, Section 26  and the

PBBM open to Japan’s pitch for trilateral defense pact with US and PHL

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Mar -

cos, Jr. said Japan is now eyeing a trilateral defense agreement with the Philippines and the United States (US).

H e said Japanese officials made the recommendation during his official trip in Japan last week as an alternative to a bilateral accord, similar to the country’s Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the US.

“ So that we really have to discuss what is—what exactly does that entail, and of course, we have to talk to the Americans also to see what roles... are going to be played should there be a tripartite agreement,” Marcos told reporters during his return flight from Japan on Sunday.

Details of the said trilateral scheme are expected to be ironed out during the President’s next meeting with Japanese and US officials.

M arcos said he is open to a VFA

As it is, the presidential certification on the Maharlika Bill is a baseless certification of urgency that only results in cutting off deliberations in one House of Congress alone and circumventing constitutional requirements,” they added.

We ask the Honorable Court to void the presidential certification of the Maharlika Bill, as well as its approval on Third Reading, without a printed copy of the bill’s final form distributed to the Members at least three days before it is voted upon,” the petition read.

T he petitioners, however, said they are not asking for the President to be powerless in the face of public emergencies or calamities.

“

Rather, they are seeking for the exercise of a power that would infringe on the constitutional duties and processes of Congress to be exercised only when a clearly defined

D espite these, the petitioners said, the bill was voted on without House members being provided with a printed copy of the final version before the third reading, as mandated under Article VI, Section 26 (2).  This left the legislators, including herein petitioners, unaware if the final bill being voted on truly reflected the decisions made during the amendment period,” the petitioners said.

“

Worse, this also leaves the bill open to insertions of additional provisions or riders that were not approved by the House. This is the reason why presidential discretion to issue such certification of urgency cannot be abused as it short cuts constitutionally required processes to ensure that laws were carefully studied by both houses of Congress,” they pointed out.

According to DTI, the Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) with the Philippines marks EFTA’s first engagement for this year. The meeting, DTI said, was co-chaired, on behalf of the EFTA Member States, by Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs Minister Karin Buechel and Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo.

Over the 5 years of implementation, both sides have confirmed that the FTA is working well and has no critical implementation issues to date. The preferential utilization rates for the Philippines and EFTA Member States were reported at 31 percent and 30 percent for 2020, respectively,” the DTI said in a statement on Monday.

W ith both sides “determined” to further improve their

DTI said the Philippines and EFTA Member States had a “constructive dialogue” on trade and sustainable development, during which DTI highlighted Manila’s initiatives on the implementation of international labor and environmental conventions, including the Philippines’s domestic policies on freedom of association, gender equality, sustainable management of forests and climate change.

Rodolfo said this FTA “certainly promotes international trade while contributing to the objective of sustainable development, all the while ensuring that labor rights and environmental protection will not be sacrificed in the name of trade and investments.”

See “Trade,” A2

Senate seeks PCSO report on STL deadbeats behind ₧5-B collectible

or a reciprocal access agreement with Japan if it will help secure the country’s fishermen and maritime territory.

A significant consideration for his approval for the scheme, he said, will be determining how it will affect the country’s diplomatic relations with China.  “ We have to be careful also because we do not want to appear provocative. Because instead of calming the situation in the South China Sea (SCS), maybe it will make the situation there more volatile. That’s not what we want,” Marcos said.

T he country currently has territorial disputes with China in the SCS, which resulted in the harassment of Filipino fishermen as well as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

T he most recent of the incidents happened last Feb. 6, when a Chinese Coast Guard vessel directed a military grade light at the PCG ship in the Ayungin Shoal.

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

SENATORS on Monday di -

rected the PCSO to submit a detailed, updated report on remittances due to it from Small Town Lottery Authorized Agent Corporations (STL-AAC) operators, amid concern that the revenue due the State from delinquent parties may have reached P5 billion in a span of five years.

A t the same time, the PCSO was told to list down the “names behind the corporations” that were accredited to be operators, as well as their “updated GIS” or general information sheet filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

T he directives were issued toward the end of a hearing by the Games and Amusement Committee chaired by Sen. Raffy Tulfo, now looking into issues raised in two resolutions: Senate Resolution No. 253 on the integrity and trustworthiness of PCSO operations;

and SR 466, on allegations that the 5 percent Prize Fund Tax imposed on lottery winnings—which was wrapped into the 20-percent tax imposed under the TRAIN law—is still being collected by PCSO and being remitted to the BIR, even though the TRAIN law is already in effect.

P5-B collectibles

AT Monday’s hearing, Tulfo and other senators asked PCSO to clarify the “P5 billion” figure being floated around as the total collectibles of the PCSO from delinquent operators.

P CSO chairman Junie Cua admitted, meanwhile, that he himself was shocked at the immensity of the P5 billion, and said he had moved to ensure all those due from delinquent operators—even from as far back as his predecessors’ time—would be collected in timely manner.

T his, as a PCSO lawyer clarified that the P5 billion was estimated as the sums due between 2016 and 2020. In 2020, during the

pandemic lockdowns, the agency implemented new rules and since then there have been no unremitted monies.

Nonetheless, senators stressed, the new PCSO management must do everything to collect, and Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III wanted to know if collection cases have been filed and whether these are being pursued aggressively.

It was Pimentel who insisted that the PCSO also provide the Senate a list of not just the corporate names of delinquent operators, but also the “names behind them”, which may be culled from their GIS filings.

Sen. Ronald “Bato” M. Dela Rosa encouraged PCSO executives to exercise due diligence in their investigations on operators who fail to remit earnings to the agency.

D ela Rosa advised the PCSO to consider the possibility that illegal organized groups may be behind STL operators that steal from lottery earnings. The illegal backers of crooked STL operators could

have changed business names and figureheads when terminated as partners of the agency, he warned.          “They will just continue to hit and hit and the government will continue to suffer if this continues. Let us use due diligence. These ‘genius’ personalities in gambling operations always deceive the government. Let us be careful so that we will not lose income,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino.

A lso at Monday’s public hearing Pimentel, author of Senate Resolution 253, said the common criticism leveled by the betting public against lotto is the “lack of transparency.”

“

Since the identity of the winner is not revealed, the people are suspicious whether the conduct of the lottery is above board,” he noted, adding: “Also, the reported lag time between the announcement of the results and the announcement of the number of winners leads people to suspect that this lag time is used to manipulate and insert ‘lucky bettors’ into the list of winners.”

APETITION was filed on Monday before the Supreme Court seeking to declare unconstitutional the approval on third reading by the House of Representatives of the Maharlika Investment Fund bill.

SENATOR Raffy Tulfo presides at the Committee on Games and Amusement hearing on PCSO-related issues. He is seen engaging here with Junie Cua, chairman of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). The panel tackled two Senate resolutions: No. 466 for an inquiry on the status of the prize fund tax remitted by PCSO to the Bureau of Internal Revenue; and 253 on the integrity of PCSO operations. ROY DOMINGO

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Companies

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Local auto industry off to a good start–Campi report

By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

A joint report released by Campi and tr uck Manufacturers Association ( tM A) showed that new motor vehicle sales last month reached 29,499 units, higher than the 20,765 units recorded a year ago. t he double-digit sales growth of 42.1 percent recorded in January, coming from a year-on-year robust

growth performance in 2022 is a good development momentum for the auto industry as we start the year,” Campi President rommel Gutierrez said in a statement.

However, while the auto industry is optimistic of its continued expansion due to the growing domestic consumer market, he

said car makers must be mindful of “supply-side challenges” which could hamper growth.

On a monthly basis, data indicated that car sales fell by 20.8 percent from the 37,259 units sold in December 2022.

Among all the vehicle segments, Asian utility vehicle, commercial vehicle and light commercial vehicle posted gains last month.

In contrast, sales of trucks and buses fell by 48.2 percent year-onyear to 44 units in January, according to Campi-tM A data.

toyota Motor Philippines Corp. led year-to-date sales with 13,428 units, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 5,030 units and Ford Motor Company Phils. Inc. with 2,107 units.

In a statement last month, Campi and t M A said the industry’s performance last year is “strong evi-

dence” that it has recovered from the pandemic and other external challenges.

A joint report released by the two groups showed new motor vehicle sales in December 2022 reached 37,259 units, a 33.8 percent growth compared with 27,849 units recorded in 2021.

Gutierrez said last month the December figure was the “highest monthly performance recorded,” which contributed in achieving its full year 2022 sales of 352,596 units.

He said the last time the industry sold 37,000 units was in 2017. Achieving it again, he said, gives the industry “renewed optimism” for 2023.

Data released by the two groups indicated that Campi-t M A sales alone have exceeded the total industry sales forecast of 336,000 units for 2022.

‘US stores to sell CNPF veggie meat’

By VG Cabuag @villygc

Century Pacific Food Inc.

(CnPF), the conglomerate led by the Po family, on Monday said it started selling its plant-based meat brand in Walmart, one of the largest retailing companies in the united States.

t he company said its unMe At Meat-Free Luncheon Meat-Style product is available in more than 2,000 Walmart stores across the united States starting this year.

t h is vote of confidence from Walmart affirms that we are heading in the right direction with respect to our plant-based business. We believe in the long-term potential of plant-based alternatives, and brands like ‘unM e At ’ have a role to play to sustainably address the food requirements of an increasingly growing global population,”

CAB

said C n PF’s Chief Operating Officer Greg Banzon.

“Consumers are looking for healthier and better-for-the-planet food options. As a protein delivery company, we need to be present in the plant-based segment and innovate in this space to democratize the category. Introducing an accessible shelf-stable format priced at parity to meat analogs can change the game, attract more users, and hopefully unlock the segment’s potential.”

Starting with a refrigerated line in 2020, C n PF has expanded its portfolio to include new plantbased food formats. t he company rolled out a shelf-stable plant-based luncheon meat line and a plantbased dairy alternative brand in 2021, while it launched a domestic breakfast range and a seafood alternative last year.

“We are continuously developing and testing out new unmeat products

to expand the range and to provide consumers with more plant-based options. As we work on increasing our reach in key international markets to further grow the brand, we are also looking to develop products that would cater to local tastes” Banzon said.

Aside from Walmart, un meat is distributed in the united States through HeB, Harris teeter, Meijer and other select natural and grocery stores. It is also available in specialty e-commerce sites such as Gt FO, It’s Vegan, Weee! and Vegan Black Market.

t he plant-based brand began with an institutional rollout domestically through Shakey’s Pizza, a company that the Po family also owns. t he company began the global rollout of the brand in 2021. At present, the brand is being distributed in the united Arab emirates, the uS, China, Australia and Singapore.

still vetting passenger complaints vs AirSWIFT

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM

Special to the BusinessMirror

TH e Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has initially found AirSWIF t Airlines Philippines to have “substantially complied” with the Air Passenger Bill of r i ghts (APB r ), with regard to their flight cancellations on January 9, following the closure of the Lio Airport in e l n i do, Palawan.

t h is developed as the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is still waiting for the final report on the airport closure from its Aircraft Accident Investigation Board, although it has confirmed that its initial investigation “showed tires of the aircraft blew out upon touchdown resulting in runway obstruction.”

Both agencies gave no indication when their separate investigations will be completed.

For his part, CAB e x ecutive Director Carmelo Arcilla told the BusinessMirror in a Viber message, “We have yet to complete the vetting…of the independent information from passengers that we have received. But initial impressions reveal that AirSWIF t

substantially complied with the requirements of the APB r t h is compliance is in regard to advance notification of affected passengers (except those who were already either boarded or checked in at the time of the incident).”

He added, “It also appears that affected passengers were given the option to refund in full, rebook without additional charges, or transfer to other flights (commercial or charter) operated by other carriers out of Puerto Princesa, inclusive of free land transfers. t h ose rebooked to flights for the following day were also provided hotel accommodation at the expense of AirSWIF t

t h e CAB chief also reported that the airline chartered two flights out of Puerto Princesa for stranded passengers on January 10, but “there were delays in departure time due to difficulty in transporting more than 300 passengers from e l n i do to Puerto Princesa.”

t h e government agency noted that while stranded passengers were provided with food, “there was difficulty in the distribution due to the high volume of orders and limited dining and concessionaire options available at

both airports (i.e., Lio and Puerto Princesa). It would seem that for those affected passengers at n a ia bound for e l n i do or Puerto Princesa, hotel, food and land transfers were provided.”

t h e CAB investigation was triggered by passenger complaints after AirSWIF t, a company owned by the Ayala Group, canceled 12 flights on January 9 due to a tire blowout by one of its planes, resulting in the closure of the Lio Airport. t h e carrier’s Facebook page was riddled with passengers complaining of the lack of notification on the flight cancellations and allegations of “horrendous service.” (See, “CAB probes AirSWIF t on canceled flights, passenger complaints,” in the BusinessMirror, January 20, 2023.) Despite repeated requests from this paper, the Ayala Group has refused to issue any statement on the incident.

t h e Lio Airport is privatelyowned by the Ayala Group and as it is “a small one with very few flights, we (CAB) do not have passenger assistance and monitoring there. t h at is why we required AirSWIF t to submit data to us contained in a sworn statement,” asserted Arcilla.

B1

ERC allows 10 firms to intervene in NGCP application for MAR

THe energy regulatory Commission (erC) has allowed 10 firms to intervene in an ongoing legal proceeding related to the application of the national Grid Corporation of the Philippines (nGCP) which is seeking approval for its 2016-2020 Maximum Annual revenue (MA r).

MA r refers to the maximum revenue that the grid operator is allowed to earn from its transmission operations.

