BusinessMirror February 17, 2023

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

FILIPINO children lost a year and five months of learning because of the closure of schools, seriously derailing the buildup of human capital, according to the latest report released by the World Bank.

In the report “Collapse and Recovery: How COVID-19 Eroded Human Capital and What to Do About It,” the World Bank said the Philippines closed schools for 510 days or a year and four months.

It estimated that for every 30 days that schools are closed, students lose 32 days of learning.

Using this estimate, students in the Philippines lost a total of 544

days of learning.

“The pandemic and school closures threatened to wipe out decades of progress in building human capital. Targeted policies to reverse the losses in foundational learning, health, and skills are critical to avoid jeopardizing the development of multiple generations,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass.

“Countries need to chart a new course for greater human capital investments to help citizens become more resilient to the overlapping threats of health shocks, conflict, slow growth and climate change and also lay a solid foun -

dation for faster, more inclusive growth,” he added.

The World Bank cited three factors that affected students’ learning during the pandemic.

The first factor was that remote classes were less effective as a mode of instruction compared to in-person schooling.

Remote learning was less effective because globally, more than two-thirds of children ages 3-17 or 1.3 billion lacked internet access at home. In middle income countries like India, a total of 29 million did not even have access to smartphones, feature phones, television, radio, or computers.

The second factor was that students devoted less time to learning compared to pre-pandemic times as their parents struggled to compensate for the loss in “instructional time with teachers.” In some countries, the time spent learning per day declined by 71 percent or six hours per day compared to the time before school closures. The last factor was the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of students. The report stated that globally, children reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, or both while others reported

See “Filipino,” A2

set off by a local fault line at a depth of 10 km, about 11 km west of the coastal town of b atuan in Masbate province, officials said. (ab ove) MMDa acting chairman at ty. Don ar tes formally launches the MMDa re scue tr aining center, which aims to improve and institutionalize disaster response measures in the metropolis, at a news conference held at the MMDa headquarters in Makati city. City Disaster r sk r e

On Thursday, the MB increased the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase facility by 50 basis points to 6 percent, effective February 17, 2023, a move that was widely expected.

The BSP said the interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities will be set to 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively.

“Yes, anything is possible [additional rate hikes]. The least likely scenario is a no increase in the next meeting. We cannot rule out anything but if I were to say which is the least likely scenario, it’s zero in the next meeting. Of course if a negative

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

THE arrival of close to 40,000 cruise passengers in the country this year is expected to generate at least $4 million (P216 million) in visitor receipts to the economy.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said the scheduled 139 port calls by international cruise ships shows the readiness of the Philippines to become a major cruise destination in Asia. She personally welcomed 317 guests and 415 crew mem -

bers of the Silver Spirit on February 15, at the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal, Manila South Harbor.

“The arrival of this cruise ship into this port signals the resurgence of the cruise tourism industry. This signals confidence, as well in travel and tourism into the Philippines. We’re very grateful for the support of the City of Manila to open up its harbor to our visitors from all over the world and we’re hopeful that this arrival may signal many more in the year to come,” she said. She underscored the eco -

nomic benefits from cruise tourism, estimating “the average spend is $100 dollars per cruise call per person….[This] shows the downstream effect not only on our national government revenues, but also on our local government revenues.”

While popular destinations such as Manila, Puerto Princesa, Boracay, Bohol, and Cebu will be visited by the cruise ships, she noted that other lesser known destinations are also on the cruise itineraries such as Apo Reef (Occidental Mindoro), See “Cruise,” A2

WITH the higherthanexpected inflation in January and the recovery of consumption spending, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it is possible for monetary authorities to further raise interest rates in the Monetary Board’s succeeding meetings.

Competition watchdog probing cartel role in high onion prices

By Andrea E. San Juan

The country’s competition watchdog said it launched its market assessment as the onion retail prices have been observed at “unusual high range” and peaked at P600/kilo in December 2022.

As prices are seen to “stabilize” due to the recent importation of onions and the suggested retail price (SRP) set last February 6 by the Department of Agriculture (DA), pursuant to DA Circular No. 5, PCC said it is “looking into the cause of such market anomaly in coordina -

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businesses found to have taken advantage of the situation may be fined up to P100 million, and even face jail time of up to seven years.

The fines, it added, may even be tripled if trade of basic necessities, including agricultural products identified by the Price Act, are involved in cartel or abuse of dominance violations.

tion with the sector regulators and other law enforcement agencies.”

“Since November 2022, the Philippine Competition Commission [PCC] has been investigating the high prices of onion for possible cartel or abuse of dominance conduct, consistent with the probe prompted by House Speaker Cong. Martin G. Romualdez and House Resolution No. 681 filed by Cong. Stella A. Quimbo,” PCC said in its statement on Thursday.

The agency warned that under the Philippine Competition Act (PCA),

difficulties in concentrating on their studies and schoolwork.

“In low- and middle-income countries, nearly 1 billion children missed out on at least a full year of in-person schooling due to school closures, and

Meanwhile, in a televised interview on Wednesday, Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has clarified anew that the Trade department is not the agency that sets the SRP for agricultural products. However, the Trade chief said DTI is assisting the Agriculture department in monitoring prices in the market.

“We are helping the Department of Agriculture [DA] in monitoring prices in the market. Then we just feed them with our findings. As in the case of onions, we reached an agreement, we will help them,” Pascual said.

more than 700 million missed one and a half years. As a result, learning poverty—already 57 percent before the pandemic—has increased further in these countries, with an estimated 70 percent of 10-year-olds unable to

“If there is a violation, we will send letters of inquiry to check why prices are at such level or higher than SRP,” the Trade chief added.

While the DTI has no jurisdiction over the retail price for agricultural products, Pascual said the Trade department steps into the picture when it comes to improving the efficiency of the country’s supply chain.

He pointed to a “disconnect” in the supply chain as farmers are not directly connected with the retail market.

“Their products have to go through a series of supply lines, a series of traders, along the line. The solution is, and this is where DTI comes in, is to improve the efficiency of our supply chains between the farm and the consumers and institutional users of farm products,” the Trade chief said.

Under the DTI, Pascual said there is the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). The Trade chief noted that they directed CDA to “focus on organizing and promoting the establishment of farming cooperatives so that our farmers will be working together.”

understand a basic written text,” the World Bank said in a statement.

Youth employment

A S t he days for learning decreased, the Washington-based lender found, employment and wages for young workers also declined.

The World Bank said the decline in youth employment in the Philippines contracted 11 percentage points to 33 percent in the second quarter of 2020.

Young workers also saw a 20-hour decline in the number of hours they worked to only 19 hours from the 39 hours recorded pre-pandemic. The World Bank said this indicated the poor quality of jobs the youth held during the pandemic.

The World Bank said 40 million people who would have had a job in the absence of the pandemic did not have one at the end of 2021, worsening youth unemployment trends. Youth earnings around the world contracted by 15 percent in 2020 and 12 percent in 2021.

Owing to the learning losses, the report said new entrants with lower education will have 13 percent less earnings during their first decade in the labor market.

Evidence from Brazil, Ethiopia, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, and Vietnam showed that 25 percent of all young people were neither in education, employment nor training in 2021.

“People under the age of 25 today—that is, those most affected by the erosion of human capital—will make up more than 90 percent of the prime-age workforce in 2050,” said Norbert Schady, Chief Economist for Human Development at the World Bank, and a lead author of the report.

“Reversing the pandemic’s impact on them and investing in their future should be a top priority for governments. Otherwise, these cohorts will represent not just a lost generation but rather multiple lost generations,” he added.

Catch up

T HE World Bank said addressing setbacks is vital, so with plugging gaps in early stages of the life cycle of children which tend to widen over time. Without urgent action, the pandemic also threatens to deepen poverty and inequality.

In the short term, for young children, the World Bank said countries should support targeted campaigns for vaccinations and nutritional supplementation; increase access to pre-primary education; and expand coverage of cash transfers for vulnerable families.

For school-age children, governments need to keep schools open and increase instructional time; assess learning and match instruction to students’ learning levels; and streamline the curriculum to focus on foundational learning.

For youth, support for adapted training, job intermediation, entrepreneurship programs, and new workforce-oriented initiatives are crucial.

In the longer term, countries need to build agile, resilient, and adaptive health, education, and social protection systems that can better prepare for and respond to current and future shocks. Cai U. Ordinario

shock happens, reversing all of this, then I might be wrong,” BSP Governor Felipe Medalla said.

Medalla said in the succeeding months, jumbo rate hikes and zero rate hikes may be taken out of the table. But if the Federal Reserve decides to increase rates by 75 basis points, the BSP may raise rates by the same magnitude.

“The need for extraordinarily high interest rate increases like 75 was largely because the inflation was also coming with a very weak and rapidly depreciating peso. I think there was a time, a very short period, when the peso depreciated by 14 percent. So unless there’s a large change in monetary policy rate somewhere else, I think we have done enough 75s,” Medalla explained.

Highest since 2008

W I TH t he latest increase in policy rates, interest rates are now the highest since August 2008 when it increased to 6 percent from 5.75 percent. In July 2007, interest rates were also at 6 percent, but this was a decrease from 7.5 percent.

Based on BSP estimates, there is already a 96.7 percent chance that inflation would be above 4 percent this year. Inflation is expected to average 5.4 percent in the third quarter and 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter.

The BSP now expects inflation to average 6.1 percent this year before slowing to 3.1 percent. However, it said it will endeavor to

attain the 2 to 4 percent inflation target of the administration in the medium term.

“The main scenario is, in fact I started out with two 25s, now clearly that is wrong because 50 na kaagad yung una eh, so in short, it’s hard to rule out a third after this one or maybe even a fourth. But that will depend,” Medalla said.

The BSP, in a statement, said the forecasts were adjusted upward due to higherthan-expected inflation in January 2023 as well as the rebound in consumer spending.

Further, BSP said, headline and core inflation measures have continued to increase. This indicated a “broadening of price pressures” in the economy.

“At the same time, the balance of risks to inflation now leans toward the upside for both 2023 and 2024, with pressures emanating from the potential impact of global food market uncertainties, continued domestic shortages in key food items, additional transport fare hikes amid elevated oil prices, and the higherthan-expected wage adjustments in 2023,” the BSP said in a statement.

The Monetary Board reiterated its position that the country needs timely and more aggressive whole-ofgovernment actions to mitigate the impact of persistent supplyside pressures on food prices, including tradepositive measures and significant progress to boost productivity.

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Balabac Island (Palawan), Biri Island (Northern Samar), Claveria (Cagayan), Capul Island (Northern Samar), and Coron. (See, “Cruise ships dropping anchor anew in PHL,” in the BusinessMirror, February 15, 2023.)

Aside from trying to encourage more cruise ships to call on the Philippines, the DOT chief cited the goal to expand the reach of the “Filipino brand of service excellence” across the world: “We will develop the Philippines as a major regional cruise center in Asia that supplies not only cruise ship experiences but also crew training, crewing, cruise line business outsourcing and cruise ship maintenance services in Asia.”

Of the 415 crew of the Silver Spirit, 181 are Filipinos, “and so we’re very proud that this cruise that hosts different nationalities is being given a memorable experience through the Filipino brand of hospitality,” said Frasco.

The Silver Spirit is the third cruise ship to arrive

in the Philippines, following port calls of the Seabourn Encore carrying 512 passengers and 482 crew, and Silver Shadow with 320 passengers and 288 crew. The Silver Spirit, operated by the Monaco-based Silversea Cruises, is currently on a 14-day luxury cruise, and departed Hong Kong on February 12 and will return there on February 26. The ship arrived in Manila from Salomague, and after an overnight stay, departed Thursday for Romblon, then Coron.

At the welcome ceremony, Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna said, “It’s a very great opportunity for the City of Manila, for all other people, not only local tourists but also international tourists, to rediscover different areas or destinations here in Manila.” She noted, “Manila is the hub for history and culture in our country and it’s about time that all areas in the city be discovered, not only Intramuros, Luneta, or even Binondo but all other areas. This is a way for the Department of Tourism and the City of Manila to work hand in hand, so it’s a great opportunity for us.”

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it has been investigating the high prices of onions for a possible cartel since November 2022.

The Nation

No approved SWMP for 445 LGUs, DENR unit reveals

ATOTAL of 445 local government units (LGUs) still have no approved 10-year solid waste management plan (SWMP) as mandated by Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Plan of 2000.

A ccording to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the DENR-led National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) reported that out of 1,592 local government units (LGU) nationwide, only 1,147 have approved SWMPs.

T he DENR-EMB is looking forward to the approval of all remaining 10-year SWMPs of cities and municipalities nationwide this year.

To achieve the 100 percent target, EMB has called on the remaining 445 LGUs with no approved and submitted SWMPs to take proactive actions to develop their plans and have them approved by the NSWMC.

T he EMB urged governors and mayors whose provinces, cities, and municipalities concerned to expedite the submission of their plans, as it expressed its commitment to help LGUs needing assistance and technical support.

During the celebration of National Zero Waste Month in January, the EMB, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and EMB regional offices conducted a two-day virtual meeting that served as a platform for LGUs to raise their issues and concerns on the preparation of their plans.

The virtual meeting was attended by over 300 participants from LGUs across three regions, which availed of consultations and made status follow-ups and requests in relation to their respective SWMPs.

After the meeting, the EMB expressed hope that all LGUs nationwide will have their approved SWMPs by the end of the year.

Under RA 9003, every LGU is mandated to have a 10-year SWMP. The law states that “the province, city or municipality, through its local solid waste management boards, shall prepare its respective 10-year solid waste management plans consistent with the national solid waste management framework.”

The said plan should put “primary emphasis on implementation of all feasible reuse, recycling, and composting programs while identifying the amount of landfill and transformation capacity that will be needed for solid waste which cannot be reused, recycled, or composted.”

In the SWMP process, the concerned EMB Regional Office will review and evaluate the plans submitted by the LGUs and endorse them to the EMB Central Office for further review.

If the plan lacks specific requirements, the SWMP will be returned to the LGU for further action. If the plan is suitable for consideration, it will be recommended to the Executive Committee of the NSWMC, which will decide whether or not to support the plan for final approval by the NSWMC en banc. Jonathan L.

Mayuga

MIAA says Feb. 13 chartered flight under probe; senators eye smuggling syndicate

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM & Nonie Reyes @Nonielonlon

just a protocol glitch, the issue digs deeper as it involves national security and human trafficking,” Poe stressed, as several senators backed her call for a full inquiry, with Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, offering to lead the probe.

BI: No unmanifested

passengers

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI), however, in a statement disputed the report that claims “the special flight carried passengers more than the number declared in the flight manifest.”

I n a statement, the MIAA said the investigation was initiated “following a request” from the Philippine National Police’s (PNP)

“AVSeu NCR chief PCol Rhoderick Campo, who alleged that there were violations in the handling of the flight, which was bound for Dubai using an aircraft with Registry number and Callsign N9527E owned/operated by Cloud Nine No. 1 Leasing Company Limited.”

T he Senate Public Services committee has yet to wrap up its inquiry into the New Year’s Day technical glitch that disrupted nearly 300 flights, but the premier airport was again plunged into controversy over the incident.

T he committee chair, Sen. Grace Poe, delivered a privilege speech late Wednesday, seeking an investigation into alleged irregularities among certain agencies to allow certain allegedly unmanifested foreigners to exit the country on a private plane.

According to Poe, police and airport authorities failed to stop the departure of a February 13 Dubaibound flight that carried 10 alien passengers. Only seven, however, were declared before immigration officials, she said. The immigration chief disputed this account.

A similar incident took place in December, when undeclared Chinese nationals were able to skirt preflight inspections, she added. “More than

Navy, Customs intercept tanker with over ₧50 million worth of smuggled diesel fuel

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

THE Philippine Navy intercepted on Wednesday a tanker carrying smuggled diesel fuel worth at least P50.8 million near the Corregidor Island.

T he M/T Braleman manned by 11 crewmen and loaded with at least 847,000 liters of diesel was intercepted by the Navy ship BRP Lolinato To-Ong, 8.8 nautical miles southwest of Corregidor.

L t. Regeil Gatarin, public affairs office head of the Naval Forces Southern Luzon, said the unit received an apprehension alarm against M/T Braleman from the Philippine Coast Guard District, Palawan on Sunday.

T his prompted the Naval Forces

Southern Luzon to track down the tanker at the Cabra Island in Mindoro as it sailed toward Manila Bay where it was intercepted by the BRP Lolinato To-Ong

Gatarin said the Navy ship picked up five customs officers at the Batangas Port to serve a “seizure and detention warrant” against the tanker.

“ The Navy will continue and ready to assist the government on its campaign against smuggling of fuel in the country,” Gatarin said.

T he BRP Lolinato To-Ong is the second ship of the new Acero-class Fast Attack Interdiction Craft-Missile (FAIC-M) patrol gunboats of the Navy that were acquired from Israel. It was commissioned on November 28, 2022 and placed under the operational control of Naval Forces Southern Luzon.

Magnitude 6 quake jolts Batuan, Masbate

temporarily interrupting power supply in the whole province and in Ticao Island.

T he tremor left cracks on the building of the Masbate Provincial Hospital and evacuation of patients in tents pitched in nearby premises.

Commissioner Norman Tansingco said: “We have conducted an initial verification of the said incident with the BI Naia [Ninoy Aquino International Airport] Terminal 3 management,” but the initial report showed 10 people—seven passengers and three crew—were manifested, and the requisite planeside inspections showed “there were 10 individuals on board the said aircraft,” said Tansingco in a statement.

For its part, MIAA confirmed that “the assistance provided by the Airport Police Department [APD] to a number of vehicles going to the Balagbag ramp last February 13, 2023, was authorized following an official written request from Globan Aviation Corporation in relation to a chartered flight that they handled on the night of the same day.”

T he APD assistance, it added, “was conducted in accordance with standard operating procedures requiring APD patrol cars to escort vehicles without blinkers and with no MIAA issued permit to the Aircraft Movement Area [AMA]. AMA Permits are issued annually by the MIA Authority to its official vehicles and that of the airlines and other airport agencies with operations in this restricted part of the Naia.”

Initial information showed Globan Aviation got “the necessary approvals from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines for entry-exit clearance; the PNP Avseu for the Aircraft Exit Clearance, the MIAA for ramp entry of vehicles that transported the passengers to the Balagbag ramp, all of whom were processed and cleared by the Bureau of Immigration on site,” the MIAA pointed out.

Notwithstanding these pieces of information, the MIAA shall continue with the probe leaving no stone unturned to dispel insinuations that persons are being brought out of the country surreptitiously without going through mandated pre-departure formalities,” it added.

Tansingco, meanwhile, explained that chartered flights fall under the category of special flights, wherein passengers are not processed in the immigration area, but are rather inspected near the aircraft.

Seven passengers and 3 crew

were listed in the manifest, and all underwent derogatory checks and were compliant [with] immigration formalities.”

A n immigration officer was likewise assigned to attend to and process the passengers in the aircraft, said Tansingco, noting that the BI “is only one of numerous agencies that inspect departing and arriving special flights.”

Despite his assurance of no irregularity, the mood in the Senate is to inquire into the February 13 chartered flight.

S en. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada expressed confidence in dela Rosa’s ability to lead the probe. “I think heads will roll. I know Sen. Bato very well. He is very capable of investigating this particular problem and we have a saying: let the axe fall where it may,” Estrada said at Wednesday’s plenary session.

For Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, the Senate “really has to do its oversight function to make sure that agencies perform at par.”

In the House of Representatives, meanwhile, a lawmaker had a more ominous angle. Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers called on the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, MIAA and BI to thoroughly investigate. Barbers stressed that other than human trafficking, drug trafficking is likewise possible using the same modus operandi.

T he Office of Civil Defense reported that the quake struck at around 2:10 a.m. with its epicenter located 10 kilometers southwest of the town of Batuan in Masbate,

T he provincial government also suspended classes in all levels in the aftermath of the temblor that caused some 100 aftershocks as of this writing. Rene Acosta

Farmers get native chickens from BARMM

DAVAO CITY—The Bangsamoro government has distributed native chickens to Cotabato City poultry and backyard raisers to support their means of livelihood and ensure egg supply sufficiency.

T he Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) distributed 640 heads of free-range native chickens late last month in Barangay Kalanganan II.

T he supply was coursed through the MAFAR’s Halal Program and funded under the Government

Appropriation Act for Bangsamoro (GAAB).

T hey were given to four poultryraisers associations and 20 individual chicken growers in the city.

Disumimba Rasheed, assistant to the Provincial Director for Special Geographic Areas and Cotabato City, said the activity seeks to help beneficiaries to have additional income and increase their profit through chicken production.

“One of our mandates in the ministry is to bring the intervention closer to our beneficiaries and

through this distribution, our region will have a sufficient supply of eggs,” Rasheed said.

Maguindanao Provincial Director Dr. Ronjamin Maulana said, “We are doing these activities, which will help you increase your income; we are hoping that with this intervention, you will feel that the Bangsamoro Government has been there to give you support.”

T he MAFAR said it has also conducted a similar activity to another 12 barangays in the city. Manuel T. Cayon

THE Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) on Thursday gave assurances that “investigation is in progress” on the departure of a group of foreigners on a chartered flight last February 13, which allegedly circumvented established protocols, drawing concern from senators.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Czech companies see Philippines as ‘very interesting’ market for export, investments

By Andrea E. San Juan

THE Czech Chamber of Com-

merce sees the Philippines as a “very interesting” market for the Czech economy as the European country looks into spreading out its export activity after bearing the brunt of a series of crises in Europe.

“I want to say that Czech economy’s oriented very much to Europe.

70 percent of GDP and especially Germany, 35 percent. We must spread out export activity because it’s too dangerous for us when there’s a crisis in Europe so I think that Philippines is very interesting for us and we want to orient here,” Michal Stefl, Vice President of Czech Chamber of

Commerce told reporters on the sidelines of Czech Republic’s business mission with Philippine companies on Wednesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Czech chamber said it is keen on expanding their business engagements beyond European markets, especially in the Philippines, which it said is considered by Czech companies as a “great potential haven of investments.”

According to the chamber, this business mission, being the first “installation” of the 2023 Business Conference and business-to-business event, was participated by over 80 business leaders from different organizations across the country.

Meanwhile, for his part, Philippine

DTI Region 4A launches

THE Department of Trade and Industry Region 4-A launched its second One Town, One Product (OTOP) Hub Cavite Tuesday at the 2nd Floor Main Square Mall, Bacoor City in a bid to market more innovative and competitive micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with strong brands that contribute significantly to the national economy.

T he project was undertaken in cooperation with the local government of Bacoor City, Main Square Mall, and 39 Cavite OTOPreneurs who were beneficiaries of the OTOP Next Generation Program of DTI Cavite.

OTOP is a priority stimulus program for MSMEs as government’s customized intervention to drive inclusive local economic growth. The program enables localities and communities to determine, develop, support, and promote products or services that are rooted in its local culture, community resource, creativity, connection, and competitive advantage.

OTOP

One of its major components is the OTOP.PH or OTOP Philippines Hub that provides the physical and online channels and market access platform where OTOP products, especially those that have been assisted via product development, are showcased on a day-to-day basis.

“

This new OTOP Hub in the province of Cavite will offer quality food and non-food products and cater not just to Caviteños but also to the general mainstream market in the Calabarzon region, local buyers from other regions, and tourists,” said DTI 4A Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Director Marissa Argente.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to inaugurate the new OTOP Hub led by DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Assistant Secretary Dominic Tolentino, OIC Director Argente, Region 4A OIC Assistant Director Revelyn Cortez, Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla, Board Member Ram Revilla Bautista, Bacoor City Mayor Strike Revilla, Vice Mayor Rowena Bautista Mendiola, and AGIMAT Party-list Rep. Bryan Revilla.

