BusinessMirror February 20, 2023

WHY BALLOONS ARE NOW IN PUBLIC EYE–AND MILITARY CROSSHAIRS

Local, foreign biz groups push for RCEP okay

By Andrea E. San Juan

SAYING the country cannot afford to be left behind much further, local and foreign business chambers have expressed support anew for Senate ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which top Senate leaders endorsed in plenary last week.

S ergio Ortiz-Luis, president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines or ECOP, said that “among our ASEAN neighbors, we are at the tail end.”

He said ratification by the Senate, which was reported to have set the voting on Tuesday, “will bring us

competitive with others, at least to a certain degree. We can’t afford not to have trade agreements and, at the same time, to not be part of it,” he said.

Everyone has joined already,” he added.

T he Philippines is the only one among the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN and its five free trade agreement (FTA) partners, namely Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, which has not ratified the agreement.

R elatedly, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) called on the Senate anew to ratify the RCEP Agreement, which it said will play a “key role” in sus -

taining the Philippines’s “growth trajectory.”

I n a letter to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, PCCI President George T. Barcelon said, “RCEP will play a key role in sustaining the Philippines growth trajectory, provide unparalleled opportunities for Philippine businesses and prime the country for further economic growth and development.”

T he PCCI head also cited the consequences of not participating in the regional trade deal, including putting the country’s exports at a disadvantage considering RCEP’s “growing area.”

We cannot afford to miss out on the RCEP. Non-joining will disad -

vantage our exports in the world’s fastest growing area. Furthermore, it is detrimental to our goal to bring in foreign investments as investors would rather look at an RCEP signatory country to obtain preferential treatments among the RCEP countries,” Barcelon stressed.

However, he added, the country must also be able to provide safeguards so that concerns, especially of the agriculture sector, are properly addressed.

B esides the economic advantages, Barcelon highlighted that the Philippine business can “fully” enjoy the opportunities offered by the trade agreement.

BusinessMirror

FOOD CRUNCH TO FUEL INFLATION, BSP WARNS

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

(BSP) warned that various food supply problems, including potatoes and fish, could exacerbate the country’s accelerating inflation.

I n its February economic outlook, the BSP listed the various key commodities seeing elevated prices because of supply constraints that will “further add to the upside risks to inflation.”

T hese are: livestock, poultry, fish, onions and even potatoes.

T his, as Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said other Executive departments and even local government units must be more “aggressive” and focused so the government can temper the country’s accelerating inflation.

Diokno pointed out that monetary authorities such as the BSP have already done their part in tempering the country’s inflation, adding that resolving higher costs of goods and services is an “all-of- government campaign.”

“ In the fight against inflation, monetary policy is not the only game in town. The main sources of inflation remain on the supply side, which should be the responsibility of fiscal authorities,” he said in a statement at the weekend. “ While evidence of secondround effects is increasing, the previous direct actions by government agencies have yet to work through its way,” he added.

High prices till end-year

THE high prices of the commodities it listed may persist until the end of the year if the national government will not address the constraints, the BSP said.

See “Food,” A2

15 HOTELS, SPAS IN METRO MANILA WIN FORBES’ STAR AWARDS

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

FIFTEEN hotel and spa properties in Metro Manila landed on the prestigious Forbes Travel Guide (FTG) Star Award Winners list for 2023.

S even of those properties received the highest rating at Five Stars: the Marco Polo Ortigas Manila, Nüwa Manila and Nüwa Spa at the City of Dreams Manila, Okada Manila and its Retreat Spa, the Peninsula Manila, and the Sky Tower at Solaire Resort

and Casino. It was the first time for The Retreat Spa at the Okada Manila to win a Star Award.

T hose that received a Four-Star rating were: Fairmont Makati, Hyatt Regency Manila and Nobu Hotel at the City of Dreams, Raffles Makati, Shangri-La at The Fort, and Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

Two properties, Conrad Manila and the now shuttered Makati Shangri-La, received a “Recommended” rating.

T he 65th annual list features 360 Five-Star, 585 Four-Star and 433 Recommended hotels; 79 Five-Star, 113 Four-Star and 67

Recommended restaurants; and 119 Five-Star and 195 Four-Star spas worldwide. FTG reviewers inspect properties around the world anonymously.

“ Travel is in an incredible position for continued growth, as people prioritize authentic, in-person experiences,” said Amanda Frasier, FTG’s President of Ratings in a news statement. “The hotels, ocean cruises, restaurants and spas on our 2023 Star Rating list demonstrate an impressive commitment to creating memorable environments that nurture connection, joy and

DTI: Access to BNPCs assured amid global spikes

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) assured consumers at the weekend they will have access to affordable basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs) amid the global inflation.

“

We, in DTI, would like to ensure that consumers will have access to affordable basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs) amidst the global inflation,” Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said in a statement on Saturday.

T he Trade chief said they are mobilizing their monitoring teams from the Consumer Protection Group (CPG) to “regularly” conduct price monitoring on these BNPCs.  Pascual underscored the agency’s monitoring mandate, which he said is designed to prevent profiteering and hoarding.

sense of place as we experience the world to its fullest.”

Occupancy, ADR

MEANWHILE , domestic tourism is pushing local hotel occupancy levels higher than pre-pandemic levels. “For the month of January, hotels [were] hitting already 80-percent occupancy; pre-pandemic it was 60 percent to 70 percent. So it’s far better now,” said said Loleth So, president of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA). “Domestic tourism [is] very strong right now.

See “15 Hotels,” A2

T he Trade chief said the remarks after the Trade department’s consumer protection arm, led by DTI Assistant Secretary Ann Claire C. Cabochan and Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) Officer-in-Charge Assistant Director Joseph Manuel P. Pamittan, conducted the price monitoring and enforcement operations as they inspected retail firms within Manila following the release of the Suggested Retail Price (SRP) bulletin on February 8.

Through the tight price watch, the monitoring teams affirmed the compliance of the two supermarkets inspected in Manila with the latest SRP bulletin as well as the requirement of appropriate price tags on products,” DTI said in a statement.

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages |

‘TURNING JAPANESE’ Mall-goers try on traditional Japanese garments at the Japan Fiesta 2023 showcase at the Glorietta mall in Makati City on Sunday, February 19, 2023. With exhibits set up by the local tourism board, private companies, airlines, travel agencies and the Japan Fiesta Council, the event, according to organizers, is ideal for those who want to learn more about Japanese culture and get exclusive information on exploring Japan. Organized not just for Filipinos but also for expats in the Philippines, the event showcases the vibrant culture of Japan with the help of both Japanese and local exhibitors, and special guests to talk about the “Land of the Rising Sun.” BERNARD TESTA

ODA law changes to let PHL acquire modern air, naval gear

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

THE House Committee on Ways and Means will present amendments to the Official Development Assistance (ODA) Law to ensure that the country has the flexibility “to acquire top-ofthe-line air equipment and naval capabilities.”

H ouse Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda is pushing for the passage of a bill expanding the range of ODA options for the country, which includes allowing local governments to access ODA loans and VAT reliefs for such borrowings.

“ Let’s build our defenses so that countries that have their eyes on the West Philippine Sea don’t feel like they can push us around so easily,” Salceda said.

“ Again, countries like us shouldn’t declare that our only option is diplomacy. No one wants war, but defenders don’t decide that. Aggressors decide whether they want war. And defenders have to be ready,” Salceda added.

Continued from A1

T he Senate Technical Working Group is currently holding meetings on RCEP amid  strong opposition from stakeholders in the agriculture sector, who said they were not

Under the current ODA Law, Salceda explained, the country is restricted by provisions that put a grant component floor of 40 percent of the total ODA loans, and at least 25 percent of each loan.

O ther limitations include the lack of provisions for private sector participation in financing, and the public bidding requirement, which may hinder loans for acquisitions such as defense equipment, which typically already have a single eligible supplier.

“ That hinders us from acquiring, say, French submarines although France has already signalled its intent to make loans for these available.”

S alceda added that in 2021, Defense Security Cooperation

properly consulted by the government prior to the approval by former President Rodrigo Duterte. The PCCI chief, nonetheless, is hoping that the Senate will concur in the ratification of RCEP this 19th Congress.

B arcelon also noted that countries which have ratified the regional trade pact are already seeing increases in

Agency, or DSCA of the United States already cleared the Philippines to acquire F16s from the United States.

We were also cleared to purchase Harpoon missiles, which would definitely deter any naval incursion into our waters,” he said.

“ The message you want to send to adversarial countries is, well, we will never recourse to war as a first option, but we are ready to defend. And your attacks against us will cost you,” he added.

Salceda assured the public, however, that the loans for defense capabilities “will remain deeply concessional, especially with EDCA and other similar military arrangements.”

ODAs remain the cheapest way to borrow. They are still deeply concessional. The capital markets do not give you a grant component. And certainly, they do not come with technical capabilities and knowledge-sharing,” he said.

S alceda added that ODA law amendments will require “that the ODA loans are still concessional compared to borrowing

their “overall trade.”

Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual, in his pitch at the Senate two weeks ago, said RCEP is not just a “simple” trade agreement, since as an ASEANled free trade agreement (FTA), it will ensure the region’s “continued economic advantage” and will help maintain a “balance of power” within the region.

from the market.”

“ But the ODA Law was written when we were still a country struggling out of political and economic crises. We are now on the cusp of being an uppermiddle income country. In the OECD’s definition for ODAs, we’re so close to not being eligible for any ODA already. The grant component for peer countries is 10 percent grant element, 6 percent discount rate. The current law requires ODA loans to be 25 percent grant component, at 10 percent discount rate,” he said.

At the rate we’re growing, soon, no ODA will qualify at our stage of development. And that, of course, is bad for our long-term development needs. Especially because ODA loans are very long-term, unlike most capital market instruments,” he added.

T he House Committee on Ways and Means has conducted  preliminary discussions on private sector participation in official development assistance, ahead of formal discussions on House Bill 7135, or amendments of the ODA Law.

Among the economic advantages, the Trade chief said is the preferential treatment arising from “enhanced” market access, wider sourcing of raw materials, among others.

P ascual noted that while the regional trade deal is not a “magic bullet” that will solve the country’s problems in various sectors, it will provide an “enabling environment.”

Hence, the government and business sector must still do their part to make local industries more productive and more competitive, he added.

RCEP is a free trade agreement among Asean countries and their trading partners Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. Touted as the world’s largest trade pact, RCEP represents 30 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).   See related story in Economy.

Foreign chambers, too T HE American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. (AmCham) issued a similar statement for ratification.

“ The Philippines cannot afford to leave itself out of the bloc since being a member will harness economic benefits that will hasten economic recovery from the scars, higher debt and economic damages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the AmCham said. The Chamber believes that the Philippines’s participation in RCEP will boost the country’s competitiveness and will reflect a strong, rules-based economy. This will encourage more foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the country which ultimately translates into more jobs for Filipinos,” the statement added.

We strongly urge the Honorable members of the Philippine Senate to immediately ratify RCEP,” the chamber said, noting that the agreement is already in force in Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

W idely, long debated on For his part, Ortiz-Luis of ECOP said doubts about the country’s competitiveness to enter into a free trade deal are misplaced.

We have lessons in the past, we enter into negotiations without involving the private sector. And by the time we are allowed to take part there are already promised safeguards, especially in the agriculture sector, that have disappeared, so there are bad lessons.

“ Fortunately, in the case of RCEP, this is widely debated on and for a long time, so we are already familiar. And if there are vacuums, these have been filled up, there are safeguards already,” he said.

A s to perceived fears about RCEP’s disadvantageous effects on the agricultural sector, the ECOP head said that these have been addressed repeatedly “so the risks are very minimal, if ever.” “We have waited long enough for this (ratification), and we are very late already. All the others have overtaken us,” Ortiz-Luis said.

“ The scenario assumes that the elevated price levels of these commodities will be sustained until end-2023 if the supply constraints are not addressed,” said the Central Bank report.

I n the meat sector, the BSP said pork could remain expensive as the threat of African swine fever (ASF) still crimps expansion plans in the sector. High feeds and logistics costs have worsened that situation for local hog producers, it added.