In a seven-page order, the erC g ranted the petitions for intervention filed by the Manila electric Co., national transmission Corp. (transCo), Alfredo non, Davao Light and Power Co. Inc., t herma South Inc., national Association of electricity Consumers for r eforms Inc., Visayan electric Co. Inc., Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., t herma Visayas Inc., and joint petitioner-intervenors Panay energy Development Corp., Panay Power Corp., Cebu energy Development Corp. , and toledo Power Co.

t he Commission found that the petitioner-intervenors have sufficiently proven their substantial interest in the case. Moreover, the

Commission emphasized that under the Amended ru les in transmission Wheeling r ates, transCo is deemed a necessary party in the instant application,” the erC said.

t h e agency likewise directed nGCP to furnish the intervenors all the documents related to its application, except those with pending motion for confidential treatment of information.

t he nGCP filed on December 22, 2022 its MA r for the 4th regulatory Period covering the years 2016 to 2020, in accordance with the alternative form of rate setting methodology under the ru les for Setting transmission Wheeling r ates (rt W r), with prayer for confidential treatment of information.

nG CP had asked erC to issue an order of general default against those who have not filed any petition for intervention or appeared during the initial hearing. t h e erC partially granted nG CP’s plea in so far as the Luzon stakeholders are concerned, and ruled that the stakeholders from the Visayas and Mindanao must be given an opportunity to appear during the hearings in their regions. Lenie Lectura

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) expressed optimism that the local auto industry would continue to expand, as motor vehicle sales in January went up by 42 percent year-on-year.

Push for VAT refund for tourists advances

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

gap in procedure,” Salceda said. “This reduces the country’s competitiveness among its peers and neighboring countries.”

The lawmaker created a technical working group to hammer out issues on the language and implementation of the proposal, suggesting that the language be included in the Ease of Paying Taxes Act, a bill likely to be sponsored in the Senate floor this week.

While President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. approved the PSAC’s proposal, Salceda said the National Internal Revenue Code (as amended) doesn’t provide a legal basis for such a system.

During discussions on the proposal, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda noted that the Philippines remains one of the few major Asia-Pacific

Are

tourist destinations without a working VAT tourist-refund mechanism.

“Only India and Cambodia are the other countries in the top 15 tourist destinations in Asia-Pacific with this

“The lack of such a system, as well as a standing legal basis for it, foregoes gross value-added in the tourism sector,” the lawmaker said citing a 2010 study that said high VAT rates

on tourists have significant negative effects on consumption volume for hotels and restaurants.

“Due to high elasticities in the tourism sector, the multiplier appears to be, for every 1 percent in unrefunded VAT, the reduction in tourist consumption in hotels and restaurants is 1.5 percent,” Salceda said.

Counterpart measure

SALCEDA added that the credibility of the VAT-refund system “appears to affect the destination choices of shopping-focused tourists.”

“This is particularly the case for Australia, where a credible VAT refund system has created a tourist shopping industry,” Salceda said.

The lawmaker also suggested that the Bureau of Internal Revenue adopt best practices in international VAT-

refund mechanisms.

As an example, he cited that most revenue authorities allow a full rebate, but charge a service fee paid to the collecting and refunding agent. He explained that revenue authorities also typically employ an agent, who collects a service fee (between 0.8 percent and 6 percent of the total sale).

“Most revenue authorities also require a minimum purchase value [per store, per day, or cumulative] to process a refund application,” Salceda said.

The lawmaker added that a VAT-refund system is expected to increase annual tourist expenditures on shopping from P59 billion to P69.62 billion, for VAT foregone revenues of around P7.08 billion, assuming the same tourist base. He said that a simulated model shows

that tourist spending on shopping, accounting for increased tourist arrivals as a result of the refund system, will increase to P76.58 billion, or a total increase of P17.6 billion in tourist sales, representing a growth by 29.8 percent.

Salceda is also filing a counterpart measure in the House “to expand the discussion on the proposal.”

The Philippines recorded 2.65 million (2.02 million foreign tourists and 628,445 Filipinos overseas) visitors from February to December 2022.

This figure is higher than the 2021 tourist arrivals of 163,879 but still significantly lower than the prepandemic level of 8.26 million.

This year, the Department of Tourism targets to welcome 4.8 million visitors, expected to generate P2.58 trillion in revenue.

savers winners or losers? T-bills auction results mixed; asking rates stay low

SOME time ago, I received a tempting offer from an organization that talks about losers. At first, it seemed to me that the message made a lot of sense. After a short ponder, I had a change of thought.

It is because the message is proclaiming that SAVERS are LOSERS!

The first series of questions and answers that popped out of my mind were: “Are savers really losers?” (Yes) and “Can savers become winners?” (Definitely!).

The two answers may seem to disagree with each other but, with the discussion below, we will see there is no contradiction.

As we all know, saving money is the hardest thing to do due to the fact that our minds were conditioned to crave for instant gratification. A change of mindset and a lot of discipline is a must for our first step in our quest to win. Study the ants and apply it to the way you save.

If you keep your money in a piggy bank or in your safety box, the statement “savers are losers” holds true. It is because money doesn’t grow over a period of time. Another thing is inflation eats up the purchasing power of the money saved. It would be logical to spend the money now than to save it since it will not have a higher value in the future to cope up with rising costs. How can savers become winners then? By saving the right way!

The only way to do that is to shift from being savers to being investors. Money saved should be put to work 24/7 through proper “investment.” Remember that you cannot invest what you do not have. So, by saving first, you can accumulate enough funds to start your investment. There are various ways and vehicles to create, invest and grow money.

Start by:

Investing in yourself. Be healthy so that you can continuously earn income actively and passively. By being healthy, you avoid monstrous medical costs.

Investing in time. Time is money so it pays to start investing early on. Make use of the power of leverage and power of compounding interest. Time can be your best friend or worst enemy. Make time work for you.

Investing in education. Be up to date in financial information through attending seminars, reading books and morning papers. Surf the internet for information. There are many blogs that are full of information to help upgrade your knowledge. Go and network with people who share your passion and beliefs. If you want to be rich, look for the righteously rich and make them your mentor.

Investing in assets. Look for assets that can make your money work for you. Assets can be in the form of real estate, paper assets, your talent and craft, precious metals, etc. Just make sure that you do not mistake an asset with a liability. Investing in business. Put up a business of your expertise. Not all business succeed but with hard work, dedication and sacrifice, success is just nearby. Just follow the principle of our taipans like Henry Sy, Lucio Tan and John Go-

kongwei who made it big from scratch. If there are no savings, would the investments mentioned above become possible? A lot of problems can be avoided with savings. Without savings, the people would have turned to debt to solve their financial problems with another problem.

The next sets of questions that came out were:

n What was the purpose of the sender with that message?

n Was it to inform or educate me on money matters?

n Was there truth to the statement?

n Was the message aimed to encourage me not to save but instead to spend it all?

n Was it made to lure me to their orientation and then to sweet-talk me into “investing” my hard-earned money in their consumption-based business offering?

For me, the main objective of the message is to condition my mind into believing that I, as a saver, am a loser and that I have to do what they preach to become a winner. There is the possibility that the source of the message is either broke or is in the verge of bankruptcy. It gradually dawned upon me that if I do not save and do what they say, I will be only making them rich at my expense. I am also helping them prove to everybody that their theory works when, in fact, I was only made to consume their products that I do not need. Then the cycle continues. This will be a predator-prey relationship. Conclusively, the message can be treated as garbage.

If you were the recipient of the message, how would you have responded?

Take note that in the Bible, Matthew 24:4, Jesus talks about religious deceptions.

The warning can also hold true in the world of finance. There are groups that claim to give “salvation” from financial mess, but are actually “financial fallen angels” disguised as “financial guardian angels.” Before taking any action, critical thinking is a must especially in dealing with your financial decision.

The winner is always part of the answer; the loser is always part of the problem. The winner has a dream; the loser has a scheme.

The winner sees possibilities; the loser sees problems. Are savers winners or losers? You be the judge.

Edmund Lao is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personalfinancial planning, attend the 100th RFP program this March 2023. To inquire, e-mail info@rfp.ph or text <name><e-mail> <RFP> at 0917-6248110.

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE national government on Monday raised P14.6 billion from the P15-billion auction of Treasury bills (T-bills) by the Bureau of the Treasury.

The Treasury made a full award on the sale of 91-day and 364-day tenors of T-bills as investors’ asking rates remained lower than the secondary market.

The Treasury successfully raised P5 billion each from the auction

of 91-day and 364-day T-bills. The Treasury only awarded P4.6 billion of its P5 billion offer for the 182day T-bills.

“Except for 182-day, the auction committee made full award as rates were lower than comparable secondary levels,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters after the auction.

Monday’s auction snapped the 4-week streak of full awards by the Treasury on auctions of T-bills.

The average rate for the 91-day Tbills was at 4.23 percent, lower than

the 4.344 percent secondary market benchmark rate.

Meanwhile, the average rate for the 364-day T-bills was at 5.298 percent, lower than its secondary market counterpart of 5.325 percent.

For the 182-day T-bills, the average rate settled at 4.949 percent, slightly higher than the 4.938 percent secondary market benchmark level for the same debt paper.

The tenders for all the three tenors were all oversubscribed with total offer made by investors reaching P32.182 billion, more than double

than the P15 billion programmed amount.

Offers for the 91-day T-bills reached P8.856 billion, P7.776 billion for the 182-day tenor, and P15.55 billion for the 364-day government security, according to the Treasury. The government seeks to borrow P200 billion in February from the domestic market through the auction of T-bills and Treasury bonds.

(Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/01/25/government-eyes-to-borrow-p200bvia-debt-mart/)

Court finds forex operator guilty of violating RA 7653

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

DEBT-FREE This undated

photo courtesy of the Clark International Airport Corp. is Officer-in-Charge Darwin L. Cunanan. Cunanan was quoted in a statement as saying that all outstanding loans of the agency, including money borrowed from the Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines for various airport expansion infrastructure projects, have been fully paid as of the last quarter of last year. CREDIT: ClaRk InTERnaTIonal aIRpoRT CoRp

THE Regional Trial Court of Batangas City has convicted the owner of a firm engaged in foreign exchange services for violating the New Central Bank Act, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The BSP said the owner and operator of Vility Foreign Exchange Services (Vility) was convicted for violating the Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions of the BSP, punishable under Republic Act 7653.

“The BSP protects the interest of the general public by ensuring that its supervised financial institutions are strictly compliant with banking laws and regulations,” the BSP said.

The central bank said the owner

and operator of Vility was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt for operating a money-changing service without securing the required Certificate of Registration from the BSP prior to its operations. The owner and operator of the company pleaded guilty as charged and was sentenced to pay a fine of P50,000.

Earlier, the BSP disclosed that the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court (RTC) convicted the owner and operator of a money changer for violating the Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions (MORNBFI).

The BSP said the owner and operator of Zhenrihada Money Changing Services (Zhenrihada) for its violation of the MORNBFI which is punishable under Section 36 of the New Central Bank Act.

GSIS taps SG developer for touch mobile application

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

THE Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) announced it has tapped application developer OutSystems Singapore Pte. Ltd. to launch the GSIS touch mobile app.

OutSystems Vice President for Asia Pacific Mark Weaser said the app was built by the GSIS’s information technology (IT) team within a shorter timeline. The app, Weaser said, is for use by more than 2.5 million GSIS members and pensioners when applying for loans and services.

He said OutSystems enhanced the government financial institution’s ca-

pabilities in developing mobile applications. In particular, these included outsourcing the development of the motor-vehicle processing system that contained the mobile app component. Weaser said his firm provided user experience and user interface (UX/ UI) online training to the GSIS’s project team.

“Some of the most pressing issues that government agencies face today include the speed it takes to deliver a product or seamless service to the market,” he said adding the firm “hopes to improve business efficiency and lower operational costs as we continue to extend our services and assist more Philippine government agencies in their digital transformation efforts for the

coming years.”

“Along with our advocacy towards digital transformation, we hope to aid other Philippine government agencies in coming up with a streamlined platform that will allow them to expedite processes and provide clients with convenience with just one click. With our low-code development capacity, we look forward to providing seamless technological assistance and equipping Filipinos with ease of access to government information and applications.” Weaser added.

“As a government agency that is at the forefront of innovation, we are proud to have been able to launch the touch mobile app that is accessible by hundreds and thousands of our

members,” said GSIS Senior VicePresident for IT and Service Group Juan Philip S. Evangelista. “We look forward to seeing the app become the next major communication and transaction channel of GSIS, allowing more Filipinos to have seamless access to our services without traveling to the GSIS branches or agency offices in the country.”

Through the app, GSIS members are now able to remotely access the platform in applying for loans and claim benefits, Evangelista said. With over 506,040 registered users and an average of 25,000 users, 372,338 loan applications have been applied through the app within only a year of it being available to the public, he added.

Diokno asks Rubio to prioritize digitalization of BOC to improve revenue collection

FINANCE Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno expressed confidence that new Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief Bienvenido Y. Rubio will be able to deliver the necessary improvements to the bureau.

In his message during the Customs bureau’s ceremonial turnover

last Monday, Diokno instructed Rubio to prioritize the digitalization of the bureau’s various processes to further improve its revenue collection measures.

Diokno explained that modernizing the Customs administration should be a key priority of Rubio’s

leadership. He argued that digitalization “will be a defining factor in the Marcos administration’s bid to achieve modern governance.”

Finance Undersecretary Bayani

H. Agabin quoted Diokno as saying that the Department of Finance (DOF) is honored to welcome Rubio’s

appointment the new BOC chief. The DOF chief also expressed confidence that Rubio “will take on this mission with utmost commitment, integrity, and excellence.”

Diokno argued that a digital customs administration would allow the national government “to focus

its resources in the identification of higher risk entities, while enhancing the ease of doing business.”