Present during the launching were partner agencies and organizations such as the Department of Science and Technology, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Labor and Employment, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Intellectual Property

Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President George T. Barcelon said in his speech during the business mission, “To expand our two-way trade, the areas to explore and invest in the Philippines include agriculture, manufacturing, mass transportation, construction, mining, renewable energy, and many more.”

Moreover, the head of the “voice of business” in the country invited visiting Czech companies to “learn more about the Philippines moving towards special economic zones around the Philippines which provide tax incentives for locators.”

B oard of Investments (BOI) Director for International Investments Promotions Services Lanie

Office of the Philippines, Office of the Provincial Governor, Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office, Provincial Cooperative, Livelihood, and Entrepreneurial Development Office, Cavite Small Medium Enterprise Development Council, Food Processors Association of Cavite, Likhang Kabitenyo Foundation Inc., and the Philippine Information Agency.

“ We want to encourage our MSMEs to join our programs as we help you step up your game by producing quality products in terms of design, packaging/labeling, marketability, branding, and production and delivery capacity. By doing so, we also help our economy by creating more jobs,” said DTI 4A OIC Assistant Director Revelyn Cortez.

OTOP Hub Cavite offers food products like mushroom chips, banana chips, tahong chips, pastries, coffee, peanut butter and jams, lemon tea, tablea, papaya pickles, bagoong and non-food products like hand-painted bags and bayongs, candles and candle holders, vases, embroidered kitchen linens and utensils, rugs, pet supplies, and many more.

This is not a personal achievement but a collective achievement of all sectors. We, in the government, always lead, advocate, nurture, and inspire. The OTOP Hub is a welcome addition to the array of services that we offer to our constituents, visitors, and tourists. We hope that this will become a go-to destination for everyone,” said Rep. Mercado-Revilla.

O. Dormiendo pitched to the Czech companies the priority industry clusters for 2022 to 2028, namely, the Industrial, Manufacturing and Transport (IMT); Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT); and Health and Life Sciences (HLS).

T he BOI official also shared that according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Philippines has “51.2 million human resource pool,” adding that the country’s work force has “young, technology savvy, adaptable and English language proficient” workers.

The Philippines is an ideal regional hub for innovation-driven and sustainable manufacturing and services industries, having a large

pool of cost-competitive skilled labor force,” the presentation slide of Dormiendo read.

T he Czech chamber revealed that the companies who were part of the business mission from the Czech Republic include AZD Praha, CREA Hydro & Energy Crocodille ČR, Elektro SMS, Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation, GRAPECARE LTD, PERSPEKTIVA Znojmo, Prague Investment Corporation, SaZ, IPOLT CZ, WASTen, DODEX, Enress , ESSENCE LINE, and CzechTrade.

Further, the chamber identified technology, transportation, and energy sectors as their key priority areas in forging business partnerships in the Philippines.

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

DIGITAL transformation is encouraged among cooperatives, which represent 10.7 million Filipino families nationwide, to “future proof” and ensure their relevance amid the emergence of advanced technologies in the finance sector like mobile wallets and online banking system.

Cooperative insurance should be part of our modernization plan,” Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Assistant Secretary Abad “Buddy” L. Santos said during the first-ever National Cooperative Business Congress (NCBC) held recently at the Novaliches Development Cooperative Convention Center in Quezon City.

H e made this appeal to public utility vehicle modernization and transport co-operatives that have difficulties adapting such trends due to limited access to financial assistance.

S haring the same sentiment with him was Traxion Chief Executive Officer Ann Cuisia, founder and creator of digiCOOP, who pushed them to embrace digitalization and modern tools, such as open finance technology, that make it “easier for cooperatives to apply for loans and adapt to government mandates towards

modernization much faster.”

C DA-registered digiCOOP provides a complete virtual platform for cooperatives, which includes an online payment gateway; a marketplace, which serves both members and non-members; e-learning; and credit scoring, among others.

T he company, in its first year of operations, has already onboarded the top 140 co-op leaders and integrated over 426 brick-andmortar co-op branches into its web channel.

Currently, the rigid requirements being imposed upon our cooperatives through the traditional financial system are hampering the growth of this grassroots sector. We are aiming to change all that with digiCOOP which makes the co-ops’ transition to online virtually seamless,” she said.

R ecently, the firm introduced the Cooperation Network Teller Machine, the first QR-code-enabled of its kind that links cooperatives and rural banks to the traditional bank network, as well as to remittance centers and e-wallet providers.

With the CTM, we are filling the gap in the traditional banking financial system to reach the underserved. Together with digiCOOP’s own mobile payment app and a core banking system specially designed for co-ops, we are bridging the digital divide, one coop at a time,” said Cuisia.

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) will conduct benchmarking studies to determine the mechanization levels on the production of rice, corn and sugarcane as part of its efforts to modernize farmers’ production systems.

T he DA has formed a technical working group (TWG) composed of experts from various attached agencies of the department and academe to undertake the baseline studies.

S enior Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban issued Special Order (SO) 168 that authorized the creation of the TWG, which will be chaired by Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Engineering Director Engr. Ariodear C. Rico.

T he members of the TWG will come from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippine Center for Mechanization and Postharvest Development, Philippine Rice Research Institute, Sugar Regulatory Administration, Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries, National Corn Program and BAFE.

T he TWG is tasked to review and assess the existing methods of computing the mechanization index (MI) of rice, corn and sugarcane.

T he TWG will also harmonize the varying considerations, methodologies, data capture, forms etc. of the gathered methods of computation to come up with a uniform protocol of MI computation.

T he TWG will also initiate gathering of pertinent data that shall be used in the computation of the MI for the selected commodities, which includes national inventory of machinery, total area of arable lands used, specifications of the machinery, among others.

T he DA has also tasked the TWG to “identify mechanization gaps and machinery requirements in the rice, corn, and sugarcane production systems.”

T he TWG will also provide the policy recommendations to attain the target level of mechanization in the rice, corn and sugarcane production systems.

DA readies study on mechanized farming

2nd

hub in Cavite Cooperatives urged to ‘future proof’ by embracing technology

Sen. Gatchalian to DSWD, DepEd: Enlist PTAs to address bullying

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian is urging the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to work with parent-teacher associations (PTA) in implementing the Parent Effectiveness Service Program Act, or Republic Act No. 11908, to strengthen parental involvement in child development, such as the prevention of bullying.

G atchalian made this call as experts highlight how children engaged in bullying behavior tend to be exposed to different forms of violence at home.

I n a Senate panel hearing on the implementation of the AntiBullying Act of 2013 (Republic Act No. 10627), Dr. Bernadette Madrid of the Child Protection Network Foundation highlighted that the alarming incidence of bullying in the country’s schools reflect the prevalence of violence that children experience.

Considering the role that families play to prevent bullying behavior, Gatchalian cited the Parent Effectiveness Service Program Act, which he authored and co-sponsored. The law establishes the Parent Effectiveness Service (PES) Program to assist all parents and parent-substitutes in strengthening their knowledge and skills in responding to their parental duties and responsibilities.

Before the passage of Republic Act No. 11908, the DSWD was already implementing the PES as an intervention to parents of children inside the child development centers. These patients are oriented on the modules of parent effectiveness service. The DSWD is also currently leading the crafting of the law’s implementing rules and regulations.

G atchalian, however, pointed out that reaching out to at least 20 million parents is quite a challenge, which could be addressed by tapping PTAs.  “ You can ride on the existing network of Department of Education [DepEd] because they already have the PTAs. That is the fastest way of accessing our parents. If you have the modules, just partner with the DepEd because the parents are already there. All you need to do is work with the DepEd to mandate the parents to join in the Parent Effectiveness Service,” Gatchalian told DSWD Social Welfare Officer IV Cheryl Mainar during the hearing.

Citing findings in the National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children in the Philippines conducted in 2015, about three in five or 66.3 percent of respondents experienced several forms of physical violence during childhood. The study added that 60 percent of these cases happened at home.

DENR backs legislated NIPAS listing of Kaliwa River wildlife sanctuary

Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

and future generations.

T he Kaliwa River Forest Reserve (KRFS) is named after its geographic location on the left side of watersheds situated in Luzon’s northeastern seaboard and part of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range.

A recent suitability assessment revealed the KRFS is under the jurisdiction of the municipalities of Tanay, Rizal, and General Nakar, Quezon. It has a total area of 31,883 hectares.

House Bill (HB) 5055, filed by Rizal Province 2nd District Rep. Emigdio “Dino” P. Tanjuatco III pushes the protection of the forest reserve and wildlife sanctuary.

L egislated PAs are assured of stronger protection measures and a more rigid management regime. They also enjoy regular appropriation for protection and conservation-related activities.

T he DENR Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), and the local government

350 pairs say ‘I do’ in Zambales Valentine’s Day mass weddings

of Rizal province said they support all efforts to further protect and preserve the forest reserve and wildlife sanctuary against various threats, along with the rest of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range.

R epublic Act (RA) 7586 or the NIPAS Act, as amended by RA 11038 or the Expanded NIPAS Act of 2018, mandates the DENR to implement measures and programs to protect, maintain, and sustain the perpetual existence of all native plants, animals, and natural resources for the benefit of present

It is known to be the home of various endangered wildlife species such as the Northern Philippine Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus philippensis), Philippine Brown Deer (Rusa marianna), Philippine Warty Pig (Sus philippensis), Northern Rufous Hornbill (Buceros hydrocorax) and others. It is also considered to be the home of the Critically Endangered Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), a species endemic to the Philippines.

T he proposed Kaliwa River Forest and Wildlife Sanctuary (KRFWS) has 12,147 hectares of remaining forest with approximately 172 types of plant species, 39 of which are endemic and 17 are classified as threatened. Some species that can be found in the area are Rafflesia

(R. Philippinensis and R. Lagascae), and Tayabak or Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys). A recent study on Pungapong (Amorphophallus sp.) led the way to the discovery of a new species of Pungapong (Amorphophallus funtarumii), which was first found in a portion of the proposed Kaliwa River Forest and Wildlife Sanctuary. This new species has been classified as highly endangered due to the present threats of forest degradation and destruction.

All those species are endemic, meaning, they can only be found in the Philippines. Those are considered keystone species, with crucial roles in defining an entire ecosystem,” said DENR Calabarzon Regional Director Nilo B. Tamoria. “Once legislated, fund support for the management of the KRFWS is assured and stringent regulations will be implemented,” he added.

Apart from its rich biodiversity, Kaliwa River Forest Reserve is also home to the Indigenous Peoples of the Dumagat-Remontado of the Sierra Madre who play an important role in the conservation and protection of the environment and natural resources within the area.

SC affirms dismissal of graft charges vs FM’s former Cabinet men, others

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

THE Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the dismissal by the Office of the Ombudsman of the graft complaint against two former Cabinet secretaries of the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. and several others in connection with the $20 million alleged behest loans granted by the Philippine National Bank to a six-month-old company in 1980 for the construction of a tourism resort in Cavite.

vantage or prejudice of the Philippine government; hence, no liability under Section 3 [e] and [g] of Republic Act No. 3019 attached to respondents,” the decision stated.

T he ruling was penned by Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando. Associate Justices Rodil Zalameda, Ricardo Rosario, Jose Midas Marquez and Maria Filomena Singh concurred with the ruling.

the request of Marbella for the issuance of an NIDC Letter of Guaranty in favor of Europe-Asia Finance Corporation (EAFC) or any other financiers to guarantee foreign credit in the principal amount of $20 million.

By Henry Empeño Correspondent

BOTOLAN, Zambales—Hun-

dreds of lovestruck couples in Zambales said “I do” and pledged to live together as man and wife for richer or poorer in the loveliest possible time—Valentine’s Day.

A nd love was all they needed literally to be legally united, as local government units sponsored “Kasalang Bayan” mass weddings in at least three municipalities in Zambales on February 14.

Here in Botolan town, 150 partners took advantage of the civic rites presided over by Mayor Jun Omar Ebdane on Tuesday morning.

T he wedding was all free, Ebdane said: “We took care of all the expenses—the ceremony, food, cake, entertainment, even gifts like cash and rice that they bring home.”

It’s our way of encouraging couples—some of whom have lived together for years and years—to legalize their marriage and make a stronger commitment to each other and their family,” Ebdane added.

A mong the 150 couples who said their marriage vows last Tuesday are Benny Basa, 33, and Elena, his

partner for 10 years. The Ayta couple from Barangay Naculcol marched to the wedding with their two children in tow: Ellen, 4, and Edmund, 1.

A sked why they would want to wed after 10 years of living as man and wife, Benny and Ellen replied that marriage would make their partnership stronger. “Mas matibay ang pagsasama,” the couple said.

Love also won the day for 73-yearold Reynaldo Bundang Mora and 58-year-old Nelia Encarnacion Divino, both residents of Barangay Beneg in this town, who were the oldest pair to be wed here during the Valentine’s Day mass wedding.

T he youngest couple, meanwhile, were Melvin Collado Ignacio, 21, of Barangay Villar, Botolan and Alexa Dela Cruz Abong, 18, from Barangay Sta. Barbara in Iba, Zambales.

T he simple ceremony included a wedding march, recital of marriage vows and exchange of rings, eating of cake and wine toast, and finally a wedding dance. All the newly-wed couples also went up the stage for souvenir photos with Mayor Ebdane, Vice Mayor Doris Ladines and other town officials, as well as wedding sponsors. Botolan local civil registrar Clev-

elyn Deliquiña said a lot of couples registered for the wedding ceremony this year because even the Certificate of No Marriage Record (Cenomar) was given free.

She added that of the couples who initially filled up the 150 slots, two were found out to have been previously married, but luckily two other couples came in to even out the number.

Meanwhile, Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. attended a similar “Kasalang Bayan” held on the same day in Subic, Zambales and became one of the “ninongs” or primary sponsor, along with Zambales First District Representative Jay Khonghun and Castillejos town mayor Jeffrey Khonghun.

T he Subic wedding solemnized by Mayor Jonathan Khonghun involved more than 200 couples, which included Cornelio D. Sadiera, 66, and Adoracion F. Mendigorin, 60, of Barangay Calapandayan. The couple has been living together for 43 years and has four children.

A nother elder couple who said “I do” in Subic were Antonio S. Evangelista, 72, and Marciana C. Curitana, 65, of Barangay Calapacuan. They have been living together for 38 years and have four children, too.

I n a 16-page decision promulgated on January 17, 2023 but was released to the public on Wednesday, the SC’s First Division denied the claim of the petitioner, Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), that the Ombudsman committed grave abuse of discretion in dismissing its complaint for violation of Section 3 (e) and (g) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against the late Roberto V. Ongpin, then Minister of Trade and Industry, former Minister of Tourism Jose Aspiras, and former Philippine National Bank (PNB) officials, namely, Panfilo Domingo (president), Gerardo Aguigo (senior vice president), Domingo Ingco (executive vice president).

A side from Ongpin, Aspiras and the former PNB officials, the Ombudsman also cleared officials of Marbella Club Manila Inc., namely Bernardo Vergara, Federico Salcedo and Merle Jean Deen.

T he Ombudsman issued the resolution dismissing PCGG’s complaint on August 24, 2012 and denied its motion for reconsideration in an order issued on October 9, 2012.

The SC said the findings of the Ombudsman that no probable cause existed to warrant the indictment of the respondents for graft were based on facts and evidence.

“ The Ombudsman found no proof of manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence on the part of the respondents, not a contract entered into to the great disad -

T he SC pointed out that the Ombudsman’s decision was anchored on the conclusion following its evaluation of evidence that Marbella was not a fictional corporation being registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 29, 1978 with a subscribed capital of P37.5 million and paid-up capital amounting to P19.6 million at the time of its loan application.

The Ombudsman’s determination of probable cause does not resolve the accused’s guilt or innocence but evaluates whether the evidence presented before it would engender a well-founded belief that a crime has been committed or that the accused is probably guilty of committing said crime,” the SC said.

T he SC also held that the Ombudsman “did not arbitrarily exercise its bounded duty” considering that the dismissal of the case was based on the evidence submitted by the parties.

“Accordingly, this Court upholds the principle of non-interference with the investigatory and prosecutorial powers of the Ombudsman absent any showing of grave abuse of discretion on its part and of the established exceptions for this Court to do so,” the SC added.

In its complaint, the PCGG accused the PNB of entering into an agreement grossly disadvantageous to the government.

T he PCGG recounted that in April 1979, or barely six months after Marbella was incorporated, the National Investment and Development Corporation (NIDC), a subsidiary of PNB, approved

W hen the credit arrangement with EAFC failed to materialize, Marbella applied for $20 million loan with PNB, which the latter approved on September 1, 1980.

To fund the loan, then Central Bank (now Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) granted PNB a $20 million loan under its Consolidated Foreign Borrowings Program (CFBP).

T he PCGG said PNB approved the loan of Marbella even before it became the registered owner of the land where the purported tourism resort was to be established.

Two years later, the PCGG said, the PNB Board issued a resolution advancing P15.6 million to Marbella, to enable the latter to pay interest due on its foreign loan when it defaulted on its interest payment due in November 1982.

T he PCGG asserted that such early default on mere interest payment was an indication that Marbella was a “poor credit risk,” and that the loan was attended with “manifest partiality, bad faith and/ or inexcusable negligence.”

E arlier, the SC also ordered the dismissal of the graft charges against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s chief legal counsel, Juan Ponce Enrile, who also served as defense minister during his father’s regime, in connection with the alleged siphoning of coco levy funds amounting to P840.7 million.

Likewise exonerated were Enrile’s co-respondents, namely, businessman Jose Concepcion, Rolando dela Cuesta, Narciso Pineda and Danila Ursua.

T he SC held that the Ombudsman violated the constitutional right to speedy disposition of cases warranting the dismissal of the graft charges against them.

By

ABILL that seeks to establish Kaliwa River Forest and Wildlife Sanctuary as a legislated protected area (PA) under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act has gained the support of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

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Germany’s largest airports warn of closures on Friday amid strikes

By Naomi Kresge

A one-day walkout called by the labor union Verdi will hobble operations at seven airports across Germany, including the country’s largest in Frankfurt and Munich, the airports said late on Wednesday. Smaller airports in five other German cities will also be affected.

The warning strikes come amid slow progress in talks over pay and conditions for security and other ground staff. Verdi is seeking a significant boost to wages for workers hit by higher energy prices and record inflation.

Frankfurt and Munich are both Lufthansa hubs, and the cancellations are another blow to the airline that saw widespread disruptions Wednesday. Workers had accidentally drilled through

four cables buried some 16 feet below ground in a suburb close to the Frankfurt airport, bringing down the carrier’s IT systems and grounding hundreds of flights worldwide.

Though Lufthansa said services were normalizing by late Wednesday, the incident raised questions about why backup systems hadn’t been able to handle the outage. The airline is conducting an internal investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s largest, expects the walkout to leave only emergency operations able to continue on Friday, a spokesperson said. More than 1,000 starts and landings had been

planned, and the airport would normally have served between 120,000 and 130,000 passengers that day. Airlines will likely cancel most flights, they said.

Munich Airport said it had applied to the regional government to close commercial operations on Friday, with exceptions for emergencies and the ongoing Munich Security Conference. The strikes, however, are bound to complicate travel for delegates attending the

WHO calls on China to cooperate as it pushes for Covid-19 answers

By Michelle Fay Cortez

THE World Health Organization is calling for more cooperation from China in its search for the origins of Covid-19, a topic back in the news after a scientific journal reported the agency shelved its investigation over a lack of collaboration.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus denied that the WHO backed off its origins work, saying the answers are critical for scientific and moral reasons. But he did acknowledge the difficulty the public health organization is facing in getting China’s full participation more than three years after the virus emerged.

“As recently as seven weeks ago, I sent a letter to a top official in China asking for cooperation,” Tedros said during a press briefing. “I assure you we will continue to push and continue to pursue until we get the answer.”

holding China to account as the virus spread, has been more vocal recently as a major Omicron surge swamped the world’s most populous country. Last month, officials urged Beijing to share more detailed information after China abandoned its testing efforts and reported comparatively few deaths even as hospitals and crematoriums were overwhelmed during its reopening.

The panel released a preliminary report last June, which noted that crucial data wasn’t yet available for a complete understanding of how the virus took root. Getting that additional information is proving difficult.

annual gathering of defense and foreign policy makers. There will be no regular passenger flights at the airport, with more than 700 departures and arrivals canceled, a spokesperson said.

The Stuttgart airport also said no flights would be possible on Friday, while Hamburg, Hannover, Dortmund and Bremen warned that service would be disrupted.  With assistance from William Wilkes/Bloomberg

Japan’s trade deficit smashes record, topping 3 trillion yen

By Erica Yokoyama & Toru Fujioka

EL PASO, Texas—Police in El Paso, Texas, say one person was killed and three other people were wounded in a shooting Wednesday in a shopping mall.

One person has been taken into custody, El Paso police spokesperson Sgt. Robert Gomez said. No immediate information was given about that person.

“It’s too early to speculate on motive,” Gomez said.

The three who were wounded were hospitalized, Gomez said. Their conditions were not known.

Gomez said police believe the scene is secure and that officers are sweeping through the whole mall to verify that. Authorities have set up a reunification center at a nearby high school.

Police earlier said the shooting was reported at the shopping mall’s food court.

Wednesday’s shooting at the Cielo Vista Mall happened in a busy shopping area and across a large parking lot from a Walmart where 23 people were killed in a racist attack in 2019. AP

JAPAN’S trade deficit surged to a record in January, as one-off factors including the lunar new year holidays dragged on exports amid a backdrop of a slowing global economy.

The trade gap jumped to ¥3.5 trillion ($26.1 billion) from ¥1.45 trillion in December, topping ¥3 trillion for the first time in comparable data going back the late 1970s, the finance ministry reported Thursday. The deficit far exceeded the previous record, although it was smaller than analysts’ estimates.

Export growth slowed sharply to 3.5 percent, with chip-making equipment among the largest drags, in a sign of weakening global tech-sector demand. The value of shipments to China sank 17.1 percent, dragged down by cars, auto parts and chip machinery. Exports to the US and Europe also grew at a weaker pace of 10.2 percent and 9.5 percent respectively.

Imports meanwhile continued to show double-digit gains with a 17.8 percent increase from a year ago, as costly energy shipments continued to inflate the import bill. Japanese firms also likely tried to secure inventory from

China before lunar new year celebrations.

The record deficit casts a cloud over Japan’s economy, as it struggles for recovery momentum with a new Bank of Japan governor set to take over from Haruhiko Kuroda and his decade of monetary easing. While one-off factors contributed to the deficit, the government and the central bank will need to keep a close eye on how much growth is slowing abroad.

“Japan’s exports are unlikely to show a strong pickup so the overall economy will probably continue to have a lackluster recovery,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. “That will be a headache for the BOJ when they consider normalization.”

China’s sudden turnaround on its virus policy has also meant a hit to Japan’s exports, as Covid cases surged following the end of China’s Covid-Zero policy, causing disruption across the country. Shipments to China and other Asian countries account for more than 50 percent of Japan’s overall exports.

“The gains were small, but they came despite the fact that factories were shut across Asia for Lunar New Year holidays celebrated during the month

this year. The 2022 holiday fell in February. This shift in timing means exports are likely to climb in February,” said Bloomberg economist Yuki Masujima.

The data also showed that the average exchange rate last month was 132.08 yen to the dollar, 15 percent weaker than a year earlier. Although the weaker yen and higher oil prices—the two main factors behind the prolonged trade deficit—have faded compared to last year’s peak, their effects still appear to be lingering.