“Chicken prices have likewise increased in the previous year as high production costs put a strain on producers’ operations,” the report read.

Expansion plans in the sector were also limited by the continued threat of Avian Influenza and the high cost of feed ingredients,” it added.

T he BSP thinks the country could suffer a shortage of fish in the first quarter despite the entry of imports. It cited agriculture department estimates that total fish supply in the January-to-March period is at 688,799 metric tons compared to the total estimated demand of 884,910 MT.

As a result, the projected supply deficit is 196,111 MT for Q1 2023 with a sufficiency level of 77.8 percent,” it said.

H igh onion prices are also seen to remain a factor driving inflation, as only less than a quarter of the approved 21,000 MT of onion imports entered the country.

T he BSP also flagged potatoes as an inflation concern: its price now hovers between P100 and P150 per kilogram from P75 per kilogram in end-Q3 2022.

Prices have steadily gone up starting Q4 of last year. Prices of high-value crops such as potatoes could increase from lower production following weather-related disturbances,” the BSP said.

T he BSP said sugar prices could stay high in the next 12 months if the arrival of sugar imports is delayed, particularly after the harvest and milling season.

“ Based on the 240 by 240 2018 input-output table, the commodities and industries most sensitive to the changes in the price of sugar are soft drinks and juices, chocolates and sugar confectionary, bakery products and alcoholic beverages,” it said.

‘Most aggressive policy’

W DIOKNO, a former BSP governor, said the country’s monetary policy is now considered the “most aggressive” in the region and the impact of the series of interest rate hikes is “working its way” already.

H e noted that the BSP has already implemented a rate hike of 400 basis points (bps) since the start of the year compared to India’s 250 bps, Indonesia’s 225 bps and 100 bps for Thailand and Malaysia.

“ The Executive Department and the LGUs should intensify the implementation of more di -

15 hotels...

rect, non-monetary measures to help address the supply issues,” he said.

D iokno’s statement came a few days after the Monetary Board increased the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase facility by 50 bps to 6 percent to ease accelerating inflation that rose to a higher-than-expected rate of 8.7 percent in January, the fastest in more than 14 years. (Related story: https:// businessmirror com.ph/2023/02/17/monetaryboard-deals-50-bps-rate-hikemore-in-future/)

T he BusinessMirror earlier reported economists’ warning that inflation could outpace the country’s economic growth this year, especially if no steps are taken to mitigate supply side constraints. (Related story: https:// businessmirror .com.ph/2023/02/10/ economists-warning-inflationcould-outpace-growth/)

TWG soon

DIOKNO said the national government will form a “small” technical working group (TWG) of various executive agencies for an “objective” and “timely” assessment of the country’s food supply and demand conditions.

T he TWG members are the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Agriculture.

“

This responsibility should be taken away from vested groups. This will help ensure timely actions to avert short-term upticks in food prices,” Diokno said.

T he peso-dollar exchange rate is stabilizing within the range of P54 to P55 while global prices of oil and oil products are now within “reasonable” levels, he noted. If the Executive Department succeeds in controlling the sources of inflation on the supply side more effectively, there will be less reason for monetary authorities to raise policy rates,” he said.

D iokno said the national government, particularly the DA, has initiated import measures to augment local supply and stabilize prices of certain commodities such as onion and sugar. “ But timely importation of food items in short supply is not enough. There has to be a focused effort to ensure that the imported goods reach the intended markets as soon as possible,” he said.

D iokno urged the Bureau of Customs to immediately release imported food items with the “same sense of urgency” that it showed in the importation of Covid-19 vaccines. “ Local authorities should facilitate, not impede, the movement of essential food items to the intended markets.  Restricting free movement of essential food items is one sure way of prolonging inflationary pressures,” he said.

Continued from A1

A lthough inbound, I would say is starting to come in, but it’s not as strong as pre-pandemic levels, but we’re hopeful [this will rise],” she noted.

S peaking on the sidelines of HSMA’s first general membership meeting and induction of its new officers on February 16, So added that online sales are also driving average daily rates (ADR) and revenues of hotels.

“ADR is also higher  compared to the prepandemic [period], because right now, online business is very strong, so it’s better than the average rate, instead of the groups,  I think because during the pandemic the online business really evolved so much.”

S he underscored that online bookings also help give the best rates possible for the guests.

“When it’s an online [transaction], obviously, our buyer is also dynamic. When I say dynamic, depending on the influx of bookings, we can switch our prices right away, either higher or lower. So if the demand is not very strong,  let’s say on Mondays and Tuesdays, then we will bring our prices lower. And then if the demand is high, we can bring it higher. So that’s why I think with this dynamic rate structure, ADR is really going to go up because again, we’re able to adjust very, very fast.”

P rior to the pandemic, ADR reached P5,000 per night, as hotel occupancy rates reached 70 percent especially on weekends in 2019, according to STR,  a leading global provider of data and insights for the hotel industry.

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

MAJORITY of widowed and more than half of Filipinos who were separated, divorced, or annulled nationwide were women, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Data from the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) showed there were a total of 3.88 million Filipinos who were widowed while 1.64 million were separated, divorced, or annulled.

Of the widowed Filipinos, some 2.95 million were women while 988,943 of those who were separated, divorced, or annulled were female.

“The proportion of persons reported as widowed was higher among females than males across all age groups. The same trend was observed among individuals who were divorced/separated/annulled,”

PSA said.

The number of widowed women in the country represented 76.02 percent of all widowers in the country while women who were separated, divorced, or annulled accounted for 60.14 percent of the total.

Among women who were widowed, those aged 65 to 69 years old represented the age group with the highest number at 442,795 of the total.

This was followed by women aged 80 years and over with

The Nation

440,611 widowers and 60 to 64 years old comprising 425,067 of the total number of widowers.

The data also showed thousands of women were also widowed before reaching the age of 30 years old. This included 2,533 women below 20 years old; 7,246 women aged 20 to 24 years old; and 16,880, 25 to 29 years old.

In terms of separated, divorced, and annulled, women aged 40 to 44 years old posted the highest number at 138,042 followed by those aged 35 to 39 with 135,616 women. There were 14,680 women who were separated, divorced, and annulled before reaching 20 years old while 5,778 women were separated, divorced, and annulled at 80 years old and over.

Meanwhile, the PSA said of the 86.33 million persons aged 10 years and over in 2020, 34.26 million persons or 39.7 percent were never married while 33.87 million persons or 39.2 percent were married.

The rest of the population was categorized as follows: in commonlaw/live-in marital arrangement with 14.7 percent, widowed with 4.5 percent, and divorced/separated/annulled with 1.9 percent. There was a a decline of 4.1 percentage points in single or nevermarried persons to 39.7 percent in 2020 from 43.8 percent in 2015 while the percentage of married persons in 2020 was very close to that in 2015.

Lawmakers seek reforms in criminal justice system

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

TO speed up administration of justice, the House of Representatives and the Senate are looking at several judicial reform bills to speed up the administration of justice.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez issued a statement over the weekend following the recent 19th National Convention of Lawyers and the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, of which he is a member.

Romualdez said lawmakers are looking at the country’s criminal justice system “as one key area for reform.”

He said one law the House intends to revisit is the 92-year-old Revised Penal Code (Republic Act 3815) passed on December 8, 1930, which “has served us well.”

“However, with globalization and the birth of the internet in 1983, many of the injustices that society endures at present, like cybercrime and transnational crime, are simply beyond the ambit of the Revised Penal Code to address,” he said.

He commended the inter-agency Code of Crimes Committee, headed

by retired Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Edilberto G. Sandoval, for drafting the proposed Code of Crimes.

The Speaker said the draft code provides, among others, a new system of penalties that may be imposed for proven criminal activities, including community service and more realistic fines and other penalties.

It also proposes to modernize the penal terminology, incorporate the Dangerous Drugs Act, and define and include cybercrime.

He thanked the Sandoval committee for exercising prudence in “leaving certain matters to the discretion of Congress, such as the imposition of the death penalty and the like.”

Stiffer penalties

ROMUALDEZ said that in recognizing the “inherent risks in the practice of law,” the House is tackling a bill that seeks “to protect the practice through the imposition of stiffer penalties for the killing of members of the bench and bar.”

Another bill proposes to grant hazard pay to regional trial court judges and prosecutors, said the speaker.

There are also pending measures to create a Criminal Justice Reform

Commission to investigate and prevent wrongful convictions, prohibit and penalize the unauthorized practice of law, prescribe legal standards and procedures for product liability litigation, strengthen fraud detection, and establish an online legal knowledge and assistance system that is accessible nationwide, he said.

The Speaker said that legislation and the practice of law have similarities.

“Our experience at the House of Representatives has shown time and again that the road to meaningful change is fraught with formidable challenges. We nonetheless stay the course, without losing our focus on the end result that is worthy of all the sacrifices,” he said.

“The practice of law is much the same. Each day, we go out there and propound what we know to be true and just. Our crusade takes place usually in the courts, in government institutions and, some in public spaces where the people’s exercise of their rights and freedom are tested,” he added.

Seize opportunities

ROMUALDEZ, meanwhile, congratulated his fellow lawyers on their organization’s golden jubilee.

“ The IBP, indeed, has come a long way in the pursuit of its mission to elevate the standards of the legal profession, improve the administration of justice, and enable the bar to discharge its public responsibility more effectively,” he said. However, he said the IBP cannot rest on its laurels and should continue to move forward with the times. He urged his lawyer-colleagues “to seize every opportunity to be catalysts for change, leading the way to bring about a better, more efficient, timely and speedy dispensation of justice.” T he speaker also challenged the IBP to consider what it can achieve over the next 50 years. I dare say that the IBP shall remain an important member of Philippine society for as long as we continue to abide by the rule of law and justice,” he said.

He said lawyers should continue to “play important roles in the fair and speedy administration of justice and upholding the rule of law—as an integral part of Philippine society that actively make substantial and meaningful contributions in our nation’s sustained economic development and peace and security for the Filipino people,” he said.

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

THE National Coast Watch Center (NCWC) has flagged alleged “illegal” activities of Chinese dredgers in Manila Bay and rivers in Zambales.

In a report submitted to the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), the NCWC said Chinese vessels allegedly conducted dredging of reclamation sand and transport it to the reclamation areas in Manila Bay. The report listed “suspicious activities of the Chinese dredgers that were found to be operating outside their approved areas of operation as against the issued Special Permit” from the Marina.

NCWC also noted that Chinese

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

FOR depicting a negative image of the Philippines, Senator Robinhood Ferdinand C. Padilla backed the ban being considered by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) disallowing the showing of the film “Plane.”

Padilla vowed to ensure the controversial movie will not be shown in Philippine cinemas; relying on the MTRCB to strictly enforce the ban.

The MTRCB, in turn, promised Padilla that the Board will not allow the showing in the Philippines of the film.

Padilla disclosed receiving over the weekend the commitment from MTRCB officials led by Chairman

dredgers were allegedly “operating without a dredging clearance” from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), “had no Environmental Compliance Certificate” from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB), “had no memorandum of agreement” between the DENR and the dredging company, “had no accreditation” from the DENR-MGB, “had no ore transport permit” from the DENRMGB, and “had no” Notice To Proceed for their operations.

The NCWC also asserted that the Chinese dredgers allegedly failed to secure a “No Objection Clearance” from the Office of the National Security Adviser. It also flagged the said dredgers of “op -

Diorella Maria “Lala” Sotto-Antonio when they met at his Senate office la st Friday “Ang sabi nila sa akin, kinausap po nila ang distributor. At ngayon ang gusto natin masulatan natin ang mismong producer,” Padilla said in an interview over DWIZ. [They told me they have talked to the film’s Philippine distributor. And now we want to write the producers of the film.]

At the same time, Padilla also thanked Sotto for her promise to call the attention of the film’s Philippine distributor.

In his manifestation last February 15 in the Senate, Padilla said the film showed Jolo being controlled by rebels and with government forces no longer there.

erating with false Automatic Identification System (AIS),” which essentially allows the authorities to properly monitor and record their exact movements inside Philippine territorial waters.