“As we enter 2023, I trust that Rubio will bring in a fresh vision and even loftier targets to move the Bureau closer to the goal of becoming a modern and world-class Customs

agency that ranks among the best in the world,” he said. Rubio on Monday formally assumed office as the new Customs Commissioner, replacing Yogi Filemon Ruiz. Rubio vowed to continue and enhance the bureau’s digitalization efforts. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

THE House Committee on Ways and Means created last Monday a technical working group to study the proposed value added tax refund mechanism for foreign tourists, which gained approval from Malacañang following a proposal from the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC).

personAl finAnCe

edmund lao

ART FAIR PHILIPPINES AT 10 Returning to The Link and going biophilic

TODAY’S HOROSCOPE

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS

DAY: Danai Gurira, 45; Simon Pegg, 53; Meg Tilly, 63; Terry Gross, 72.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Be aware of the changes around you. You’ll figure out how to turn a negative into a positive. It’s up to you to create opportunities and take responsibility for your happiness. Be open about your plans and how you intend to use your skills to increase your income. A resourceful approach to life will make the changes you face easier. Your lucky numbers are 4, 12, 22, 29, 34, 40, 46.

aARIES (March 21-April 19): Connect with people you know you can count on, then create a plan. A joint venture will offer greater opportunities than you anticipate, helping with cash flow and long-term effects. Surprise everyone with your ingenuity; you will impress someone influential. HHHHH

bTAURUS (April 20-May 20): If you ask questions, you will find out what you want to know. It might be easier to make decisions once you know where you stand and what others are willing to contribute. Maintaining equality will be essential to making progress. HHH

Project from Visayas and Panit Bukog from Mindanao.

Skye Nicolas presents Frequencies of Nostalgia, while Mark Inducil, who resides in Melbourne, mounts Homecoming The special presentations are curated by CryptoArtPH artists Bjorn Calleja and Jopet Arias.

Meanwhile, returning sections to the fair include ArtFairPH/Projects and ArtFairPH/Photo Special Exhibits.

The former will showcase artworks commissioned especially for the fair by Faye Abantao, Kiko Escora, Mark Andy Garcia, Raymond Guevarra, Pow Martinez, Yeo Kaa, and Peter Zimmerman. The latter features striking selfportraits by photographer Wawi Navarroza.

ART Fair Philippines is set for its milestone 10th edition this weekend from February 17 to 19, returning to its original home at The Link in Makati City.

After migrating to the digital space and then to the open-air Ayala Triangle Gardens due to the global pandemic, the annual event will once again transform The Link carpark into a multi-level art exhibition venue. Designed to heighten the fairgoers’ refreshed experience and sense of exploration is this year’s biophilic design setup, inspired by the appearance of the natural world.

Art Fair Philippines 2023 will present a mix of educational and spotlight sections. New this year is Art FairPH/Digital, which focuses on digital media artworks, particularly those that engage with computer technology, animation, augmented reality, metaverse, and NonFungible Tokens (NFTs).

Bannering the section are two special exhibits featuring up-and-coming Filipino digital artists. New York-based

The fair will likewise present pieces from this year’s batch of artists who have completed artist residencies in various parts of the country under ArtFairPH/Residencies. Then, ArtFairPH/Talks provides fair visitors opportunities to deepen their exposure to various topics that will enhance art appreciation with a variety of lectures, panel discussions, and artists talks.

There will be more learning opportunities focusing on digital art with ArtFairPH/Workshops, while ArtFairPH/ Film will mount compelling selections across two nights.

Complementing the fair is the 10 Days of Art initiative (www.10daysofart.com), running from February 10 to 19.

This series of events around the Makati Central Business District celebrates art beyond the venue of the fair, with participation by galleries, museums, bars, restaurants, and retail establishments. The fair will pay tribute as well to two luminaries in the art world, Norma Liongoren (Liongoren Gallery), and Albert Avellana (Avellana ArtGallery), who passed away recently.

In terms of exhibitors, the lineup for Art Fair Philippines 2023 presents 63 from across the country and abroad. Several local art groups will also be joining to be provide regional focus, namely, No Space from Luzon, Orange

Among the Manila galleries exhibiting at the fair is Art Elaan, which will mount two solo exhibitions. Ricky Ambagan displays his visual storytelling prowess in Splice Them, while Anton Del Castillo explores another set of toxic fanaticism in BRAGGADOCIOUS Ambagan classifies himself as a storyteller. He presents narratives about the most emotional human experiences that easily resonate with the audience. In Splice Them, the artist focuses on the fleetingness of memories and our desperate attempt to hold onto them.

The influences of our formative years, for instance, serve as a favorite subject whenever we look back. Ambagan visualizes the colorful ‘90s hip-hop culture in World Play where prominent figures such as Notorius B.I.G. and Tupac are depicted in graffiti-inspired style. To further drive the sharp pang of nostalgia, Ambagan mounts his painted canvas on a cassette-shaped wood.

Meanwhile, Anton Del Castillo has showed a wont in dancing along the fine line between devotion and lunacy, tackling themes such as religion and war. In BRAGGADOCIOUS, Del Castillo drives to the ugly side of motorcycle riding.

The artist, who’s a rider himself, knows firsthand how ego can contaminate the innocent joy of bonding over a shared passion: on how quickly everything can devolve into a mere pissing contest. Thus, we see in the Del Castillo’s artworks coveted motorcycle brands such as Harleys, Vespas, Indians and BMWs, set against a flashy, eyecatching gold backdrop. Could it be the artist’s commentary on how pride steals the focus from what’s important, lamenting the death of sincerity?

More information about Art Fair Philippines 2023 is available at www.artfairphilippines.com

Student-artists celebrate National Arts Month

IN commemoration of the National Arts Month, spearheaded by the National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA) through Presidential Proclamation 683, the Youth Arts Zone (YAZ) 2023 enjoins young studentartists to utilize their talent and skills, creativity and imagination to respond to today’s pressing issues.

Now dubbed as YAZ, the revamped 18th Lasallian Arts Month rekindles the spirit of physically building and celebrating art with the community, two years since the pandemic shifted the world into virtual spaces and digital platforms.

T hemed “Kabataang Manlilikha: Para sa Kalikasan, Kasaysayan at Katotohanan,” the month-long series of events encourage the youth to transform their imagination and artistry to proactive responses to initiate change.

Led by the Culture and Arts Unit of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, the 2000s aesthetic-inspired installment commences with flash mob performances. Art installations across three campuses, including an interactive life-sized puzzle board, provide a glimpse of the activities to come.

Empowered with the goal to champion shadowplay as a Filipino art form, the Karilyo Visual Arts Team spearheads an immersive pocket performance inspired by the classic crafts television shows. Entitled Kanto

Guhit ni Kapitan Katapan it follows the journey of a sock puppet superhero in search for a sidekick to help him save Mother Earth.

The program includes a series of tutorials on the fundamentals of shadow play. Workshops on sustainable art-making will be conducted. There will likewise be talks on the rich tradition of the discipline and its significant contributions and impact in shaping the society.

Young People Power, one of the highlights of the annual YAZ, sets the stage for online showcases and digital artworks from the college’s growing roster of homegrown talents. The pieces, which were conceptualized and produced amid the height of the pandemic, depict the power of the youth in upholding the truth.

The highly anticipated Art Jam features the internationally lauded and award-winning artist groups Coro San Benildo, Dulaang Filipino and Saint Benilde Romançon Dance Company. The exhilarating lineup includes diverse creative performances, from spoken poetry and literary presentations, to solo and band numbers and dance productions, supported by the Cultural Promotions Team and Stage Production Operations Team. More information about Benilde’s community of student-artists is available at facebook.com/cultureandarts.benilde and youtube.com/c/ARTISHERE_OCA

cGEMINI (May 21-June 20): Do what others expect and move on to the things you enjoy doing most. Think about the process involved in reaching your target. You’ll be able to draw on your experience and knowledge to get things done in record time. HHH

dCANCER (June 21-July 22): Accept what’s happening around you. Change can be good if you structure it properly. Be part of whatever transition is heading your way; it will be easier for you to carry on without setbacks or concerns. Express your love for someone special. HHH

eLEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take responsibility, alter what you don’t like and push forward until you are satisfied with the results. Put time aside to spend with someone special. The discussion you have will decide what comes next. Live in the moment and enjoy life. HHHHH

fVIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Keep your message consistent. Reaching out beyond the call of duty can make a difference for someone less fortunate than you. Love is in the stars and will motivate you to do fun things with someone special. HH

gLIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Watch your step, but keep moving toward your destination. Be observant and research opportunities. Dedicate your time, skills and experience to something that interests you. Discuss emotional issues in person. HHHH

hSCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Your imagination won’t disappoint you. If you find a way to please someone you love, your gesture will get a standing ovation. It’s OK to think big, but don’t go over budget when it comes to following through. Have fun, but play it safe. HHH

iSAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Channel emotional energy into something meaningful. Show how much you care, share your intentions and be open and honest about life. Change begins with you; refuse to let anyone interfere with your plans or push you in an undesired direction. HHH

jCAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Be true to yourself and do things to suit your needs. A unique approach will give you the edge you need to outmaneuver anyone who cares to stand in your way. Share your intentions and spice up your personal life. Romance is encouraged. HHH

kAQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Give your all, and something good will transpire. Aggressive action will help tie up loose ends while you outmaneuver anyone who gets in your way. Trust in your ability, follow your heart and pursue the people and pastimes you love. HHHH

lPISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Precision and honoring your promises will draw others to your side. You’ll gain support and assistance if you know what will help you pursue your goals. Size up situations and leave nothing to chance. An optimistic attitude will attract a positive response. HH

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are courageous, inventive and trendy. You are willful and competent.

‘like a rock’ BY ALEX EATON-SALNERS

The Universal Crossword/Edited by Anna Gundlach

Solution to today’s puzzle:

A TOUGH Life, Anton Del Castillo, 2023, oil on gold leaf panel, 36” x 48”

WORLD Play, Ricky Ambagan, 2023, acrylic on canvas mounted on cassette-tape shape wood, 30” x 48”

KARILYO Shadowplay Collective

Burt Bacharach leaves behind lush trove of romantic songs

By David Bauder

The Associated Press

NEW YORK—Music played softly, almost imperceptibly, in the background of a hotel lounge where Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello talked about their songwriting collaboration, Painted From Memory Bacharach noticed, however, that it was the instrumental version of “The Look of Love,” his song popularized by Dusty Springfield. He mischievously asked, during their 1998 interview with The Associated Press, if Costello had arranged to play it. Nope. It wasn’t the first time he’d been interrupted by Bacharach’s work.

“It happens all the time,” Costello said.

That will surely happen again, too. The composer, who died at age 94 Wednesday in Los Angeles, left behind an indelible songbook that will long outlive him.

At its heart were the collaborations with songwriting partner Hal David and singer Dionne Warwick, 19 of them Top 40 hits.

Anyone Who Had a Heart.” “Walk on By.” “I Say a Little Prayer.” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose.” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.” “Alfie.”

The work extended far beyond that, every title a memory and invitation to break out into song— even if you can’t carry a tune.

Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.” “That’s What Friends Are For.” “What the World Needs Now.” “Always Something There to Remind Me.”

“This Guy’s in Love With You.” “One Less Bell to Answer.” “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself.”

“I’ve always been inclined to write romantic music, hopefully from the heart,” Bacharach said in that 1998 interview. “There are not a lot of up-tempo songs in my catalog.”

If you hear a flugelhorn, chances are you’re listening to a Burt Bacharach composition.

The work with Costello was a milestone long after the Top 40 charts had moved on, and is being celebrated in a box set being released March 3.

I’m so sad to hear we’ve lost Burt Bacharach,” the English singer Badly Drawn Boy said on Twitter on Thursday. “Growing up in the ‘70s, his music somehow penetrated my soul and has remained ever since. When it comes to melodic songwriting,

there’s never been anyone better.”

Bacharach’s songs were often categorized, even minimized, as “easy listening,” perhaps because so many flowed freely during a t umultuous time in the nation’s history. While the Austin Powers movies may have brought Bacharach’s music to the ears of younger listeners, the cheesy context did him no favors.

What may have been easy listening was usually quite complex, said Nathaniel Sloan, musicologist at the University of Southern California and co-host of the “Switched on Pop” podcast.

Bacharach would frequently stretch beyond pop conventions into odd time signatures, which would challenge musicians but usually go unnoticed by regular listeners. Sloan cited the way the beat changes in “I Say a Little Prayer,” later copped by OutKast for their hit “Hey Ya.”

Similarly, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”

‘Balitanghali’ anchors Raffy Tima,

BALITANGHALI anchors Raffy Tima and Connie Sison continue to bring midday news to Filipinos here and abroad as the two award-winning seasoned journalists renewed their ties with GMA Integrated News on February 9. Present during the contract signing were First Vice President and Head of GMA Regional TV and Synergy, and Acting Head of GMA Integrated News Oliver Victor B. Amoroso and GMA Integrated News Vice President and Deputy Head for News Programs and Specials Michelle Seva.

is constructed to convey both the ominousness of life’s storms and the narrator’s confidence (“nothin’s worrying me”), he said.

Bacharach drew from classical and jazz music to enrich his harmonies, giving the music a memorable lushness. Think “This Guy’s in Love With You.”

“He told me he just didn’t want to do anything that was milquetoast,” said songwriter Daniel Tashian, one of the last musicians to work with Bacharach extensively. “He wanted to do something that got him excited, got him fired up.”

A debonair celebrity who married—and later divorced—actor Angie Dickinson, Bacharach seemed at ease with his musical talents compared to another 1960s genius, Brian Wilson, who often seemed tortured by them, Tashian said.