Another round of expanding import bills may trigger further price hikes. Nationwide inflation reached a 41-year high in December, as companies, especially food manufacturers, passed higher costs onto their products. Accelerating inflation has eaten into consumers’ purchasing power, a trend reflected in household spending’s second straight month of declines in December.

“What’s not certain is how quickly the deficit will shrink as the global economy is expected to slow further from here,” said Norinchukin’s Minami. “There’s less pessimism emerging over the global economic outlook, but I would say the effect of a rapid tightening by central banks will hit harder in the coming months.” Bloomberg News

An article in the journal Nature on Tuesday said the WHO had paused the second phase of its investigation into the pandemic’s origins due to difficulties conducting key studies in China.

China’s foreign ministry pushed back against Nature’s report on Wednesday, saying the country had “shared information and updates on origins tracing” with the WHO.

“We support and participate in global origins tracing based on science,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a briefing in Beijing on Wednesday. “We have received two WHO expert teams for origins study in China, and concluded a report that is science based and authoritative.”

“We will continue such efforts and communication,” Wang said.

Still digging

The WHO, which was criticized early in the pandemic for not

“Let me also be very clear that we continue to ask for more cooperation and collaboration with our colleagues in China to advance studies that need to take place in China,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid technical lead, said in a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday. “It is becoming increasingly difficult because the more time that passes, the more difficult it becomes to really understand what happened in those early stages of the pandemic.”

China has faced more questions over the transparency of its Covid data in recent weeks, posting the biggest drop in Covid deaths among more than 20 places hit hardest by the Omicron variant.

The WHO was asked in 2020 to help identify the source of the virus, and conducted a weeks-long joint mission with a team of international scientists and researchers from China. The report was released in March 2021, though it was criticized as incomplete by the US.

Later that year, the WHO formed a more permanent scientific advisory group to look at the origins of the virus, along with any future outbreaks. With assistance from Philip Glamann and Angus Whitley/Bloomberg

World Bank chief David Malpass to leave, creating Biden opening

By Eric Martin

WORLD Bank President David Malpass said he plans to step down by the middle of this year, giving the Biden administration an opening to pick someone to carry out its goal of overhauling the global development lender to focus more on fighting climate change.

Malpass, 66, whose five-year term was set to run through April 2024, informed the institution’s board of his intentions to depart by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, the Washington-based lender said in a statement Wednesday.

“The next few months will provide a good opportunity for a smooth leadership transition,” Malpass said in a note to staff seen by Bloomberg News.

A former top international official at the Treasury Department, where he had a reputation as a China hawk, Malpass was nominated to helm the World Bank by thenPresident Donald Trump in 2019. As head of the anti-poverty lender, he pressured Beijing to provide more debt relief for developing nations and led the World Bank in lending more than $150 billion in response to Covid-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising food and energy prices.

He ran into controversy last year after fumbling a question at a conference on the causes of climate change, fueling calls for his removal amid criticism that he didn’t accept the scientific consensus of the impact of man-made emissions.

Malpass since said he “really wasn’t prepared” when he answered on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting. He then called for expanding the development lender’s mission to explicitly include public goods such as climate change.

Last week, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen deepened her call for changes to the World Bank, urging it to more aggressively extend its balance sheet and to work harder at mobilizing private-sector money to help address global challenges like climate change and pandemics.

“This will be a good opportunity for her to accelerate the bank’s work in implementing that vision,” said Mark Sobel, a former US Treasury

official who also represented the US at the International Monetary Fund. “The timing is good for the Biden administration and certainly preferable from that standpoint rather than a drawn out, protracted situation.”

The US traditionally nominates the head of the World Bank, with Europe nominating the heads of its twin Bretton Woods institution, the International Monetary Fund. Names mentioned by analysts as potential Biden administration picks include Samantha Power, head of the US Agency for International Development, and Rajiv Shah, the president of the Rockefeller Foundation and a former head of USAID. Yellen in a statement thanked Malpass for his service.

“While we all must continue to raise our collective ambitions in the fight against climate change, during President Malpass’ tenure the World Bank has made important recent advances in this area,” Yellen said.

She also praised his support for Ukraine, the Afghan people and to help low-income countries achieve debt sustainability through debt reduction.

Malpass had started work on the lender’s evolution roadmap urged by Yellen to help it better address global challenges like climate change and pandemics.

Environmental activists had called for Malpass’s ouster after his gaffe on climate change at the panel discussion in September, saying that he wasn’t providing leadership on the issue.

“We welcome the departure of a climate and development laggard as the head of a critical international finance institution,” said Jake Schmidt, senior strategic director of international climate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. “We need World Bank leadership committed to bold action to unleash more and better climate finance to meet the scale of the climate crisis and the needs of developing countries.”

B efore joining the Trump administration, Malpass spent more than a decade as an economist at Bear Stearns Cos. He had served prior Republican presidents and worked as an aide on Capitol Hill. With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy/Bloomberg

GERMANY’S airports will come to a near standstill on Friday, adding to a week of chaos after snapped fiber cables grounded Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s fleet.

A ONE-DAY walkout called by the labor union Verdi will hobble operations at seven airports across Germany, including the country’s largest in Frankfurt and Munich, on Friday. Smaller airports in five other German cities will also be affected. BLOOMBERG

1 killed, 3 hurt in shooting at El Paso shopping mall

The World

US Treasury risks July payment default  if lawmakers fail to raise debt limit–CBO

By Christopher Anstey & Erik Wasson

The Treasury Department is currently using accounting maneuvers to keep making good on federal obligations, after hitting the statutory debt ceiling last month. While Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen signaled at the time those measures would last at least until early June,

Wednesday’s CBO estimates offer an updated timeline. “If the debt limit remains unchanged, the government’s ability to borrow using extraordinary measures will be exhausted between July and September 2023,” the CBO estimated.

Ukraine aid support softens in the US, says AP-NORC poll

By Aamer Madhani & Emily Swanson

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON—Sup -

port among the American public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has softened as the Russian invasion nears a grim one-year milestone, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Forty-eight percent say they favor the US providing weapons to Ukraine, with 29 percent opposed and 22 percent saying they’re neither in favor nor opposed. In May 2022, less than three months into the war, 60 percent of US adults said they were in favor of sending Ukraine weapons.

Americans are about evenly divided on sending government funds directly to Ukraine, with 37 percent in favor and 38 percent opposed, with 23 percent saying neither. The signs of diminished support for Ukraine come as President Joe Biden is set to travel to Poland next week to mark the first anniversary of the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.

“I am sympathetic for Ukraine’s situation and I feel badly for them, but I feel like we need to first take care of priorities here at home,” said Joe Hernandez, 44, of Rocklin, California.

Hernandez, a Republican, added that it’s difficult to support generous US spending on military and economic assistance to Ukraine when many American communities don’t have the resources to deal with the ramifications of migrants crossing into

the US at the southern border, a rise in drug overdoses caused by fentanyl and other lab-produced synthetic opioids, and a homelessness crisis in his state.

Biden has repeatedly stated that the United States will help Ukraine “as long as it takes” to repel the Russian invasion that began on February 24 of last year. Privately, administration officials have warned Ukrainian officials that there is a limit to the patience of a narrowly divided Congress—and American public—for the costs of a war with no clear end. Congress approved about $113 billion in economic, humanitarian and military spending in 2022.

The poll shows 19 percent of Americans have a great deal of confidence in Biden’s ability to handle the situation in Ukraine, while 37 percent say they have only some confidence and 43 percent have hardly any.

Views of Biden’s handling of the war divide largely along partisan lines. Among Democrats, 40 percent say they have a great deal of confidence in Biden to handle the situation, 50 percent have some confidence and 9 percent have hardly any. Among Republicans, a large majority (76 percent) say they have hardly any confidence. Those numbers are largely unchanged since last May.

Janice Fortado, 78, of Ipswich, Massachusetts, said Biden deserves credit for his handling of the war. She agreed with Biden’s hesitance early in the war about sending advanced and offensive weaponry out of concern that it would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a pretext to ex -

pand the war beyond Ukraine

and spur a larger global conflict.

But as the war has dragged on—and Ukrainian forces have held up against a more formidable Russian military—some of that resistance has melted away. Biden has approved sending light multiple rocket launchers known as HIMARS, Patriot missile systems, Bradley fighting vehicles, Abrams tanks, and more. Biden, however, continues to balk at Ukraine’s request for fighter jets.

“As my opinion evolved, I came to wish we had offered more to Ukraine sooner,” said Fortado, a Democrat, who added that she hopes the US and allies change their mind on the fighter jets.

“We seem to have done a drip, drip, drip. I understand why it is they were hesitant, but we are now beyond that point.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., before winning the speakership, vowed that Republicans wouldn’t write a “blank check” for Ukraine once they were in charge. And some of the most right-leaning Republicans lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky over his support of a $1.7 trillion spending bill passed in December that included about $47 billion for Ukraine.

Alex Hoxeng, 37, of Midland, Texas, said he expected Republicans to take a tougher line on Ukraine spending.

“I think Biden isn’t worried enough about inflation,” said Hoxeng, a Republican. “We should just stay out of it. Ukraine is halfway around the world and we have our own problems.”

A majority of Americans, 63 percent, still favor imposing economic sanctions on Russia, the poll shows, though that too has decreased from the 71 percent who said that in May 2022.

And 59 percent say limiting damage to the US economy is more important than effectively sanctioning Russia, even if that means sanctions are less effective. Almost a year ago, in March 2022, the situation was reversed: 55 percent said it was a bigger priority to sanction Russia effectively, even if it meant damage to the US economy.

Shandi Carter, 51, of Big Spring, Texas, said she’s become frustrated with the global ramifications the war has had on consumers, including volatile gas prices and increasing food costs. Carter, who tends to vote Republican, said she’s been displeased with Biden’s handling of the crisis but doesn’t think Donald Trump would have done any better had

Continued on A13

The CBO’s projection for the socalled X-date will provide investors with a new focus for when the federal government will be at risk of a payments default. Yellen on Tuesday reiterated her warning that an “economic and financial catastrophe” would ensue if Congress doesn’t act.

The CBO highlighted that the “Treasury could run out of funds before July” if tax receipts—including in the crucial April time frame—come in weaker than it projects. CBO Director Phillip Swagel told reporters his agency will update the X-date estimate in May.

Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, have threatened to hold off on lifting the debt ceiling until Democrats agree to cut future spending.

President Joe Biden has refused to negotiate over the issue, but has opened parallel talks on deficit reduction with Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The government hit the statutory limit for outstanding debt, $31.4 trillion, on Jan. 19. Wall Street analysts have estimated that the extraordinary accounting measures that the Treasury has available to it to keep under the limit amount to about $500 billion.

The CBO’s new budget estimates provide a baseline for lawmakers to engage on drafting legislation for the 2024 fiscal year. The White House is expected to release its own budget plan on March 9, while Republicans aim to pass theirs by April. Bloomberg News

Goldman growth fund boosts bets on India as China interest cools

By Cathy Chan

GOLDMAN Sachs Group

Inc. is ramping up investing its clients’ money in India and developed markets in Asia-Pacific as interest in China cools amid political and economic friction.

The New York-based bank is targeting to invest a quarter of its newly-raised $5.2 billion growth fund in the region, people familiar with the matter said, who asked not to be named discussing internal information.

In an interview this month, Stephanie Hui, co-head of alternative investing in Asia at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said the bank has “dialed up” in India, while overall investors are diverting some emerging market capital that was previously earmarked for China.

“While there’s excitement about China’s reopening, the capital markets haven’t rebounded yet and deal flow consequently hasn’t fully bounced back either,” she said. “Public side investors are seeing some flows back into the stock market, but on the private side, there is still a bit of a time gap. In the meantime, India and Japan have been sharing the limelight.”

China is struggling to attract capital after the nation’s protracted Covid Zero policy and a crackdown on private enterprise, including on its biggest tech firms, stunted the economy over the past years. At the same time, India— and its fast-growing economy— has emerged as big bet for global financial firms, even though recent troubles at billionaire Gautam Adani’s business empire have dented the allure.

Also with rising interest rates and slumping stock markets, the global venture capital market has sputtered. Funding in India dropped to $2.7 billion last quarter, the lowest level in more than two years, according to CB Insights.

Asia has been the prime spot for the bank’s growth-related investments, comprising almost 50 percent of the total from 2003 to 2020, the people said.

Goldman’s growth fund has an average investment size in Asia of $30 million to $50 million. The firm this week led a $150 million investment in Indian fintech startup InsuranceDekho, an unusually large investment round that will help it target an under-served do -

mestic market. It has also invested Raputa Robotics in Japan, and LePure, a single-use bioprocessing solution provider in China.

Apart from India, the current bright spots are in Japan, Korea and Australia, Hui said.

The bank last year poached David Grayce from Pacific Equity Partners in Australia, rehired SJ Lee from TPG Capital for its Korea business and has built out its Japan team for growth investing to six people, said Hui, who’s also co-head of growth equity within the asset management division.

Overall, Goldman now has 35 private equity investment professionals for its growth and buyout team in Asia. To strengthen its business in China, it relocated partner, Michael Hui, to Shanghai in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The firm has also beefed up its fund-raising capabilities, recruiting three managing directors, including Craig Balenzuela from Queensland Investment Corporation in Australia, Yugo Yamamoto from Guggenheim Partners in Japan and Meng Zhang from Ares Management in China. In late 2019, Stuart Wrigley relocated to Asia as head of alternative capital markets & strategy and was named a partner in November.

Last year, the firm raised $72 billion for third-party alternative platforms, including across real estate, private equity and credit platforms as part of an overhaul by

Chief Executive Officer David Solomon to reduce its balance sheet investment portfolio. In 2022, the bank trimmed its on-balance sheet alternative investments by $9 billion to $59 billion, according to its latest earnings presentation. More balanced

WHILE China’s economy is now improving after the nation removed its Covid Zero restrictions at the end of last year, the ongoing geopolitical tensions and political jockeying in the US ahead of the next year’s election means relations could remain strained.

“Previously, say two to three years ago, the private equity market in Asia was very concentrated toward China due to sheer scale,” Hui said in the interview.  “Now we are more geographically balanced.”

Across Asia, Goldman will further build out its healthcare network and put capital to work in select enterprise software businesses and the consumer sector, while being more cautious on fintech, Hui said. In China, the team has also adjusted its focus in response to the broader environment while being “cautiously optimistic,” she said.

“We are calibrating accordingly. Our focus is on sustainability, healthcare and enterprise software, and we have investments in consumer, while being measured in tech.” Bloomberg News

THE nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned that the federal government would be at risk of a payment default as soon as July if lawmakers fail to raise the debt limit.

THE US Treasury Building is shown in this undated photo. The government hit the statutory limit for outstanding debt, $31.4 trillion, on January 19 and would be at risk of a payment default in July if lawmakers fail to raise the debt limit. BLOOMBERG

PRESIDENT Joe Biden speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they meet in the Oval Office of the White House on December 21, 2022, in Washington. Support among the American public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has softened as the Russian invasion nears a grim one-year milestone. AP/PATRICK SEMANSKY

The World

South Korea defense report revives ‘enemy’ label for North

By Hyung-Jin Kim The Associated Press

papers reflect the changing rocky ties between the two Koreas. Past South Korean documents called North Korea the “main enemy,” “present enemy” or “enemy” in times of animosity. But they avoided such references when relations were improved.

North Korea “doesn’t give up its nukes and is persistently posing military threats to us, so the North Korean government and military … is our enemy,” the 2022 South Korean defense white paper issued Thursday said.

The document noted that in December, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called South Korea “our undoubted enemy” in a speech at a key ruling party meeting. It also cited the passage of a new North Korean law authorizing pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons in a broad range of scenarios.

The document said the North Korean nuclear program and provocations “are seriously threatening our security.” It said the main objectives of South Korean defense policies include bracing for threats and a potential invasion by North Korea, deterring a war on the Korean Peninsula and contributing to a peaceful future Korean reunification.

Korea its “main enemy” in 1995, a year after North Korea threatened to turn Seoul into “sea of fire”—rhetoric the North has since repeatedly used when confrontations flared with the South.

During a previous era of interKorean detente in the 2000s, South Korea stopped using the enemy terminology, but revived it after 50 South Korean navy sailors were killed in a torpedo attack blamed on North Korea in 2010.

South Korea again avoided using enemy labels when it was governed by Yoon’s liberal predecessor Moon Jae-in, who espoused greater reconciliation with North Korea. Defense documents published during Moon’s 2017-2022 rule didn’t mention North Korea by name when they said South Korea’s military “considers any force that threatens and violates the sovereignty, territory, people, and properties of the Republic of Korea as an enemy.”

Biden offers rare praise for Musk as Tesla opens charger network

By Akayla Gardner

PRESIDENT Joe Biden hailed Elon Musk’s decision to open part of Tesla Inc.’s charging network to other electric vehicles as a “big deal,” flashing a potential thaw in an otherwise frosty relationship between the billionaire and White House.

economy, Biden last June shot back that he wished Musk “lots of luck on his trip to the moon.”

North Korea conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests in 2022, including simulated nuclear attacks on South Korea. In response, South Korea’s conservative government led by President

Yoon Suk Yeol has been seeking a stronger US security commitment and boosting its own military capabilities.

Descriptions of North Korea in past South Korean defense white

North Korea didn’t immediately respond to the revived use of enemy terminology in the South Korean defense paper, though it has lashed out at past such labels, calling them provocations that demonstrated South Korean hostility.

South Korea first called North

The latest defense paper refers to Kim Jong Un by name without any of his titles, while previous papers issued under Moon’s government used both his name and titles—“Chairman Kim Jong Un” or “State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un.”

Yoon, who took office in May last year, has vowed a stern response to North Korean provocations. During his election campaign, Yoon wrote on Facebook that “the main enemy is North Korea” after it conducted a series of missile tests.

Ruling Taliban display rare division in public over bans

By Rahim Faiez

The Associated Press

ISLAMABAD—A rare public show of division within the ranks of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban emerged in recent days when Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, a powerful government figure, gave a speech seen as implicit criticism of the movement’s reclusive supreme leader.

The Taliban leadership has been opaque since the former insurgents’ takeover of the country in August 2021, with almost no indication of how decisions are made.

In recent months, the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has appeared to take a stronger hand in directing policy.

In particular, it was on his orders that the Taliban government banned women and girls from universities and schools after the sixth grade.

The bans raised a fierce international uproar, increasing Afghanistan’s isolation at a time when its economy has collapsed—and worsening a humanitarian crisis. The bans also appeared to contradict previous policies by the Taliban government. Between the Taliban takeover until the December ban on attending universities, women had been allowed to continue their studies. Taliban officials repeatedly promised that girls would be allowed to attend secondary school, but a decision to allow them back last year was suddenly reversed.

Haqqani made his comments in a speech over the weekend to a graduation ceremony at an Islamic religious school in the eastern province of Khost.

“Monopolizing power and hurting the reputation of the

entire system are not to our benefit,” Haqqani said, according to video clips of the speech released on social media by his supporters. “The situation cannot be tolerated,” he added.

Haqqani said now that the Taliban have taken power, “more responsibility has been placed on our shoulders and it requires patience and good behavior and engagement with the people.” He said the Taliban must “soothe the wounds of the people” and act in a way that the people do not come to hate them and religion.

Haqqani did not refer to Akhundzada, but the remarks were seen by many commenting on social media as directed at him. Haqqani also did not mention the issue of women’s education, but he has said publicly in the past that women and girls should be allowed to go to school and universities.

Zabihullah Mujahed, the top spokesman for the Kabul govern -

ment, said in an apparent reaction to Haqqani’s comments—without naming him—that criticism is best voiced privately.

“If someone criticizes the emir, minister, or any other official, it is better—and Islamic ethics also say—that he should express his criticism directly and secretly to him,” not in public, he said.

Akhundzada, an Islamic scholar, almost never appears in public and hardly ever leaves the Taliban heartland in southern Kandahar province.

He surrounds himself with other religious scholars and tribal leaders who oppose education and work for women. Only one known photo of him, years old, exists.

Akhundzada came to Kabul only once since the Taliban takeover to give a speech to an assembly of pro-Taliban clerics, though he was not shown in media coverage at the closed event.

The Taliban have typically dealt

with internal differences behind the scenes, and Haqqani’s comments “are a major escalation,” said Michael Kugelman, the deputy director of the Asia program and senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center. The Taliban leaders have the same broad vision, but “in Kandahar, they’re hermits, they’re not involved in the day-to-day,” said Kugelman. In Kabul, they have to govern and provide services, he added.

Haqqani leads a faction of the Taliban known as the Haqqani network, built around the family of the same name centered in Khost. The network battled US-led Nato troops and former Afghan government forces for years and was notorious for attacks on civilians and suicide bombings in Kabul.

The US government maintains a $10 million bounty on Sirajuddin Haqqani for attacks on American troops and Afghan civilians.

His comments pointed to an apparent difference between some senior Taliban, who have had to rapidly adjust to the demands of government after two decades of fighting as insurgents.

When they took power in 2021, Taliban officials said they wanted better ties to the world. They said they would not return to the social restrictions on women or punishments, such as public lashings, that they imposed during their first time in power in the 1990s.

But over the nearly 20 months since, the Taliban have barred women from most jobs, middle school and high school as well as from parks. They’ve also ordered women to wear head-totoe clothing in public.

The Associated Press writer Riazat Butt contributed to this report

“In building our EV charging network, we have to ensure that as many chargers work for as many drivers as possible,” Biden tweeted Wednesday, citing an agreement announced earlier in the day that 7,500 of Tesla’s charging stations across the US would be available to all electric vehicle users by the end of 2024.

“That’s a big deal, and it’ll make a big difference,” Biden said, alluding to the famous phrase he uttered nearly 13 years ago when he was vice president to Barack Obama and they secured enactment of the historic health care law.

The comments offered rare praise for Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla, who has had a combative relationship with the president since he took office.

“Thank you, Tesla is happy to support other EVs via our Supercharger network,” Musk replied to Biden.

Biden has rarely mentioned Musk or Tesla even when discussing the automobile industry or his administration’s efforts to champion electric vehicles. Events at which the White House promoted electric cars without acknowledging Tesla’s role in the market have rankled Musk. In a 2022 tweet, he accused Biden of being “unable to say the word ‘Tesla’.”

After Biden invited the CEOs of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. to the White House, without extending an invitation to Musk’s Tesla, the billionaire tweeted that “Biden is treating the American public like fools.” He added that the president is “a damp sock puppet in human form.”

As Musk jabbed Biden about the

And after Musk purchased Twitter Inc. late last year, Biden said it was worth investigating the billionaire’s relationships with other countries. Musk’s consortium to purchase Twitter included foreign investors, and Tesla derives 25 percent of its revenue from China.

He also accused the social network of spreading falsehoods. “Now what are we all worried about? Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that sends and spews lies all across the world,” Biden told donors at a Democratic fundraiser in November.

Musk has offered praise for many of Biden’s political adversaries. Last year, he encouraged Americans to support Republican candidates in the midterm elections.

He is a longtime donor to Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and attended a conference with him last year. In November, Musk said he would back Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run for president, if he made that move.

“My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist. I had hoped that would the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far,” Musk said.

Yet Musk has also indicated he is a savvy Washington operator.

In January, he held meetings with both McCarthy and with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. During his Washington visit, Musk also met with two top Biden White House officials, John Podesta, a senior adviser on clean energy innovation and implementation, and Mitch Landrieu, a senior adviser and coordiNator on infrastructure.

By making its Supercharger network interoperable, Tesla is now eligible for funding as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law passed last year. Bloomberg News

New Zealand searches for missing as Cyclone Gabrielle death toll rises

By Tracy Withers

NEW ZEALAND is still searching for people missing in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle amid fears the death toll will continue to climb.