Allegedly, they turned off their AIS during operation and while berthed, according to the NCWC.

Following the report, Marina is now conducting an investigation and may revoke the special permits issued to the Chinese vessels and may also impose sanctions and penalties against them.

NCWC is an interagency maritime surveillance and coordinated unit led by the Philippine Coast Guard. It is attached under the Office of the President through the Office of the Executive Secretary.

Guidelines

THE lawmaker lamented that the film’s portrayal of the Philippines comes at a time the Philippines is trying to “revive its tourism after the pandemic.”

Voicing concerns over the film’s portrayal of Jolo residents as siding with the terrorists, the Senator observed that “if the producers of the film claim it is fiction, they should not have said the story happened in the Philippines).”

In a separate interview on SMNI last Friday, Padilla reiterated he cannot keep quiet on the matter because he chairs the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, chiding “critics” who questioned his protests against the film.

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

Cagayan, and his five companions in Nueva Vizcaya.

I nitial reports reaching Camp Crame identified the vice mayor as

Rommel G. Alameda, who was killed along with his five companions said to be his aides.

A lameda and his companions were onboard a Hyundai Starex van when they were ambushed at around 8:45 a.m. at Barangay Baretbet in Baggao.

T he suspects wore police uniforms and were reportedly riding a

Mitsubishi Adventure vehicle with red license plate number SFN 713, indicating it was a governmentissued vehicle.

P olice are still investigating the incident.

Lanao slay try MEANWHILE, the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

TUTOK To Win Party-list Rep.

Samuel S. Verzosa Jr. will take inspiration to craft more bills tackling poverty from the humble stories of “poor but deserving” Filipinos to be featured in his new public affairs program titled “Dear SV,” which will premier this February

(ULAP), the umbrella organization of all leagues of local government, has condemned the assassination attempt on Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. last February 17.

Adiong and a member of his staff, Ali Macapado Tabao, were wounded during the incident, while his three security escorts, Juraij Adiong, Aga

18 at 7:30 p.m. on CNN Philippines.

Running for 13 weekly episodes, it will feature ordinary people from all walks of life, whose perseverance to face and survive poverty deserves support.

“’Dear SV’ is a public service show that aims to give hope and help to our fellows who undergo hardships yet persevere in life. They deserve to get any form of assistance with this very timely program, especially now that

we are nearing post-pandemic. Many people are now recovering, wanting to get employment or livelihood to bounce back from this health crisis,” he said in mixed Filipino and English during the recent launch of his TV program.

The concept of his 30-minute show, Verzosa said, is to document the encouraging lives of their chosen beneficiaries, most especially their daily struggles and how they cope up with these.

“This show is for all: no matter what age or status in life, whether children or senior citizens, single parents, jobseekers, overseas Filipino workers, and persons with disability, among others, who work hard in order to survive,” Verzosa said.

“So we give not just a one-time support, but a sustainable assistance—be it financial aid, livelihood, scholarships, or employment—until they achieve their goals. It’s a good feeling to help those who help themselves to change their lives,” he added. Since the lawmaker gets to meet and interview their subjects, he said that this would make him more aware of the various challenges faced by the marginalized sector of society.

“So all of their problems will be of help for me, as a member of the 19th Philippine Congress, to formulate and legislate more laws that will benefit the impoverished,” he said.

Being the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Poverty Alleviation, he recently led the deliberations of the Technical Working Group on the “Expanded Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act,” a substitute bill that willcreateeducation,entrepreneurship, livelihood, and economic opportunities for adult beneficiaries of the conditional cash grant initiative of the government.

Sumandar and Jalil Cosain, and another individual identified as certain Kobi, were killed.

“It is deeply concerning and reprehensible that an individual or a group would attempt to harm an elected representative of the people who has a duty to serve and protect the community. Such an act goes against democracy, rule of law, and

basic human decency. Violence and intimidation have no place in a civilized society and any attempt to use force to silence or harm public officials is a threat to the safety and security of all citizens,” ULAP said in a statement on Sunday. U LAP called on authorities to hunt down the suspects and bring them before the bar of justice.

GUNMEN wearing police uniforms shot and killed last Sunday the vice mayor of Aparri,

More women comprise widows, divorcees–PSA

Coast Watch Center flags activities of Chinese dredgers in Manila Bay

Inspired by CNN PHL show, solon vows to craft more anti-poverty bills

Monday,

February 20, 2023 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Trade chief touts BOI’s P344B investment leads as promising

By Andrea San Juan

Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual

(BOI) looks promising and may al-

low the agency to meet its targets before mid-year.

So far, the agency still has potential investment leads of around P344 billion that will still be processed and, more likely than ever, we may have 80 percent to 90 percent of the target

even before the middle of the year,” Pascual, who also chairs the BOI, was quoted in a statement issued by his office last Saturday.

Pascual attributed the increase in investments to the government’s “promotional visits” abroad led by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

T he BOI said it has recently approved P414.3-billion worth of investments for January 2023 alone, “surging” by 142.9 percent compared to the same period in 2022 when it recorded P170.5 billion.

T his investment approval figure provided by BOI is equivalent to more than 40 percent of its P1-trillion investment approvals target for 2023.

O f the P414.3 billion, the investment promotion agency said

P163 billion are from foreign investment approvals, while the P251.3 billion are from domestic investment nods.

A s for the source of investments from January to February 9, 2023, the BOI said the “bulk” of foreign capital is from Germany with P157 billion. This is followed by Netherlands with P2.7 billion, Japan with P524 million, the United States with P509 million and the United Kingdom with P194 million.

I n terms of sector, the attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the renewable energy (RE) or power sector remains “dominant” with P398.7 billion in approvals. This is followed by: manufacturing with

P12.3 billion; administrative services with P1.3 billion; agriculture with P901 million; and, transportation with P847 million.

W ith this, the Trade chief expressed optimism that, at this rate, the BOI will hit its investment approvals target for the year.

“ With investment prospects being very positive, and as we continue to receive serious interest from global investors, we are definitely on track to meeting our annual investment target of P1 trillion,” Pascual said.

“ We are not even through the second month of the year and we already have secured nearly half of our full-year target for investment approvals,” he added.

I n 2022, the BOI recorded P729 billion of investment approvals, an increase of 11 percent compared to the P655 billion recorded in 2021.

L ast year, the BOI said growth drivers of investments were RE, with 56-percent share in the total investments recorded. This was followed by information and communication, particularly in data centers and telecommunications towers, with 28 percent.

A s to the source of investments in 2022, the BOI said 57 percent came from Singapore, 22 percent from Japan, 7 percent from the United Kingdom, 3 percent from the United States, 2 percent from Virgin Islands and 2 percent from South Korea.

More than 3k units of vape goods sold by errant vendors

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it has sealed 3,318 units of vape products worth P863,240 from eight “non-conforming” vape shops in Manila.

In a statement issued last Saturday, the DTI said personnel of its Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) inspected 11 vape shops selling vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products and novel tobacco products to ensure their compliance with the requirements of Republic Act 11900 (An Act Regulating the Importation, Manufacture, Sale, Packaging, Distribution, Use and Communication of Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products and Novel Tobacco Products) and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

F TEB head Assistant Secretary for DTI-Consumer Protection Group (CPG) Ann Claire C. Cabochan said that of the 11 inspected, eight non-

conforming shops were issued a Notice of Violation (NOV), requiring each of them to submit a written explanation within 48 hours from receipt thereof.

According to the DTI-FTEB, the inspection resulted in the sealing of 3,318 units worth P863,240.

The DTI’s enforcement arm said among the rules that were violated by the vape shops are: Rule V, Section 6 which requires posting of the minimum age requirement around the establishment.

Rule V, Section 6 of the Department Administrative Order (DAO) 22-16 or implementing rules and regulations of RA 11900 provides that “point-of-sale establishments offering, selling, or distributing vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products shall post the following statement in a clear and conspicuous manner: ‘The sale or distribution of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products to or by persons below 18 years of age is

illegal. These products are harmful and contain nicotine which is a highly addictive substance. It is not recommended for use by nonsmokers.’”

Another rule violated was Rule VI, Section 1, which prohibits selling vapor products with fruit flavors and/or packaging that uses cartoon characters.

Meanwhile, Rule VI, Section 1a states: “These shall not be targeted to or particularly appeal to persons under 18 years of age. Markings or characters that are likely to appeal to the youth such as the use of cartoons, anime, manga, animated characters, youth influencers, personalities, and the like are prohibited.”

RA 11900 lapsed into law on July 25, 2022. The IRR was issued on December 5, 2022, published in two newspapers on December 13, 2022, and took effect on December 28, 2022, 15 days after publication.

“To protect the interests, facilitate

the safety, and improve the quality of life of every Filipino consumer, the DTI through its hard working enforcement unit is always ready and equipped to enforce newly enacted laws, including RA 11900, and their implementing rules,” Cabochan was quoted in the statement as saying.

“Of course, we look forward to working closely with other government agencies in undertaking the immense responsibility to regulate vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products, and novel tobacco products,” she added.

The Trade department, as mandated by Rule XIII of the IRR, upon due process, may order the “immediate recall, ban or seizure from public sale or distribution of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products, HTP [heated tobacco product] devices, vapor product devices, and novel tobacco products for failure to comply with the provisions of RA 11900 and its IRR.”

DTI: Access to BNPCs assured amid global spikes

DT I said the monitored firms carried an average of 71 stock keeping units (SKUs), 15 of which were priced within the SRP level while 56 were priced even lower than the SRP in the latest bulletin.

I n the middle of the rise in prices of raw and packaging materials and other costs worldwide, the Trade department allowed manufacturers of BNPCs to adjust their prices to keep their businesses running.

I n the latest SRP bulletin released February 8, DTI-CPG said

141 or 65 percent of the total SKUs maintained their prices from the August 12 SRP bulletin while 76 or 35 percent of the SKUs increased by P 0.45 to P7.

C ommodities that increased prices include canned sardines in tomato sauce, processed milk, coffee 3-in-1, original noodles, bread, detergent soap, canned meat, candles, and condiments.

According to DTI-CPG, increases in the price of food items were kept to P0.45 to P3.60.

T he agency assured the public that

price adjustments were “carefully” studied and kept to a minimum to ensure that affordable goods are still available in the market.

R epublic Act No. 7581, as amended by RA 10623, or the Price Act, provides the DTI and other implementing agencies such as the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Health (DOH), among others, the mandate of ensuring the availability of BNPCs at reasonable prices at all times without denying legitimate businesses a “fair return on investment.”

continued from a1

I n a televised interview on the same day the SRP bulletin was released, DTI-CPG Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo divulged that the Trade chief opted to grant the price adjustments of manufacturers because they were already in the “danger zone”.  Castelo, however, said they tempered the price increases in the most recent price bulletin. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2023/02/09/dti-greenlightshike-in-srpfor-bread-cannedproducts/)  Andrea E. San Juan

Equity cap still hobbling PHL investment drive, says solon

A sked on whether the House would continue with its series of nationwide hearings and public consultations on pending bills seeking constitutional reforms either through Con-Con or Con-Ass, Villafuerte replied: “Of course, definitely. The problem in our country is basically poverty. We need to create jobs, and in order to create jobs we need foreign investments, foreign capital.”

V illafuerte said the House is “targeting to have more marathon hearings, and possibly, decide on this issue by April…so the Senate will be able to decide on this matter before the year is over … and maybe we can have a plebiscite by the first quarter of next year.”

“Now, if we can’t have a plebiscite to approve the would-be proposed constitutional amendments by the first quarter next year, I think we have to wait another five years, which means the next President, to keep Charter Change rolling.  That’s the sad reality,” he said.

Best time is now VILLAFUERTE said the best time for Charter Change to happen is right now at the start of the Marcos presidency when such an initiative wouldn’t raise doubts about a possible hidden agenda to extend terms of incumbent elective officials.

“If you will look at it, a main source of poverty in the Philippines is our low agricultural output.  There’s a lot of lands in the country that are idle. We need foreign capital and  foreign technology (to harness such idle lands,” said Villafuerte, who authored one of the measures (House Bill or HB 4926) aiming to introduce constitutional amendments via the Con-Con route.