The Beach Boys songwriter was one of the first musicians to tweet a tribute to Bacharach after his

Connie Sison renew ties with GMA Integrated News

As news anchors of GTV’s award-winning midday newscast Balitanghali Raffy and Connie are beyond grateful to begin 2023 as proud GMA talents.

The newscast celebrated its 17th year on air last November.

I feel honored that GMA has once again entrusted me with the great responsibility of co-anchoring Balitanghali,” said Raffy, who is a pioneer news anchor of the newscast.

“ I am so grateful to our Lord for blessing me with Balitanghali. I

am happy that GMA Integrated News continues to trust me to deliver GTV’s noontime newscast alongside Raffy all throughout these years. It gives me tremendous honor to continue to be a part of such a dynamic team,” added Connie. Amoroso underscored Raffy and Connie’s work in Balitanghali We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of Raffy and Connie. Throughout the years, Balitanghali has successfully created a niche for alternative noontime offerings, and its content and delivery of news items continue to set it apart from other shows. It is a testament to GMA’s commitment to enrich the lives of Filipinos everywhere with the responsible delivery of news and information, further cementing GMA Integrated News as the ‘News Authority of the Filipino.’ We are more than proud that we have Raffy and Connie anchor Balitanghali,” he said. Also in attendance in the anchors’ contract-signing were GMA Integrated News Consultant Grace dela Peña Reyes, GMA Corporate Communications Assistant Vice President Jojo Aquio, Balitanghali Senior Program Manager Ahd Marco-Bautista, and the program’s Executive Producer Ralph Baudin. C atch Raffy and Connie in Balitanghali weekdays at 11 am on GTV with simulcast airing on digital channels I Heart Movies, Heart of Asia and Pinoy Hits. Filipinos abroad can watch the newscast on the network’s international channel, GMA News TV.

Gigi de Lana hits all the right spots for good vibes

should be as intimate as possible, that we should be one with our audience in enjoying the music as we perform the songs for them,” shared De Lana during a chat with select members of the media a few days ago. “My band and I are excited to share our repertoire which will hopefully allow our audience to experience a full range of human emotions in one night through songs and music.”

song of Hello Heart, where De Lana tried a bit of acting, alongside Gerald Anderson. For the concert this weekend, De Lana, who recently cut her hair very short, is dedicating the show to her mother, who is suffering from Stage 4 breast cancer.

THERE’S certainly no stopping breakout star Gigi de Lana spreading good vibes in the music industry. De Lana and the Gigi Vibes band are in the thick of rehearsals for their upcoming concert, billed as G Rules, scheduled to rock The Theatre at Solaire this Saturday night, February 18.

With the renewed confidence brought about by the success of their “Domination” world concert tour last year that regaled music fans in the United States and the Middle East, De Lana and bandmates are looking forward to entertain their local fans and followers for this special post-Valentine show.

“We are all in agreement that this concert

These bandmates who have become close friends to De Lana include musical director Jon Cruz who also plays the keyboards, bassist Jake Manalo, guitarist Julius Traqueña, and drummer Romeo Marquez.

De Lana shifted her musical gear to full speed just last year, after her self-titled debut album reached around 4 million streams on Spotify. The songs “Sakalam” and “O Bakit Ba” became the signature hit songs of the beautiful newcomer.

Star Records, her music label, also included the songs “Akin Ka Na Lang,” “Sa Dulo” and “Nasa’yo Ako” as part of the soundtrack of different drama series of ABS-CBN. Also, part of the album is her version of the Roselle Nava original hit “Bakit Nga Ba Mahal

I want to be part of my mother’s journey, the many ups and downs that cancer patients go through. Cutting my hair short is not a big deal compared to what she goes through, fighting the dreaded disease and losing her hair after every chemo session. I just simply want to let her know that I am one with her as she fights the disease,” she intoned.

De Lana is glad that her bandmates have become her extended family members. “I’ve known them for a long time now, and they know me very well. They share my joys and understand my frustrations. We definitely got each others’ backs and we will continue to do so. I tried going solo in the past but it didn’t work out very well, and my bandmates never once judged me. Being well compensated is a perk, but more than the tangible things we get out of performing, it is the camaraderie, our common goals of giving the audience the best

death was announced on Thursday.

Burt was a hero of mine and very influential on my work,” Wilson wrote.

Tashian released the collaboration Blue Umbrella with Bacharach in 2020 and is finishing up two new songs they wrote together. The Nashville-based composer, writer of the Kacey Musgraves hit “Slow Burn,” got to know Bacharach through a demo he recorded with another singer who sent it to him.

He believed Bacharach appreciated his talents and also took pity on him because Tashian couldn’t read music.

At one point in their collaboration, Tashian recorded a vocal that he knew wasn’t quite right, yet hoped the authenticity of the performance outweighed a few technical flaws.

Bacharach wasn’t buying it.

There’s nothing wrong,” the veteran composer told him, “with a little bit of perfection.”

NEW KOREAN ROMANCE SERIES ‘CALL IT LOVE’ ARRIVES EXCLUSIVELY ON DISNEY+

WHEN Woojoo’s life gets turned on its head by her father’s mistress, she will go to unbelievable lengths to get her own back in Call It Love , a new Korean romance series coming exclusively to Disney+ February 22.

Sent into a downward spiral after discovering her father’s infidelity, Woojoo’s situation goes from bad to worse when her father unexpectedly dies and his mistress kicks her out of the house. While she plans her revenge, Woojoo has no clue that she will fall in love with Dongjin, the son of the woman who ruined her life.

Starring Kim Youngkwang (Somebody, On Your Wedding Day) as lonely CEO Han Dongjin; Lee Sungkyung (Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, The Doctors) as the mistreated Sim Woojoo; Sung Jun (Island, Discovery of Love) as Woojoo’s friend; Ahn Heeyeon (Hit the Spot) as Dongin’s ex-girlfriend; and Kim Yewon (You Are My Spring) as Woojoo’s sister. Call It Love is directed by Lee Kwangyoung (No, Thank You).

First announced as part of the Disney Content Showcase 2022, Call It Love joins a host of Hallyu hits currently available on Disney+ including Big Mouth (about an inept lawyer who is forced to become a notorious conman after being falsely imprisoned) and Snowdrop, which tells about a university student who goes against her family and her country to help the man she loves; as well as an endlessly entertaining array of global titles and more.

value of entertainment and the high we get as performance artists that truly matter.”

Gigi de Lana and her Gigi Vibes band are still in disbelief that they will be performing at the posh performance venue of Solaire. “There’s always a first time for everything, and we are feeling the good vibes more as concert night approaches!” she added.

FROM left: GMA Integrated News Consultant Grace dela Peña-Reyes; First Vice President and Head of GMA Regional TV and Synergy, and Acting Head of GMA Integrated News Oliver Victor Amoroso; Balitanghali anchors Connie Sison and Raffy Tima; and Vice President and Deputy Head for News Programs and Specials Michelle Seva.

DepEd vows to champion teachers’ welfare, professional development

Your sweet city escape with your loved one awaits at Richmonde Hotel Ortigas this Valentine’s month

THE season of love calls for romantic indulgences to share with your special someone. At Richmonde Hotel Ortigas, you can surprise your beloved with a relaxing staycation in the metro and an exquisite dinner for two in celebration of St. Valentine’s holiday. Whether you want to snuggle up and chill or add more excitement to your couple’s rendezvous, Richmonde’s month-long Toast to Love room promotion gives you a selection of packages to suit your date plans this February. Room-only deals start at P3,500 nett per night, inclusive of cozy room accommodations for two, 15 percent discount on a la carte orders from Richmonde Café and Room Service, and use of the heated indoor pool and gm. Looking forward to a hearty breakfast together? For as low as P4,300 nett per night, get to delight in a sumptuous breakfast buffet at Richmonde Café when you wake up. Want to make your evening extra special too? Go all out and book the Valentine room package starting at P6,000 nett with breakfast for two persons, plus a bottle of wine, and a special charcuterie board for your in-room dinner date. Both packages are also inclusive of 15 percent discount on a la carte orders, as well as access to the Health Club’s gym, heated indoor pool, sauna, and steam room.

RECOGNIZING teachers' critical role in the education sector's success, the Department of Education (DepEd) affirmed its commitment to strengthening teachers' support and uplifting teaching quality in the country.

In her Basic Education Report 2023, Vice President and Secretary of Education Sara Z. Duterte recognized the zeal and passion of Filipino teachers, vowing to champion their welfare and professional development as part of her MATATAG: Bansang Makabata, Batang Makabansa agenda.

“Teachers are critical to the success of education. When they are supported, education quality improves,” Duterte said. Duterte emphasized that the agency will remove the administrative task of teachers and will continuously advocate for additional benefits and address issues affecting their net-take-home pay.

“We will remove non-teaching tasks and

provide administrative officers in schools. We will provide adequate manpower complement in schools, manage teachers’ workload, and compensate teachers for unique school challenges,” she said.

“We will continuously advocate for additional benefits for our teachers. We will work towards addressing issues affecting the net-take-home pay of teachers,” she added.

The Education chief also said that the agency would implement a policy on the distribution of workload and payment for teaching overload.

DepEd will also request the Department of Budget and Management the expansion of the coverage of Special Hardship Allowances, and closely coordinate with the GSIS for an improved benefits package for all the personnel.

Furthermore, DepEd commits to elevating teaching approaches and

standards by following the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST) and capacitating them in utilizing and maximizing the benefits of digital and remote learning.

“We will continuously provide professional development programs, including graduate degree scholarship programs to teachers focusing on their learning area specialization and graduate certificate programs for nonmajors,” Duterte noted.

The Department will likewise fast-track the career progression policy and strictly implement the Merit Selection Policy to avoid any intervention in appointing personnel to vacant positions.

“We also recognize your sacrifices. We thank you for your sacrifices. Maraming salamat po sa inyong dedikasyon. Hindi po namin kayo pababayaan,” VP-Sec. Duterte ended.

30th Travel Tour Expo 2023, AirSWIFT Contract Signing. The 30th Travel Tour Expo 2023, the largest travel event of the year, recently held its media launch at The Novotel in Quezon City. The organizers of the event proudly announced that this year’s expo will be bigger and much more exciting highlighting its special offers of big travel fare discounts and incredible travel deals and travel packages from almost 300 participating exhibitors like airlines, hotels, resorts, cruise liners, tour operators, travel insurance firms, and retailers of travel accessories. Also present during the media launch were some valued sponsors who formalized their commitment. Photo above shows from left, Michelle Taylan, Chairperson of the 30th Travel Tour Expo 2023 and Fely Anne Salvador, Chief Operating Officer, AirSWIFT during the contract signing.

Expo Maritime Philippines 2023 to Explore PHL‘s potential as a Maritime Power; to hold 2 separate conventions

THE Expo Maritime Philippines 2023

will be held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza on February 16 to 17, 2023 and will feature two separate two-day conventions. It will also have an event hall which will offer entertainment as well as business opportunities to Filipino seafarers, their families and to those who may be interested in the Philippine maritime industry.

The Shipbuilders Convention shall be held at the Boracay Ballroom of Sofitel Philippine Plaza featuring resource persons from the Maritime Industry Authority, the Philippine Interisland Shipping Association, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Association of Maritime Institutions, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, the Development Bank of the Philippines, a local legislator, and those from private corporations and

entities engaged in local shipbuilding activities.

On the other hand, the Flag States Convention, which shall be held at the Davao Ballroom of Sofitel Philippine Plaza, shall have resource persons coming from the International Maritime Organization, the Maritime Industry Authority, the Department of Migrant Workers, the Panama Maritime Authority, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry, a local legislator and several others from the private sector.

WMOC Group of Companies, headed by of its President and CEO Rachelle B. Lopez and her husband, Nolasco E. Lopez, VP for Operations, is spearheading the groundbreaking two-day industry event fueled by the couple’s noble aspirations for a better maritime future for the Philippines

The opening ceremony of the Expo Maritime Philippines 2023 in the morning of February 16, shall have Senators Cynthia Villar and Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa as keynote speakers and top government maritime officials DOTr Undersecretary Elmer Francisco Sarmiento, MARINA Administrator Atty. Hernani N. Fabia, and PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago as speakers, indicating the level of support that the event has obtained from the government.

In addition to the five government luminaries, other government officials expected to take part in the ceremonial ribbon-cutting to officially kick-off Expo Maritime Philippines 2023 are OWWA Administrator Arnaldo Ignacio, Senator Mark Villar, Congressman Ron Salo of Kabayan Partylist, and Congresswoman Marissa Del Mar Magsino of OFW Partylist.

Wine and dine your significant other on February 14th as Richmonde Café presents the ultimate gustatory experience—a special dinner aptly called Love at First Bite. You’ll swoon and gush with delight as each dish tickles your taste buds and fills your tummies. Begin your meal with an assortment of cheeses, cured meats, crackers, and fruits brought to your table via a rolling cart and customize your own charcuterie board to complement your first glass of wine. Then, head on over to the grazing table where a variety of French and Italian-inspired canapé style appetizers and breads are spread. As a prelude to your main course, the king prawn and pumpkin bisque de viande will be served

TOAST to Love Room Rates are available the whole month of February and start at P3,500 nett (room only), P4,300 nett (with breakfast for two) and P6,000 nett (with breakfast for two, a bottle of wine, and a charcuterie board).

tableside. For the premium entrée, choose between the Angus flank steak, served with classic tahini, crispy onions and shimeji mushroom for a tender and buttery delight, or the black cod, cooked sous vide and served with peas, mint risotto, and black caviar. Then, end the night on a sweet note with bitesized desserts from the grazing table.

This Valentine’s Day Dinner is served from 6 pm to 10 pm and is priced at P3,500 nett, inclusive of unlimited pours of red or white wine and bottomless beer, Valentine cocktail drink, soda, or iced tea. Guests who are checked-in on February 14 may avail of the discounted dinner rate of P3,200 nett per person.