Five people are now confirmed dead after the cyclone devastated large areas of the nation’s North Island, causing landslips and flooding that forced thousands from their homes and left many communities cut off and without power.

We are using every available resource to find those who are missing and rescue those we know about but haven’t yet been able to get to,” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told reporters Thursday evening. “I’ve just returned from Gisborne where the damage is extensive and people are in a state of shock. There’s no doubt communities are under enormous pressure.”

New Zealand faces a significant cleanup task to repair roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson said there will be a sizable impact on the economy, which will affect the government’s operating and capital

spending plans in the current and subsequent years, though it is too soon to estimate the cost.

Police said more than 3,500 people have been registered as uncontactable, the vast majority from the Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti regions on the east of the North Island, with telecommunications outages making it difficult to contact those missing.

“We know many people are concerned about family members and friends,” it said. “Police are focused on locating those unaccounted for and reaching anyone who may have been isolated by floodwaters.”

Power is slowly being restored in some areas but more than 100,000 homes remain without electricity, while stores are running low on essential supplies.

Army ships and truck convoys are helping bring water and other necessities to the largest towns, but many roads remain closed to normal traffic and could be for some time.

Assistant Chief of Defense Darren Webb said New Zealand is assessing offers of international assistance, including from neighboring Australia, but currently feels it has the resources to cope alone. Bloomberg News

SEOUL, South Korea—South Korea called North Korea “our enemy” in its biennial defense document published Thursday, reviving the label for its rival for the first time in six years, as tensions worsen between the two countries.

SOUTH Korean army soldiers patrol along the barbed-wire fence in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. South Korea called North Korea “our enemy” in its biennial defense document published Thursday, reviving the label for its rival for the first time in six years, as tensions worsen between the two. AP/AHN YOUNG-JOON

TALIBAN acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani speaks during a graduation ceremony at the police academy in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 5, 2022. A rare public show of division has arisen in the ranks of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban. A senior Taliban figure publicly criticized the group’s leadership in a speech, accusing some of monopolizing power. The comments by Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani were seen as directed at the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada. AP

PRESIDENT Joe Biden during an event on the South Lawn of the White House in August 2021. BLOOMBERG

Paraguay leader praises Taiwan as ‘lighthouse of democracy’

By Huizhong Wu The Associated Press

Ukraine aid support softens in the US, says AP-NORC poll

he won the 2020 election.

“I just wish it was over. I wish it had never started,” Carter said.

“It didn’t matter if there was a Democrat or Republican there. Putin was going to do what he wanted to do.”

(59 percent to 21 percent). Support has softened at least slightly among both Democrats and Republicans since last May.

Mario Abdo Benitez was welcomed with an honor guard as he walked alongside Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on a red carpet in front of the Presidential House. Abdo arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday on a five-day visit.

Taiwan is closely watching as Paraguay is set to hold presidential elections in which the opposition party candidate has said he would break diplomatic ties with Taiwan if elected, according to local media reports.

Since Tsai was elected in 2016, China has been on a pressure campaign to poach the island’s remaining diplomatic allies. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes any form of exchange between Taiwan and the governments of other countries. Taiwan cur -

rently has 14 diplomatic allies.

“I want to express my deepest and most sincere respect to the Taiwanese people for not giving up their brave struggle for freedom and the safeguarding of their sovereignty,” Abdo said. “In the face of continued threats and the tense situation, Taiwan’s people have not given up their resolution for peace, continuing to play the role of a lighthouse of democracy in the region.”

Abdo also thanked Taiwan for its help during the Covid-19 pandemic and said his country’s economy suffered the least of Latin American countries during the pandemic as a result of that assistance.

Tsai did not speak about the possible loss of Paraguay as a diplomatic ally, instead thanking

Abdo for his visit and speaking of deepening economic cooperation between the two sides.

“I want to thank President Abdo for speaking in support of Taiwan’s participation in international forums many times,” said Tsai in a speech ahead of a private meeting with the Paraguayan president.

In December 2021, Taiwan lost Nicaragua as a diplomatic ally after the Central American country’s president won re-election in a vote the White House said was rigged. Nicaragua then said it would officially recognize only China.

In 2022, Honduras, another Taiwan ally, also made Taiwan

and China part of its presidential campaign. As a candidate, Xiomara Castro said she would switch diplomatic recognition to China if elected. But after Castro assumed power, her administration said the government would continue to maintain ties with Taiwan for now.

Though Taiwan has lost allies, it has also stepped up official exchanges with countries such as Lithuania and Slovakia, which do not formally recognize Taiwan as a country.

As part of his visit, Abdo met with Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and attended a conference on women’s empowerment with Tsai.

Overall, the poll shows that about a quarter of Americans, 26 percent, now say the US should have a major role in the situation, down from as high as 40 percent in March 2022. Still, 49 percent say the US should have a minor role, and just 24 percent say it should have no role.

Since last March, the percentage of Democrats saying the US should have a major role has dipped slightly from 48 percent to 40 percent, while among Republicans it has dropped from 35 percent to 17 percent.

Democrats also remain more likely than Republicans to favor imposing economic sanctions on Russia (75 percent to 60 percent), accepting refugees from Ukraine (73 percent to 42 percent), providing weapons to Ukraine (63 percent to 39 percent) and sending government funds to Ukraine

Tom Sadauskas, 68, a political independent from northern Virginia, said he doesn’t believe an end to the war is near. That makes him worried about the direction of American support for a conflict that he believes could have reverberations far beyond Ukraine if Putin is successful.

“I worry that as a country we get easily distracted,” said Sadauskas, who approves of Biden’s handling of the war thus far. “It’s easy to say, ‘It’s a faraway country. That it really doesn’t matter.’ But if Ukraine goes, what is our attitude going to be when Putin decides to move on and threaten one of our smaller neighboring Nato countries?” (The poll of 1,068 adults was conducted Jan. 2630 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points).

Russia claims minor Ukraine progress; Kyiv readies offensive

By Susie Blann

The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine—Russian forces claimed some battlefield success Wednesday as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine labored to gain momentum almost a year after it began, while Ukraine said it needs another few months to stage its own offensive.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops broke through two Ukrainian defensive lines in the eastern Luhansk region and pushed back Ukrainian troops some three kilometers (two miles), forcing them to leave behind equipment and the bodies of those killed.

It was not possible to independently verify Moscow’s claim. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.

Russian artillery, drones and missiles have relentlessly pounded Ukrainian-held areas in the country’s east for months, indiscriminately hitting civilian targets and wreaking destruction, as the war largely slowed to a grinding stalemate in the winter. Moscow is hungry for some progress after months of setbacks.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said his country’s forces would need “a few months” to learn how to use new Western weapons before they can try and push the Russians out of Ukraine.

The Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which together make up the industrial Donbas region bordering Russia, continue to bear the brunt of Russia’s bombardments as Moscow reportedly moves more troops into the area.

In Luhansk, the number of Russian ground and air attacks is “growing every day,” Gov. Serhii Haidai said on Ukrainian TV.

“The Russians were able to transfer new forces for the offensive and now they are trying to overwhelm us with sheer human mass,” Haidai said.

Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said Wednesday that one town had come under “nonstop” fire from multiple rocket launchers for over three hours the previous day that damaged at least 12 residential buildings.

At least 12 civilians were wounded when Russian forces struck a five-story apartment block in the city of Pokrovsk, Kyrylenko said. Two others remained under the rubble.

Meanwhile, Kyiv’s military administration said that six apparent reconnaissance balloons were detected floating over the capital on Wednesday. Ukrainian air defense systems shot down “most” of them, an online statement read, adding that the balloons “could carry corner reflectors and certain reconnaissance equipment” and were designed to “identify and deplete” Ukraine’s air

defenses.

The statement promised more details about the objects following “a detailed study and analysis.”

With the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war approaching, followed by improved spring weather, Western officials and analysts say the fighting could be nearing a critical phase when both sides look to launch offensives.

The Kremlin is striving to secure eastern areas it illegally annexed in September— the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions—and where it claims its rule is welcomed. ProMoscow separatists have controlled part of Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk province since 2014.

“The enemy, trying to take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, continues to focus his main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Shakhtarsk areas,” the Ukrainian military reported, referencing towns in the two provinces as well as on the eastern edge of the neighboring Kharkiv region.

Kyiv’s continued defense of Bakhmut, a Donetsk province mining town that for months has been a key target of Russia’s campaign in the east, has been “strategically sound” because it sapped Moscow’s momentum, a US think tank said.

Kyiv’s defense has “degraded significant Russian forces,” including units from the Wagner Group, a Russian

private military contractor, the Institute for the Study of War said late Tuesday.

Some analysts had doubted the wisdom of Ukraine holding out in Bakhmut because it could hurt the chances of its expected spring offensive.

On Wednesday, however, the Wagner Group’s owner acknowledged in comments to Russian media that it could take weeks for his forces to encircle the city.

Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency quoted Yevgeny Prigozhin as saying that his personnel might have Bakhmut surrounded in “March-April.”

“Although it is hard to estimate. They (Ukrainian forces) are now getting new types of weapons. (It’s) 100 percent that we will be destroying these (Germanmade) Leopard (tanks), 100 percent that we will figure out how to burn them down. But it is still an important factor,” Prigozhin said.

Prigozhin said through his spokespeople earlier this week that the “toughest battles” were underway north of Bakhmut. His soldiers were storming the area “house by house, square meter by square meter” while the Ukrainian army intensified artillery fire and deployed up to 500 new fighters to the embattled city every day, he said.

Ukrainian officials have not provided details about their troop movements and tactics to defend the city.

Last week, Prigozhin, a millionaire who has close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was dubbed “Putin’s chef” for his lucrative Kremlin catering contracts, said that it could take 18 months to two years for Russia to fully secure control of Donbas.

He predicted the war could go on for three years if Moscow decides to capture even more territory east of the Dnieper River.

Prigozhin’s remarks represented a rare acknowledgment of the difficulties the Kremlin has faced in eastern Ukraine, where it initially expected its troops to wrap up within weeks after invading the country on Feb. 24, 2022.

Russia suffered a series of humiliating setbacks in the fall when the Ukrainian military launched successful counteroffensives to reclaim broad swaths of territory in the east and the south.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday claimed that Western support for Kyiv’s war effort was prearranged, telling the lower house of Russian parliament that “the US and its satellites are waging a comprehensive hybrid war following years of preparation.”

Lavrov said a revised Russian foreign policy doctrine to be published soon will emphasize the need to “end the Western monopoly on shaping frameworks of international life.”

TAIPEI, Taiwan—The outgoing president of Paraguay, whose country is one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies, spoke of his admiration for the island democracy while on a state visit to Taipei on Thursday.

TAIWAN’S President Tsai Ing-wen, left, and Paraguay’s President Mario Abdo Benitez walk past an honor guard at the Presidential House in Taipei, Taiwan on Thursday, February 16, 2023. The outgoing president of Paraguay, whose country is one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies, spoke of his admiration of the island’s democracy Thursday while on a state visit. AP/JOHNSON LAI

SVITLANA kneels next to the coffin of her husband Serhii, 48, during his funeral in Tarasivka village, near Kyiv, Ukraine on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Serhii Havryliuk, an officer of the Azov Assault Brigade, died while defending the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on April 12, 2022 against the Russians. Serhii has finally been buried after DNA tests confirmed his identity. AP/EMILIO MORENATTI

China’s illegal police stations in the world

The US house of Representatives last week 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.”

US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said the Chinese balloon’s intrusion was part of a pattern of aggressive behavior by Beijing. The ambassador noted China’s recent beaming of military-grade laser on a Philippine coast guard patrol vessel, the harassment of US planes by Chinese jets, and China’s opening of illegal police stations in the US, Ireland and other countries.

“If China wants to be a respected member of the international community, then it should act appropriately to certain basic premises,” Emanuel said. “That is, you don’t open police stations in other countries… as if your laws don’t have any boundaries. This is not exactly the qualities and characteristics of the good neighbor policy.”

A CNN article—Exclusive: China operating over 100 police stations across the world with the help of some host nations, report claims—written by Nina dos Santos said China has set up more than 100 overseas police stations across the globe to monitor, harass and in some cases repatriate Chinese citizens living in exile, using bilateral security arrangements struck with countries in Europe and Africa to gain a widespread presence internationally.

“Madrid-based human rights campaigner Safeguard Defenders says it found evidence China was operating 48 additional police stations abroad since the group first revealed the existence of 54 such stations in September. Its new release— dubbed “Patrol and Persuade”—focuses on the scale of the network and examines the role that joint policing initiatives between China and several European nations, including Italy, Croatia, Serbia and Romania have played in piloting a wider expansion of Chinese overseas stations than was known until the organization’s revelations came out.”

“Among the fresh claims leveled by the group: that a Chinese citizen was coerced into returning home by operatives working undercover in a Chinese overseas police station in a Paris suburb, expressly recruited for that purpose, in addition to an earlier disclosure that two more Chinese exiles have been forcibly returned from Europe—one in Serbia, the other in Spain,” the report said.

“When approached by CNN about Safeguard Defenders’ original allegations, China’s foreign affairs ministry said the overseas stations were staffed by volunteers. However, the organization’s latest report claims one police network it examined had hired 135 people for its first 21 stations. The organization also sourced a three-year contract for a worker hired at an overseas station in Stockholm.”

Undeclared consular activities outside of a nation’s official diplomatic missions are highly unusual and illegal, unless a host nation has given its explicit consent, and the Safeguard Defenders report claims China’s overseas offices predate the pandemic by several years.

The report has prompted investigations in at least 13 different countries so far and inflamed an increasingly heated diplomatic tussle between China and nations like Canada, home to a large Chinese diaspora.

Safeguard Defenders stumbled on the police networks while trying to assess the scale of China’s efforts to persuade some of its people to return to China even against their will, which, based on official Chinese data, could number almost a quarter of a million people around the world.

“What we see coming from China is increasing attempts to crack down on dissent everywhere in the world, to threaten people, harass people, make sure that they are fearful enough so that they remain silent or else face being returned to China against their will,” said Safeguard Defenders Campaign Director Laura Harth.In November, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Homeland Security Committee he was deeply concerned about the revelations. “It is outrageous to think that the Chinese police would attempt to set up shop in New York, let’s say, without proper coordination. It violates sovereignty and circumvents standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation processes,” he said.

China, however, pushed back on claims it was operating police stations on US soil, calling the New York “service station” volunteer-run, after the FBI director said he was “very concerned” about unauthorized stations that have been linked to Beijing’s influence operations.

Ireland has shut down the Chinese police station found on its territory, while the Netherlands, which has taken similar measures, has a probe underway, as does Spain.

Harth told CNN the organization will likely find more stations in the future. “It’s the tip of the iceberg,” she said. “China is not hiding what it is doing. They expressly say that they are going to expand these operations so let’s take that seriously.”

An alarming increase in teenage pregnancies

sonny M. angara

Better Days

AR eCenT Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report showed an alarming increase in girls getting pregnant during their formative years. The data indicates that births to mothers aged 10 to 14 years old have increased every year since 2016 even while the overall birth rate among all adolescents has gone down. According to the PSA, the rate of pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 14 increased from 11 percent or 1,903 births in 2016 to 2,113 registered births in 2020.

While the decline in pregnancies among 15- to 19-year-old girls is a welcome development, the increasing rate of even younger girls becoming mothers is indeed a cause of concern that cannot be left unchecked. What’s worse is that majority of registered adolescent live births involved men who were three to five years older than the girls—in other words, who were adolescents themselves.

Aside from the social and moral issues surrounding teenage pregnancies, there are also serious implications on their health in the short and long term. Evidence shows that pregnancies and births taking place before the girls’ bodies are fully developed is one of the leading causes of disability-adjusted life years and deaths among girls. In addition, ad-

olescent mothers are more prone to higher blood pressure resulting to seizures (eclampsia) and systemic infections than women aged 20 to 24 years. Babies of adolescent mothers also face higher risks of low birth weight, preterm birth, and severe neonatal condition, based on the findings of the World Health Organization (WHO).

UNICEF noted that early childbearing and delivery can derail a girls’ healthy development to adulthood since many of them are pressured or forced to drop out of school to raise their children. There is also data citing the negative social consequences on the girls such as a reduced status in their homes and communities, stigmatization, rejection and violence by family members, peers and partners and

early forced marriage. Legally, significant strides have been taken to protect young girls and to prevent adolescent pregnancies. Republic Act 10354, or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, orders the provision of age and development-appropriate reproductive health education and includes teen pregnancy as among the relevant subjects. Meanwhile, RA 11648 increased the age of consent from 12 to 16 years of age, to tighten protection against consensual, abusive, and exploitative sexual acts involving minors.

In the previous administration, then President Rodrigo Roa Duterte issued Executive Order (EO) 141, declaring as a national policy the implementation of measures to address the root causes of the rising number of adolescent pregnancies and to strengthen the adolescents’ capacity to make autonomous and informed decisions about their reproductive and sexual health by ensuring access to comprehensive sexuality education and reproductive health and rights services.

EO 141 mandates several national government agencies such as the Commission on Population and Development and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to formulate action plans and to ensure the implementation of related programs and projects for the pre-

vention of adolescent pregnancies. To further these efforts and to revisit the implementation of related laws, I filed Senate Resolution No. 462 to look into the rising prevalence of pregnancies among 10 to 14-year-olds in order to come up with a whole-of-government approach in developing a policy framework to prevent early childbearing and its negative consequences.

One of the interventions worth considering in preventing teenage pregnancies and its consequences is through a policy shift towards the inclusion of men in the issue of reproduction through a focus on boys’ education, which is a practical and transformative approach that is acceptable to both men and women according to UNICEF. A research article by Australian medical scholars found that health care professionals and educators “did not consider young males to be of importance” in the prevention of adolescent pregnancy, when boys should be acknowledged as part of this issue that includes the acceptance of traditional masculinity leading to unintended pregnancies.

Another approach is through the provision of improved access to better maternal care for pregnant and parenting adolescents. Take for example Mexico’s multisectoral National Strategy for the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy that includes the establishment of sexual and

Operational leases as new means to build our credible defense posture

By Amb. Albert Del Rosario

The latest case of Chinese bullying was the February 6, 2023 incident at Ayungin Shoal where the Chinese directed a military-grade laser against the Filipino crew on a support mission, causing temporary blindness to our countrymen. This worrisome incident highlights the need to find new ways to build our country’s credible defense posture to deter further bullying in our own waters.

As part of our defense assets, our country has long relied on “excess defense articles”—meaning excess equipment donated to us by other countries.

Excess defense articles remain useful to increase our capabilities; however, the cost for reconditioning and maintaining such articles becomes prohibitive over time. The reconditioning itself is expensive and usually takes nine to 12 months to undertake.

Such excess defense articles are normally given on an “as is, where is” basis after consideration by the donor country that it no longer

needs such articles. This narrows our choices on the kinds of defense assets to acquire.

See DEL ROSARIO

Secretary. Since 2005 ✝ MEMBER OF

furbishment.

He is a former T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso Ruben M. Cruz Jr. Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes D. Edgard A. Cabangon Benjamin V. Ramos Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025. (Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807. (Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news.businessmirror@gmail.com www.news.businessmirror@gmail.com Printed by brown madonna Press, Inc.–Sun Valley Drive KM-15, South Superhighway, Parañaque, Metro Manila

Philippine Ambassador to the US and former Foreign Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Founder

Our present leadership is taking the correct steps in defending the West Philippine Sea by pursuing joint patrols with our allies and establishing the additional “Agreed Locations” under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

Our leadership should also engage with our allies to explore the possibility of operational leases of defense assets, as part of our calibrated options to increase our country’s defense capabilities.

Outright purchases of assets for our country’s defense are, of course, ideal but come at a high cost given our limited resources. As part of the options of our leadership, may we respectfully suggest the possibility of operational lease of defense assets, which may allow us to obtain newer equipment at lesser cost and with faster delivery time?

Operational leases may also give us more possibilities in terms of the types of defense assets to acquire.

A good analogy would be acquiring a car. Buying a new car is usually expensive. Reconditioning and maintaining a used and donated car may also be expensive overtime. But renting or leasing a car allows us to enjoy the benefits of acquiring a relatively new car, but at a cheaper price and without the waiting time for re-

As we have said before, we do not expect the US and our allies to fight our battles for us, but we count on their strong and unwavering assistance in building the strength and resources of the Philippines to meet challenges, especially in the context of relentless bullying by China in our own backyard.

The Philippines as ‘Ukay-Ukay’ Republic

LaBoREM EXERCEns

The other week, Laborem Exercens gave space to the collective statement of over 140 farmer, worker and small business organizations asking the Senators “to vote NO to rC eP.” Malacañang warned the senators that the Philippines “cannot afford to be left behind” in the imagined rC eP bandwagon in a sia. The country will miss the opportunity to export more and build a stronger economy under a regional free trade arrangement that is touted to be the biggest in the world. rC eP’s members include the e a st a sian dragons (China, Japan and South Korea), the countries down under (au stralia and New Zealand), and the nine a sean members (with the Philippines, the 10th a sean member, still awaiting Senate ratification of rC eP).

The government’s economic planners were economical in their explanations on how such an imagined opportunity will be lost.

An RCEP-led trade liberalization means more exports, stronger industrial and agricultural sectors, and more investments and jobs for Filipinos. Non-ratification of RCEP means “maiiwan ang Pilipinas sa Asya.”

The farmer, worker and small business organizations that signed on to the “NO to RCEP” campaign have taken a contrary position. Ratification now means further stagnation of the country’s industrial and agricultural sectors. These sectors will easily be pummeled by exports coming from the East Asian dragons, the countries down under, and the more competitive Asean members such as Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. This, in fact, is the conclusion made by Dr. Rashmi Banga, a senior economist of UNCTAD, a UN body monitoring global trade flows since the 1980s.

The more developed countries in the RCEP bloc will gain more in terms of bigger markets for their products. Not the Philippines and the poor Asean members lagging behind in development. The methodology used by Dr. Banga involves analysis of the present structures of the economies of the different trading partners, assessment of the comparative growth and decline of the economic sectors and subsectors of each country, estimation of the relative values or gains acquired or lost by the different trading partners before RCEP, and projections of what are likely to happen once RCEP becomes fully operational. This methodology is clearly more logical and scientific compared to the usual CGE modeling being done by Neda, which is based on imagined “perfect competition” conditions.

But should the Philippines reject RCEP fully?

What the “NO to RCEP” statement drafted under the leadership of the Federation of Free Farmers is saying: “Let us not put the cart before the horse.” The point is to have the Philippine economic house in order. This means having a credible survival and competitiveness program in place before diving into a bolder trade liberalization program (zero tariffs for most products originating from RCEP countries).

In relation to this, three major programs are needed. First, a program to enhance the competitiveness of Philippine industry and agriculture by lowering the cost of doing business. How can the country beat Vietnam in manufacturing and agricultural production when Vietnam’s electricity is 40 percent cheaper? Of course, there are other unresolved cost-of-doing-business issues that must be addressed. These include the perennial bureaucratic red tape, anarchic port and transport systems, and yes, smuggling that kills the local products through tax avoidance (misdeclaration, undervaluation).

The second sine qua non is hav-

Loving February

Tito Genova Valiente

annoTaTions

February holds the honor of holding on to the last chill for the cold season. In tropical places like ours, the month breathes wind, which when sustained can assume the threat of an impending storm. but the old observers in us know it is just this month, February, the harbinger of crisp air in the morning, a comfort from nature assuring us not everything about the climate has changed and that there is a month that may not be festive, but a last assurance before the arrival of a mean March and the cruel april, with the heat we attribute to the said two periods.