So in order to have more foreign capital flowing  into the country, we should allow ownership as part of the menu for investors,” he said.

For Villafuerte, the incessant challenge of price spikes in foodstuff and other farm goods is rooted in a  structural problem. “The purpose of agrarian reform was really to help our farmers. We supported that but, let’s admit ...that it was a failure in the sense that when we gave lands to our farmers, there was no capital available for them to make their farms truly productive.”

“ The result was low agricultural output. So, what’s the solution? We need foreign technology, we need foreign capital. And if you will look at all the countries that have really progressed, these are those that have allowed foreign ownership.

If you’re a foreigner who wants to invest in agriculture and other sectors, the basic thing here is you want

ownership,” he said.

A sked whether constitutional change is really necessary, given that the 18th Congress wrote in the past Administration a trio of liberalization laws to attract foreign investors, Villafuerte noted that he was among the authors of these three laws, “but basically, it all boils down to the ownership structure. Basic sectors in our country limits foreign ownership to up to 40 percent  … of public utilities, media, education, natural resources development, among others.”

T he three laws mentioned are Republic Act (RA) 11647, RA 11595 and RA 11659 that reformed,  respectively, these laws on foreign investments, retail trade and public services.

Because of the 60-40 ownership cap in the Constitution—60 percent of businesses for locals  and only 40% for foreigners—these three new laws stopped short of allowing foreign capitalists to take full control of domestic businesses, Villafuerte said.

“We already made the changes in these three laws, but there remains the constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership that we need to address through Charter Change,” he said.

If an investor wants to  manufacture a certain product, for instance, one basic point is that this person would want land ownership, Villafuerte said. He noted that two factors that

continued from a12

dampen investor appetite in the Philippines are high electricity rates and slow Internet speeds.

He explained that only the entry of greater foreign investments in the resources-intensive energy sector, for example, will lead to better and cheaper power services for consumers, “but 100-percent foreign ownership is not allowed in the power generation or development business.”

We need ports, we need airports, we need telecommunications infrastructure. So why don’t we allow greater foreign capital and technology into these sectors that are crucial to rapid and sustainable growth and development?” he stressed. “Other countries are doing that…first world economies are allowing foreign ownership.”

R ight now, he said, foreigners are going around the 60-40 ownership cap by marrying Filipino nationals so they can buy land and put up businesses there that can own or control 100 percent.

E arlier, Villafuerte said he expected strong support for the ConCon proposal because of its timing, its focus on economic provisions of  the  Charter, and his proposal to prohibit would-be Con-Con delegates from running in the immediate elections following the ratification via a plebiscite  of the proposed amendments.

TRADE

said the potential investment leads being processed by the Board of Investments

The World

Editor: Angel R. Calso

North Korea fires missile as US, South Korea prepare for drills

By Kim Tong-Hyung The Associated Press

Blinken rebukes China’s top diplomat on balloon, Ukraine

By Courtney McBride

US Secretary of State

Antony Blinken

warned China’s top diplomat against providing lethal aid to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rebuked him over an alleged Chinese spy balloon that heightened tensions between the world’s largest economies.

Blinken told Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi in Munich on Saturday evening that the US had information China was considering whether to give Russia assistance, possibly including guns and weapons, for the Ukraine war. The US has warned China since the start of the invasion a year ago not to do so.

According to the South Korean and Japanese militaries, the missile was fired on a high angle, apparently to avoid reaching the neighbors’ territories, and traveled about 900 kilometers (560 miles) at a maximum altitude of 5,700 kilometers (3,500 miles) during an hourlong flight.

The details were similar to North Korea’s Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile test flight in November, which experts said demonstrated potential to reach the US mainland if fired on a normal trajectory.

Japanese government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno said no damage was reported from the missile, which landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Oshima Island. Oshima lies off the western coast of the northernmost main island of Hokkaido.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Friday threatened with “unprecedently” strong action against its rivals, after South Korea announced a series of military exercises with the United States aimed at sharpening their response to the North’s growing threats.

While the US Indo-Pacific Command said the launch did not pose an immediate threat to US personnel, territory, or its allies, the White House National Security Council said it needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region.

“It only demonstrates that the DPRK continues to prioritize its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs over the well-being of its people,” it said, calling it a “flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.”

The office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his national security director, Kim Sung-han, presided over an emergency security meeting that accused the North of escalating regional tensions. It denounced North Korea for accelerat -

ing its nuclear arms development despite signs of worsening economic problems and food insecurity, saying such actions would bring only tougher international sanctions.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tokyo was closely communicating with Washington and Seoul over the launch, which he called “an act of violence that escalates provocation toward the international order.”

The launch was North Korea’s first since January 1, when it testfired a short-range weapon. It followed a massive military parade in Pyongyang last week, where troops rolled out more than a dozen ICBMs as leader Kim Jong Un watched in delight from a balcony.

The unprecedented number of missiles underscored a continuation of expansion of his country’s military capabilities despite limited resources while negotiations with Washington remain stalemated.

Those missiles included a new system experts say is possibly linked to the North’s stated desire to acquire a solid-fuel ICBM. North Korea’s existing ICBMs, including Hwasong-17s, use liquid propellants that require pre-launch injections and cannot remain fueled for prolonged periods. A solid-fuel alternative would take less time to prepare and is easier to move around on vehicles, providing less opportunity to be spotted.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Saturday’s launch involved a solid-fuel system.

“North Korean missile firings are often tests of technologies under development, and it will be notable if Pyongyang claims progress with a long-range solid-fuel missile,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. “The Kim regime may also tout this launch as a response to US defense cooperation with South Korea and sanctions diplomacy at the United Nations.”

North Korea is coming off a re -

cord year in weapons demonstrations with more than 70 ballistic missiles fired, including those with potential to reach the US mainland. The North also conducted a slew of launches it described as simulated nuclear attacks against South Korean and US targets in response to the allies’ resumption of large-scale joint military exercise that had been downsized for years.

North Korea’s missile tests have been punctuated by threats of preemptive nuclear attacks against South Korea or the United States over what it perceives as a broad range of scenarios that put its leadership under threat.

Kim doubled down on his nuclear push entering 2023, calling for an “exponential increase” in the country’s nuclear warheads, mass production of battlefield tactical nuclear weapons targeting “enemy” South Korea and the development of more advanced ICBMs.

The North Korean statement on Friday accused Washington and Seoul of planning more than 20 rounds of military drills this year, including large-scale field exercises, and described its rivals as “the archcriminals deliberately disrupting regional peace and stability.”

South Korea’s Defense Ministry officials told lawmakers earlier that Seoul and Washington will hold an annual computer-simulated combined training in mid-March. The 11-day training will reflect North Korea’s nuclear threats, as well as unspecified lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Heo Tae-keun, South Korea’s deputy minister of national defense policy. Heo said the countries will also conduct joint field exercises in mid-

March that would be bigger than those held in the past few years.

South Korea and the US will also hold a one-day tabletop exercise next week at the Pentagon to sharpen a response to a potential use of nuclear weapons by North Korea.

North Korea has traditionally described US-South Korea military exercises as rehearsals for a potential invasion, while the allies insist that their drills are defensive in nature.

The United States and South Korea had downsized or canceled some of their major drills in recent years, first to support the former Trump administration’s diplomatic efforts with Pyongyang and then because of Covid-19. But North Korea’s growing nuclear threats have raised the urgency for South Korea and Japan to strengthen their defense postures in line with their alliances with the United States.

South Korea has been seeking reassurances that United States will swiftly and decisively use its nuclear capabilities to protect its ally in face of a North Korean nuclear attack. In expanding its military exercises with South Korea, the United States has also expressed commitment to increase its deployment of strategic military assets like fighter jets and aircraft carriers to the Korean Peninsula in a show of strength.

In December, Japan made a major break from its strictly self-defenseonly post-World War II principle, adopting a new national security strategy that includes preemptive strikes and cruise missiles to counter growing threats from North Korea, China and Russia. Associated Press writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to the report

US: Russia committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine

By Karl Ritter & Geir Moulson

The Associated Press

MUNICH—The United States has determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine, Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday, insisting that “justice must be served” to the perpetrators.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Harris said the international community has both a moral and a strategic interest in pursuing those crimes, pointing to a danger of other authoritarian governments taking advantage if international rules are undermined.

“Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population—gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation,” Harris said. She also cited “execution-style killings, beatings, and electrocution.”

The Biden administration formally

determined last March that Russian troops had committed war crimes in Ukraine and said it would work with others to prosecute offenders. A determination of crimes against humanity goes a step further, indicating that attacks against civilians are being carried out in a widespread and systematic manner.

“Russian authorities have forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of people, from Ukraine to Russia, including children,” Harris said. “They have cruelly separated children from their families.”

She also pointed to the attack in mid-March on a theater in the strategic port city of Mariupol where civilians had been sheltering, which killed hundreds, and to the images of civilians’ bodies left on the streets of Bucha after the Russian pullback from the Kyiv area last spring.

Harris said that as a former prosecutor and former head of California’s Department of Justice, she knows “the importance of gathering facts and hold -

ing them up against the law.”

“In the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt,” she said. “These are crimes against humanity.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who also was attending the Munich conference, said in a statement issued as Harris spoke that “we reserve crimes against humanity determinations for the most egregious crimes.”

The new determination underlines the “staggering extent” of suffering inflicted on Ukrainian civilians and “also reflects the deep commitment of the United States to holding members of Russia’s forces and other Russian officials accountable for their atrocities,” he said.

In an address to his country on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv this week had gotten “strong signals from our partners, specific agreements on the inevitability of holding Russia accountable for

aggression, for terror against Ukraine and its people.”

“Every Russian attack … on every corner of our state will have concrete legal consequences for the terrorist state,” Zelenskyy said, citing attacks not just in the past year of war but dating back to 2014, when fighting with Russiabacked separatists in eastern Ukraine first broke out.

The president did not refer specifically to Harris’ remarks or name any countries that had provided agreements on Russian accountability.

Russia’s nearly yearlong invasion of Ukraine, has dominated discussions at the Munich conference, an annual gathering of security and defense officials from around the world. Harris told the assembled participants: “Let us all agree—on behalf of all the victims, both known and unknown, justice must be served.”

“Such is our moral interest,” she said. “We also have a significant strategic interest.”

“The concern that we have now is, based on information we have, that they’re considering providing lethal support,” Blinken told CBS’s “Face the Nation” shortly after he met with Wang. “And we’ve made very clear to them that that could cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship.”

In their first in-person talks since the uproar over the balloon, Blinken told Wang that the craft’s entry into US airspace was an “irresponsible act that must never again occur” and warned China against helping Russia evade sanctions linked to the invasion of Ukraine, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

Blinken’s remarks—and comments by Wang earlier in the day sharply criticizing the US over the balloon, Taiwan and recently introduced export controls—highlighted just how strained relations remain. Despite statements from both nations’ leaders that they want to stabilize the relationship, the disagreements made clear the US and China are nowhere near restoring normalcy to the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship.

Saturday’s meeting took place on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Wang lashed out at the US beforehand, calling President Joe Biden’s decision to shoot down the balloon over American airspace and the heightened state of alert “incomprehensible and almost hysterical.”

The airship, which China said was a weather device blown off course, led Blinken to cancel a planned trip to Beijing. An F-22 fighter shot the balloon down off the South Carolina coast on Feb. 4. Since the balloon was identified and shot down, the US and China have traded accusations over global espionage efforts.

The US said the balloon over the US was part of a fleet of spy devices directed by China’s People’s Liberation Army. China countered that the US was overreacting and had flown similar airships over China—claims the White House has rejected.

“The Secretary made clear the United States will not stand for any violation of our sovereignty, and that the PRC’s high altitude surveillance balloon program—which has intruded into the air space of over 40 countries across 5 continents—has been exposed to the world,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement, referring to China by its formal name, the People’s Republic of China.

The US is consulting with allies and partners at the Munich conference and elsewhere, including sharing its concern that China may be giv -

ing more tangible support to Russia’s military than before, according to a person familiar with the administration’s thinking.