For bookings and inquiries, call Richmonde Hotel Ortigas at (632) 8638 7777 or email stay@richmondeortigas.com. You may also call or message via mobile/Viber 0917 859 7914 (Room Reservations) and 0917 534 4352 (Richmonde Café).

Celebrate Valentine‘s Day with Enchanted Kingdom‘s Enchanting Royal Dinner on top of the Wheel of Fate

This year, EK is featuring the kingdom’s royal couple from their storybook characters, the Faerie King and the Faerie Queen, to celebrate the season of love, Enchanting Royal Dinner in the Sky guarantees the guests the experience that is both magical and memorable. Guests can book the couple package worth P2,700 or the group package good for four worth P4,900. Both packages include regular day passes, a meal for each, love locks and photo souvenir. For inquiries and reservations, contact any of the following numbers: 0920 983 3624 / 0999 884 8445 / (+632) 8584 3535 loc. 1905 or email personalmilestones@enchantedkingdom.ph.

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Grief gives way to anger over Turkey’s earthquake response

By Justin Spike & Bernat Armangué The Associated Press

ANTAKYA, Turkey—When Zafer

For hours, Boncuk frantically searched for someone in the ancient, devastated city of Antakya to help him free her. He was able to talk to her, hold her hand and give her water. Despite his pleas, however, no one came, and she died on Tuesday, the day after the quake.

Like many others in Turkey, his sorrow and disbelief have turned to rage over the sense there has been an unfair and ineffective response to the historic disaster that has killed tens of thousands of people there and in Syria.

Boncuk directed his anger at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, especially because she seemed so close to rescue but no one came. Her remains were finally removed Sunday, nearly a week after the building collapsed. His father’s body is still in the rubble.

“What would happen if it was your own mother, dear Recep Tayyip Erdogan? What happened to being a world leader? Where are you? Where?” he screamed.

“I gave her water to drink, I cleared her face of rubble. I told her that I would save her. But I failed,” said Boncuk, 60. “The last time we spoke, I asked if I should help her drink some water. She said no, so I rubbed some water on her lips. Ten minutes later, she died.”

He blamed “ignorance and lack of information and care—that’s

why my mother died in front of my eyes.”

Many in Turkey express similar frustration that rescue operations have been painfully slow since the February 6 quakes and that valuable time was lost during the narrow window for finding people alive.

Others, particularly in southern Hatay province near the Syrian border, say Erdogan’s government was late in delivering assistance to the hardest-hit region for what they suspect are both political and religious reasons.

In the southeastern town of Adiyaman, Elif Busra Ozturk waited outside the wreckage of a building on Saturday where her uncle and aunt were trapped and believed dead, and where the bodies of two of her cousins already had been found.

“For three days, I waited outside for help. No one came. There were so few rescue teams that they could only intervene in places they were sure there were people alive,” she said.

At the same complex, Abdullah Tas, 66, said he had been sleeping in a car near the building where his son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren were buried. He said that rescuers had first arrived four days after the earthquake struck. The Associated Press could not

independently verify his claim.

“What good is that for the people under the debris?” he asked.

Onlookers stood behind police tape Saturday in Antakya as bulldozers clawed at a high-rise luxury apartment building that had toppled onto its side.

Over 1,000 residents had been in the 12-story building when the quake struck, according to relatives watching the recovery effort. They said hundreds were still inside but complained the effort to free them had been slow and not serious.

“This is an atrocity, I don’t know what to say,” said Bediha Kanmaz, 60. The bodies of his son and 7-month-old grandson had been pulled from the building—still locked in an embrace—but his daughter-in-law was still inside.

“We open body bags to see if they’re ours, we’re checking if they’re our children. We’re even checking the ones that are torn

to pieces,” she said of herself and other grief-stricken relatives.

Kanmaz also blamed Turkey’s government for the slow response, and accused the national rescue service of failing to do enough to recover people alive.

She and others in Antakya expressed the belief that the presence of a large minority of Alevis—an Anatolian Islamic community that differs from Sunni and Shia Islam and Alawites in Syria—had made them a low priority for the government. Traditionally, few Alevis vote for Erdogan’s ruling party. There was no evidence, however, that the region was overlooked for sectarian reasons.

Erdogan said Wednesday that disaster efforts were continuing in all 10 affected provinces and dismissed allegations of no help from state institutions like the military as “lies, fake slander.” But he has acknowledged shortcomings. Officials said

rescue efforts in Hatay were initially complicated by the destruction of the local airport’s runway and bad road conditions.

Anger over the extent of the destruction, however, is not limited to individuals. Turkish authorities have been detaining or issuing detention warrants for dozens of people allegedly involved in the construction of buildings that collapsed, and the justice minister has vowed to punish those responsible.

Kanmaz blamed negligence on the part of the developer of the apartment building where her family had been killed.

“If I could wrap my hands around the contractor’s neck, I would tear him to shreds,” she said.

That contractor, who oversaw the construction of the 250-unit building, was detained at Istanbul Airport on Friday before boarding a flight out of the country, Turkey’s official Anadolu news

agency reported. On Saturday, he was formally arrested. His lawyer suggested the public was looking for a scapegoat.

In multiethnic southern Turkey, other tensions are rising. Some expressed frustration that Syrian refugees who fled to the region from their devastating civil war are burdening the sparse welfare system and competing for resources with Turkish people.

“There are many poor people in Hatay, but they don’t offer us any welfare; they give it to the Syrians. They give so much to the Syrians,” Kanmaz said. “There are more Syrians than Turks here.”

There were signs Saturday the tensions could be boiling over.

Two German aid groups and the Austrian Armed Forces temporarily interrupted their rescue work in the Hatay region citing fears for the safety of their staff. They resumed work after the Turkish army secured the area, the Austrian Defense Ministry spokesman tweeted.

“There is increasing tension between different groups in Turkey,” Lt. Col. Pierre Kugelweis of the Austrian Armed Forces told the APA news agency. “Shots have reportedly been fired.”

German news agency dpa reported that Steven Berger, chief of operations of the aid group I.S.A.R. Germany, said that “it can be seen that grief is slowly giving way to anger” in Turkey’s affected regions.

For Kanmaz, it was a mixture of grief and anger.

“I’m angry. Life is over,” she said. “We live for our children; what matters most to us is our children. We exist if they exist. Now we are over. Everything you see here is over.”

E mrah Gurel in Adiyaman, Turkey, Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed

Adani cuts growth target, capex in post-Hindenburg repair moves

By P. R. Sanjai, Suvashree Ghosh & Archana Narayanan

GAUTAM ADANI’S conglomerate has halved its revenue growth target and plans to hold off fresh capital expenditure, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Indian billionaire seeks to rebuild investor confidence in the wake of a bruising short seller attack.

The group will now aim for revenue growth of 15 percent to 20 percent for at least the next financial year, down from the 40 percent expansion originally targeted, said the people, who didn’t want to be named as the discussions are private. Capital expenditure plans will also be scaled down, they said, as the group prioritizes bolstering its financial health over aggressive expansion.

Most stocks in the group dropped at the Monday open, with Adani Green Energy Ltd., Adani Total Gas Ltd., and Adani Transmission Ltd. all down by the 5 percent limit.

The shift in policy shows how the ports-to-power conglomerate is focused on conserving cash, repaying debt and retrieving pledged shares as it scrambles to undo the damage from a scathing report by Hindenburg Research on Jan. 24. Even though Adani

Group denied the allegations of accounting fraud and stock manipulation levied by the American short seller, the scandal triggered a stock rout that has wiped more about $120 billion off the Adani empire’s market value.

Holding back on investments for even as little as three months could save the conglomerate as much as $3 billion—funds that can be deployed to pay down debt or boost the cash pile, said another person.

The group’s plans are still being reviewed and are set to be finalized in the next few weeks, the people said.

An Adani Group representative didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comments on its plan to slash revenue target and delay capital expenditure.

‘Inter-linkages’

THE scale and economic inter-linkages of the Adani businesses make it relevant to discuss what any pullback in the group’s investments could entail for the economy as a whole,” Barclays Plc’s analysts led by Avanti Save wrote in a February 10 report.

“A disruptive outcome of the situation or a sharp pullback in the group’s investments could have implications for India’s capex cycle.”

Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh told a

local newspaper last month that the Adani group may dial back capital expenditure, as a follow-on share sale by Adani’s flagship firm was under way amid Hindenburg’s accusations.

If the follow-on offer failed to get subscribed, “we will postpone the growth program for six to nine months and then do it later,” Singh told The Hindu Businessline in an interview published January 29. The sale was scrapped three days later, amid pressure from investors.

The retreat is a marked turnaround for a tycoon who was been on a rapid—and debt-fueled—expansion spree over the past few years, and reflects the significant impact

Hindenburg’s assault has had on the conglomerate.

The first-generation entrepreneur, who started with an agri-trading firm in 1980s, rapidly built an empire that now spans ports, airports, coalmines, power plants and utilities. In the past couple of years, it forayed into green energy, cement, media, data centers and real estate, taking on considerable leverage in a way that has spooked some credit watchers.

Assuage concerns

IN the days following the Hindenburg-triggered stock meltdown, Adani and his companies have been working to assuage investor and lender concerns.

On February 1, the flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. abruptly shelved the $2.5 billion followon share offer—despite it being fully subscribed the day before—as the tycoon sought to avert embarrassing mark-to-market losses for his investors amid the unrelenting stock selloff. A couple of days later, the company canceled a retail bond sale.

Adani Group has been focusing on staving off concerns about its financial health and shoring up sentiment.

On February 6, the group said Adani and his family prepaid loans worth $1.11 billion to release pledged shares across three firms while the ports unit announced plans on February 8 to repay 50 billion rupees debt in the year starting April to boost a key credit metric.

The conglomerate plans to prepay a $500 million bridge loan due next month after some banks balked at refinancing the debt, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday citing people familiar with the discussions. It was part of fundraising last year to finance the acquisition of Holcim Ltd.’s India cement assets.

Big Four auditor

ADANI Group plans to hire a

Big Four auditor to “to carry out a general audit,” French energy giant TotalEnergies SE said in a statement earlier this month, while describing its investments in India. This will help address some of the red flags raised by Hindenburg.

The Indian conglomerate has hired public relations firm Kekst CNC as its global communications adviser, Bloomberg News reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. Kekst, according to its website, has been involved in high-profile litigation matters, “working against some of the most aggressive counterparties.”

The attempts to calm investor nerves helped rally shares early last week but headwinds remain strong.  The stock selloff resumed after MSCI Inc. slashed the amount of shares it considers freely tradable for four of the companies—a move that will result in lower weightings in its indexes. Moody’s Investors Service on Friday cut its outlook for Adani Green Energy Ltd. and three other group companies citing the rout in shares.

More shares in three Adani Group companies were pledged, SBICaps Trustee said in a notice to Indian exchanges late Friday, “for the benefit of the lenders” of Adani Enterprises.  Bloomberg News

Mahmut Boncuk’s apartment building collapsed in Turkey’s devastating earthquake, he discovered his 75-year-old mother was still alive—but pinned under the wreckage.

65- YEAR-OLD Atari Kales mourns for her daughter in law and two grandchildren near the collapsed building that they were trapped in Antakya on Saturday, February 11, 2023. Rescue crews on Saturday pulled more survivors, including entire families, from toppled buildings despite diminishing hopes as the death toll of the enormous quake that struck a border region of Turkey and Syria five days continued to rise. AP/PETROS GIANNAKOURIS

GAUTAM ADANI assuaged investor and lender concerns, but the scandal triggered a stock rout that has wiped more about $120 billion off the Adani empire’s market value. BLOOMBERG

Obiena

PSA’s top pick for January

WORLD No. 3 pole vaulter Ernest John “ EJ” Obiena picked up from where he left off and led a bountiful harvest for Team Philippines at the start of the year.

Obiena hit the ground running and vaulting to the silver medal in the season-opening Internationales Springer-Meeting in Cottbus, Germany, with his 5.77-meter effort behind Sam Kendrick’s 5.82 meters.

J ust getting started, the Tokyo Olympics veteran cranked it up in the next tournament, the Perche En Or in Roubaix, France, and posted a golden mark of 5.82 meters to beat Jie Yao of China (5.70m).

O biena’s back-to-back podium finishes put him front and center as the Philippine Sportswriters Association fetes the achievers for the month of January.

Filipino bets on other fronts also opened 2023 hostilities with a bang.

F lyweight Aaron Bado bannered a one-gold, one-silver and twobronze medal haul from the Philippine contingent in the Asian Boxing Confederation U22 Boxing Championships in Bangkok.

B ado stunned world championships bronze medalist Thanarat Saengphet of Thailand via split decision, 3-2, to reign supreme in the 51-kg category as bantamweight Flint Jara collared a silver and mininumweight Mark Durens and featherweight Jericho Acaylar brought home bronze medals.

Fencers delivered eight golds, seven silvers and 11 bronzes in the Southeast Asian Fencing Federation Championships in Kuala Lumpur to finish second behind Vietnam, which collected 13 golds, 10 silvers and 12 bronzes.

Accounting for the mints were Noelito Jose (senior men’s epee) and Wilhelmina Lozada (senior women’s foil) Alexa Larrazabal (cadet women’s epee), Maegan Elizabeth Co Say (cadet women’s saber), Andre Dominic Agatep, Thomas Robert Cabrera, Ram Jimenez and Enrico Suplico  (junior men’s team saber), Maiev Tyrande Boy, Kaikaku Dela Serna, Arianna Tiu and Say Co (junior team women’s saber); Jene Baccay, Miyake Capina, Janna Allysah Catantan and Belarmino (junior team women’s foil) and Agatep (junior men’s saber).