And yet February has a past and a calendrical burden.

ing an effective trade remedy program. The “NO to RCEP” coalition has been bombarding Neda, DA and DTI with complaints on the absence of an effective program to defend domestic producers and to counter dumping and import surges. A remedy program should be accessible to all Philippine producers, especially the small farmers and home-based micro entrepreneurs. The trouble is that the RCEP document is clear on trade liberalization but vague on trade disputes and the settlement of such disputes.

The third program is focused on the upgrading of the overall competitiveness of Philippine industrial and agricultural producers. This means the nation should get its act together, e.g., buy-Pinoy movement (look how aggressive America and EU are on their respective buydomestic programs), increased budget on R&D and innovation in support of local producers, greater academe-industry-agriculture collaboration, and public-people partnerships (e.g., farmer-government and labor-government partnership, not just corporate-government or PPP partnership).

Without the foregoing readiness program in place, saan pupulutin ang Pilipinas?

In the TWG hearings convened by Senate President Migz Zubiri and Senator Loren Legarda, the “NO to RCEP” coalition pointed out that the foolhardy effort of some quarters to push for ratification despite the absence of a clear survival and competitiveness program means the country is indeed headed to become an “Ukay-Ukay Republic.” Note that in the 1980s, when the IMF-World Bank team unilaterally imposed on the debt-saddled Philippines a program of “agricultural deregulation” and “import liberalization” sans any survivalcompetitiveness program, the two economic sectors sharply shrank and the country’s dependence on imports, including “ukay-ukay” garments and textiles, grew.

In the mid-1990s, after the Senate ratification of Philippine WTO membership, the industrial and agricultural sectors continued to stagnate. The Philippines became a “net agriculture-importing” country. Industries such as the tile industry, Marikina shoe industry, foundry, tire manufacture and so on disappeared. On the other hand, new “ukay-ukay” products such as Japan and Korean auto parts and appliance “surpluses,” including second-hand vehicles, emerged and began flooding the market.

Today, after the passage of the Rice Tariffication Law in 2019, the Philippines has cemented its position in the world rice market as the biggest importer. Meantime, rice consumers failed to get the promised cheaper rice, that is cheaper than the pre-RTL prices of 2017. With the proposed ratification of RCEP despite the clear absence of a survival and competitiveness program for the real sectors of the economy, it is not difficult to imagine what will happen. The Philippines shall indeed become an “Ukay-Ukay Republic.”

It was in February, the 4th in 1899, that the Philippine-American War was dated to have begun. The said war, vague and contentious, would be proclaimed as having ended in 1901. That terminus would be the start of the American colonization of the country, the beginning of an errant brotherhood between the two countries as conflicted as it is regularly comforting in times of storms, both meteorological and political.

The mosaic narrative that profoundly impacts the Philippines and the US is such that events disentangling the links between the two appear to have circulated only on days of various years in the month of February. While many historians posit the end of the PhilippineAmerican war (said to be staged) on the day Aguinaldo was captured, the old general would die on February 6, 1964.

On February 10, 1899, Rudyard Kipling’s “The White Man’s Burden: The United States and the Philippine Islands” was first published. The poem goes: Take up the White man’s burden–/Send forth the best ye breed–/ Go bind your sons to exile/To serve your captives’ need;/To wait in heavy harness/On fluttered folk and wild–/Your new-caught sullen peoples,/Half devil and half child.

The poem, seen as a celebration

of imperial conquest and poetically (in form) pushed for the benefits of colonization to the colonized, appeared in the debates in the American Congress on days leading to the ratification of the Treaty of Paris. The treaty, which became known as the “Treaty of Peace Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain.” would establish the formal hold of the US over the Philippines. And the rest would be a sweet and bitter history.

Unbeknownst to many, there was a small crisis that we experienced some years ago together with those who had studied in Japan. In our Japanese Studies Program in the Ateneo de Manila University, February used to be a busy month as it was then the Philippine-Japan Friendship Month. We organized international conferences on Philippine-Japan relations, lectures on Japanese cultures and films. These events were well covered by the media. But as the years went by, a parallel announcement would also take place in newspapers: the memorialization of the Rape of Manila.

In James C. Scott’s overwhelming Rampage, the author opens Chapter 12 with this paragraph: “Japanese marines fanned out the morning of February 9 through Malate, rounding up men, women, and children and marching them to St. Paul’s College, where troops assured residents they would protect them at the

Catholic school.” All of them would be herded inside a huge dining hall where “booby-trapped fixtures fell and detonated almost simultaneously. Witnesses would later recall the bright—almost blinding—flash of light that preceded the thunder of explosions.”

Scott writes: “Outside in the corridor the Japanese tossed grenades through the transoms, which exploded and caused more chaos. [Japanese] Marines then stormed the dining hall and opened fire. Others attacked survivors with bayonets.”

A witness “staggered through her feet in time to witness a Japanese marine yank a baby boy from his mother’s grasp and toss him into the air just as one might throw a ball.” Another witness would tell of a Japanese who stuck a baby with a bayonet right in the middle of his stomach. He would later write how he saw “the baby dangling with the bayonet still in his stomach,” and “how the impaled baby did not immediately die.”

In Bayview Hotel (a new structure now still stands in the same place), women were all gathered to be raped. A young girl who was earlier spared from sexual abuse because she told the Japanese soldiers she was menstruating was dragged back to one of the hotel’s upper floors: “She again protested that she was menstruating.

He did not believe her, so he took a piece of cotton on the end of his finger, inserted it inside her, and pulled it out.” She was spared but not her sister who was raped so many times she could not remember how many men assaulted her. On February 12, 1945, some 20 Japanese soldiers led by one officer entered the De La Salle College. Scott writes: “The assault on the brothers and refugees at De La Salle had lasted barely 20 minutes yet in that time Japanese marines had killed or mortally wounded 41 men, women and children, turning this once holy place (some killings happened in the chapel) into a hellhole.” We stopped celebrating the friendship month in February. The event now happens in the month of July.

For all this, February is turned into the Arts month. It is also the Love month because, come hell or high water, the 14th day is Valentine’s Day. Flowers are priced higher as if inspired by present inflation. Blooms rare are offered to the beloved; gifts also are given by the besotted. The day, no matter, leaves a space for the bittersweet, but no sadness is summoned for memories of deaths that took place some old, cold Februaries ago.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

Marcos appoints son of so-called ‘pinklawan’

appointment.

LiTo GaGni

PreSI deN T Marcos is walking his talk for unity when he appointed a son of known Marcos critic ra ndy david as undersecretary of the department of environment and Natural resources. a geologist, Carlos Primo Constantino dav id’s appointment was made last december but was announced only recently upon his arrival from a successful trip to Japan where he served as witness to various investments that Japanese companies are funneling into the country.

The appointment of a member of a family known for their acerbic write-ups on the Marcoses just goes to show that President Marcos means what he says when, upon garnering a landslide win, he offered his hand for a united take on the country’s future given the wreckage brought about by the pandemic that saw many businesses either close shop, face massive losses and see debts rise, and resulted in many people losing their employment.

That statesmanlike gesture comes at a critical juncture in our history, what with the massive debt that the country incurred due to the pandemic, more than P13 trillion, that would need a joint effort from all fronts so that the economy can

Angara

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reproductive health care centers for adolescents in municipalities determined to be at high-risk for young

again hum back and bring with it a medium-income status for the Philippines. In a way, the reopening of the economy has seen foot traffic to malls nearing pre-pandemic levels, which would augur well for the citizens.

The appointment cements Marcos’s legacy as it shows that his plaintive plea for unity is backed up by his desire to see through a progressive Philippines. We understand that even a new department secretary was appointed to an important economic post even when the President was told that his wife was photographed holding a photo placard of another aspiring presidential contender. Told about it, the President said he does not mind, and forthwith issued the

pregnancies and the promotion of socio-emotional and technical skills development including remedial actions to address basic skills deficits of these youths.

These are just some initiatives that can be undertaken in order to

With a united front, the President can look forward to more visits to other developed economies that will bring home the bacon for the country, just like in the case of his five-day state visit to Japan where he renewed the country’s economic ties and saw through the signing of several business partnerships that would mean more jobs, more revenues and more dollars with which to pay the debts incurred during the pandemic.

It is noteworthy that the country got over $13 billion or P708 billion investment pledges from his official visit to Japan. About 240 Philippine companies and 1,300 Japanese firms, composed of 3,472 business leaders, registered for the meetings held during Marcos’ historic Tokyo visit. From out of these meetings, there were at least 30 business deals forged.

These deals are estimated to create some 24,000 new jobs for Filipinos, helping not only the country’s growth but also see through a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Coming back, we have carried with us over $13 billion in contributions and pledges to benefit our people and create approximately 24,000 jobs and further solidify our economic environment,” Marcos said upon his arrival at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.

In a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, both sides

reduce and, eventually, get rid of unintended pregnancies among young girls. We all have a role to play in protecting and promoting the welfare of all young Filipinas.

Senator Sonny Angara has been in public ser-

have committed to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan, including c loser security ties with Tokyo over concerns about aggressive Chinese actions in the region.

Marcos and Kishida penned a deal to allow their armed forces to work together during disaster relief, an agreement seen as a step towards a broader pact that could allow the countries to deploy forces on each other’s soil, similar to the Visiting Forces Agreement the Philippines has with the US, which would boost maritime security and ensure greater protection for Filipino fishermen.

Japanese firms expressed strong interest in expanding operations in the Philippines during Marcos’s first official visit to Japan. The prospective deals include projects in clean and renewable energy, highly skilled manufacturing, infrastructure development, retail, healthcare, transportation, agriculture and digital transformation.

During his trip, Marcos held meetings with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, Toyota Motors Corp., Mitsumi Inc., Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., and Marubeni Corp., among others, and he was able to swing ODA support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which expressed its funding support to address the wide-ranging development needs of the country, especially in infrastructure.

vice for 18 years—9 years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and 9 as Senator. He has authored, co-authored, and sponsored more than 330 laws.  He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.

Dr. Rene E. ofreneo

Planters: SO 6 gives DA too much power on sugar imports

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

AGROUP of sugarcane planters on Thursday lamented that Sugar Order (SO) 6 provides the Department of Agriculture (DA) with “excessive” discretionary power in allocating the 440,000 metric tons (MT) of imported refined sugar.

T he Confederation of Sugar Producers Association (Confed) emphasized that Section 5 of SO 6 gives the DA the “final discretionary authority to approve import applications,” which it claimed is overstepping the powers of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

This is the first time such a condition is provided. This could constitute excessive discretionary power granted to the Department of Agriculture and a possible circumvention of the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA),” Confed said in a statement sent to reporters on Thursday.

T he group pointed out that SO 6 does not contain any provision that would “ensure transparency in the granting of import permits.”

T he BusinessMirror reported on Thursday that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who is concurrently serving as the DA secretary, will have the final say on the sugar allocation of every eligible importer under the latest importation

program of the national government.

(Related story: https:// businessmirror .com.ph/2023/02/16/sugarimport-allocation-requires-da-chiefnod/)

Under SO 6, the import allocation per importer will be based on the recommendation by the SRA board and will be approved by DA.

In the previous sugar import programs of the national government, the SRA board set a limit on the allowable import volume per importer or the allocation was prorated for each eligible importer. There is no formula that establishes the volume that any particular applicant may apply for. In contrast, Section 5 of Sugar Order No. 2 series of 2022-2023 has a specific provision for volume per eligible importer (pro-rated based on excise tax payments),” Confed said.

“Again, this allows for too much discretionary power in the hands of the DA (not SRA, which is left with only recom

mendatory authority under Sec. 5 of Sugar Order No. 6, Series of 2022-2023),” Confed added.

Furthermore, Confed flagged another provision in SO 6 that empowers the agriculture department to waive or reduce the performance bonds of eligible importers, claiming that it would be a gateway for “possible abuse of discretion.”

“ The waiver or reduction of Performance Bond by the Department of Agriculture takes away the authority from the agency (SRA) imposing such a requirement, which again is open to possible abuse of discretion,” it said.

Under Section 13 of SO 6, every allocation of imported sugar will be subjected to a bond of P850 per 50-kilogram bag unless otherwise waived or reduced by the DA in case of emergency, or when there is a need to address high consumer retail prices or upon justified circumstances.

Any waiver or reduction in the amount of the performance bond shall be effective only upon the issuance by the Department of Agriculture of an appropriate order or memorandum,” Section 13 read.

Confed also warned that another provision of SO 6 could hinder sugar producers’ cooperatives from participating under the latest sugar import program because of a problem with the definition of “consumers.”

C iting the import rules, Confed explained that eligible importers must be actually engaged in the selling of physi -

PBBM: DA HAS FUNDS FOR HALTING BIRD FLU SPREAD

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has assured the public that the Department of Agriculture has sufficient funds to control and curb the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the country.

cal sugar to domestic “consumers.”

However, the group argued that the definition of consumers under SO 6 excludes “actual final consumers” as it only listed manufacturers, industrials, retailers, repackers, wholesalers and traders as “consumers.”

“ If a producers’ coop, which is an SRAaccredited trader, only sells physical sugar to final consumers, and not to the other ‘consumers,’ it may not qualify for import allocation. This limits the number of producers cooperatives that may qualify,” it said.

T he planters group reiterated its call for a “transparent, fair and equitable” importation program that is open to all accredited international sugar traders and sugar producers on a prorata basis. The group disclosed that its member associations and cooperatives have “expressed” interest to participate under the latest sugar import program “subject to compliance with all legal requirements.”

“ We ask SRA to consider this as our desire to provide its members equal opportunity to participate in programs that will affect them directly,” it said. Confed produced the most volume of raw sugar in the previous crop year among all planters confederations in the country at 407,611.58 MT. The group accounted for 32.3 percent of the 1.262 million MT raw sugar produced by all planters confederations nationwide.

AT least 19 lawmakers, including Former President and incumbent House Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria MacapagalArroyo, filed a resolution on Thursday expressing their support for former President Rodrigo Duterte against the investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

I n their resolution, the lawmakers claimed that Duterte’s presidency “has   ushered   remarkable accomplishments brought about by his relentless campaign against illegal drugs, insurgency, separatism and terrorism, corruption in government and criminality thus making the life of every Filipino better, comfortable and peaceful.”

Furthermore, they argued that the country’s peace and order situation “considerably improved” because of the Duterte administration’s “holistic and whole of nation approach” in ending insurgency and

I n a statement, the DA said it is committed to stopping the spread of HPAI that has killed at least 2 million birds since the dreadful disease resurfaced in the country in February 2022.

T he DA said the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has 177.78 million for its avian influenza protection program that will roll out mitigating measures before and during outbreaks of bird flu.

The fund, which is higher than the allocation in past years, will also be used to respond to animal disease emergencies through early detection and reliable laboratory diagnostics,” it said.

“Aside from continuously establishing close coordination with the local government units (LGUs) and stakeholders, DA-BAI will carry on disease investigation activities and surveillance of quarantine zones and will systematically conduct culling and disposal of affected poultry animals at the first sign of detection,” added the DA, where President Marcos serves concurrently as Secretary.

T he authorities earlier assured the public that the impact of recent cases of bird flu on the overall poultry product supply of the country is insignificant. (Related story: https:// businessmirror com.ph/2023/02/15/government-bird-flu-casesunder-control/)

T he agriculture department is also reviewing its indemnification guidelines, particularly the amount for each culled bird, in its bid to encourage raisers to report suspected bird flu cases to authorities.

(Related story: https:// businessmirror .com. ph/2023/02/16/government-reviews-indemnification-scheme-for-poultry-raisers/)

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

for Duterte vs ICC

curbing the “drug menace” nationwide.

T he lawmakers claimed that this has led to “unprecedented growth” in the country’s exports and investments.

T hey also noted that the country has a “functioning and independent” judicial system.

Now,   therefore,  be it resolved as it is hereby resolved, that the House of  Representatives declares  unequivocal defense of Former  President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the 16th President of the Republic of   the Philippines, in any investigation   and/or prosecution by the ICC,” the resolution read.

T he authors of the resolution are:

Representatives Carmelo B. Lazatin II, Aurelio D. Gonzales, Anna York Bondoc-Sagum, Jose C. Alvarez, Mary Mitzi Cajayon-Uy, Richard I. Gomez, Wilton T. Kho, Loreto S. Amante, Edward S. Hagedorn, Edwin L. Olivarez, Eric M. Martinez

and Eduardo R. Rama Jr.

R epresentatives Dale B. Corvera, Zaldy S. Villa, Ma. Rene Ann Lourdes G. Matibag, Mohamad Khalid Q. Dimaporo, Johnny Ty Pimentel and Marlyn L. Primicias-Agabas were also authors of the resolution. E arlier, the Philippine government, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), filed a notice of appeal before the International Criminal Court (ICC)-Appeals Chamber seeking the reversal of the January 26 Pre-Trial Chamber’s (PTC) decision authorizing the resumption of the investigation on the abuses and deaths related to the anti-illegal drug of the Duterte administration. (Related story: https:// businessmirror .com.ph/2023/02/09/philippines-appeals-resumption-oficc-probe-into-deaths-duringanti-drugs-ops/)  Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

BOI starts plant-based food industry roadmap work

THE Board of Investments (BOI) said it has commenced the development of the Philippine Plant-based Food Industry Roadmap, starting with an industry appraisal study.

I n a statement on Thursday, the investment promotion agency unveiled that it has partnered with the University of the Philippines (UP) through the College of Home Economics-Department of Food Science and Nutrition.

T his partnership, BOI noted, conducted the Frontiers of the PlantBased Food Industry, which is a webinar that presented an “overview” of the local and global plant-based food industry and the opportunities for its further development.

“ This is very timely as the Covid-19 pandemic has created a new culture of healthy eating that includes patronizing plant-based products,” said Shirley Guevarra, Dean of the UP College of Home Economics.

Guevarra emphasized the “various” opportunities for plant-based foods in the Philippines.

M eanwhile, BOI Director for

Resource-Based Industries Raquel Echague said the BOI fully supports the administration’s direction to strengthen food value chains to achieve food security.

According to BOI, Echague also noted that the investment promotion agency shares the same aspirations with UP, food industry stakeholders, government agencies, and the entire nation towards developing the Philippine Plant-based Food Industry.

M eanwhile, Maria Patricia Azanza, Professor Emeritus from UP Diliman who’s also a food innovation expert and head organizer of the webinar, emphasized that the Philippines is currently participating actively in the “complex” plant-based food supply chain locally and globally. This, Azanza noted, indicates the future opportunities that need to be “captured and capitalized.”  Our present discussions are essential in the transformation of the plant-based food industry to become a legitimate working food system with sustainability and significant support from the various

stakeholders,” Azanza said.

A ccording to the BOI, the webinar featured 10 local and international speakers who presented an overview of the plant-based food industry from different aspects and perspectives.

T he webinar also featured some of the key players in the local plantbased food industry and the brands and products that they offer, namely: Century Pacific Food,Inc. And their brand unMeat; Universal Robina Corporation and their product Vitasoy; Monde Nissin Corporation and their brand Quorn; and Worth the Health Food and their brand Umami.

Meanwhile, BOI said Engineer Ninaliza Escorial, deputy director of the Department of Science and Technology Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), presented the various programs, scientific research, and food innovations of the agency that set the direction for the research and technology development of the Philippine plant-based food industry. A ndrea E. San Juan

19 lawmakers, led by GMA, sign resolution

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Companies

B1

Friday, February 17, 2023

STI income jumps fourfold as students return to school

By VG Cabuag @villygc

STI Education Systems Holdings

fiscal year rose four times to P223.43 million from the previous year’s P55.97 million on higher enrollments.

The company said its revenues for the period reached P1.44 billion, some 28 percent higher than P1.12 billion it posted a year ago.

In the October to December quar-

ter alone, the company had an income of P271.04 million, 57 percent higher than the previous year’s P172.71 million. Revenues for the quarter grew by 25 percent to P938.48 million

from the previous year’s P748.55 million.

STI attributed its financial performance to the increase in enrollment during the current school year.

“For the current school year 20222023, the total number of new students reached 41,565 compared with the 35,566 new students last school year, showing a 17 percent increase in the total number of new students,” the company said in its disclosure.

The total number of ongoing students for school year (SY) 20222023 reached 94,312 compared with 82,629 for school year 2021-2022, or a 14 percent increase.

The improvement in enrollment mix also contributed to the profitability because more students en-

rolled in programs regulated by Commission on higher education (CheD).

STI said enrollment in these CheD programs showed “a robust 18 percent increase from 56,342 students last SY to 66,309 this SY which is notably higher than prepandemic levels.”

STI holdings’ fiscal year starts on July 1 of every calendar year (CY) and ends on June 30 of the following CY. Being in the business of education, the group’s fiscal year follows that of its school year.

The group’s total assets as of end2022 amounted to P15.1 billion, 3 percent or P495.1 million higher than the P14.6 billion balance as of end-June.

PLDT expands Makati data center

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

The PLDT Group said on Thursday it has expanded its data center in Makati, adding 12 megawatts (MW) of capacity to power nearly 1,600 new racks. With the additional capacity, Vitro Makati 2 (VM2) will now have a total capacity of 3,360 racks running on 20 MW of power capacity, representing a 150-percent increase.

“The expansion of VITRO Makati 2 will enable ePLDT to accommodate

The National Power Corp. (Napocor) inaugurated on Thursday the RoxasTaytay 69 kV transmission line in Palawan, stretching the province’s backbone transmission to the northern municipality of Taytay.

“With this new transmission line, we’ll not only improve power dispatch and eventually decrease systems loss, but we can also accommodate more power generators to cater to the growing electricity needs of Palawan,” said Napocor President Martin Y. Roxas.

Napocor said the 71.3 circuit kilometer line project was jointly undertaken by SL Development Construction Corporation and DM Consunji, Inc.

The project, which cost P691 million, was financed from the National Government’s Special Allotment Release Order in previous years.

On top of operating Palawan’s transmission system, Napocor also maintains 24 Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) power plants in the far-flung islands of Palawan.

“We are happy to be part of this continuous progress of Palawan.

We are sure that development doesn’t stop here as we are committed to energizing more areas, sustaining the operations of our power plants here, and optimizing the operations of our 69 kV transmission lines,” said Roxas.

Napocor, as mandated by the e l ectric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, is tasked to perform missionary electrification in islands not connected to the main transmission grid. Lenie Lectura

additional requirements of existing customers and to keep up with the country’s ever-increasing data center demands,” Victor S. Genuino, President and CeO of ePLDT, said.

The facility’s new capacity will be ready by March. It is seen to “accommodate surging data center demand in the country,” especially in areas such as digital financial services, ecommerce, and digital media, among others.

VM2 is PLDT’s largest operational data center.

“We will continue to scale and push boundaries to maintain

ePLDT’s position as the premier data center hub in the Philippines,” Genuino added.

Aside from VM2, PLDT has nine other data centers in the Philippines and is currently building its 11th in Laguna.

Vitro Sta. Rosa will have an initial power capacity of 14MW in early 2024 and will further increase to 50MW once fully operational, which will make it the largest and most advanced data center in the country.

The company said its net income in January to September 2022 reached P27.4 billion, up 45 percent

year-on-year. This includes P22.3 billion in pre-tax gains from the towers sale up to the third closing. Core income, excluding the impact of asset sales and Voyager Innovations, grew to P25.4 billion in the same period.

Consolidated service revenues increased by 4.5 percent to a ninemonth all-time high of P141.9 billion, as consumers thrived on their digital lifestyles in the new normal.

In the same period, consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose by 6 percent to P75.4 billion, also an all-time high.

ERIC O. Re C TO, nephew of Roberto V. Ongpin, has been elected as chairman of Alphaland Corp., the holding firm of the businessman who died early this month.

Recto, who served as undersecretary of the Department of Finance (DOF) during the term of President Arroyo, has been Alphaland’s vice chairman since its inception in 2007.