Earlier at the conference, Wang said China would release a new peace proposal for Ukraine in the coming days that would be in keeping with previous efforts by President Xi Jinping. He condemned attacks on nuclear power stations.

“We oppose attacks on nuclear power stations, attacks on civilian nuclear facilities,” Wang said. “We have to work to prevent nuclear proliferation and nuclear disasters.”

The initial response was cautious. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed China’s idea but said “a just peace cannot mean that the aggressor gets rewarded.”

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, “China is obliged to use its influence for global peace,” Baerbock said. A Russian troop withdrawal from Ukraine is a condition of any peace deal, she said.

Asked about Wang’s peace proposal, a US official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity said that Beijing appears to be trying to publicly promote peace and stability while covertly supporting Russia’s aggression against its neighbor.

State Department officials continue to say that Blinken’s trip to China will be rescheduled when conditions are right, but haven’t identified those conditions or potential timing.

The acrimony around the spy balloon—fueled in part by Republican criticism of the Biden administration—has pushed off any possibility to put ties on a more stable footing. Biden and Xi met late last year seeking to put a “floor” under the relationship and stop tensions from spiraling out of control.

While China initially expressed regret over what it said was the balloon’s accidental diversion over US territory, it has denied that the craft was intended for surveillance and denounced the decision to shoot it down as an overreaction.

On Thursday, Biden said he expected to have a call with Xi, without giving details.

“We’re also continuing to engage with China as we have throughout the past two weeks,” Biden said in a briefing.

“As I’ve said since the beginning of my administration, we seek competition, not conflict, with China,” Biden said. “We’re not looking for a new Cold War, but I make no apologies, and we will compete.” Bloomberg News

This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says a test launch of a h w asong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile at Pyongyang i n ternational Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea on s a turday, February 18, 2023. i n dependent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. Korean Central n e ws a g en C y/Korea n e ws s e rvi C e v ia a P

SEOUL, South Korea—North Korea on Saturday fired a long-range missile from its capital into the sea off Japan, according to its neighbors, a day after it threatened to take strong measures against South Korea and the US over their joint military exercises.

U N i T ed s t ates s e cretary of s t ate Antony Blinken sits down for a Meeting of the Transatlantic Quad with the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom at the Munich s e curity Conference in Munich on s a turday, February 18, 2023. The 59th Munich s e curity Conference took place at the Bayerischer h of h otel in Munich.

13

TECHNOLOGY INC. Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

14 BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

CHANG, FENG Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Brief Job Description:

Excellent problem-solving and communication skills in Mandarin, with related BPO experience

LIU, ZUNCHENG Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Brief Job Description:

Has excellent problem-solving and communication skills in Mandarin, with related BPO experience

SHI, BILIN

15 BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

16 BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

17 BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

Lot 4044, Molino Blvd., Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

18 CAL-COMP PRECISION (PHILIPPINES), INC.

Lot 11, H.Y. Dimacali Avenue, First Philippine Industrial Park II, Santa Anastacia, City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas

19 DONG WU PLASTIC INC.

Second Street, Phase 1, Cavite Economic Zone, Tejeros Convention, Rosario, Cavite

20 JAE PHILIPPINES, INC.

JAE Philippines Bldg., Linares Extension, Gateway Business Park, Javalera, City of General Trias, Cavite

21 MOA CLOUDZONE CORP.

Island Cove II, Covelandia Road, Pulvorista, Kawit, Cavite

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Brief Job Description:

Has excellent problem-solving and communication skills in Mandarin, with related BPO experience

WANG, XIN

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Brief Job Description:

Has excellent problem-solving and communication skills in Mandarin, with related BPO experience

ZHOU, YI

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Brief Job Description:

Has excellent problem-solving and communication skills in Mandarin, with related BPO experience

CHEN, HSUAN-YING

Human Resource Assistant Manager

Brief Job Description: Report to management and use HR indicators to assist in decisionmaking

LIM, HYUNKI

Sales And Marketing Manager

Brief Job Description: Develop new sales and marketing technique and implement strategic planning to achieve corporate objectives

KOEDA, HIROSHI

Senior Manager for Parts Production

Brief Job Description:

Oversee production schedules through effective utilization of manpower, equipment and materials

SONG, YANG

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description:

Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Basic Qualification: Ensure outstanding customer satisfaction by maintaining strong working relationships

Salary Range: Php30,000 - Php59,999

Basic Qualification:

Ensure outstanding customer satisfaction by maintaining strong working relationships

Salary Range: Php30,000 - Php59,999

Basic Qualification:

Ensure outstanding customer satisfaction by maintaining strong working relationships

Salary Range:

Php30,000 - Php59,999

Basic Qualification:

Ensure outstanding customer satisfaction by maintaining strong working relationships

Salary Range:

Php30,000 - Php59,999

Basic Qualification: Ensure outstanding customer satisfaction by maintaining strong working relationships

Salary Range:

Php30,000 - Php59,999

Basic Qualification: Has relevant experience as assistant human resource manager

Salary Range: Php500,000 – above

Basic Qualification: College graduate with related work experience

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Php30,000 - Php59,999

Basic Qualification:

Possess strong and wide technical knowledge of products and processes used in the manufacture of electronic connectors and harness

Salary Range: Php500,000 - above

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Salary Range: Php30,000 - Php59,999

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Turkey: Couple saved 296 hours after quake, but children die

ISTANBUL—A couple and their son were pulled alive from under a collapsed apartment building more than 12 days after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake ravaged parts of Turkey and Syria, although the child later died at a hospital, Turkish state media reported Saturday.

A foreign search team from Kyrgyzstan

rescued Samir Muhammed Accar, 49, his wife, Ragda, 40, and their 12-year-old son while digging through the rubble of the apartment building in the southern Turkish city of Antakya, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. They were removed at about 11:30 a.m. local time (8:30 GMT), or 296 hours after

the Feb. 6 quake, and quickly transferred to ambulances. TV footage showing medics fixing an IV drip to the man’s arm as he lay on a stretcher.

One of the Kyrgyz rescuers said the team also found the bodies of two dead children. Anadolu later reported they also were the children of Samir Muhammad and

Ragda Accar.

During a visit to Antakya, the capital of Hatay province, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the father was conscious and being treated at Mustafa Kemal University Hospital. Anadolu published photos showing American TV personality and former US Senate candidate Mehmet Oz visiting the

recovering man.

Reporting on their conversation, Anadolu said Samir Muhammed Accar described how he survived the ordeal by drinking his own urine. He also told Dr. Oz that his children responded to his voice for the first two or three days but he heard nothing from them after that.

Hatay province, where Antakya is located, was one of areas hit hardest by the earthquake, which killed at least 40,642 people in Turkey and 3,688 in Syria. Search and rescue operations are continuing in Turkey, although the head of the country’s disaster response agency said they would end on Sunday. AP

Why balloons are noW in public eye—and military crosshairs

By Ellen Knickmeyer The Associated Press

WASHINGTON—Wafting across the United States and into the attention of an alarmed national and global public, a giant Chinese balloon has changed Americans’ awareness of all the stuff floating in the air and how defense officials watch for it and respond.

President Joe Biden said Thursday that the US is updating its guidelines for monitoring and reacting to unknown aerial objects. That's after the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting the country triggered high-stakes drama, including the US shootdowns of that balloon, and three smaller ones days later.

Biden said officials suspect the three subsequent balloons were ordinary ones. That could mean ones used for research, weather, recreational or commercial purposes. Officials have been unable to recover any of the remains of those three balloons, and late Friday the US military announced it had ended the search for the objects that were shot down near Deadhorse, Alaska, and over Lake Huron on February 10 and 12.

In all, the episodes opened the eyes of the public to two realities.

One: China is operating a militarylinked aerial surveillance program that has targeted more than 40 countries, according to the Biden administration. China denies it.

Two: There’s a whole lot of other junk floating up there, too.

A look at why there are so many balloons up there—launched for purposes of war, weather, science, business or just goofing around; why they're getting attention now; and how the US is likely to watch for and respond to slow-moving flying objects going forward.

What are all those balloons doing up there?

Some are up there for spying or fighting. Humans have hooked bombs to balloons since at least the 1840s, when winds blew some of the balloon-borne bombs launched against Venice back on the Austrian launchers. In the US Civil War, Union

and Confederate soldiers floated up over front lines in balloons to assess enemy positions and direct fire.

And when it comes to peacetime uses, the cheapness of balloons makes them a favorite aerial platform for all kinds of uses, serious and idle. That includes everything down to "college fraternities with nothing better to do and $10,000,” joked Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Himes’ role on the committee involved him in a congressionally mandated intelligence and military review of the most credible of sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UFOs. That review also drove home to him and other lawmakers ”how much stuff there is floating around, in particular balloons,” Himes said.

For the National Weather Service, balloons are the main means of above-ground forecasting. Forecasters launch balloons twice daily from nearly 900 locations around the world, including nearly 100 in the United States.

High-altitude balloons also help scientists peer out into space from near the edges of the Earth’s atmosphere. NASA runs a national balloon program office, helping coordinate launches from east Texas and other sites for universities, foreign groups and other research programs. School science classes launch balloons, wildlife watchers launch balloons.

Commercial interests also send balloons up—such as Google's effort to provide internet service via giant balloons.

And $12 gets hobby balloonists—who use balloons for ham radio or just for the pleasure of launching and tracking—balloons capable of getting up to 40,000 feet and higher.

That’s roughly around the altitude that the US military says the three smaller

balloons were at when US missiles ended their flights.

Most pilots probably wouldn’t even be aware of a collision with such a balloon, said Ron Meadows, who produces balloons—with transmitters the size of a popsicle stick—for middle schools and universities to use for science education.

All it “does is report its location and speed,” Meadows said. “It’s not a threat to anyone.”

Among hobby balloonists, there are suspicions that a balloon declared missing by the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Brigade was one of the ones shot down, as the publication Aviation Week Network first reported. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said

Friday the administration was not able to confirm those reports

And it’s not just the United States’

Mylar, foil and plastic overhead. Wind patterns known as the Westerlies sweep airborne things ranging from Beijing's tailpipe soot and the charred chunks of Siberian forest fires swinging over the Arctic and into the United States. China says its big balloon was a meteorological and research one that got picked up by the Westerlies. The US says the balloon was at least partly maneuverable.

Why are we just now spotting all these balloons?

Short answer: Because we are just now looking for them.

Balloons’ rise to global prominence got a lift starting in the past few years. Congress directed the Director of National Intelligence to pull together everything the government has learned about unidentified aerial phenomena. That included creating a Defense Department UAP task force.

Last year, in the first congressional hearing on unidentified airborne objects in a half-century, Scott W. Bray, the deputy director of Naval intelligence, told lawmakers that improved sensors, an increase in drones and other non-military unmanned aerial systems, and yes, “aerial clutter” including random balloons were leading to people noticing more unidentified airborne objects.

That awareness kicked into overdrive this month, after the US military and then the US public spotted the Chinese balloon floating down from the High North. While the US says previous Chinese balloons have entered US territory, this was the first one of them to slowly cross the United States in plain view of the public.

That balloon, and what had been growing official awareness of a Chinese military-linked balloon surveillance campaign that had targeted dozens of countries, led US officials to change radar and other sensor settings, screening more closely for slow-moving objects in the air as well as fast ones.

Sidewinder missiles:

A long-term balloon strategy?

Post big Chinese balloon, US defense officials are expected to keep up broader monitoring so that balloons remain on the radar, but fine-tune the response.

Biden's order to the Air Force to shoot down the three smaller airborne objects with Sidewinder missiles left him fending off Republican accusations he was too trigger-happy. Biden says all four shootdowns were warranted since the balloons could have posed dangers to civilian aircraft. Hobby balloons with payloads of only a few pounds are not covered by many FAA airspace rules.

Biden says the US is developing “sharper rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects.

He directed national security adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an interagency team to review the procedures.

Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, and Chris Megerian in Washington contributed.