F ilipino esports experts made their marks early as well.

ECHO won the fourth edition of the Mobile Legends Bang Bang World Championship (M4) in Jakarta, beating Blacklist International in an all-Filipino finale, 4-0.

Th e E-Gilas Pilipinas national team for NBA 2K hoisted the Southeast Asian regional crown in the eFIBA Season 1 after outclassing Indonesia in the grand finals, 2-0.

B8

National college neftest unfurls at

PCA courts

MAHOMES, CHIEFS CHAMPIONS ANEW!

GLENDALE, Arizona— Patrick Mahomes shook off an ankle injury, turned back into a magician and pulled out another comeback on the biggest stage to help the Kansas City Chiefs win their second Super Bowl in four years.

Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and scrambled 26 yards on the go-ahead drive before Harrison Butker kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to give the Chiefs a 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.

“ He’s the MVP,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said about Mahomes. “That’s all that needs to be said. MVP. And you saw it tonight.”

M ahomes and Jalen Hurts excelled in the first Super Bowl matchup featuring two Black starting QBs. But Mahomes, the two-time AP National Football League (NFL) MVP, turned it up in the second half after

UBAS CLINCHES ‘HEPTA’ BRONZE MEDAL WITH BORROWED POLE

By Josef Ramos

JANRY

UBAS salvaged a bronze medal behind two rampaging Japanese in men’s heptathlon at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships at the Qazaqstan Stadium in Astana where pole vaults were a significant issue.

U bas, an eight-year internationalist, had to borrow a pole vault from a Kazakh athlete to avoid getting a DNF in the heptathlon event that classifies as a men’s competition in indoor athletics.

U bas was off to a hot start on Day 1 last Saturday and fell short the next day but still placed third with 5,306 points in the event that features competitions in the 60 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60 meters hurdles, pole vault and 1,000 meters.

Yuma Maruyama and Keisude

Okuda booked a 1-2 Japanese finish with 5,801 and 5,497 points, respectively, to dominate the event that drew athletes from nine nations including Thailand, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, host Kazakhstan, South Korea and Tajikistan.

I just couldn’t believe that I led after four events on the first, but the Japanese were too strong in the hurdles and 1000 meters,” the 29-year-old Misamis Oriental native

told BusinessMirror through internet call on Monday.

Most significant in Ubas’s campaign was the pole vault competition where Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association secretary-general Edward Kho could borrow one from the hosts.

“Our Secretary-General [Kho] made sure that poles could be borrowed before we flew here, but it is not that easy borrowing poles not suited for you because it could result in injury,” Ubas said. “I needed to gamble, otherwise my hard work could have been wasted.”

A sian outdoor record holder Ernest John “EJ” Obiena couldn’t compete in Astana because of issues on pole vaults. No airline traveling to and from Astana carry pole vaults, which are between 13 and 14 meters long and couldn’t be folded or dismantled.

U bas also had to fend off Suttisak Singkhon’s rally in the 1,000 meters to shove the Thai to fourth place and collect another international medal after his bronze in decathlon and long jump in the 2015, 2017 and 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

K ho said Ubas had to be stretchered off the field after the 1,000 meters due to a hurting piriformis, a flat, narrow muscle that runs from the lower spine through the butt to the top of the thighs.

reaggravating a sprained right ankle. He earned his second Super Bowl MVP award, too.

It took everybody to win the games. We’re Super Bowl champs, baby,” Mahomes shouted on stage as red and yellow confetti littered the field.

R eid, who couldn’t win the big game in Philadelphia, beat his former team to earn his second ring with Mahomes and the Chiefs.

We wanted to get this so bad for him,” Travis Kelce said. “His legacy in Philly lives on forever. I know that city loves him. I know that the organization loves him. But ever since he’s been here in Kansas City—I’ve seen it firsthand—he poured his heart and his mind and his soul into this organization, into this team and led a group of men.... There’s a lot of pride in knowing that he’s had success in two different organizations, but this was the better one.”

W ith the score tied at 35-35, the

National team standouts join Q-School hunt

NOMURA Cup veterans Kristoffer Arevalo, Elee Bisera and Coby Rolida head a crack list of national team mainstays seeking to go big-time, taking the first step in the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Qualifying School beginning Tuesday at the Splendido Taal Golf Club in Tagaytay City.

A revalo, the 2022 National Stroke Play champion who also vied in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games and won the 14-15 crown in the Junior World in San Diego in 2013, is all geared up for a four-day test of skills and mental fortitude at one of the country’s toughest courses with its up-and-down layout, deep ravines, undulating surface and the wind factor.

Bisera took the low amateur honors in the last year’s International Container Terminal Services Inc.

Pradera Verde leg, sharing eighth place overall with PGT leg winner Reymon Jaraula with 24-year-old Davaoeno also ready to do battle with the pros and his peers for one of the 35 slots to this year’s PGT.

R olida, meanwhile, joined the Ateneo golf varsity team during his senior high school and his stints in the Junior World in San Diego, the Asia Grand Final of the Faldo Series in Vietnam and the Singapore Open, among others, should rank him among the marked players from the ranks to contend in the 72-hole tournament.

A fter 36 holes, the top 50 and ties from the field of 87, including 22 foreign hopefuls, will advance to the final two rounds where they will slug it out for the top 35 and berths in the Category 6. The outside 35 will be included in Category 7 of the 2023 PGT starting fields.

Eagles tried to let the Chiefs score a touchdown with under two minutes left so they could get the ball back after a defensive holding call on cornerback James Bradberry on third-and-8 gave Kansas City a first down. But Jerick McKinnon slid at the 2, forcing the Eagles to use their last timeout.

It was a holding. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide,” Bradberry said.

A fter Mahomes took a knee two times, Butker nailed his kick, sending thousands of red-clad Chiefs fans into a frenzy.

“ It feels amazing just to see the confetti,” said Butker, who missed a 42-yarder in the first quarter. “I just tried to focus on one kick and focusing on the process.”

The Chiefs won their second Super Bowl following the 2019 season, 50 years after the first one. It took just three years to get another Lombardi.

C hiefs fans were outnumbered in

ARCH rivals Ateneo and La Salle brace for a grueling battle of power and stamina as they play two matches each Tuesday in the men’s competition of the National College Tennis Team Championships at the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) outdoor courts in Paco, Manila. The Blue Eagles face the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigers at 8 a.m. then return in the afternoon to slug it out with the National University (NU) Bulldogs at 1 p.m. in Group A play.

The Green Archers, on the other hand, tangle with the University of the East Red Warriors at 8 a.m. and the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons at 1 p.m. in Group B. UST and NU clash Wednesday at 1 p.m., while UE and UP face off also at 1 p.m. both on Wednesday.

the stadium, but they did their part to silence the boisterous Philly fans with the tomahawk chop chant.

Down 24-14 with a limping Mahomes, the Chiefs (17-3) followed up Rihanna’s electrifying halftime performance with a sensational offensive outburst.

“Everybody had that determination, that look in their eye,” Kelce said.

M ahomes, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the divisional round, hurt it again on a 3-yard scramble late in the second quarter. He limped off the field but showed no ill effects on Kansas City’s next possession.

M ahomes slipped—several players lost their footing on the natural grass surface—in the pocket yet somehow regained his balance and scrambled 14 yards to the Eagles 4, setting up Isiah Pacheco’s 1-yard TD run that cut the deficit to 24-21.

A fter Jake Elliott’s 33-yard field goal extended Philadelphia’s lead to 27-21, the Chiefs struck again. AP

Cool Smashers eye solo lead vs Flying Titans

SISTER teams Creamline and Choco Mucho set out for a noholds-barred duel in a day of affection, both seeking a key win to enhance their respective drive in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference back at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Tuesday.

B ut while the Cool Smashers look solid with back-to-back lopsided wins to launch their titleretention drive despite the absence of their skipper, the Flying Titans have a lot of recovering to do coming off a crippling shutout loss to the resurgent Petro Gazz Angels

The top two teams will advance to the crossover semifinals with the winners disputing the crown.

Hostilities in the women’s side kicked off Monday with De La Salle facing Ateneo and UP taking on NU in morning play. UP battled De La Salle while NU faced Ateneo in afternoon matches.

UP will take on Ateneo Wednesday while De La Salle and NU square off with the top two teams advancing to the winner-take-all finals of the week-long event serving as part of the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala tennis program led by president and CEO Bobby Castro.

Fierce action is also seen in the individual champion with the leading players and rising stars in the ranks making up the big cast, including regular campaigners in the PPS-PEPP circuit, among them UST’s Nilo Ledama, Eric Jay Tangub, Jose Maria Pague and John Steven Sonsona, NU’s Jude Ceniza, Vince Tugade and Aljon Talatayod, and Ateneo’s Gabriel Tiamson, Nio Tria, Diego Dayrit and Eric Jed Olivarez Jr. UE is headed by Jarell Edangga, UP is bannered by Loucas Fernandez, while Mark Crisosto anchors La Salle’s bid in the week-long tournament backed by ProtekTODO, PalawanPay, the Unified Tennis Philippines and Universal Tennis Rating. The women’s cast is led by Anna de Myer, Achaia Cabahug, Kristine Martin and Lucy Inalves of UP, Danna Abad, Alyssa Bornia, Jan Anghag and Ericka Yap of NU; Mikaela Vicencio, Aubrey Calma, Arianne Nillasca and Jazelle Madis of La Salle; and Melanie Dizon, Tracy Llamas and Althea Ong of Ateneo. A ction shifts to San Pablo City, Laguna for the Escudero Cup Men’s Open and Juniors Championships from February 20 to 24 (open) and February 23 to 28 (juniors) at the Aera Tennis Club courts. For details, contact tournament organizer Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.

last Thursday.

Game time is 6:30 p.m.

Cig n al and Akari, meanwhile, collide in the 4 p.m. clash of teams out to come out of the doldrums and revive their hopes in the 9-team single round robin eliminations of the season-opening conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.

Focus will be on the main tussle with the Cool Smashers going allout to break off a tie with the Cargo Movers and the Crossovers at 2-0 on a well-balanced team that seems to get better each game day even in the absence of skipper and many-time

House okays institutionalized PNG

THE consolidated House Bills aiming to institutionalize the Philippine National Games (PNG) got the needed boost as the Commission of Appropriations (CA) approved a proposed P200 million budget.

Batangas 1st District Representative Eric Buhain, vice chairman of the House Committee on Youth and Sports Development, announced that the

CA during its hearing last Wednesday with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in attendance gave its stamped approval to fund the PNG as the government centerpiece national sports competition.

I was tasked by our House chairman on Youth and Sports, Cong. Michael Dy, to sponsor House Bills in the Committee on Appropriation and

MVP Alyssa Valdez. M ichele Gumabao topscored with 14 points against the HD Spikers, while Tots Carlos and Jema Galanza matched 13-point outputs and Ced Domingo and Pangs Panaga continued to shine in the middle and finished with nine and seven points, respectively.

Th rough their early run, and in their past successful campaigns, ace setter Jia de Guzman has kept the Cool Smashers’ offense humming with her stellar play and which she intends to put on display again against the Flying Titans.

I’m happy to announce that these bills have passed,” Buhain said. “These only need to pass on Third Reading before they’re elevated to the Senate.”

“

The PNG is of utmost importance because this is where our athletes showcase their talents,” said Buhain, a two-time Olympian and Southeast Asian Games swimming record holder. “This is our version of the Olympics where the national sports associations can hold their respective national team selection.”

| Tuesday, FeBruary 14, 2023 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

PATRICK MAHOMNES pulls off a magical performance as the Kansas City Chiefs win their second Super Bowl in four years. AP

CHOCO MUCHO’S Bea De Leon and Creamline’s Michele Gumabao brace for another classic showdown.

JANRY UBAS is draped with the national colors during the men’s heptathlon awards ceremony.

As world braces for recession, more headwinds, PHL regulators see local business in competition mode

APRIL Lee Tan, head of Research at COL Financial Group

entire world was suddenly presented with an unprecedented health and economic crisis. As the overseer of the capital market and the broader corporate sector, it was imperative for the SEC Philippines to take the lead in navigating the unprecedented roadblocks brought about by the pandemic,” it said.

The digital transformation journey of the SEC, however, is still work in progress.

“As another year begins, the SEC will advance closer to a digital-first world, as it pushes for a zero-touchpoint transaction environment powered by cloud, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity solutions, and other new technologies. And along the way, it will be constantly guided by its mandate of championing businesses and investors,” the SEC said.

What if?

COL’s Tan, however, asked: what if investors’ assumptions are wrong?

By VG Cabuag

For the SM group, a conglomerate into a wide range of businesses from shopping malls to banking, said it is heading into 2023 with optimism, pushing forward with expansion and growth to reach more communities.

“We are investing in the future growth of the Philippines as it continues to present tremendous potential,” SM Investments Corp.’s president and CEO, Frederic C. DyBuncio said.

This has surprised analysts as this year is expected to be a challenging year; with many Western economies expected to undergo a recession later in 2023 after a series of interest rate hikes done last year.

Maybe the Philippines is just lucky in the Year of the Rabbit, some analysts said.

The rabbit is the symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity in the Chinese culture, thus 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope.

“In the Chinese culture, the rabbit is known to be the luckiest out of all the 12 animals. The rabbit also represents wealth and prosperity, making this year a propitious time to focus on one’s investments. Let’s hope this year will likewise be a lucky year for those investing in the stock market,” PSE president and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said.

Juanis Barredo, vice president of sales and customer support of broker COL Financial Group Inc., has asked why the market is rallying when inflation and interest rates are still relatively high.