The family of Ongpin conveyed the wish of the businessman “for Mr. er ic Ongpin Recto to take over as chairman and CeO” of Alphaland.

Anna B. Ongpin remains as vice chair, while her sister Michelle Ongpin Callaghan was elected as member of the board to fill the vacancy created by the businessman’s death.

Recto, 58 years old, also holds board positions in many of Ongpin’s businesses.

he is presently the president of Atok-Big Wedge Co. Inc. and chairman of the Philippine Bank of Communications. he is also chairman and president of Bedfordbury Development Corp.; chairman and president of Optimum Dev’t. holdings Phils. Inc.; vice chairman and

independent director of Aboitiz Power Corp. and Dennis Uy’s Ph Resorts Group holdings Inc.; director of DITO CMe holdings Corp. and a board member of supervisors of Acentic Gmbh Recto served as undersecretary of the DOF from 2002 to 2005, in charge of handling both the International Finance Group and the Privatization Office.

Before his stint in the government, he was CFO of Alaska Milk Corp. and Belle Corp. Recto has a degree in Industrial e n gineering from the University of the Philippines as well as an MBA from the Johnson School, Cornell University. VG Cabuag

MACTAN - Ce B U International Airport (MCIA) recently added another feather to its cap as it recently bagged Routes Asia 2023 Marketing Award for Under 5 Million Passenger Category in Chiang Mai, Thailand held February 15.

The Routes Asia 2023 Marketing Award recognizes the remarkable efforts of airports, airlines, and destinations during their 2022 streak as they carry out their recovery strategies for 2023. In this category, MCIA bested more than 200 airports in Asia Pacific in Under 5 Million Passenger Category.

“This recognition attests to our strong commitment to resume our pre-pandemic connectivity while we carry out our strategies in both

airline and destination marketing.

We also recognize the substantial contribution of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), our airline partners and other airport stakeholders that help sustain the demand and traffic for air connectivity in Cebu,” said Rafael Aboitiz, GMR MeGAWIDe Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC) Director.

The addition of new airline partners and new destinations in 2022 significantly boosted the pre-pandemic traffic in Cebu, with domestic topping more than 80 percent of its pre-pandemic levels while international traffic also now kicking in as more countries ease restrictions.

“This is the perfect example of a successful public-private part-

nership between the MCIAA and GMCAC complemented by the strong leadership and direction of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, along with the exemplary work of our Department of Tourism headed by Sec. Christina Garcia Frasco, and great support from the Department of Transportation headed by Sec. Jaime J. Bautista. Congratulations Cebu! Proud of our airport! This is just the beginning. Let us keep it up!” said MCIAA General Manager and C e O, Julius G. Neri Jr. Starlux recently joined the MCIA fleet in January 2023, stacking 10 international destinations and 26 domestic destinations, with 14 foreign and 4 Philippine-based airline partners.

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

HOUS e Speaker Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday vowed to help at least 12,000 sugarcane farm workers in Nasugbu, Batangas, who were displaced by the sudden closure of Central Azucarera Don Pedro Inc.’s (CADPI) sugar mill.

Romualdez said he would look into the plight of the sugarcane farm workers after he met with the leaders of various groups and organizations representing the workers affected by the CADPI sugar mill closure.

hez met with Sugar Folks Unity for Genuine Agricultural Reform Spokesman Christian Bearo, Pagkakaisa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Tubuhan (Pamatu) Batangas First District President Nasiancino Roxas, among other groups.

“Kailangan nating mapabuti ang kalagayan ng ating mga magsasaka sa tubuhan at matiyak ang sapat na suplay ng asukal. I thank our farmers for working tirelessly for our nation,” Romualdez said in a statement.

“Thank you (farmers) for your dedication in helping the government attain its plan for food security. We are inspired by your great

contribution.”

The Office of the house Speaker said Romualdez called Batangas Gov. hermilando Mandanas and Batangas Rep. er ic Buhain “to discuss possible solutions” on the implications of the CADPI sugar mill closure while the sugar farm worker leaders were listening.

Among those present during the meeting were house Majority Leader Manuel Jose M. Dalipe, house Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, ACT Teachers Party-list France L. Castro, former Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sara el ago, and others.

The BusinessMirror earlier broke the story that sugar planters have raised concerns about the permanent closure of the CADPI sugar mill

(Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/01/16/cadpi-milling-ops-closure-has-sugar-plantersworried/ ).

Government officials said the sudden closure of CADPI sugar mill would have an impact on the country’s overall raw sugar output in the current crop year 2022-2023 (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2023/02/14/sra-lowers-sugar-output-forecast-for-current-cropyear-to-1-831-mmt/ ).

Inc., an operator of a network of private schools, said its income in the first half of its

GFII targets OFs as users of e-wallet

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

GCASH app operator Globe Fintech Innovations Inc.

(GFII) launched the beta version of its electronic wallet targeting overseas Filipinos (OFs) who don’t have a subscriber identity module (SIM) registered in the Philippines.

Still under a beta launch, GFII initially targets the first 1,000 users from Japan, Australia, and Italy to access GCash with an international SIM card.

Once they’re fully verified, Filipinos overseas regardless of their SIM card can begin signing up for GCash.

According to GFII President Martha Sazon, the company fully targets the 10 million Filipinos living abroad, “even as they use international SIMs.”

“We strive to remove more barriers,” Sazon was quoted in a statement as saying.

She added the platform is also “doubling down” on its international expansion via its partnership with Hangzhou, China-headquartered Ant Group. The latter, formerly Ant Financial Group, operates the digital platform Alipay, which allows users to pay select merchants in different countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Qatar as well as top European destinations like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy.

In 2017, the Philippine Competition Commission approved the acquisition by Alipay Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd. of shares in GFII.

Upon closing of the transaction, Alipay, GFII parent firm Capital Venture Holdings Inc. and Ayala Corp. will hold 45 percent, 45 percent and 10 percent respectively of the issued and outstanding share capital of Mynt on a fully-diluted basis.

GFII said the beta mode of its app segment called “GCash Overseas” will run for a limited time but executives expect the full launch later this year.

THE pandemic has spawned a plethora of words, terms and phrases. Resilience is one that I have used a lot, signifying my desire to look beyond this crisis, rise up, and be more progressive.

BPI: Govt must secure PHL vs shocks

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

justed for inflation, GDP was at P19.95 trillion from P18.54 trillion in 2021, P17.54 trillion in 2020 and P19.38 trillion in 2019.

However, per capita gross national income (GNI) in current prices reached P209,012 last year. This has exceeded the per capita GNI of the country at P200,135 in 2019.

BPI Global Markets Economist Rafael Alfonso Q. Manalili was quoted in a statement as saying that new growth drivers will also help protect the economy from future shocks. These new drivers could serve as a cushion during hard times.

“The long-term prospects of the economy are good overall. We believe that the economy will continue to grow in the coming years at a healthy pace, not only this year, because of our growth drivers,” Manalili said.

“The Philippine economy is a consumer-driven economy, and we

have a strong consumer base. It’s an asset that has allowed us to grow by at least 6 percent in the past decade, but this makes us vulnerable in the context of a pandemic,” he added.

Pandemic’s effect

BASED on data shared by National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in current prices reached P22.02 trillion in 2022 from P19.41 trillion in 2021, P17.95 trillion in 2020 and P19.52 trillion in 2019.

In constant prices, which is ad-

Per capita GNI in constant prices, nonetheless, showed Filipinos only earned P188,939 in 2022. This is lower than the P198,522 per capita GNI in 2019. Household consumption and services were the ones most affected by the pandemic as people stayed at home for quarantine.

Reduce costs

ACCORDING to Manalili, “the pandemic has taught us that we need to diversify our growth drivers.”

“We need to go beyond household consumption and services so that we can have an additional cushion in case another shock happens,” he was quoted in the statement as saying. “This will allow us to grow faster and will protect us from external shocks like the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Manalili added that the government should also fast-track infrastructure development to attract more investments.

The Philippines neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region have been able to ride on the global manufacturing boom during the pandemic, giving them a boost to gain momentum and recover faster. Thailand and Indonesia, to note, are less reliant on consumption and services and have a strong manufacturing base

Meanwhile, the Philippine manufacturing sector has grown modestly by three percent versus pre-pandemic level despite the support provided by global demand. Diversification towards investment spending, manufacturing, and exports is crucial as shown by the country’s experience during the pandemic.

“We need to reduce the cost of producing goods, and to do that, we need to improve infrastructure. We have the highest electricity rates and transport costs in the region. It’s feasible for us to improve on that,” Manalili said.

Maccaferri Group taps PNB for benefit plan

THE Philippine National Bank (PNB) announced recently it signed an agreement with the Maccaferri Group to set up a retirement benefit plan for the group’s employees.

The Maccaferri Group Employees’ Retirement Plan is a non-contributory plan that covers retirement, disability, death, and separation benefits for eligible employees or their qualified beneficiaries.

The Maccaferri Group includes three companies: Maccaferri Philippines Inc. (MPI); Maccaferri Philippines Manufacturing Inc. (MPMI); and, Infratex Environmental Services Inc (IESI). MPI is a leading international provider of advanced solutions to the civil, geotechnical, and environmental construction markets. With headquarters based in Italy, it is present in more than 130 countries and employs more than 3,000 employees globally.

The retirement agreement was made possible through the PNB Trust Banking Group, which has been providing retirement fund management services to around 300 different companies. With assets under management over P150 billion, PNB Trust Banking Group also offers investment management, fiduciary services and PNB Investment Funds.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.

So when I chanced upon a TED Talk entitled, “Three Secrets of Resilient People” by Lucy Hone, a resilience expert and researcher, I watched it with keen interest. I thought of adapting the content, relating this to associations.

In her talk, Lucy provides three strategies for developing the capacity to face adversity, overcome struggle, and deal with whatever may come head-on, with fortitude and grace. Here are the three considerations in building resilience, whether on a personal or organizational level:

1. Know and accept that suffering is part of life. When tough times come, resilient people seem to know that suffering is part of every human existence. Accepting this fact stops them from feeling discriminated against when challenges arrive. When disaster strikes, most people ask, “Why me?” Resilient people ask the opposite, “Why not me?”

Associations experience challenges and setbacks, too, especially during this ongoing pandemic. They face dwindling finances; encounter member recruitment, engagement and retention challenges; and cope with staff and volunteer shortages. Resilient associations, which have met similar difficulties in the past, accept that these challenges are part and parcel of managing organizations.

2. Recognize where to direct attention to. Resilient people have the habit of

realistically appraising situations, and are typically able to focus on things they can change and learn to accept the things they can’t. They have also worked out a way of tuning in to the good around them and of trying to find things to be grateful for. Such positivity is powerful. This is the same for resilient associations. Being service-oriented organizations, they zero in on their available resources and energy in helping their members find solutions to their problems, advance their growth, and provide impactful experiences. They recognize that by sticking to their purpose no matter what happens is key to their survival and sustainability as organizations.

3. Discern thoughts and actions which can help or harm. Resilient people are able to detect whether what they think or how they act is good or bad for them. This discernment can be applied to many different context, said Lucy: “Is the way I’m thinking and acting helping me or harming me in my bid to get that promotion, to pass that exam, or to recover from a heart attack?”

Asking this question gives you control on your decision-making process.

Coming out of a crisis situation, associations can use this “go-to” question as the answer will spell the difference between being able to continue what they do best and suffering the consequence of failing.

Resilience is not a fixed or elusive trait that some people have and some don’t. In reality, it only requires the willingness of the person or the organization to try basic strategies like the above-mentioned considerations.

Octavio Peralta is currently the executive director of the UN Global Compact Network Philippines and founder and volunteer CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives, the “association of associations.” Email: bobby@pcaae.org.

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

THE Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) announced last Monday that it has remitted dividends to the national treasury and paid all of its bank loans.

CIAC Officer-in-Charge Darwin L. Cunanan was quoted in a statement as saying that the nonchartered government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) was able to remit around P369 million as dividends to the Bureau of Treasury in several tranches from May to October last year, covering the 2019 to 2021 obligations.

Cunanan added 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, are now fully paid as of the last quarter of 2022.

“CIAC ensures fiscal discipline and financial viability,” he said. “And we also adhere to the highest standards of corporate governance so now we are a debt-free agency and at the same time able to remit dividends to the national treasury.”

The CIAC also generated a profit margin from 46 percent in 2021 to 58 percent in 2022, with a net income of P438.75 million as revenues from non-aeronautical and other sources, or a 37 percent increase from the previous year, Cunanan noted.

“CIAC’s thrust now is to strengthen our commercial, engineering and corporate management teams in developing a globally-competitive service and logistics center at the

BTr

aviation complex surrounding the airport and contribute to the national economy,” Cunanan said.

Cunanan also commended CIAC employees with service period ranging from 10 years to 25 years during ceremonies commemorating the 28th year of the GOCC at the agency’s building inside the Clark Civil Aviation Complex (CCAC), Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga.

CIAC was incorporated in 1994 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Clark Development Corp., pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 193, with the primary purpose of operating and managing the aviation complex.

Other EOs also provided that CIAC shall exercise jurisdiction over the 2,200-hectare aviation complex along with approximately 166.9 hectares within the Clark Industrial Estate 5. CIAC was later reverted as a subsidiary of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority in 2017 and made subject to the policy supervision and operational control of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) over the Clark International Airport (CRK) under EO 14.

Last November, the DOTr instructed CIAC to exercise regulatory supervision and oversight of activities occurring within the CCAC, including the CRK.

The newly-built CRK Passenger Terminal building, which was completed last year, has a capacity of eight million passengers annually.

With the full implementation of the CIAC Master Development Plan, the CRK will accommodate an estimated 80 million passengers annually, the CIAC statement read.

Slow decline

BPI expects the economy to grow by 5 percent to 6 percent in 2023 as local and global headwinds continue to weigh on growth.

One of the headwinds is high inflation which continues to beset consumer spending. “Inflation has gone up significantly and it has a significant impact on the economy because we are a consumer-driven economy,” he said.

“We expect average inflation to settle within the 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent range this year. The decline in inflation will be gradual or slow because of persistent supply constraints especially in the agriculture sector,” he added.

Another headwind is the aggressive interest rate hikes by central banks that are necessary to rein in the high inflation.

BPI expects additional rate hikes throughout the first half of 2023 before a pause in the second half and possibly even a rate cut if the US enters a recession, which could force the Federal Reserve to cut their rates.

BIR to focus on digitalization

BIR to focus on digitalization the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. announced last February 7 that the bureau would focus on the implementation of various digitalization programs.

In his speech at the launch of the 2023 National Tax Campaign Kickoff, Lumagui saod that starting this year, the BIR will be introducing gradual reforms with long term benefits to tax administration.

“From a goal-driven agency primarily focusing on how to meet its collection targets, we will recalibrate our approach into a service-oriented office, marked by excellence, integrity and professionalism,” the BIR chief was quoted in a statement as saying.

BIR, being the prime tax collection agency of the government, is tasked to collect P2.599 trillion this 2023. Tax collected by the BIR represents nearly 80 percent of the national government’s source of funding.

“While we strive to render efficient, effective, and compassionate service, this should only benefit our honest and law-abiding taxpayers,” Lumagui said. “Against tax evaders, we will not stop with our hardline stance. We will not hesitate to prosecute erring taxpayers. We will continue to go after illicit traders. We will charge producers and users of fake receipts.”

The BIR chief added the bureau would continue with its enforcement activities “and put more emphasis on tapping into the huge pot of uncollected taxes, which escape the public purse through fraud or illegal activities.”

BMAP bares new members of board

THE Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines (BMAP) announced last February 8 its recently-elected 2023 Board of Directors.

Mai G. Sangalang, Standard Chartered head of corporate affairs, brand and marketing, continues to lead the association as president. Joining her are: BMAP’s newly elected Vice President Eric H. Montelibano, CityState Savings Bank’s integrated marketing communications consultant; Secretary Edelyn H. Castro, Maybank’s officer-in-charge for corporate affairs; and, Auditor Estela S. Calderon, Metrobank vice president for corporate affairs division. Emmanuel Mari K. Valdes, RCBC senior vice president/ head of retail banking customer acquisition and retention division, remains as the association’s Treasurer.

Miguel Angelo C. Villa-Real, Veterans Bank first vice president for marketing and communications, is elected as director for industry relations and banking code and financial inclusions; Judith C. Songlingco, Philippine Business Bank head of corporate affairs and brand marketing, as director for programs; Janette Y. Abad Santos, Robinsons Bank first vice president for marketing group, as director for membership; and, Hannah Lopez, BDO Unibank first vice president/officer-in-charge, marketing communications group, as director for ways and means.

Tanya Ansaldo-Deakin, Security Bank vice president/head, corporate communications and brand, continues to serve as director for publicity and digital marketing, and Maria Luz E. Javier, Avanza Inc. president and COO, as election chairman.

The BMAP is a non-stock, non-profit organization of banking institutions seeking to elevate the practice of bank marketing and communications in the country. The association was established on February 27, 1974 and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 19, 1974.

The organization continues to design, support, and implement educational programs to advance the professional skills and abilities of bank marketers and communicators. It also continues to undertake programs and activities that enhance and promote the welfare of the banking industry and its customers, the profession of bank marketing, and the social and economic priorities of the country.

THE national government needs to develop new growth drivers to fast-track the country’s economic recovery and increase Filipino’s incomes, according to the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Global Markets.

Gov’t aviation firm remits ₧369M in dividends to

for 2019-2021 obligations

This Monday, February 13, 2023, photo shows executives of the Philippine National Bank (PNB) and the Maccaferri Group during the signing of agreement between the two entities at the PNB Financial Center, Pasay City. The signing ceremony was led by (seated from left) Maccaferri head of Finance Christian Dale R. Medrano; Maccaferri Country Managing Director Thomas C. Wintermahr; PNB President Florido P. Casuela; PNB Chief Trust Officer Joy Jasmin R. santos; and, PNB Board Advisor and British Chamber of Commerce Philippines Executive Director and Trustee Christopher J. Nelson. Joining them are: PNB Trust Banking Group officers (standing from left) Department head Johanna Michelle R. Go; Corporate Trust Division head Jaclyn Faith Chua-Lipana; and, senior Marketing Officer Lea steffi G. Romero. Photo courtesy oF PNB

How can you mend a broken heart?

SO goes the question Al Green asked in the classic love song: “I could never see tomorrow. I was never told about the sorrow...”

When one is in a romantic relationship, it can always feel like blue skies, sunshine and grand vistas. We ride waves upon waves of euphoria, especially when we’re in the first few months of a romance. Our mood is elevated and our desire to be with our lover reaches almost obsessive levels, i.e., we want to be with our special person all the time. In fact, neuropsychologists have described these feelings almost like a cocaine-high, as hormones like oxytocin and vasopressin link up with our brain’s reward system, making us somewhat “addicted” to our significant other.

These obsessive feelings may be somewhat tempered in a friendship because of the nature of the relationship; there is no romantic component involved. Friendships are formed among likeminded people who share the same interests and attitudes in life. We often come from similar socioeconomic backgrounds, age groups, educational accomplishments, and, yes, political leanings. Hanging around with our cliques also feeds the reward system in our brain, making us feel joyful as we spend a meal or a movie together. Unsurprisingly, a study by cognitive scientists in 2018 even found that friends share the same brain waves, reacting similarly to the visuals shown them.

The bonds are strong in friendships, and even when we don’t see our closest friends for years (perhaps because he/she has moved to another country), when we do get together, it’s like we never spent time apart. We pick up immediately where we left off, and continue conversations started a decade ago like it was just yesterday. And it’s comforting to relive important events and milestones celebrated, while laughing hysterically over remembered people or places and significant incidents connected to them.

But unlike a romance, we are able to form different sets of friendships or cliques with other groups of people who don’t normally interact with each other. For instance, there is a group of friends I like sharing dinner and gossip with, but have a different set of friends with whom I like watching theater productions or concerts. On the other hand, society will typically frown on people having multiple romances and couplings.

When a romance ends, however, it often feels like a punch in the gut that the wind is knocked out of us. We double over, agonize over the loss, unable to get up. In my youth, over a first love, this involved endless crying in a locked room until I fell asleep in my bed. Then there is even more endless crying with a close friend while downing several glasses of the favored alcoholic beverages. It’s like living in a telenovela, with forever flashbacks and replays in my mind of the time spent with my lover, that maddening shuffle between the happiest period in the relationship and the depressing end. Over and over again.

At the time, I struggled to identify the exact moment when things started going wrong, or what I could have done better to smoothen over the

relationship’s kinks. To no avail of course. Sometimes, there are just no answers and some people are just wrong for each other. Work eventually saved my sanity. It gave me something to focus on, a sense of purpose, and pushed me to accomplish my goals even harder.

It took awhile for my heart’s broken pieces to be put back together, but, yes, it did happen. And suddenly I was no longer thinking about him and I was laughing again around friends while we still drank like fishes of course. Eventually, the massive weight of depression and despair had lifted. If I had a car, I’d probably be luckier in parking. Hahaha.

In Dyan’s (not her real name) case, she was in a relationship for three years but as time went on, they evolved into different people and the relationship became “toxic.” She and her partner would fight, with neither of them budging from each of their positions in the argument.

“It’s not easy to adjust to the idea of not being with someone or not having something that we have been used to. But as experience has taught me, although it takes time, people are able to move on and move forward. One of the best advice given to me is to be kind to yourself while you go through the process of healing. And it starts with acceptance—that is, allowing yourself to grieve and feel the feelings which may come in waves. Suppressing or avoiding these feelings will lead to much more serious issues (and even meltdowns) later on.”

Dyan says she was able to pour her energy into other pursuits. “I suddenly had an abundance of time to pursue my other passions. Doing these things will open new opportunities and allow you to meet new people, reminding you that there’s a big, wonderful world out there for you.” Also, this period of healing allows people to look inward and reflect on one’s life.

“I once read a quote: ‘Ang paghilom ay ang tahimik na paguwi sa iyong sarili.’ Perhaps soon after, when the time is ripe and in your favor again, you will be ready for God’s best.”

Because people bond over similar ideas or the same beliefs in life, we think our friends will be around forever, and only distance or perhaps death can break those ties. So in some ways, the end of a friendship can be more difficult than losing a lover.

Amelia (not her real name) says she was friends with P for the longest time: “She used to be a stop for me in the US. As in every time I would go, I would go out of state to see her. We were that close.”

Amelia describes P as “wonderful, funny and beautiful.” But because her friend was rich, Amelia had always felt P’s husband was just staying in the marriage because he was comfortable. P knew she was stuck in a loveless marriage and was no longer having sex with her husband. “So she finally looked for love and found it, or maybe sex, and I was happy for her because she deserved to be happy,” says Amelia. But as time went on, Amelia could no longer support P’s various affairs. “I didn’t condemn her ha. I felt she should separate from her husband, and probably she didn’t want to hear it. So she decided she didn’t want to be friends with me anymore,” Amelia narrates. “It was very painful because it wasn’t what I did to her, but it was because she felt I couldn’t be the friend she needed. I actually did everything I could do to save the friendship until I just stopped because the rejection was painful. Time healed the pain and the hurt.”