Sc Athing cover of the new York Post criticizing US President Joe Biden for his handling of chinese spy balloons and the assertion that unidentified flying objects could be extraterrestrial. this photo was taken in Rutherford, new Jersey, on February 14th 2023. e ri n a l exi S r a n D o lph | Drea M S ti M e .co M

Agriculture/Commodities

DA: 3 firms to import sugar under MAV scheme

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

ONLY three entities will import the 64,050 metric tons (MT) of sugar through the minimum access volume (MAV) mechanism, based on documents from the Department of Agriculture (DA).

DA documents indicated that the beginning year pool (BYP) for sugar MAV was allocated to three importers, which were all tagged as “new entrants.”

T he three sugar MAV importers are Agro Bulk Marine Corp., Leslie Corp. and San Fernando Eric Commercial Inc., according to the documents.

A ll sugar MAV importers are international sugar traders accredited by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) for crop year 2022-2023.

SRA documents also showed that

PHL commitment

the three importers have been accredited as sugar traders for years.

A gro Bulk Marine Corp. and San Fernando Eric Commercial Inc. each received an allocation of 31,775 MT while Leslie Corp. got 500 MT.

T he three importers may import sugar classified under harmonized system code (HS) 1701, which would include raw sugar, cane sugar and beet sugar, among others.

L eslie Corp. is a local food manufacturer known for brands like Clover Chips and Cheezy, among others. Meanwhile, Agro Bulk Marine Corp. and San Fernando Eric Commercial Inc. are also registered rice importers, according to the Bureau of Plant Industry.

Sugar industry stakeholders and even some government officials said they were taken aback by the decision of the DA to open the MAV for sugar the current crop year, as it has not been used for more than two decades.

THE MAV for sugar was last opened in 2002 through a sugar order issued by the SRA, an attached governmentowned and -controlled corporation of the agriculture department.

Official World Trade Organization (WTO) documents showed that the administration of the sugar MAV is under the purview of the SRA unlike the other commodities that are governed by the DA’s MAV Management Committee.

MAV is a trade mechanism that allows the importation of agricultural goods at a lower tariff. Imports outside the MAV or also known as out-quota are slapped with a higher tariff rate.

It is part of the Philippines’s commitment for selected agricultural commodities under the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture.

In the case of sugar imports, supplies within MAV are slapped with a 50 percent tariff while those outside MAV are levied with a 65 percent tariff.

However, any sugar imported by the Philippines from the Asean region will only have an applied tariff rate of 5 percent under the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement or Atiga.

T he United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila said sugar imported under the MAV could be P7 per kilogram cheaper than prevailing local retail prices. (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2023/01/13/importation-seen-to-bring-down-priceof-sugar-by-p7-per-kg/)

Pundits told the BusinessMirror that the sugar MAV could be effective in bringing in supplies from non-Asean sources, such as Brazil and Australia, especially if there are concerns with the stocks of neighboring countries like Thailand. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2023/01/02/govt-mulling-overmav-scheme-for-sugar-imports/)

BOC seizes smuggled farm goods in Metro Manila

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC)

on Sunday said it seized about smuggled agricultural products worth P150 million during its inspection of 24 warehouses in Metro Manila.

T he inspection was conducted by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP), the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) through Letters of Authority (LOAs) on 24 warehouses and storage areas.

T he warehouses and storages were believed to be storing smuggled agricultural products, such as fresh onions and fresh garlic.

“ We will be relentless in the fight against agricultural smuggling. Rest assured that the BOC is steadfast in patrolling our borders and protecting our local farmers against illicit traders of agricultural products,” BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said in a statement.

T he majority of the warehouses were located in Tondo, Manila, while one each in Malabon City and Binondo, were found with fresh onions, fresh garlic, and other food products, according to the BOC.

“ The bureau immediately acted on the derogatory information and coordinated with the respective ba-

rangay officials and the PNP before the operation,” the bureau said.

“ Warehouse representatives acknowledged the LOAs and allowed the team to inspect the warehouses.”

T he BOC said its team temporarily padlocked and sealed the warehouses and storage areas after discovering the smuggled agricultural products.

The inventory of the goods in their respective location is scheduled to be conducted by the assigned Customs examiner and would be witnessed by CIIS and Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) agents,” it said.

T he BOC added that the corresponding seizure and forfeiture proceedings will be conducted against the subject shipments for violation of Sec. 1400 (misdeclaration in goods declaration) in relation to Sec. 1113 (property subject to seizure and forfeiture) of Republic Act (RA) 10863 known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and RA 10845 or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016.

T he BOC said case records will also be forwarded to the Bureau’s Action Team Against Smugglers (BATAS) for the “filing of appropriate charges and criminal cases against those responsible for the illegal importation of the said agricultural products.”

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Cash crisis hits Nigeria cocoa exports in fresh blow to world supply

NIGERIA’S cocoa exports are coming under threat from a shortfall of cash to pay laborers and transporters, further straining global supply.

T he country’s central bank in October announced it would redesign 200-, 500- and 1,000-naira notes in a bid to mop up excess cash and rein in inflation. As much as 2.1 trillion naira ($4.6 billion) has been returned to banks, and the policy has led to a severe shortage of bills as people have been unable to get new notes after depositing their old denominations.

For the cash-dominated cocoa industry, the crunch has left farmers unable to hire workers and exporters without money to get the crop to ships. The world’s fifth-largest producer of the chocolate ingredient risks not being able to ship as much as 30,000 tons in February, Mufutau Abolarinwa, president of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, said on Wednesday.

“ We don’t have a quantum of the new notes now to pay for all the services like grading fees, handling charges, freight and some other sundry charges—all of which we usually pay in cash,” Abolarinwa said.

T he situation could further compound the supply concerns that have lifted London cocoa prices to a six-year high. Futures surged more than 6 percent this week amid reports of bean shortages

in top grower Ivory Coast, fueling worries that some exporters there may default on contracts.

Upcoming cocoa plantings may also be disrupted as landowners can’t get enough cash to cover workers’ daily wages, spurring a shortage of farmhands to clear and weed farms, said Atangba Bonjor, a cocoa farmer in Ikom in southeastern Nigeria.

Nigeria’s cocoa exports have already slumped as poor weather and fungal issues hampered the maincrop harvest. The country shipped 36,571 tons in December, while January export figures have not been released. The cash shortfall is affecting fresh deliveries, said Isaac Arayela, a manager at the Ile-Ife Cooperative Produce Marketing Union, a cocoa-farmer organization.

“ We have no cash to pay our members for their cocoa supplies and they won’t accept bank transfers,” Arayela said. Up to 500 tons of the union’s produce is stuck in warehouses, he said.

Many exporters are suspending activities due to the challenges, said Kunle Ayoade, managing director of Agrotraders Ltd., a cocoa exporting company. Shippers often pay 100 naira per bag to laborers who load the beans on trucks bound for ports and a further 100 naira to unload them on ships.

Truck drivers are also paid in cash.

Staff spend hours in bank queues to obtain cash, which in most cases

is not available,” Ayoade said.

Australian wheat

DRIER conditions in Western Australia could spur some farmers to cut the area planted to grain for the next crop after they just completed a record harvest, said the Grain Industry Association of Western Australia.

T he weather outlook is shifting rapidly back to a more “normal” scenario of less rainfall for the coming growing season, the association said in a release. “For many growers in the lower rainfall regions, there will be a pulling back in area cropped.” Subsoil moisture is still good in central and southern areas.

Australia is the world’s secondbiggest wheat exporting country and traders will closely watch weather trends in the next few months to see if the country can repeat the bumper harvest just gathered. Australian exports have helped cap global wheat prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine slashed supplies.

R ain is more likely to be below normal in Western Australia from April to June, the state government said separately, citing climate models. An El Niño in the Pacific and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole event are likely to develop from June onward, it said.

This may reduce rain over parts of Australia, but the “predictive skill for these events from late summer is historically low.” Bloomberg News

It was President Marcos Jr. who ordered the fast-tracking of the importation of refined sugar through the MAV mechanism as a measure to stabilize sugar prices that have remain elevated. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/12/22/government-to-tap-mav-scheme-forsugar-imports/).

In a memorandum order dated December 20, 2022, Senior Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban said Marcos, who is concurrently the agriculture chief, is “concerned” about the “very high” inflation rate of sugar.

A s the agriculture secretary, Marcos sits as the chairman of the SRA board as well as the chairman of the MAV Management Committee, the highest policymaking body on MAV.

T he DA-MAV Secretariat, which facilitates the utilization of MAV, made a call for applicants for MAV Year 2023 last October 2022. The

warehouses

application period for interested importers under the current MAV year was from November 2 to 29, according to public documents.

T he 64,050-MT sugar MAV is part of the 504,050-MT sugar importation program approved by the national government recently to boost domestic supply and pull down retail prices that have skyrocketed beyond P100 per kilogram.

Imports under MAV must arrive in the country within a given MAV year, which runs from February until January of the following year. However, SRA officials have disclosed publicly that they want to manage and calibrate the arrival of sugar imports under MAV to ensure that it will not coincide with the milling seasons.

The SRA has been tasked to draft the import guidelines for sugar imports under MAV, including the classification and reclassification of imported stocks.

South Cotabato governor endorses funding for CARPrelated projects

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

TO boost food security and the overall performance of the agricultural sector in South Cotabato, Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. has endorsed a total of P439 million worth of projects for funding under the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF).

T he projects include construction and rehabilitation of bridges, irrigations, canals, and farm-to-market roads of the identified municipalities in the province.

T he ARF is a special fund that finances the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) as the lead implementing agency.

and Lao PDR ink deal on nutrition-sensitive project

THE International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) recently signed an agreement for a nutrition-sensitive agriculture project to address food insecurity and malnutrition among the rural poor.

T he project will especially focus on vulnerable groups such as women, young people and people with disabilities.

T he Agriculture for NutritionPhase II (AFN II) project builds on the success and lessons learned from the first phase (AFN I; 2016-2022).

In particular, AFN I showed that sustainable climate-resilient agriculture practices, complemented by building strong community-based organizations that work for their members, could lead to higher incomes and better nutrition for rural families.

It will also support the sustainable and inclusive recovery of the country’s agriculture and food systems after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“More than 60 percent of people in Lao PDR live in rural areas,” said Ambrosio Barros, IFAD Country Director, Lao PDR.

They depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. But most farmers are small-scale producers practicing subsistence, family-focused agri -

culture, and have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Hence AFN II focuses on the role of small-scale farmers in improving household nutrition and food security through sustainable agriculture.”

L ao PDR has seen significant economic growth over the last two decades, but the pandemic, climate shocks and the war in Ukraine have affected efforts to improve living conditions. This has taken a serious toll on rural families.

“Many struggle to meet household food requirements, making malnutrition a critical issue.”

AFN I was financed by the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) and managed by IFAD (in collaboration with the Department of Planning and Cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, as well as the World Food Programme).

By promoting small and mediumscale agricultural development, including through home gardens, the project has led to better nutrition, with a decline in stunting and higher incomes reported across project areas. AFN II will scale-up AFN I in three provinces—Oudomxai, Phongsaly and Xiengkhouang—and in three others, in the south—Salavan, Sekong, Attapeu—and will reach 168,000 people across 28,000 households.

I n a statement, DAR Soccsksargen Regional Director Mariannie Lauban-Baunto said the endorsement of Tamayo to intensify the CARP implementation in the province, “mirrors the stand of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III, to continuously pour various support services projects that will help improve the living conditions of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).”

We are happy that the governor is in tandem with the DAR’s crusade to help the ARBs and improve the agriculture sector in the country.”

Baunto added that close coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways, National Irrigation Administration, municipal and local government units, and other CARP-implementing agencies would be done to ensure the effective implementation and completion of the said projects.

T he project is only the first phase of the P3-billion proposed projects for the entire province.

Tamayo is also set to request a supplemental fund amounting to P1.37-million for the completion of the processing buildings under the Village Level Farm-focused Enterprise Development Project.

T his he said aims to enable the ARBs to produce high-value and FDA-compliant quality products.

He also met with the representatives of the identified ARB organizations to orient them on the project and its implementation, including the policies on maintenance and sustainability.