“Markets don’t move with what’s exactly happening right now; they tend to look ahead. Because when you invest money today, you’re putting that money there for a future return. And so when people are investing money, they’re looking down the road, they’re not looking at today’s situation,” Barredo said.

He said investors are seeing that inflation rate in the United States is slowing down, as well as benchmark bond yields. The US dollar is weakening, which sees a stronger peso against the greenback, he said.

Many also are looking at “the possibility that, that we could see a notso-hard landing of what many analysts or fundamental analysts are still talking about today that might happen to the US,” he said.

April Lee-Tan, head of research of COL, said the market also does not expect the US Federal Reserve to raise rates all the way to the five percent level through next year and then keep it on hold.

“Instead it (the market) expects the Fed to maybe increase interest rates by two or three times, and then after that, cut in the second half, and then continue to cut, so that is what the market is expecting. And because of that, the market here in the Philippines also expects our own BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) to cut rates,” Tan said

“Remember that one of the reasons

. . . the BSP is raising rates is because it wants to maintain a comfortable buffer or a spread between the peso interest rate and the dollar interest rates,” she said.

year.

SM, which can be a proxy of the Philippine economy due to its sheer size, has been increasing its focus in provincial areas where local economies are growing faster. Over 80 percent of SM’s new retail stores are in provincial areas, where a good chunk of growing overseas remittances flow into. SM

Retail, the retail arm of SMIC, currently operates over 3,300 department stores, groceries and specialty retail stores.

Also gearing up to focus on further expanding into the provinces, particularly to cover most of northern Luzon, Visayas and the progressive cities in Mindanao is SM Prime Holdings Inc., the property development arm of the shopping mall operator.

“Our businesses are still operating in many highly under-penetrated sectors and we intend to serve Philippine communities in more regions nationwide,” DyBuncio said.

With the improvement in employment, SM Development Corp. -- SM Prime’s residential arm -- is also poised to grow and expand in the provinces, a development seen to help narrow the housing gap. The Philippines also has a young population, and this offers more growth opportunities as they enter and invest in real estate.

“The potential of the Philippines remains enormous with a young, energetic, service-oriented and still growing population. SM remains optimistic on Philippine growth driven by this market,” DyBuncio said.

SEC and digital transformation ON market regulation, meanwhile,

Commission (SEC) has embraced digital transformation as a vital component of its vision of transforming the Philippine capital market and the broader corporate sector into one of the best in Southeast Asia.

Its digital transformation and technology roadmap will transform procedural and policy environments, and hasten adoption of the requisite tools such as software and equipment toward the full realization of its digital transformation goals.

“Shifting to a digital-first environment proved crucial when the

“And what if the US economy does suffer from a hard landing because the Fed continues to raise rates, and of course we know that rate hikes work with a lag. For the second half of 2023, we see a hard landing of the US economy, not the .5 percent (of gross domestic product growth) that investors are anticipating,” Tan said.

She said the emerging markets such as the Philippines can pick up the slack in the weaker US market.

“Our (economic) fundamentals are better than the US, our stocks are cheaper, we’re less vulnerable to what happens there,” she said, hoping that the Year of the Rabbit brings luck to the Philippines all year round.

DURING the first trading month of the year, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index was up almost 500 points and has been trading at 7,000-point level.

THE rabbit is the symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity in the Chinese culture, thus 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope.

Photo by Roy Domingo

Stock Exchange index has been trading at the 7,000 point level even if the year is expected to be a challenging one

Navigating brave new world of digitalization, banks must hand-hold tech-averse clients

By Cai U. Ordinario

THE year was barely a week old when a cyber crisis hit thousands of Filipino depositors. They found that their hard-earned bonuses and salaries left over after the Christmas holidays were suddenly depleted, leaving many of their accounts in negative territory.

It was a glitch that affected Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) clients. News of the crisis spread like wildfire online, causing the phrase “Hoy BPI” to trend on Twitterverse. The tweets were accompanied by screenshots of the account holder’s negative balance.

Fortunately, BPI was able to immediately resolve the glitch and by late afternoon of the same day, the Ayala-led bank had returned the lost funds to their grateful consumers. By nightfall, the issue had already been resolved.

The pandemic has been responsible for forcing a tectonic shift in the adoption of digital payment schemes and online banking among Filipinos. Even conservative and non-tech savvy members of the household, such as senior citizens, learned to adapt and

are now using technology to receive and send money as well as pay for goods and services.

Going digital and becoming more inclusive is expected this year and in the years to come. There will be a greater push for cybersecurity, especially with the World Economic Forum (WEF) warning that cyberattacks would be the next wave of terrorism.

In its latest Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023, the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned that geopolitical instability could pave the way for a “catastrophic cyberattack” in two years. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. already said his administration has stepped up efforts to establish a cybersecurity system, a crucial

part of his administration’s push to digitalize the bureaucracy. Based on the PDP 2023-2028, the Marcos administration aims to adopt a legal framework to strengthen cybersecurity and policies that promote information security measures.

These seek to protect the country’s information infrastructure and the ICT systems of public institutions, transportation, and electronic commerce transactions.

Part of these efforts is to implement the newly enacted Financial Consumer Protection Act to enable financial regulators to address consumer complaints on cybercrimes and enforce sanctions against erring entities.

The government also seeks to establish secure e-payment systems and ensure consumer and supplier protection online to earn the trust and confidence of Filipinos on digitalization.

The Philippines also seeks to promote cybersecurity culture to increase awareness of the global and local cybersecurity context, including the threat landscape among employees, industry partners, and customers.

Meanwhile, Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) President Antonio C. Moncupa Jr. earlier told BusinessMirror that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and local banks have been aware and rolled out programs to fight cybercrimes and cyberattacks.

BSP, Moncupa said, has put in place the necessary framework and has ensured compliance with these regulations to promote cybersecurity. Local banks have also helped create programs seeking to increase public awareness, share information security updates, and formalize ties up with law enforcement to guard against cybercrimes and cyberattacks.

“The BSP and the banks have always been aware that cybercrimes and cyberattacks are continuing threats.  Recognizing this, information security has always been on the top agenda of the banking industry,” Moncupa earlier told this newspaper.

“I think continuing investments appropriate to the assessment of current and future situations is recognized and are being done. Do we need to add? I think we need to see first the ‘fine print’ or the details and assess if the current assessment has changed,” he added.

Housekeeping

ONLINE incidents such as those involving lost funds and transactions not pushing through while using bank applications remain pain points for Filipino users and a source of mistrust on the part of conservatives, who would still rather keep their money tucked under their pillows and beds.

Oradian Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Julian Oehrlein, who is leading the fintech company’s Philippine operations, told BusinessMirror there is a need for the banking industry to do a “cleanup” of their systems to improve customer experience, especially when it comes to digital services.

“If I look at commercial banks, a lot of them win awards for a great app or a great user interface, but then if you talk to actual users of that app, sometimes the transaction doesn’t go through, sometimes the app doesn’t load, and so forth. What that shows is they have been really fighting the symptoms, purely the visible part, but they haven’t done

their homework deep inside of the bank’s operation,” Oehrlein said. “I think now is the time when you just gotta do the really uncomfortable and hard work and pull out all your old systems which are really hard to maintain, are error prone, and so forth and do a cleanup.”

For many banks, this cleanup, Oehrlein said, doesn’t have to happen in just one day. It can be a process that can run for a few months to years. Banks, he said, can do this cleanup which will lead to an upgrade of systems, and can be done as thoroughly as they can on a product by product basis. One way is to move from the ground up.

This can go a long way in earning and keeping the trust of the public. Oehrlein said institutions matter, especially when earning the trust of customers. Earning the trust of more Filipinos in digital banking and financial technologies are incumbent upon institutions, not technology.

Oehrlein said BSP’s efforts are appreciated in this respect. He said the BSP has set “very reasonable terms” that allow banks and other financial companies to operate smoothly amid the technological upheavals in the past few years.

Building trust also means being able to ensure that financial institution records are safe and secure. Oehrlein said this is one way that digitalization can actually help build trust in these trying times. “A proper centralized and modern system is much more secure and much less prone to error or natural disasters than a very traditional setup especially in the Philippines.”

Oehrlein pointed out that the country, being prone to natural disasters, has been harmful not only to households directly affected by typhoons but also their financial well-being. He said when typhoons come in remote areas in the country, some banks have experienced losing records which they kept in physical books as well as electronically without any backups.

“We have customers who lost records before they actually moved onto our system. (Through our centralized system) with several backup sites and also backed up in other countries, this ultimately makes it more secure (to transact). But by that, I’m not saying that all the systems are equally secure and that people should blindly trust. (Institutions must) make sure that they have all the measures in place (so) that the people can trust them and sleep well,” Oehrlein said.

Oehrlein admitted that creating more secure systems is not cheap and would require significant investment. But this investment will not only make bank systems secure but also be recoverable within a year. Earning Filipinos’ trust in digitalization is also a major bonus.

Indeed, the price of cybersecurity may be cheap compared to the trust of customers and their peace of mind that financial institutions could gain if they invest. These may not be enough to ward off another glitch or a deliberate cyberattack that WEF had warned about, but knowing that the financial sector is vigilant could, for starters, ease the fears of Filipinos.

THE pandemic has been responsible for forcing a tectonic shift in the adoption of digital payment schemes and online banking among Filipinos.

THE BSP is credited with setting "very reasonable terms" that allow banks and other financial companies to operate smoothly amid the technological upheavals in the past few years.

Screenshot of World Economic Forum warning on ‘catastrophic cyber attack– The World Economic Forum warned of a catastrophic cyber attack

Systemic woes hounding farm and fisheries sectors cast a pall on 2023 food security

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

The sector welcomed the new year with various supply instabilities, leading to unprecedented food prices not just in Metro Manila but nationwide. Who would have thought that a kilogram of the omnipresent commodity in Filipino dishes - the onions - would be higher than the daily wage and more expensive than meat products?

The story of the lowly spice did not leave the headlines and even became a superstar of memes and gossip on the internet “Marites” for months.

In hindsight, industry leaders, pundits and officials were unanimous in saying that the onion “crisis” would have been averted if the government was prudent in doing one thing: importation.

However, that “I” word has become a household staple in recent years when it comes to upward price movements, no thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, disruptions in global supply chains and the on-going Ukraine-Russia war.

Kulang ang supply? Mag-

import. Baboy? Mag-import. Isda? Magimport. Sibuyas? Mag-import.

But in the case of onions, the price of P700 per kilogram was unprecedented. Industry stakeholders told the BusinessMirror that it was the first time they experienced such a supply situation.

And the culprit for such?

Supposedly, the lack of importation. Regularly, the national government allows the entry of onion imports after determining the shortfall in domestic supply.

The government conducts meetings with industry stakeholders, including farmers, traders and users, after the local harvest to see how much volume would be allowed to enter the country.

This is done by the government, despite the fact that onion importation has long been liberalized when the Philippines became a member of the World Trade Organization, experts noted. However, the national government continues to manage the entry of onions behind sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS). SPS

measures, technically, are only meant to protect and ensure that imported farm products are safe to human, plant and animal health, such as preventing disease incursion, among others.

Historical Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that the country has always depended on imports in recent years to meet its annual onion requirements. The average onion imports from 2015 to 2021 was at 55,000 MT.

Agribusinesses, even those in the post-harvest industry like cold storages, would react accordingly and “quickly” to market signals and movements if there is one thing stable: supply, says Anthony S. Dizon of Cold Chain Association of the Philippines.

Dizon pointed out that the skyrocketing of onion prices could have been averted if the government pursued its regular onion import schedule (third quarter arrival).

If the imports had arrived during the third quarter, the owners of the onions in cold storages would have been forced to dispose of their existing stocks and prices would have been stable.

“The problem is the stability of supply. If we are able to stabilize the supply side, the supply chain will respond accordingly,” he told the BusinessMirror.

Pundits had earlier proposed that the government focus on streamlining import rules to ensure market predictability as industry players would react accordingly to the needs of the market.

In fact, even certain quarters of local producers do support importation. But the issue is just about the timing and the volume that should be allowed to enter the country.

Most of which would support importation during lean season or off season harvests. Majority also support that import volumes should also be equivalent to the estimated shortfall in domestic production.

Appoint a secretary

AGRICULTURE industry stakeholders are unanimous as well in clamoring for President Marcos Jr. to appoint a permanent secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA). Marcos has been holding the agriculture portfolio since he assumed the presidency.

Make no mistake, stakeholders welcomed the almost 40 percent increase in the agriculture department’s budget this year, thanks to Marcos.

But they are arguing that it is about time that he forgo the DA leadership and appoint someone who could be hands-on on the issues of the sector.

Since the President became the concurrent agriculture secretary, industry leaders had one concern: can he handle it given the fact that his plate’s already full?

Despite the fact that the agriculture department is having over P180 billion in budget, the question on whether it can fully utilize it within the fiscal year remains on the table.

“That is our major concern: the absorptive capacity of the

organization,” Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. President Danilo V. Fausto told the BusinessMirror.

“We have not seen any movements in terms of planning, recruiting and reorganizing agencies to ensure that the budget will be fully used. Majority of the appointees in the DA are OICs, who have very limited authority over financial matters in their concerned agencies,” Fausto said.

Citing Commission on Audit reports, Fausto emphasized that the DA returned P10 billion in 2020 and P3 billion in 2021 to the national treasury due to underutilization of funds.

Fausto also pointed out that as much as the country’s economic growth paints a positive picture,

agriculture stakeholders are not rejoicing. (Related story:  https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2023/01/26/ for-3rd-consecutive-year-farm-outputshrinks/)

He emphasized that agriculture output did not grow last year --- in fact, for the past years. Worse, he said, it was the fisheries sector that dragged down the overall growth of the agriculture sector last year after it contracted by five percent.