And so, even as Al Green cries out for someone to help mend his broken heart, there is a flicker of hope, “a feeling that I want to live and live and live.” A broken heart doesn’t last forever. n

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS

DAY: Ed Sheeran, 31; Paris Hilton, 41; Michael Jordan 59; Joseph GordonLewitt 41; Michael Bay, 57.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Your mind is sharp, and very little will escape your notice this year. Dive into the things that bring you joy, and expand your friendships, horizons and expectations. Use your ability to capture what’s happening around you, and add your Midas touch to enhance whatever you decide to pursue. Think big, but keep your costs down in order to prosper. Your numbers are 1, 12, 23, 25, 34, 39, 44.

aARIES (March 21-April 19): Put your best foot forward. Enjoy the company of people who share the same pastimes and goals. Make personal enlightenment, self-improvement and romance your priorities. Don’t wait for people and opportunities to come your way; do your part and make things happen.

bTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Refuse to let anyone back you into a corner. Be honest about what you want; you’ll ward off getting stuck with someone else’s responsibilities. Don’t let the changes or choices others make ruin your day or your time with loved ones. HHHH

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Stabilize your future by working extra hours. Don’t give someone the chance to outmaneuver you. Take physical action, improve your reputation and recruit people who share your objective. Personal improvements are heading your way. HHHHH

dCANCER (June 21-July 22): Take a creative approach to how you do your job or handle responsibilities, and you will receive praise for your ingenuity. A partnership will develop between you and someone who shares your concerns. A proposal is worth considering. HHH

eLEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Shine brightly and become a leader who makes a difference. Engage in what’s essential and will make a difference in your community or your family. Set standards and boundaries to ensure you get what you want at an affordable cost. HHH

fVIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Stand up and be counted. An intelligent approach to getting others to see things your way will far exceed using force or emotional tactics. State your point of view and carry on, regardless of who decides to participate. Knowledge is power. HHH

gLIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Put your money in a safe place and don’t share personal information. Consider what’s important to you. Take the road that allows you to focus on making your dreams come true. Personal improvement will boost your confidence and attract attention. HHHHH

hSCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do whatever it takes to get along. Be a good listener and mindful of others. Go with the flow, and you’ll find a path that feels right. Accommodating others will buy you time and help you work through differences amicably.

HH

iSAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Being patient, truthful and setting priorities that promote a happy, healthy lifestyle will motivate you to take care of unfinished business and to move on to pastimes that put a smile on your face. Love, romance and physical improvements are encouraged.

HH

jCAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Refuse to get wrapped up in someone’s drama. Think about how you can improve your life without the fallout from loved ones who don’t want change. A slight adjustment will prompt someone you love to participate.

HHHH

kAQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Look over your options and consider what’s physically possible. It’s up to you to do the legwork required to take advantage of a unique opportunity. Don’t let envy or anger stand between you and what you are trying to achieve. HHH

lPISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Share your feelings; you’ll change how others think. Show passion, and you’ll drum up interest in helping you make a difference. You’ll be most comfortable when allowed to do your own thing.

HHH

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are insistent, suggestive and outgoing. You are playful and established.

‘universal freestyle 32’ BY BILL BRATTON

The

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • Friday, February 17, 2023

THE RECIPIENT

A CERTAIN socialite-influencer is under fire for being involved in a controversial marital dispute. The socialite is not only reportedly designing the nursery for the husband’s baby with his new partner, but she and her family have also been the recipients of the rich guy’s very generous PR and marketing budget. The socialite has also been responsible for a number of favorite articles about the guy and his new partner. She is reportedly his informal PR point person. She not only deflects any derogatory articles about him and his partner on traditional and social media but also creates favorable articles about him and his businesses. The socialite’s family is rich but the nature of their business is that right now, they would bite the bullet for it to survive. If that means being this guy’s PR machine, then so be it. The truth is that the guy’s ex-wife will have some difficulty winning whatever cases she is faced because, as they say, money talks.

HOOKED

THE actress is being attacked on social media for her recent choice of roles. It’s reportedly because she is hooked on drugs and badly needs money to support her addiction. She allegedly got hooked on drugs because she wanted stuff to help keep her awake during tapings. When she was younger, the actress would indulge in recreational drugs from time to time due to peer pressure but she was never hooked—until now. People are already noticing how gaunt she looks and how out of it she seems to be when it comes to work. Even her children are reportedly concerned with her behavior.

WHAT DID SHE SEE?

DURING a recent interview where she was asked who her first boyfriend was, a popular young actress blurted the name of a male starlet who isn’t known for his good looks. The actress was lucky it was a taping or she would have been exposed. There’s really nothing wrong with the guy. In fact, at the time that he and the actress were in a relationship, he was considered cool. But nothing came out of his career so now he is considered somewhat of a joke. The actress prevailed upon the show’s staff to delete what she said and they agreed. The actress is embarrassed because her boyfriends are usually hot. It was only her first boyfriend who wasn’t.

STARLET VS STARLET

IT’S starlet versus former starlet for the heart (and bank account) of this elected government official. The former starlet is the government official’s wife while the starlet, who is super hot, is his mistress. The starlet has been the guy’s mistress since she was a minor and he spent a small fortune on making her the social media superstar that she is now. He also pulled a lot of strings for a network to put her under contract. The government official continues to support the starlet and her family even if she’s already making good money. The wife wants to protest because more people consider her rival as the “first lady” than her. She also knows that her husband spends a lot of money on the girl. She’s tried to end the relationship by giving her husband an ultimatum but he always chooses the other woman, who is considered a trophy.

AT LAST: STREISAND MEMOIR

‘MY NAME IS BARBRA’ COMING NOVEMBER 7

NEW YORK—Barbra Streisand’s very long and very longawaited memoir, a project she has talked about for years, is coming out this fall. Viking, a Penguin Random House imprint, will release My Name is Barbra on November 7. Her memoir, fitting for a superstar of the grandest ambitions, is listed at 1,040 pages.

“The book is, like Barbra herself, frank, funny, opinionated and charming,” according to the publisher. “She recounts her early struggles to become an actress, eventually turning to singing to earn a living; the recording of some of her acclaimed albums; the years of effort involved in making Yentl; her direction of The Prince of Tides; her friendships with figures ranging from Marlon Brando to Madeleine Albright; her political advocacy; and the fulfillment she’s found in her marriage to James Brolin.”

My Name Is Barbra also is the title of a 1965 Streisand album and television special. Publishers have sought a Streisand memoir for decades, with the singer telling Jimmy Fallon in 2021 that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis asked her to write one in the early 1980s, when the former first lady was an editor at Doubleday. During an Associated Press interview in 2009, Streisand mentioned that she had been writing chapters about her life, in longhand.

“I go back and forth,” Streisand said at the time. “Do I really want to write about my life? Do I really want to relive my life? I’m not sure.” The memoir was first announced in 2015, and scheduled for two years later, although it didn’t have a title at the time. A reference to it on her web site, posted in 2015, was later pulled.

Financial terms for the memoir were not disclosed.

Streisand was represented by Robert Barnett, the Washington attorney whose other clients have ranged from Barack Obama to Elton John.

Streisand, 80 has long been wary of discussing her private life, including her relationships with actor Elliott Gould and producer Jon Peters. She has been married to Brolin since 1998. AP

‘You’: Obsessing or loving in February?

that skill. She believes she is a good poet, notwithstanding her insecurities that are given in any student of literature. Beck sees another man, a model with a good financial pedigree. The man does not love Beck but has sex with her, which leaves the woman unfulfilled. Shall our bookstore manager fulfill that need?

The first season of You premiered in 2018. The season starred Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail and Luca Padovan. It is a psychological thriller based on the books by Caroline Kepnes, and developed by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble

THE roses have already wilted—and their prices are back to their normal level—but the scent of love still pervades this month of February. But, can erotomania—described as a delusional disorder, a paronia where a person thinks another individual is infatuated with her—be called love? Experts believe the delusional being is always a female but in the Netflix offering, with this narcissistic title You, the obsessive character is a man. He is named Joe, the most common of names. He is a bookstore owner, organically intellectual.

The story, which introduces a series, is not necessarily a positive template by which we can view love. But then again, who says love is always inspiring and constructive? Shall we not learn about this most complex of human conditions by the backdoor, not through rosy lens but via the prisms of disturbing sensations?

Joe then is our teacher of love. He initiates us into the maze of locking on a target, knowing whatever can be learned about that person, and finally finding all the means to observe the prey up close first and personal later.

Joe Goldberg is our man; Beck is our woman. Beck has an exotic name, Guinevere. Joe sees her beauty but he also discovers a young woman trying to fit in. Beck moves around a circle of young women who are fun with her but are really insincere about their friendship. Beck writes poetry and is mighty protective of

THE epic culinary adventure never stops as GTV’s Farm to Table marks two years of discovering sustainable farms and sharing healthy food options by Filipino chef JR Royol.

As part of their anniversary celebration, the program will air four special episodes beginning February 19.

Join Chef JR in another fun journey as he visits their ancestral home in picturesque Barlig, Mountain Province. Together with his wife, son and relatives, Chef JR will commemorate the traditions of their Igorot clan, exploring the strong farm-to-table culture of the Barlig communities.

Learn how to prepare tapuey, the Igorot traditional rice wine, and etag  the well-known delicacy in the Mountain Province that can be used in everyday cooking. Chef JR and his family will also

In Joe’s apartment lives Paco, a young boy who, at a very young age, is an obsessive reader. Well, in a world where readers are a vanishing breed, a boy in grade school should be short of pathological if he is deeply into books. Paco, however, has the biography of a mother who lives with a cop prone to violating her, and then makes love to her furiously later—not necessarily in that order.

Joe fulfills the desire of Paco both as a boy unloved and seeking a father figure as Joe also satiates the desires of Beck (acceptability, a bit of attention, and a promise of love).

How Joe gets to observe Beck and how he is able to find out the day-to-day business of this young woman, her frailties and imperfections behind such a lovely facade, begs credulity. But we suspend our own doubts about coincidences in time and space because we are excited about the prospects of revealing the other characters that seem to belittle the status of our unlikely hero, Joe Goldberg. For all her beauty, Beck is more pathetic than attractive in many aspects. The male model in Beck’s life, who seems to be the epitome of sophisticated manhood, is revealed to be a fraud.

In that awesome book by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Chris Riddel, one chapter is introduced by this statement: “Why Our Future Depends on Libraries, Reading and Daydreaming.” That is almost the platform of Joe Goldberg as he transforms with such originality the basement of the bookstore he manages into a torture chamber. In a site where silence is mythic, we listen to the scream of a man fully revealing his own weakness and lies. This is the place where non-readers are punished and humiliated, and where rivals are hidden if only to win the love of the beloved, beautiful, almost unattainable.

The second season trails Joe as he finds himself in Los Angeles. Here he falls in love with a local heiress. This season, which was released in 2019, is based on Kepnes’ follow-up novel, titled Hidden Bodies

In January 2020, the third series, followed by the fourth season, the first part of which premiered this February. In this fourth season, Joe is in London. Gone is the bookstore manager; in its place is a man who, according to Joe, is very good at professor-ing. He is an academic and is lecturing on literature about love. His students have grand opinions about love, some triggered by the fact of his nationality. Joe is bent on becoming a different person and is quite succeeding it but an open window reveals to him another woman. She is the wife of a professor and we know where this observation will lead Joe.

For a series that is practically devoid of dialogues and relies mainly on voice-over to indicate the stream of consciousness in Joe’s character, You incites us to listen to these beings on screen, an act that enables us to listen as well to our own silent dark selves.

As Joe Goldberg, Penn Badgley is the lead in the series. He starts out as an Everyman who is out to decipher the mysteries in the women in his lives. The way the narrative goes, Joe is not the enigma in the film; the role of mysteries to be solved is allotted to the women. And yet, Joe is the real puzzle and Badgley makes the assembling of parts to form an understandable whole an enjoyable process. Violence in the hands or mallet of Badgley’s Joe is a sympathetic act we are ashamed to admit but nevertheless the most logical point in a man’s adventure.

This American TV series is produced by Berlanti Productions, Alloy Entertainment, and A+E Studios in association with Warner Horizon Television, and streams on Netflix. n

The exciting trip will continue as the host dives into one of the nearby streams to catch local fish and prepare kachiw salad, chalet rice bowl, and amti chalet soup.

Lastly, the anniversary special acknowledges the most precious produce of Barlig, which is rice. Chef JR will take the audience on a quick tour of his family’s rice terraces in Al-long and share more about the heirloom rice variety called chor-chor-os.

gather to prepare pinikpikan and perform the pattong, an Igorot expression of thanksgiving through gongs and dances.

Moreover, viewers will witness some of the best tourist spots in Barlig including the Karanag

Falls and Lake Tufob. Chef JR will also give the audience a taste of Mountain Province’s coffee culture and a glimpse of the famous Lias Ponkan. Tune in as he incorporates these in unique dishes like coffee chocolate chicken, coffeerub barbecue, and braised citrus duck.

Amid these appetizing food adventures, the host will meet various like-minded people with stories about their own farming journeys. It is indeed a meaningful experience to be surrounded by inspiring people, a relaxing environment, and hearty meals.

The anniversary special of Farm to Table airs beginning February 19, Sundays at 7 pm, on GMA Network’s GTV channel.

‘Farm to Table’ celebrates two years of heartwarming food journey

Knauf, DSWD-IV partner to enhance skills, livelihood of construction workers

venue of the training, that's where we will recruit the beneficiaries who will be our priority. We will find out who is easier to train—most likely those who already have experience, and then refer them for employment,” said Jenny Ronna Dimaculangan, DSWD Program Development Officer, City Link.

While the program will first focus on those with basic skills and experience, it will ultimately provide learning opportunities for all. In particular, it will give beneficiaries who have no prior knowledge or experience the chance to learn construction skills so they can find employment in this field.

GETTING HITCHED ON VALENTINE’S DAY More than

100 couples exchanged “I dos” during the Valentine’s Day Mass Wedding that was conducted at the Alonte Sports Arena. Local officials led by Biñan Mayor Walfredo “Arman” Dimaguila, Jr. and Vice Mayor Angelo “Gel” Alonte were on hand to witness the nuptials. PHOTO BY BERNARD TESTA

Sunshine Place to host Ikebana flower arrangement workshop for beginners: to run for 4 Saturdays

KNAUF Gypsum Philippines, Inc. and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office IV-A CALABARZON have signed an agreement to be partners in improving the skills and lives of the region’s construction workers. This partnership is in line with the vision of Republic Act 11310, otherwise known as “An Act Institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program,” to support Pantawid partner beneficiaries through the sharing of knowledge, experience, skills, and resources.

This partnership between Knauf and DSWD is both strategic and sustainable, having been anchored on the Kilos-Unlad Framework. The goal of this collaboration is to provide appropriate support services to partner beneficiaries, especially those who have graduated or have exited households. It is also another example of Knauf’s commitment to improve the livelihood of the country’s construction workers.

"Our main goal is to provide skills training for our 4Ps beneficiaries. This will

be a community-based training, so we will pick among those who have skills and know a little or are working in the construction industry or those who have experience. But now with this new partnership with Knauf anyone 18 and above who wants to learn and develop a skill can be trained,” said Mark Dewey Sergio, Knauf Gypsum Philippine’s Managing Director.

Together with DEG – Deutsche Investitions, one of Knauf’s investments is the Knauf Academy, a training center in Quezon City that has been providing gypsum board installation training to construction workers in the Philippines.

Since its launch in June 2022, the Knauf Academy has trained nearly 800 workers on gypsum board installation and jointing skills, enabling them to improve their abilities and become more in-demand in the construction industry. The KnaufDSWD partnership will help reach more construction workers in the country.

“For this project, it will be based on per area. So, whatever barangay is near the

“So, there are low-hanging fruits, and from there we will look at those who have less or no skills to assess their subsistence and survival. We will slowly build their skills. This will be a vehicle to build the level of their livelihood,” assured by Nellibeth Mercado, DSWD Division Chief, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

In CALABARZON alone, there are over 340,000 registered 4Ps beneficiaries, and that number is expected to increase after new beneficiaries are officially enrolled in the program later this year.

“The potential of this partnership to link our 4Ps with Knauf to help build people’s skills and give them employment to a level they will reach the self-sufficiency they want which is exciting,” Mercado added.

“This is in line with our national goal of alleviating poverty,” said Dr. Barry Chua, DSWD Regional Director. “We were able to see the principles of Knauf in enhancing the skills of the community, enhancing their ability for livelihood, and, at the same time, improving the lives of the people.”

The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in PHL to launch its First Edition of La Fiesta on February 18 at Las Casas QC

Romero highlights the “immense variety of cheeses that we have, our Iberian products, our slow-cooking stews, and the conventual and monastery cuisine,” and further mentions the influence of cuisine from the Rayana area (on the border with Portugal).

Alongside Romero, Chef Carlos Garcia will also be in charge of the menu at La Fiesta. Born in Acedo, a small town in northern Extremadura, Chef Garcia arrived in the Philippines 11 years ago after more than a decade working as Head Development Chef at the prestigious Gauthier Soho restaurant in London. He now owns two restaurants in Metro Manila: The Black Pig in Alabang and The Pig Pen in Nuvali.

LA Cámara, together with the support of the Spanish Embassy, is spearheading La Fiesta. It will celebrate Spanish culture and cuisine, this year specifically highlighting the Extremadura region. La Fiesta, to be held at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Quezon City, will feature renowned chefs, musicians, and dancers from that Spanish region.

Ruben Camba, President of La Camara states: “La Fiesta 2023, is the first edition of an annual event for the Filipino Spanish business community organized by La Camara. It is not only the perfect venue to continue building the relations between the Philippines and Spain; it is also the occasion to invite a region of Spain to the Philippines. This year we have as guest of honor the region of Extremadura, one of the 17 regions of Spain.”

La Fiesta is designed to become an annual tradition of La Cámara, which has a long history of organizing major events such as La Cámara 120 Years Gala Dinner, and the 75th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations Between the Philippines and Spain. This new celebration, to be attended by more than 300 guests, will begin at 6 pm and is scheduled to last until midnight.

The Extremadura region, located in the west of Central Spain, will be the festival's main focus in this inaugural edition.

It has a magnificent culinary tradition and a rich history that dates back to the Roman Empire. The cities of Mérida (the Roman Augusta Emerita), Cáceres, and the Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe are World Heritage Sites.

Extremadura is also recognized for its environment, characterized by its reserves of water and natural diversity, It has 72 natural spaces under official protection, which make it a unique region in Europe.

La Fiesta will be the perfect venue to taste the delicacies of Extremadura. “My region is the pantry of Spain. The raw material we have is of the highest quality. We are surrounded by an incredible heritage and natural environment,” assures Chef Francisco Romero, the invited chef for the event.

Originally from Cáceres, Romero began his career in 1998 at Paradores (a Spanish state-owned chain of luxury hotels located in historic buildings or in natural areas).

Currently, he works as the second Head Chef in the Parador of Cáceres.

On the gastronomy of Extremadura,

Gastronomy will not be the only highlight of La Fiesta as Manuela Sanchez, a flamenco dancer and teacher, will be performing a musical show. Born in Monasterio (Badajoz), she began dancing at the age of ten and started her professional flamenco career at the age of 16. Sanchez has been dancing and teaching flamenco all over the world and is currently managing Artextrema Producciones, a company that mixes flamenco with other disciplines, such as theatre and poetry.

“For us, it is a great pride to represent Extremadura in La Fiesta,” declares Manuela Sanchez. The dancer says that native songs like Tangos and Jaleos will be played during the show, in addition to some of the more commercial flamenco dances. “We hope to enjoy this experience and make the public enjoy our art,” assures Manuela Sanchez.

La Fiesta will take place at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Quezon City, an attractive and intricately-designed site featuring Manila's old glory influenced by ancient Spanish architecture. Together with the gastronomy, music, and dance from Extremadura, the event will also offer an awards ceremony for companies in the Philippines with Spanish affiliations, a raffle draw, as well as a dance party with a DJ until midnight for everyone to enjoy.

FOR four Saturdays starting February 25, 2023, Marc Tomas will conduct a faceto-face workshop on Ikebana-Sogetsu inspired flower arrangement for beginners (Part1) at the Sunshine Place. The workshop will serve as introduction to participants who want to learn the basics of the Japanese art of flower arrangement. Tomas, former president of Ikebana International Manila Chapter 108 and member of Sogetsu Potential Manila Chapter will demonstrate how to arrange flowers in upright Moribana style, basic slanting & Variation # 4 with movements,

basic Nagiri Style and combination of Moribana & Nagiri Arrangements.

Participants will have the opportunity to make their own Ikebana-Sogetsu inspired flower arrangement under the guidance of Tomas who has been teaching Ikebana classes at Sunshine Place since 2017.

The workshop will be conducted from 10:00 am – 12:00 noon on February 25, March 4, 11 and 18, 2023. Starter kits consisting of flowers, kenzan, and vertical and horizontal vases are available at the venue.

To know more and to enroll please contact M. (0917) 515-5656 or E. operations@ sunshineplaceph.com.

Follow Sunshine Place: Website: http://www.sunshineplaceph.com/ ; Facebook @SunshinePlace56Jupiter; Instagram @sunshineplaceph; YouTube Sunshine Place: Senior Recreation Center; Hashtags #sunshineplacephonline #sunshineneverstopshinin

#SunshineBelieveinYourself

#SunshineDontGiveUp #SunshineIamFittoFight #SunshineHealthyAlltheWay

Celebrating Heart Month: Choosing the right cooking oil for your heart for daily cooking

SCIENTIFIC studies have proven the heart-health benefits of using Canola Oil in everyday cooking, which is why doctors and other health professionals have recommended Canola Oil. And when it comes to choosing the right brand of Canola Oil, one thing is clear - the consistent No. 1 brand, Jolly Heart Mate Canola Oil, is the only brand to trust.

According to Registered NutritionistDietician Thina Asis, canola oil has essential fatty acids which promote heart health. “Canola Oil has Omega-3 and Omega-6 which help lower cholesterol and blood pressure,” Asis said. Made from the crushed seeds of the canola plant, canola oil is a great source of plant-based omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.

Several Registered Nutritionist-Dieticians echoed the same information. Christine Alcantara, RND and April Manlangit, RND advocate using Canola Oil in cooking. “Canola Oil has the lowest level of saturated fats among all types of cooking oil,” Alcantara said. “This will help minimize the risks of heart diseases and stroke,” Alcantara added.

Manlangit highlighted the importance of having a high smoke point in cooking, “Canola Oil has a high smoke point so it is very ideal for frying,“ Manlangit said. “Smoke point refers to when the oil begins to break down and produce chemicals which may be harmful to health, so it is important to choose a cooking oil which has a high smoke point,” Manlangit added.

But it is not just enough to use Canola Oil. Like choosing the perfect life partner, one should use the leading and most trusted Canola Oil brand, so you can be sure that you are getting the heart-health benefits for you and your family.

For Makati-based mommy Sheh Lizano, using only Jolly Heart Mate Canola Oil is an easy decision. The 48-year-old mom of four shares that several diseases run in her family’s blood, including diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure.

“Ayaw kong manahin ng mga anak ko ang mga sakit na ‘yun, kasi gusto ko rin ma-enjoy nila ang happy life,” Lizano says. Her initial solution was to avoid fried food, despite it being her family’s favorite.

“Pero nung nalaman ko ang advantage na maganda sa puso ang Jolly Heart Mate Canola Oil, every day we use it kapag nagluluto para sa pamilya,” she says.

Manlangit clarifies that Canola Oil is not only ideal for frying. It can also be used for baking and roasting. What’s more, with minimal taste, it allows for the full flavors of food to come out.

Meanwhile, young mommy Grace Escueta from Laguna has grown more conscious of what she prepares for her family.

Talagang inaalam kung ano ang dapat i-prepare na ingredients, lalong higit kung anong gagamitin kong cooking oil,” she says. “Noong na-introduce sa ‘kin si Jolly Heart Mate Canola Oil, doon ko natutunan lalo ang importance ng maganda ang ginagamit mong oil in preparing meals for your family.”