T he project involves the municipalities of Tantangan, Tboli, Surallah, Norala, and Tupi including Koronadal City with 266 ARBs.

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Monday, February 20, 2023

US-China: What if?

MiSattribUted to both eleanor roosevelt and Socrates is the quote, “Small minds discuss people. average minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.” that is an exaggeration, but in most public discussions about important issues, there is a simplicity that does not look at all the concerns, and that can be dangerous.

Eastern Asia that sees the sun rise from the Pacific Ocean is highly complex and complicated. Sub-Saharan Africa was all colonized save for Ethiopia and Liberia. South and Central America, except for Brazil (Portuguese) all speak Spanish. The Middle East and North Africa are united under Islam. Europe has been at war with itself for 2,000 years.

No region is more geographically diverse with archipelagic states, island nations, and those sitting on the Asian landmass. There are 10 major and 1,200 minor languages spoken in our corner of the planet. The four largest world religions and countless “folk religions” are actively practiced. GDP per capita in purchasing power ranges from over $40,000 in Japan and South Korea to Cambodia’s $4,700.

The region, and particularly Southeast Asia, is facing a difficult dilemma over relations with China and the United States. Both “superpowers” offer benefits and disadvantages. China is everyone’s largest trading partner. The US is “The US.” No nation wants to be caught in the middle of any conflict between those two. But is it possible to avoid that situation?

Those that are calling for neutrality are naïve. There is no such thing as being neutral in a world of “globalization,” which is just another word for “interdependency.” The prime example of neutrality might be Switzerland.

Swiss banking secrecy, with the Banking Act of 1934, made it a crime to disclose client information to third parties. But the end of Swiss bank secrecy in tax matters arrived with the OECD treaty network signed in 2017.

Since 1979, the US has imposed economic sanctions against Iran. In March 1995, President Clinton prohibited the US from trading in Iranian oil. Shortly thereafter a US trade representative came to the Philippines to encourage the nation from buying Iranian oil despite the fact that less than 4 percent of our oil came from Iran. China, at the time Iran’s largest oil customer, was not on the trade representative’s itinerary for sanctions discussions.

With the war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia, we scrapped an order for Russian military helicopters. President Rodrigo Duterte decided to cancel it due to US sanctions on Moscow. Why take the chance to anger the US?

While we may want to stay out of any conflict between China and the US, it may be unavoidable.

In Europe, Nato is considering what they call a defensive move, an “Article 5 conflict” but also an “out-of-area” battle. An “Article 5 event” is an attack on a Nato member that justifies a military and economic response from all Nato members. But an “out-of-area” is an attack on a non-Nato member also warranting a direct Nato response.

In the unthinkable event of a breakout of economic and perhaps military hostilities between the US and China, how do we—and the rest of Asean—cope with trade sanctions against China that may come from both the US and Europe?

Rather than thinking about which side to stand on, maybe what we should be talking about—and this will be a difficult and complex discussion, not for simple minds—is what preparations we should be making to answer the question “what if?”

The law and our gig workers

RISING SUN

Many of us have read about the recent Supreme Court ruling ordering Lazada to reinstate five of their “illegally dismissed” riders whom they hired in 2016 and dismissed in 2017. the complaint was previously dismissed by the Labor arbiter, the nLrC, and the Court of appeals. Six years after the said dismissal, the highest court of the land would rule otherwise—in favor of the workers.

The issue of whether there is an employee-employer relationship in cases like this has been a topic of argument for decades, specifically where it concerns “independent contractors.” Many labor groups have sought the outright ban on contractualized labor. That is why to some people, the ruling of Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen is remarkable.  The Court said that “Lazada failed to discharge its burden of proving

that the five were independent contractors, rather than regular employees.” The Supreme Court found that the following factors were all present: the employer’s selection and engagement of the employee; payment of wages; power to dismiss; and the power to control the employee’s conduct. The Court also said that the riders were economically dependent on Lazada for their continued employment due to being directly hired.

Cyber attacks loom

LITO GAGNI

the beauty of column writing sometimes comes unexpectedly, and this is one of those times. We are reprinting a letter we received from Mr. red abatayo, who says there’s a new form of warfare being waged in the it sphere.

Dear Lito, I think one of the main threats now is confrontation in the IT sphere, which could lead to a cataclysm. President Biden’s administration in its updated doctrinal documents in October 2022 declared the whole world and the global information space as a “sphere of its interests. Washington plans to spend around $11 billion this year on carrying out cyber attacks with the aim of controlling unfriendly governments.”

The United States and its likeminded people continue to promote extremely dangerous approaches in the digital sphere. Contrary to the desire of the majority of the UN member states for the peaceful use of ICT, the Americans, in fact, openly lead the case to the militarization of the information space. They impose NATO preparations according to the rules of conducting “cyber warfare,” and they try to conform to this international law. This, alas, fits into the confrontational, block thinking of Washington, which is pushing the

The Court said that “Lazada failed to discharge its burden of proving that the five were independent contractors, rather than regular employees.” The Supreme Court found that the following factors were all present: the employer’s selection and engagement of the employee; payment of wages; power to dismiss; and the power to control the employee’s conduct. The Court also said that the riders were economically dependent on Lazada for their continued employment due to being directly hired.

These reasons were enough bases to say that there existed an employeeemployer relationship between the employer and the riders, according to the Supreme Court.

In today’s economy where freelancers make up a huge percentage of our labor force, this matter needs to be looked at more closely and refer-

According to Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov, the number of cyber attacks on Russian IT-infrastructure in 2022 increased threefold. A total of about 50,000 hacker attacks were repelled last year. The largest number of digital sabotage is carried out from the US and other Nato countries, as well as Ukraine.

enced upon in cases of dispute. The law is to be followed even if there is a contract, as mentioned in the Supreme Court decision on this particular case: “Protection of the law afforded to labor precedes over the nomenclature and stipulations of the Contract…. Thus, it is patently erroneous for the labor tribunals to reject an employer-employee relationship simply because the Contract stipulates that this relationship does not exist.”

Riders and drivers have become a huge part of our daily lives. This became even more pronounced during the pandemic. They deliver our documents and goods, pick up our food, drive us around, and so on. And yet we often find them on viral videos being beaten or berated, on controversial shows complaining about certain injustices done to them. Many of them face challenges related to their companies’ policies, their customers’ unfair behavior, or risks on the road. Their number continues to grow, and I think it’s about time that we review the policies and laws we have in place

world in 2017.

According to Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov, the number of cyber attacks on Russian IT-infrastructure in 2022 increased threefold. A total of about 50,000 hacker attacks were repelled last year. The largest number of digital sabotage is carried out from the US and other Nato countries, as well as Ukraine.

world further and further towards total confrontation.

Lately, exercises are held on a regular basis, including under the auspices of Nato, to practice strikes using ICT on Russian objects of critical information infrastructure. In December 2022, Nato conducted the world’s largest cyber defense exercise, Cyber Coalition 2022, in Estonia. More than 1,000 troops from 26 countries took part in the exercise. At the same time, the head of the exercise, Elliott, said that within the framework of training activities, along with the issues of countering cyber threats, the possible options of collective response were practiced.

The head of the United States Cyber Command, General P. Nakasone, announced in June 2022 a series of offensive digital operations in support of Ukraine. Currently, the West is using Ukraine to conduct illegal cyber attacks against Russia in order to hide its involvement in them. To carry out hacking attacks

on the banking and service sectors, as well as other Russian infrastructure facilities, the Americans use a special project of the US Cyber Command “IT Army of Ukraine,” which involves both specialized cyber units of the AFU and Ukrainian Internet activists.

Western information-technical influence from the territory of Ukraine on the Russian infrastructure can cause uncontrollable processes in cyberspace and lead to significant damage to other countries.

Washington’s transfer of malicious programs to the Kyiv regime will inevitably lead to their leakage to the black market and further use by Ukrainian and other hacker groups for criminal purposes, including against digital resources of international organizations and individual states. This has happened more than once. The Shadow broker group stole elements of Windows operating system source codes from the US NSA, which were used to create the WannaCry ransom-ware virus that blocked the work of numerous organizations around the

The US and its allies this year intend to carry out cyber attacks on Russia’s power industry facilities. The West seeks to disable the Russian energy system in order to de-energize the country’s residential and social assets and provoke large-scale protests. At the same time, according to Washington’s plan, power outages should contribute to the disruption of the functioning of key administrative, military and defense-industrial facilities, airports and seaports, railway stations, as well as the agrarian complex of Russia.

This is evidenced by the fact that at the last meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee for an Information Crimes Convention in Vienna on January 9-20 this year, the Americans and their allies tried to sabotage the negotiation process in order to avoid additional obligations to provide electronic evidence of crimes. In doing so, they exposed their criminal intentions.

Consequently, it is to be expected that destructive US cyber attacks on Russia’s digital infrastructure will lead to a new escalation of tensions between the two nuclear powers.  Best regards, Red Abatayo.

Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

The Son! The Son! My investigation continues

Joel L. Tan-Torres

DEBIT CREDIT

Part One

MY simple google search disclosed that a Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) case presents intriguing insights on the “official receipts (Or) for sale” case that the national Bureau of investigation (nBi) and Bureau of internal revenue (Bir) recently unearthed after they raided the perpetrators’ offices in Eastwood City (Eastwood case). i did not even use the artificial intelligence engine ChatgPT for this purpose.

The googled information pertains to the CTA case 8592. This refers to the case decided in October 2015 by the CTA involving Tyco Information Solutions Inc., as petitioner, and the BIR as respondent (Tyco case). This Tyco case does not depart so much from the many other recurring BIR tax investigations and assessments of disallowing business expenses and input taxes claimed by taxpayers, who then routinely elevate the case to the CTA when these tax assessments become final. In this particular case, the BIR investigated the 2006 tax liabilities of Tyco and assessed the taxpayer deficiency income and value-added tax (VAT) amounting to about P42 million. Subsequently, Tyco filed a petition for review with the CTA in December 2012.

The BIR findings against Tyco were that its purchases “appeared to be excessive, implausible and fictitious as the suppliers were found to be fictitious.” Thus, the BIR disallowed the purchases it claimed as business deductions and input VAT credits from three specified suppliers, which the BIR alleged as “fictitious.” After perusing this, alarm bells immediately rang reminding me of its close similarity to the Eastwood case. The BIR and NBI were able to confiscate documents and pieces of evidence of “fictitious” official receipts that were being sold by the alleged mastermind of the Eastwood case.

Further reading the Tyco decision provided more surprising and revealing information. It appears that the suspected mastermind of the Eastwood case appeared as a witness for Tyco during the CTA hearings. I quote below the pertinent portion of the CTA decision, deleting the reference to the witness and the suspected mastermind in the Eastwood case.

“Petitioner’s [Tyco’s] second witness, xxxxxxxx, claimed that he is a businessman and Director of various businesses including World Balance Inc., Ultrasonic Broadcasting Corp., certain restaurants in Makati, and an animation studio in Timog Avenue, Quezon City. He testified that in 2006, he worked as a freelance middleman or one who scouts persons in need of certain products and looks for suppliers for that product. He earned a commission from the suppliers for every successful transaction. Petitioner was one of his clients, who, in 2006, needed IT products. Thus, he referred it to three suppliers, namely, Euro Sales Corporation, United Global Stylus Corporation, and ERRV Buy and Sell Trading. He is familiar with these three companies and vouched as to their existence but not as to their legiti-

continued from A10

not just for these contractual riders and drivers, but for the entire freelancing community, including informal workers, gig workers, independent contractors, and synonyms of the same classification. It’s about time we recognize and address the needs of millions of our fellow Filipinos who are bringing a significant contribution to this country’s economy. n n n

On Saturday, February 25, the country celebrates the 37th anni-

Further reading the Tyco decision provided more surprising and revealing information. It appears that the suspected mastermind of the Eastwood case appeared as a witness for Tyco during the CTA hearings. I quote below the pertinent portion of the CTA decision, deleting the reference to the witness and the suspected mastermind in the Eastwood case.

macy. He presumed that Petitioner and the three suppliers had several transactions because he was paid his referral commissions. However, being a mere middleman, he could not identify any documents pertaining to their transactions.”