“It was ironic. What is happening with our fisheries when that is our comparative advantage? We are surrounded by water!” Fausto remarked.

“The agriculture sector would have grown last year if not for the decline in fisheries output. We have to address that,” he said.

Despite ’22 growth, creating more quality, better-paying jobs a huge challenge in ‘23

increase in importations of goods.

They also raised concern on the expected spike in local power rates – already more expensive as it is, compared to its neighboring countries – as traditional sources of power like coal, oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) become more scarce.

transition plan,” to ensure REs can provide decent job opportunities to workers who will be displaced from the phaseout of fossil-fuel powered plants.

ILO, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now working on a new National Labor and Employment Plan (LEP).

By Samuel P.  Medenilla

High inflation and cost of doing business as well as the projected global economic recession this year are expected to hamper employment creation efforts, according to labor groups.

No less than President Ferdinand R. Marcos admitted recently that the country’s accelerated inflation remains “problematic” for vulnerable sectors even as he gave assurances it is now being addressed by his administration.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) expressed concern on the average 5.8 percent inflation rate last year, which exceeded the three-percent target of the national government.   Left unchecked, high inflation, Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) Secretary General Josua Mata said, will reduce domestic demand and even turn away potential investors.   “I think a big factor in the

decision for companies [to invest]

is that we have a very small middle class that have the capacity to spend relative to our neighbors. Of course for companies, locating their production closest to the market is the best option,” Mata explained. “That is why they prefer [to invest] in Thailand and Vietnam since both have growing classes with enough surplus income that can be used to buy products that they are producing,” he added.

SENTRO and other labor groups have lamented how minimum wage hikes last year failed to offset the rise in the cost of living.

Independent think tank IBON Foundation estimated the nominal value of the daily minimum wage rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) for non-agriculture workers, which is highest nationwide, dropped to P489 in December 2022 due to inflation.

High costs

OTHER factors which can deter investments in the country, he noted, are the high costs of logistics and power.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and several business groups have called on the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to scrap its new registration and monitoring system for containers which will translate to a possible 50-percent

PCCI noted that fuel and power rates already make up 60 percent of their operational costs.   “So until there are no structural changes in our economy and policy environment, I don’t see any reason why we will not just repeat jobless growth even if we have such high GDP (gross domestic product) growth last year,” Mata said.

New opportunity

THE Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), for its part, said the government should take advantage of the prevailing trend in cost of fuel to transition towards renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal.

PMCJ National Coordinator

Ian Rivera said the power produced by renewable energy (RE) is much cheaper and sustainable compared to “imported, dirty, and expensive fossil fuel.”

He also said it will help the country meet its commitments in global targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Richard Christopher Kahulugan, PMCJ senior policy officer, pointed out REs are also expected to help generate at least 15,000 jobs if all of the country’s existing coal plants nationwide will be phased out and be replaced with REs by 2030.

Citing a study from Center of Ecology, Energy and Development, he noted that at the current state of the REs sector, particularly for solar, 90 percent of the projected newly-created jobs will be lowpaying and non-regular jobs.

PMCJ said that is why they are currently pushing for a “just energy

“For a just energy transition, there should be strong government support for the transition to happen rapidly because fossil fuel remains dominant in the energy industry. That’s why renewable energy firms are having a hard time competing with them,” Rivera told BusinessMirror in an interview.

Global economic slowdown

ASIDE from internal factors, Federation of Free Workers (FFW)

President Sonny Matula said ongoing initiatives to generate jobs will also be affected by the expected global recession this year, which could dampen market demands.

Earlier this month, the International Labor Organization (ILO) released its “World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO): Trends 2023” report, which projected the number  of workers forced into “lower-quality, poorly paying jobs” to rise due to global economic slowdown, which cause stagflation--simultaneously high inflation and low growth.

It attributed the labor market deterioration to “emerging geopolitical tensions and the Ukraine conflict, uneven pandemic recovery, and continuing bottlenecks in global supply chains.”

According to the WESO, “Average weekly hours worked per worker are projected to decline slightly in 2023 as a result of economic slowdown, to remain at just above 41 hours per week. This reduction in activity limits the earnings potential of workers and in all likelihood lessens opportunities for transition into better-quality, well-paying jobs.”

To ensure local jobseekers still get quality employment despite the sober outlook from

“The LEP highlights our key priorities on remunerative, freely chosen, green, and sustainable jobs,” Labor and Employment Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said in an SMS.

Government response

ANOTHER factor which could also affect local employment creation is the government’s compliance with the recommendation of the concluded ILO High Level Tripartite Mission (HLTM) last week, Matula said.

Tasked to look into the alleged mass violations of labor rights in the country, the HTLM’s preliminary recommendation includes the creation of a new Presidential Commission for the promotion of Freedom of Association (FOA).

It also urged the government to promptly act on the cases of trade unionists killings, abductions and red-tagging and for the victims of such cases by giving them access to to “publicly funded compensation.”

Matula reiterated that the government’s non-compliance with the said recommendations may cause the country to be excluded from the respective General System of Preferences (GSP) of the United States and the European Union (EU).

The GSPs are agreements that exempt Philippine exports from tariffs in US and the EU.

“We will have a hard time creating jobs, especially if the government will not comply with the recommendations of the ILO High  Level [Tripartite] Mission,” Matula said.

The government will be required to report on its compliance with the ILO-HLTM during the 2023 International Labor Conference in June.

THE Philippine agriculture sector is in the spotlight yet again (perhaps) for all the wrong reasons imaginable.

THE fisheries sector dragged down the overall growth of the agriculture sector last year. Photo by Bernard Testa

LABOR Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said his department is now working on a new National Labor and Employment Plan.

GENERATING more quality jobs will remain an uphill challenge for the government and the private sector in the coming months despite the country’s ending last year on a high note with economic growth of 7.6 percent.

Biñan: ‘The City of Life’ returns with a brighter future yet to unfold

cline of Covid-19 cases nationwide, Dimaguila looks forward to a more vibrant Biñan as another milestone in its history unfolded. We want our economic activities back, including those businesses that closed at the height of the health crisis,” he told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

In fact, he said that the city’s P200 million Covid-19 response funds was already drained that they had to cancel some of their infrastructure projects in order to make sure that each household would receive financial support from the LGU. We want to transition from ayuda-based or dole out [aid]. That’s why while the other [LGUs] were giving ayuda, we build schools, hospitals [and other infrastructures needed for the reopening of the economy and future crisis],” he explained. “Now, we are back [to the old normal, with our city’s] programs and projects.”

Momentous celebrations

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor

ANOTHER leaf in the history of the City of Biñan has just turned as it commemorated its 13th Cityhood, 78th Liberation Day and 276th Foundation Anniversary from February 2 to 4, 2023, respectively.

More than the revelry of looking back at its rich historic past, what made the celebration more meaningful is its transition to an emerging economic hub not only in the province of Laguna, but also in the entire Southern Tagalog region, as well as setting a benchmark for local good governance worth emulating nationwide.

“That alone is a testament that a certain town or city can be fixed, but you need a government and leaders with a clear vision,” Mayor Walfredo “Arman” Dimaguila, Jr. told the members of the local and national media during their press briefing held at the Sentrong Pangkultura ng Biñan (Old Municipal Building) on the first day of the festivities.

The local chief executive revealed that the

City Council has green lighted their P3.2 billion budget for this year to finance their priority programs and projects for the benefit of their constituents, business community and stakeholders.

He added that the local government unit (LGU) of Biñan has secured a 10-year loan from the Landbank of the Philippines worth P3.150 billion.

House of local legislators, national govt hub

WITH its continued land banking efforts for current and future use, the mayor bared that the LGU has also other properties in barangays Mamplasan, De La Paz and Poblacion—each spanning at three hectares.

The latter, where the seat of government and other historical and heritage sites abound, will soon witness the rise of a new Legislative Building. This is in preparation for the proposed division of the lone district of Biñan City into two, where each will have eight members elected to the city council and two representatives in Congress.

“We expect it to be passed into law before the end of this year,” Rep. Marlyn “Len” Alonte-

Naguiat added, while hoping the positive impact of their city’s separate congressional representation in 2015 will also be replicated once the planned split materialized.

The city government, likewise, plans to put up a Local Government Center. Sen. Joel Villanueva extended P100 million to finance this project to entice national agencies to put up their hubs to bring their services closer to Biñanenses.

Per the mayor, the City Council has received a public-private partnership (PPP) proposal to put up a mall in the P60 million stateowned three-hectare of land, which will then accommodate the offices of the National Bureau of Investigation, SSS, GSIS, Register of Deeds, and Department of Foreign Affairs, among others, on the 4th and 5th floors.

Health structures

SINCE health is among the top priorities of the local officials, the Ospital ng Biñan is currently being constructed and will be a secondary hospital with more than 180 beds, including

an intensive care unit, to better serve the local residents and those from nearby cities or municipalities.

“Hopefully, by December of this year, we will open our three-story Biñan Hospital Center,” Vice Mayor Angelo “Gel” B. Alonte said. Adjacent to the hospital is a Dialysis Center. Apart from offering free services to the locals and accommodating the paying nonresidents, Rep. Alonte emphasized that they will also strengthen the capabilities of their nephrologists to correct the wrong notion about their incompetence.

“I believe that our doctors, especially in Biñan, are very competitive and the best here in Southern Tagalog. So that will strengthen our health programs,” she underscored.

Araw ng Biñan Festivities

THE opening day of the three-day Araw ng Biñan celebration last week witnessed the ground breaking of the Sentro ng Patanghal na Sining, or the Biñan City Performing Arts Building, to hone the creative talents of the young populace.

Also inaugurated was the nearby new Plaza Rizal, also in Barangay Poblacion. This is surrounded by the Old Municipal Building, the historic Alberto Mansion and the grandiose Los Maduros Bandstand.

These sites, according to Rep. Alonte, make Biñan a national historical, cultural heritage zone. With the Galing Pook Awards recipient “Balik Biñan Project: Tourism Development Through Heritage Conservation,” she said: “I’m sure, many tourists will visit us here which, in turn, will strengthen our tourism industry and local economy. Of course, the intangible effect would be eye-opening of the youth’s love for their culture, heritage, and history.”

“With the help of the members of our City Council, we enacted ordinances and resolutions to further strengthen and facilitate the local chief executive’s priority projects for the benefits of all Biñanenses,” Vice Mayor Alonte said.

What’s next NOW that the country is moving towards the end of the pandemic given the continued de-

FOR the first time since the ensuing health crisis made the in-person activities impossible in almost three years, Biñanenses enjoyed the faceto-face celebrations of the Araw ng Biñan. Kicking off this festivity was the formal opening rites at Plaza Rizal, followed by the Grand People’s Parade. A groundbreaking ceremony for the legacy project of Mayor Dimaguila, the “Sentro ng Patanghal na Sining,” then happened besides the Old Municipal Building. Next was a press conference where the above cited programs and plans of the city government were unveiled by the local chief executive, Vice Mayor Alonte and Congresswoman Naguiat, the so-called “Big Three.” A Thanksgiving Mass at the San Isidro Labrador Diocesan Shrine was heard in the afternoon. Capping of the day was a Thanksgiving Dinner at the Historic Alberto Mansion. The second day saw the “Art in Public Spaces: Pot Painting Competition”, the “Pasasalamat sa mga Beteranong Biñanense”, the Unveiling of the Galing Pook Award Marker, and the 3rd Biñan City Sining Musikahan: Drum and Lyre Band Competition—all held at Plaza Rizal. The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague Catholic School won the Art in Public Spaces competition while the Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School was named the winner in the Drum and Lyre Band Competition. A Film Viewing of the criticallyacclaimed international movie “Triangle of Sadness” happened at Southwoods Mall Cinema 1. In the evening was the Araw ng Biñan 2023 Concert at Evangelista Bridge top billed by national and local artists.

What’s best to mark the last day of the occasion was the cause-oriented events, such as Serbisyong Arman Dental Health Caravan at the San Vicente Covered Court and Serbisyong Arman Mega Job Fair at Pavilion Mall. The 6th Biñan National Choral Competition was staged at the Biñan City Auditorium. The winner of the Choral Competition was the Letran Singing Ambassadors. Pangasinan Rep. Christopher V. De Venecia graced the “Pagkilala sa mga Manggagawa ng Museo ng Timog Katagalugan” at the Sentrong Pangkultura ng Biñan. Concluding this affair was the 5th Biñan Folk Dance Festival in Plaza Rizal which was won by the Saint Michael’s College of Laguna.

The Manila Philharmonic Orchestra performing at the Araw ng Biñan celebrations.

Biñan City officials together with the Veterans Sons and Daughters Association.

The Concert top billed by Adie, pop singer and recording artist from Biñan.

The Biñan LGU officials together with Laguna Governor Ramil Hernandez.

The Galing Pook marker was unveiled on the second day of the Araw ng Biñan celebrations.

An aerial shot of the crowd that gathered during the first day celebrations of Araw ng Biñan.

The Letran Singing Ambassadors were named the winners of the 6th Biñan National Choral Festival.

DHSUD Secretary Jerry Acuzar and NCCA Chairman Victorino Manalo were guests at the Thanksgiving Dinner held at the Historic Alberto Mansion.

Biñan City breaks ground for their performing arts center together with all the city's official performing arts groups

From left, Dr. BJ Borja, Biñan Rep. Len Alonte, Pangasinan Rep. Christopher De Venecia, NCCA-SCH Commissioner Dr. Emmanuel Calairo and Biñan Vice Mayor Gel Alonte.

Biñan’s Big Three – Vice Mayor Angelo “Gel” Alonte, Mayor Walfredo “Arman” Dimaguila, Jr. and Biñan Rep. Marlyn “Len” Alonte-Naguiat. NONIE REYES