Even celebrity mom and wife Carmina Villarroel has only one choice when it comes to cooking oil. “Para sa akin, Jolly Heart Mate lang talaga in cooking meals for my family. Sigurado ako sa quality and I’m sure that when I cook, ‘di ko lang na-papasaya ang mga puso nila, na-proprotektahan ko pa,” Carmina said. “Why should you settle when you can choose the best?” Carmina added.

Carmina’s husband Zoren Legaspi and twins Mavy and Cassy Legaspi cannot agree more. “Mahilig din ako magluto and when I cook, I only trust the No. 1 - Jolly Heart Mate,” Zoren said. Mavy and Cassy have also started getting active in the kitchen and they already know which brand they should use. “Heart Mate lang ang cooking oil sa kusina namin,” Mavy mentioned. “Heart Mate for Life kaming pamilya,” Cassy added.

Jolly Heart Mate Canola Oil has been the consistent No. 1 Canola Oil brand since 2011, making it the most trusted Canola Oil brand in the country for years. Its consistent quality and heart health benefits make it the brand of choice for Filipino moms, medical professionals, and even trusted celebrities!

Protect your heart this Heart Month by using only the leading and most trusted canola oil brand, Jolly Heart Mate Canola Oil. Available in supermarkets and grocery stores nationwide, and online on Lazada, Shopee, and AceMarket. ph. For more information, check out the brand’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ JollyHeartMateCanolaOil.

CHEF Francisco Romero CHEF Carlos Garcia

SEATED are Nellibeth V. Mercado DSWD Division Chief, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program; Dr. Barry R. Chua, DSWD Regional Director IV A; Mark Dewey Sergio Managing Director Knauf Gypsum Philippines, Inc. and Lo Sarmiento Finance Head Knauf Gypsum Philippines, Inc. Standing are DSWD Field Office IV-A CALABARZON and Knauf Philippines representatives

MARCIAL SKIPS SEAG, TOO

By Josef Ramos

EUMIR FELIX MARCIAL

won’t be in Cambodia

thus foregoing the chance for a fifth straight men’s boxing gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games.

I’m not going to fight in the SEA Games,” the 27-year-old Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist told BusinessMirror via text message on Thursday, four days after going 4-0 as a pro with a second-round technical knockout win over Argentina’s Ricardo Ruben Villalba in San Antonio, Texas.

My next fight as a pro will be most likely late May or June, so I really need be in the US to train,” added Marcial, who’s expected to return home with wife Princess for a two-week vacation. He’s been in the US since October.

H is handler, MP Promotions head Sean Gibbons, confirmed his decision.

Eumir can dominate the Southeast Asian Games even while sitting on a couch,” Gibbons said.

M arcial took Olympic weightlifting champion Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo’s decision to also skip the 32nd SEA Games Cambodia is hosting from May 5 to 17.

D iaz-Naranja and her husband-coach Julius Naranjo are focused on a fifth Olympic campaign and are putting more weight on the Asian Weightlifting Championships—a Paris 2024 qualifier—that runs conflict with the SEA Games with a May 3 to 13 program. Th at leaves two potential repeat gold medalists on Team Philippines in Cambodia—world No. 3 pole

Nakajima hangs on with 73 on windy day

TORU NAKAJIMA misfired coming home and barely clung to a one-stroke lead over Hyun Ho Rho with a 73 as majority of the field also cracked with over-par scores in a punishing Thursday in the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Q-School at Splendido Taal in Tagaytay City. The wind howled at the onset of the third round and kept pounding the course and the field throughout, send-

comfort as he hardly hung onto the lead with a 216 aggregate.

He actually survived the test with a three-birdie and a three-bogey frontside stint and came through with a brave run of pars at the back, but failed to get up and down on the treacherous par-3 17th and wound up with a 36-37.

Hyun also bogeyed the penultimate hole and missed catching the 2013 PGT Wack Wack leg winner at the helm, but the Korean ace now based at Mount Malarayat threatened to within one with a 217 to set the stage for a shootout for top honors in the final round of the elims which offers 35 cards for this year’s PGT.

M ake it a three-way battle as Gen Nagai put himself in strong contention for medal honors, also with a 72 for a 218.

The Cebu-based Japanese, a for mer Philippine Junior Amateur c hampion, actually appeared headed to grabbing the third day honors with four straight birdies from No. 9 for a running two-under card.

But he came in ruffled by the winds like the rest, bogeying Nos. 14 and 18 and enabling Nakajima, who also placed second to Angelo Que at Anvaya Cove in 2017, to stay ahead of the surviving 51-player field heading to the final 18 holes of the qualifier organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.

Nilo Salahog, in a five-way tie for second with first day leader U Minn Woon and amateurs Gab Manotoc and Russell Bautista, and Hyun after 36 holes, also wobbled at the finish with bogeys on Nos. 15 and 18 and fell to fifth at 221 after a 76, while Bautista crumbled when the going got tougher and skied to a 77 marred by a double bogey on the par-4 No. 1 for a 222 in a tie with Hong Kong’s Michael Wong.

The 25-year-old Wong barely made it to his tee-time but withstood the pressure and the elements at Splendido, hitting two birdies against a bogey at the front. He, however, bogeyed three of the last seven holes and finished with a 74, six strokes behind Nakajima.

TORU NAKAJIMA reads the line of his putt on the first hole.

Members of fabled Toyota team celebrate golden anniversary

By Eddie Alinea Special to BusinessMirror

ON Saturday, February 18, the

other half of the celebrated rivalry in Philippine basketball history that served as one of the launching pads of why the shootand-dribble sport has become the Filipino’s favorite past time, will mark the  50th year of its founding.

To commemorate that year in 1973 when the Toyota basketball team came into being and significantly dominate the country’s cage scene, surviving members of the franchise owned by the Toyota Motors gather for the first time in decades at the place where they used to hold important occasions—the Alfresco Covered Lounge on Don Chino Roces Avenue (formerly Pasong Tamo Extension) in Makati City.

Heading the attendees of the affair are long-time coach-owner Dante Silverio and, hopefully, local basketball’s “living legend” Robert Jaworski, to reminisce the teams’ rich and memorable winning tradition in both the amateur and professional ranks.

Jaworski, who, according the Gil Cortez, a Toyota member and first Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie of the Year honoree, quoting the Big J’s son Robert Jr., or Dodot, now Pasig City vice Mayor, “has just been released from the hospital due to a rare

blood disorder he’s been suffering for more than two years.”

Jaworski, Cortez added, is already in fine condition and can attend the gatherings depending on the advice of his doctors.

Best effort, according to Dodot, for coach Jawo to attend,” said the former “King Warrior” of the University of the East Cortez, who’s assigned to coordinate the affair.

Two years after its founding, while carrying the banner of the Komatsu Komets coached by Nilo Verona, Toyota ruled the 1973 Manila Industrial Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) in Cinderella fashion.

Jaworski and company then would migrate to the first-ever professional league in Asia, the PBA, where Toyota won the play-for-pay’s  historic two inaugural conferences on the way to a total nine titles before the team disbanded in 1984.

Members of that 1973 MICAA crown owners were Ronald Acosta, Fort Acuna, Francis Arnaiz, Orlando Bauzon, Edward Camus, Edilberto Canalao, Robert Concepcion, Ramon Fernandez, Cristino Reynoso, Ulysses Rodriguez, Rodolfo Segura, Alberto “Big Boy” Reynoso and Jaworski.

A long with eight other MICAA members, Toyota abandoned its amateur status to form the PBA, bringing along Jaworski, Arnaiz, Fernandez,

vaulter who’s expecting to kick off his outdoor campaign in the SEA Games and two-time world gymnastics champion Carlos Yulo.

ulo, however, declared he’ll skip the Asian Games in Hangzhou whose September 23-October 8 schedule runs against the Olympic qualifier World Artistic Gymnastics Championships from September 29 to October 8 in Antwerp, Belgium.

arcial was a skinny flyweight when he broke into the boxing scene in 2011 by winning his first international gold medal at the Youth World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

e debuted at the Singapore 2015 SEA Games and won gold as a welterweight. He bulked up to middleweight and dominated the division in the next three editions of the Games—Kuala Lumpur 2017, Philippines 2019 and Hanoi 2022. e qualified for Tokyo when he won gold at the 2020 Asia Oceania Boxing Olympics Qualification Tournament in Amman, Jordan, and settled for bronze at the Olympics in 2021. He vowed to win an Olympic gold besides his dream to become a world champion in the pros.

Bad back, law of averages tolls on Obiena in France

ABAD back and perhaps the law of averages tolled on Ernest John “EJ” Obiena who missed podium No. 7 by finishing 10th and last in the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais athletics tournament on Thursday morning at the Arena Stade Couvert in Lievin, France.

He’s done for now,” Obiena’s personal confidante Jim Lafferty told BusinessMirror via chat on Thursday.

“His back is not good and he has quite a bit of tightness and pain.”

Obiena managed only 5.64 meters—the worst he’d leapt this season. He tried 5.82 meters but failed.

World record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden won the gold medal with a 6.01-meter effort, while Italy’s Claudio Stecchi bagged silver with 5.82 meters and Australia’s Kurtis Marschall also 5.82 meters but clinched bronze with more attempts.

Obiena was going 6-of-6 on podium finishes before the Lievin meet where Ethiopia’s Lamecha

Girma broke a 25-year-old indoor world record in the 3,000 meters with a clocking of seven minutes and 23.81 seconds. The previous record of 7:24.90 was set by Kenya’s Daniel Komen in Budapest in 1998. B ut without his physiotherapist to monitor his body, Obiena had to contend with back spasms and almost withdrew from the World Athletics event.

Six straight podium finishes against the world’s best is incredible,” Lafferty said. “No. 7? We have to put it aside. It was touch and go with his back.”

He added: “EJ is a lion, a warrior. He wanted to try and perhaps he shouldn’t have tried. But he is a competitor.”

Obiena—who collected three gold, two silver and one bronze medals during his indoor sojourn—will take a rest before prepping up for the outdoor season that could begin with the Cambodia 32nd  Southeast Asian Games from May 5 to 17. Josef Ramos

1,500 see action as PAL Interclub returns after 2-year hiatus in Cebu

scoring system that awards 3 points for par. A regulation round is equivalent to 54 points.

MORE than 1,500 players representing 178 squads will converge next week for the 74th Philippine Airlines Interclub golf team championships in Cebu City.

Canlubang starts its defense of its Seniors’ crown on Tuesday against a host of challengers led by rival Luisita.

The Seniors’ event drew 100 teams, nearly half coming from the United States, Canada, Middle East and Malaysia, among others.

Alta Vista and Club Filipino de Cebu will play host to the fourround event that uses the Molave

Each team is allowed to field a maximum of four players per round with only the top three scores counted. Each player is limited to two rounds.

A fter a three-day break, the regular Men’s Division tournament kicks off on March 1 with defending champion Manila Southwoods gunning for its seventh crown.

Twenty-one international teams are among 75 clubs entered in the tournament that is adopting the PAL scoring system—par is worth 2 points with 36 points awarded to a regulation round.

H osting the regular Men’s event are Cebu Country Club and Club Filipino de Cebu.

A m aximum of five players can be fielded by each team but only the top four scores count. A player is also

limited to two rounds. Cebu City last hosted the Interclub in 2019.

T he annual PAL Interclub, considered the country’s unofficial national team championship, was shelved for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 74th staging of the event is supported by platinum sponsors ABSCBN Global, Asian Journal, Airbus and NuStar Resort and Casino.

G old sponsors include Radio Mindanao Network, Mastercard, Primax, University of Mindanao Broadcasting Network, PLDT/Smart and Konsulta MD.

J oining the event as silver sponsors are Philippine National Bank. Biocostech and VISA.

Minor sponsors are Bollore Logistics, Tanduay Brands International and Asia Brewery while donors are Department of Tourism, Ogawa, Newport World Resorts, Rolls Royce and Boeing.

MPBL, OKBet renew hoopfest partnership

THE Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and gaming platform OKBet renewed their partnership geared at helping more aspiring players reach their full potential and realize their dreams.

B oxing legend and MPBL founder Manny Pacquiao was elated over the commitment made by the country’s leading gaming platform for the league’s upcoming fifth regular season.

is one of the milestones the gaming platform achieved the past years which Pacquiao attested to, saying “the league he bankrolled returned from a two-year break due to the contagion with much success.” OKBet vowed to keep the partnership more vibrant apart from its main goal of helping revitalize the country’s economy.

Concepcion, Bauzon, Reynoso brothers “Big Boy” and Cris, Acuna and Segura, while beefing up the roster with new acquisitions Joaquin Rojas, Aurelio Clarino and Oscar Rocha,

A nd with 6-foot-8 America import Byron “Snake” Jones joining coach Silverio’s aggrupation after the first half of the preliminaryy round, the team then known as Comets, indeed, looked formidable in compiling an inviable 15-3 win-loss record going into the First Conference championship at the expense of soon-to-be fiercest rivals Crispa Redmanzers, 2-1, of their best-of-three series.

Silverio brought in 6-foot-6 import Stan Cherry for the Second Conference, making his lineup more balanced as the Comets, once again, beat the Redmanizers in the title playoff after Crispa, trailing the series 1-2, withdrew from the title playoff.

I n the four-team Third Conference billed as the All-Philippine Championship, Toyota lost to Crispa in the first game to win three series that went the full route to deny the Comets what could’ve been the first Grand Slam triumph of the then first and only pro-league in the country.

In the overall win-loss picture of the PBA’s inaugural year, Toyota won 42 games with 15 losses. It had a winning record against all other pro clubs: 12-9 over Crsipa, 7-2 over Royal Tru-Orange

of San Miguel, 6-1 over Universal Textiles, 5-2 over Mariwasa Noritake, 3-1 over Concepcion Carrier, 3-0 over Seven-Up, 3-0 over CFC Presto and 3-0 over Tanduay Distillers.

Toyota scored the highest single game 159 points in its one-sided outing versus Seven-Up on May 13, 1975. Comets sentinel Francis Arnaiz was named pro-basketball Player of the Year in that year’s Seven-Up All-Filipino Sports Award with Silverio and Crispa counterpart Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan as co-Coaches of the Year.

T he PBA was born and grew up in the shadow of the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City and the age-old Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila. Mild turbulences as player fights attended its first years of existence but action grew as more frenzied games improved a lot. Attendance picked up and the competition became stiffer.

B efore the maiden year—that was diagnosed not to last to celebrate its second anniversary—ended, the PBA grew into a full-grown adult that is now celebrating its 47th birthday.

Th anks to Toyota and Crispa whose storied rivalry that lasted a little over a decade, made the PBA what it was before its disbandment.

“ I am looking forward to continue working with OKBet, which is one of our trusted partners in championing sports development and the welfare of our Filipino athletes,” said the former senator during the OKBet Grand Launch billed “Together, We Rise” at the Hilton Manila Hotel.

“ OKBet shared our goals to provide more opportunities to aspiring talents from all over the country, and help the local competitive scene recover from the Covid-19 pandemic,” Pacquiao added.

OKBet’s partnership with MPBL

A fter sealing a historic deal with MPBL last year, OKbet also launched its “Play It Forward” sports development program and enlisted the help of some of the league’s most talented players and coaches to host free basketball clinics for the Filipino youth.

It has also acquired the rights to the Makati OKBet Kings in the MPBL which will be competing with at least 29 other teams from different cities and provinces around the country on March 10.

A s a reliable ally of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, OKBet also committed to upholding the integrity of the gaming industry.

EUMIR FELIX MARCIAL is setting his priorities.

FORMER Senator Manny Pacquiao is OKBet’s advocacy partner in responsible gaming campaign.

ThunderingyeTrefinedand ThrifTy

Story

by Randy S. Peregrino

This variant addresses the lifestyle function clamor in the hotly-contested pickup segment. Foton Motor Philippines (FMP) recently hosted a drive event to showcase the new variant to select motoring media. It was a day drive up north to visit the Foton Bacolor dealership and the truck manufacturer's assembly plant in Clark, Pampanga.

Sporty outside, lavish inside CoM MI s sIoned for the drive event were five Philippine-assembled and fresh-fromthe-assembly plant units with varying metallic colors. e x terior-wise, the massive grille partnered with sharp-looking projector headlamps and L e d foglamps with daylight running lights highlight the masculine sporty design Foton defines the look. noteworthy is the plastic clad with the brand logo attached to the tailgate. The clever design element touches both form and function. The rear bed's plastic liner is also standard. o verall dimension is 5340 mm long, 1940 mm wide, and 1870 mm tall with a 3220 mm wheelbase. Ground clearance is elevated at 220 mm, at par with the competition.

The truck's front suspension has an independent double-wishbone with spiral springs, while the rear is leaf sprung non-independent. As for the brakes, this variant has front and rear rotor brakes, something the competition doesn't have at a lower price point. The 18-inch two-toned alloy rims wrapped in 265/70 tires complement the truck's aggressive stance.

Interior-wise, the design surprised us the most. It was nothing we expected from a midsized pickup. But, to match the lifestyle aura of the truck, Foton gave the Allnew Thunder 2.0 a premium car-like cabin element. Like the 10.25-inch head-up infotainment touchscreen sitting on top of the sedan-looking dash with clustered controls

in the middle matching the six-inch digital LCd instrument cluster. even the attached and broad center console looks good, fitted with a short electronic shifter, which is unfamiliar to the segment. There are also paddle shifters, by the way.

Talk about comfort and convenience, which Foton claims are an exquisite leatherfinished interior; the snug front seats and rear bench have premium design patterns in european cars. ot her standard features are Keyless entry with Hold Window down Control, Power Window Control, Central Locking system, Power side Mirrors, electronic Parking Brake with Auto Hold, Multifunction steering wheel, dr iver seat Height Adjustment, and Headlamp Adjustment, among others. There are cup holders everywhere, by the way.

New "AUCAN" engine

FoTon replaced the old Cummins powertrain with a new 4F20 (AUCA n) 2.0-liter four-cylinder in line with BorgWarner-made turbocharger, eURo V-compliant diesel engine. This smaller yet more-advanced mill dishes out 161 hp at 4,000 rpm and a substantial 380 n-m of maximum torque early on at 1,800 rpm. even better, the new powerplant is mated to an eight-speed ZF-made automatic transmission with an eaton-made differential.

That substantial torque was evident throughout the powerband. We like how the throttle opening matches the right gear whenever downshifting as we step on it. There was no wasted power gear after gear resulting in unrelenting acceleration. Impressively, the new engine made the 2,980-kilogram frame seem lighter as we navigated the entire stretch of the expressway. speed increments were swift and effortless. While the truck's 75-liter fuel tank capacity was reassuring, the fuel gauge meter hardly changed during our trip.

Car-like comfort nICe and comfy interiors have benefits for driving, particularly in extended ones. The experience gave us a car-like feel throughout the drive: the snug seats, nice-looking dash, and elevated seating configuration provided a good vantage point. But of course, given the rear leaf-sprung suspension, there were

the expected bounces. But the better interior n V H compensated for that resulting in us not feeling drained after the long drive back and forth.

As for safety, electronic components are all Bosch-made, such as Anti-lock Braking sy stem with e l ectronic Brake d i stribution, Traction Control sy stem, e lectronic st ability Program ( e sP), Hydraulic Brak-

Pasig clean-up on target; new Toyota chief

We should all be glad to learn that s a n Miguel Corp. (s M C) will cross the one-million, metricton threshold in the removal of silt and solid wastes at Pasig River this month.

I can imagine the wide smile on the face of Ramon s Ang (R sA) as his P2-billion Pasig clean-up is progressing on smoothly since the grand plan began only several months back.

R sA , the amiable sMC President and Ceo, has been thoroughly apprised of his dredging teams’ working almost round-the-clock to ensure that both ends of Metro Manila’s main waterways—the Manila Bay and Laguna Lake— become blocks-free when the rainy season sets in this year.

A ng was elated to learn that from just two to three meters deep at the start of the project, completed sections now have depths of from five to six meters.

He is optimistic that in less than two years, the targeted wastes-clearing will be achieved since the initiative was launched in July 2021, with the support of the department of environment and natural Resources (denR) and local government units. earlier, sMC’s Tullahan River cleanup has removed some 1.12 million metric tons of silt and wastes from sections traversing navotas, Caloocan, Malabon and Valenzuela, in 27 months.

since the projects started, flooding has been significantly minimized and the navigability and safety for ferries and other vessels have also immensely improved.

“ We are happy to note that the easing of restrictions are now allowing us to achieve our cleanup targets much faster,” R sA said.

“Hopefully, by the time the rainy season sets in, our cities will feel the benefits of the Pasig River’s larger carrying capacity, along with government’s other flood mitigation and control programs.”

Continued Ang: “Compared to our earlier Tullahan River cleanup, the positive impacts of our Pasig River effort will be felt in even more areas. It will benefit not just people from Metro Manila, but also many from Rizal, all the way to Laguna de Bay.” sMC’s historic Pasig River cleanup is said to be the largest such initiative to date by a single private enterprise. May R sA’s tribe increase…

Toyota new chief

ToYoTA Motor international has a new chief to replace Akio Toyoda as President and Ceo

According to ni kkei Asia, Koji sato, the Lexus International president in 2020, will be tapped to “fully remodel” the world no. 1 automaker as a mobility company. Toyoda, 66, will leave sato, 53, the her-

ing Assist, Vehicle d y namics Control, Hill d e scent Control, Hill Hold, d u al Air Bags, s a fety Belt Reminder, Hydraulic Braking Assist, High Mount Third Brake Light, Child Lock Function, Anti-Pinch s e nsor sy stem, and High-mount third brake light, among others.

o verall, the All-new Thunder 2.0 4x2 A/T is a worthy contender to the hotly-contested and crowded pickup truck segment. Foton did a great job incorporating a premium car-like interior design and trim to provide a different kind of comfort in driving a pickup. The new AUCA n engine also did not disappoint, and its potentially thrifty fuel consumption would be an excellent counterpart to today's rising diesel fuel prices. Foton Philippines is offering the All-new Thunder 2.0 4x2 A/T at P1.350 million, available in different metallic shades with more vibrant color options in the coming months.

culean job of dealing with the rise of electric vehicles (eV) and other mobility technologies.

Toyoda told a news conference the need for the company to have a new management team of younger leaders to navigate the challenges ahead.

“sato is a man who has worked hard to master Toyota’s philosophy, techniques and manners in the field of car manufacturing,” Toyoda said. “He loves cars.”

He took note of sato’s young age (53), saying: “In order to promote change in an age when the right answers are not known, it is necessary for the top management to continue to be on the frontlines themselves. To do so, physical strength, energy and passion are essential. I think being young is a big attraction in itself.”

Toyoda is giving way after 14 years at the helm, his leadership marked by Toyota’s steady rise to the top of the world coupled with a sustained stamina to marshal the automaker’s grip of the reins of mobility power.

A s always, good leaders know when it’s time to go.

on ly recently, Jacinda Ardern, who rose to fame after becoming the world’s youngest prime minister at age 37 just a while back, resigned as new Zealand’s charismatic leader after humbly admitting, “I do not have enough left in the tank.” she’s only 42.

T he saying, “grandmasters know when to resign,” rings true again.

PEE STOP

Happy birthday to my Innova-driving bilas, dante T. Fernandez, of Roxas City, and sol Juvida’s grandkid, dada R. Mendoza. Both dante and dada are celebrating on February 20. Cheers!...UBix’s Bert Bravo, my ever-durable, ageless, kumpadre, also celebrates on February 24. Kanpai!

& photos

AFTER the successful launch of the AllNew Foton Thunder 2.0 4x2 M/T, the automatic variant made its way to the local market.

The fleet of All-New Thunder 2.0 at the FMP Assembly Plant in Clark, Pampanga

PreMiuM car-like interior

The new AuC AN engine