It is indeed astonishing that the suspect in the “OR for sale” scam in the Eastwood case was directly or indirectly involved in similar cases as early as 2006. From the information gathered in the Tyco case, it would appear that this gentleman was directly involved in the transactions where Tyco was determined to have claimed “fictitious” purchases from “fictitious” companies. Was this a mere coincidence or is there something more sinister?

For your information, the Tyco case was resolved by the First Division of the Supreme Court on November 11, 2021, with its resolution on “GR 241422-23 (Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Tyco Information Solutions Corp.). This resolves the Petition for Review on Certiorari filed under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court assailing the CTA En Banc’s decision dated April 3, 2018, and Resolution dated August 14, 2018, in CTA EB 1426 and 1436. The assailed issuances affirmed the CTA Division’s Decision 4 dated October 2, 2015, and Resolution 5 dated January 29, 2016, in CTA Case 8592….”

It is noteworthy that this case was filed by the BIR as a mere civil case rather than a tax fraud criminal complaint.

Read more interesting insights in next week’s column.

To be continued.

Joel L. Tan-Torres was the former Dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business. Previously, he was the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy, and partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co. and the SyCip Gorres and Velayo & Co. He is a Certified Public Accountant who garnered No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979. He is now back to his tax practice with his firm JL2T Consulting. He can be contacted at joeltantorress@yahoo.com

versary of the People Power Revolution. We remember this important event that took place from February 22 to 25, 1986 that inspired many countries to adopt peaceful revolutions in their own societies.

Most importantly, we don’t forget the people who were part of this peaceful uprising, led by former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. and his wife, our former president Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. On this day, let us be thankful for the freedom and democracy that the event made possible for the Philippines. As devoted citizens of our beloved country, we must continue to protect the gains of Edsa.

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

During the alumni homecoming festivities of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) last Saturday, the presence of President BBM lit a bulb of recollection from my end. Virtually a duplicate rendition of his father and namesake, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos in physical appearance and voice, it cannot be gainsaid that images of the late dictator suddenly swarmed and revivified every spectator’s memory bank, mine included.

A portion of PBBM’s speech ushered me into an evocative wave of nostalgia when he urged the alumni to continue living a life of “service beyond self,” an “ethos,” says Marcos Jr., for which my alma mater is definitively known for. This instantly brought me back to certain points in the world’s history where sons (and daughters) exemplified a life of service further than one’s self. For instance, Peter I, emperor of Russia, was the son of Tsar Alexis with his second wife. A recipient of what otherwise would have been termed as bullying during his young life (being once excluded from public affairs), Peter I still enjoyed the enviable lifestyle of those with “royal” blood. But instead of building an exclusive fortress to whet his passions, he placed his feet on the waters of public service. Peter I triumphed in the fields of negotiations, alliances and wars, and became one of his country’s greatest statesmen, organizers and reformers.

In philanthropy, being the nextof-kin of selfless service, many have appeared from generation to generation. For instance, Edsel Ford, the son of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford, established The Ford Foundation with a legacy of giving. John D. Rockefeller Jr.,

only son of John Sr. and heir to the Rockefeller fortune, was drawn to philanthropy rather than joining his father in business. As records would have it, John Jr. donated land for the United Nations headquarters, a gift that featured significantly in locating the world organization in the United States. In the local scene, Regina Lopez, daughter of wealthy businessman Eugenio Lopez Jr., is a well-known philanthropist, aside from being an environmentalist. She initiated Bantay Bata 163, which bested 187 countries all over the world to earn the United Nations Grand Awardee for Excellence in 1997.

Be it a daughter or a son of a renowned or unfamiliar parent, the choice to lead a life of altruistic service is always viable. This fact just echoed loudly in my senses as I listened to the vibrant fabric of PBBM’s discourse in his entreaty for the PMA alumni to “stay true to the ideals and values—such as integrity, service before self, and professionalism—that you have gained from the Academy that everyone should innately possess as public servants.” And what better way to illustrate his statement of “service before self,” spoken by a son of a famous father, than reliving the sacrifice made by

the Son of the Almighty God. Jesus Christ, heir to the heavenly throne and of royal priesthood, lived among men and rendered a selfless service to heal, to teach, to free, to feed, to comfort and most importantly, offered his life just so we can receive the gift of salvation. Here is the Son who is the ultimate exemplar of service beyond self! PMA cadets should not look further for the Son of God is one great model for such PMAenshrined values.

Interestingly, I chanced upon a book that detailed a story of a wealthy man and his only son whose joint passion was to build the rarest and most precious art collections in the world. However, the son whom this father deeply loved had been killed in a war while attempting to save a fellow soldier. Several months later, the young soldier who survived gifted the grieving father with what he considered as a humble painting of his son as the surviving soldier last remember him. As the painting captured the quintessence of his beloved son’s smile, the father proudly displayed the portrait for all of his visitors to marvel at before allowing them to see the other masterpieces in his art collection. Upon the father’s death, his complete collection of masterworks was offered at a private auction. Art connoisseurs came but were baffled when the first work of art on the auction block was the rescued soldier’s “modest rendering of the wealthy man’s son.” The auctioneer persistently prodded for bidders as no one from the stylish crowd offered any bid. Some in the audience already scoffed and demanded to see the Van Goghs and Rembrandts. Not one to give up all too suddenly, the auctioneer asked, “The son! The son! Who will take the son?” With whatever money he had, someone finally bid of a measly 10 dollars! Despite the solicitation by the auctioneer for any other bid, there were no other bidders. As soon

as the gavel was pounded closing the sale of the painting to the lone bidder, the auctioneer announced the closure of the auction. When asked for an explanation, the auctioneer simply responded that pursuant to the wishes of the deceased, only the painting of his son was to be sold at the private auction and whoever gets this painting gets all the rest of the valuable art collection.

This story reminds us of how God, like the father in the chronicle, blesses the people who value and appreciate His Son whose sacrifice was not for himself but for all of humanity. What is required from us is to accept him, like the lone bidder who gave all what he had to get the painting of the son. Accepting Jesus means becoming God’s beloved children by receiving His Son in our lives and placing importance on His sacrifice at the cross—the zenith of what service-before-self means for us. And whoever receives the Son receives ALL of God’s blessings, for it is said in the Bible, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” ( Romans 8:17 )

Imagine therefore if we hear the heavenly “auctioneer” asking, “The Son! The Son! Who will take the Son?” Applying the principles of sonship and heir-ship, our answer should be a resounding, “I will!”

A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission. For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

Ukrainian grain shipments drop as ship backups grow

By Courtney Bonnell | The Associated Press

LOn DOn

The amount of grain leaving uk raine has dropped even as a un-brokered deal works to keep food flowing to developing nations, with inspections of ships falling to half what they were four months ago and a backlog of vessels growing as russia’s invasion nears the one-year mark.

Ukrainian and some US officials are blaming Russia for slowing down inspections, which Moscow has denied. Less wheat, barley and other grain getting out of Ukraine, dubbed the “breadbasket of the world,” raises concerns about the impact to those going hungry in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia—places that rely on affordable food supplies from the Black Sea region.

The hurdles come as separate agreements brokered last summer by Turkey and the UN to keep supplies moving from the warring nations and reduce soaring food prices are up for renewal next month. Russia is also a top global supplier of wheat, other grain, sunflower oil and fertilizer, and officials have complained about the holdup in shipping the nutrients critical to crops.

Under the deal, food exports from three Ukrainian ports have dropped from 3.7 million metric tons in December to 3 million in January, according to the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul. That’s where inspection teams from Russia, Ukraine, the UN and Turkey ensure ships carry only agricultural products and no weapons.

The drop in supply equates to about a month of food consumption for Kenya and Somalia combined. It follows average inspections per day slowing to 5.7 last month and 6 so far this month, down from the peak of 10.6 in October.

That has helped lead to backups in the number of vessels waiting in the waters off Turkey to either be checked or join the Black Sea Grain Initiative. There are 152 ships in

line, the JCC said, a 50% increase from January.

This month, vessels are waiting an average of 28 days between applying to participate and being inspected, said Ruslan Sakhautdinov, head of Ukraine’s delegation to the JCC. That’s a week longer than in January.

Factors like poor weather hindering inspectors’ work, demand from shippers to join the initiative, port activity and capacity of vessels also affect shipments.

“I think it will grow to be a problem if the inspections continue to be this slow,” said William Osnato, a senior research analyst at agriculture data and analytics firm Gro Intelligence. “In a month or two, you’ll realize that’s a couple a million tons that didn’t come out because it’s just going too slowly.”

“By creating the bottleneck, you’re creating sort of this gap of the flow, but as long as they’re getting some out, it’s not a total disaster,” he added.

US officials such as USAID Administrator Samantha Power and US Ambassador to the UN. Linda Thomas-Greenfield have blamed Russia for the slowdown, saying food supplies to vulnerable nations are being delayed.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in statement Wednesday on Facebook that Russian inspectors have been “systematically delaying the inspection of vessels” for months.

They accused Moscow of obstructing work under the deal and then “taking advantage of the op-

The hurdles come as separate agreements brokered last summer by Turkey and the UN to keep supplies moving from the warring nations and reduce soaring food prices are up for renewal next month. Russia is also a top global supplier of wheat, other grain, sunflower oil and fertilizer, and officials have complained about the holdup in shipping the nutrients critical to crops.

portunity of uninterrupted trade shipping from Russian Black Sea ports.”

Osnato also raised the possibility that Russia might be slowing inspections “in order to pick up more business” after harvesting a large wheat crop. Figures from financial data provider Refinitiv show that Russian wheat exports more than doubled to 3.8 million tons last month from January 2022, before the invasion.

Russian wheat shipments were at or near record highs in November, December and January, increasing 24 percent over the same three months a year earlier, according to Refinitiv. It estimated Russia would export 44 million tons of wheat in 2022-2023.

Alexander Pchelyakov, a spokesman for the Russian diplomatic mission to U.N. institutions in Geneva, said last month that the allegations of deliberate slowdowns are “simply not true.”

Russian officials also have complained that the country’s fertilizer is not being exported under the agreement, leaving renewal of the four-month deal that expires March 18 in question.

Without tangible results, extending the deal is “unreasonable,”

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin on Monday told RTVI, a privately owned Russian-language TV channel.

UN officials say they have been working to unstick Russian fertilizer and expressed hope that the deal will be extended.

“I think we are in slightly more difficult territory at the moment, but the fact is, I think this will be conclusive and persuasive,” Martin Griffiths, UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told reporters Wednesday. “The global south and international food security needs that operation to continue.”

Tolulope Phillips, a bakery manager in Lagos, Nigeria, has seen the impact firsthand. He says the cost of flour has exploded 136 percent since the war in Ukraine began. Nigeria, a top importer of Russian wheat, has seen costs for bread and other food surge.

“This is usually unstable for any business to survive,” Phillips said.

“You have to fix your prices to accommodate this increase, and this doesn’t only affect flour—it affects sugar, it affects flavors, it affects the price of diesel, it affects the price of electricity. So, the cost of production has generally gone up.”

Global food prices, including for wheat, have dropped back to levels seen before the war in Ukraine after reaching record highs in 2022. In emerging economies that rely on imported food, like Nigeria, weakening currencies are keeping prices high because they are paying in dollars, Osnato said.

Plus, droughts that have affected crops from the Americas to the Middle East meant food was already expensive before Russia invaded Ukraine and exacerbated the food crisis, Osnato said.

Prices will likely stay high for more than a year, he said. What’s needed now is “good weather and a couple of crop seasons to become more comfortable with global supplies across a number of different grains” and “see a significant decline in food prices globally.” AP journalists Dan Ikpoyi in Lagos, Nigeria, and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed.

A12 Monday, February 20, 2023

Equity cap still hobbling PHL investment drive, says solon

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

DESPITE the enactment of business-friendly laws during the previous administration, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have not been as large as those streaming to the country’s Southeast Asian neighbors because of the Philippines’s restrictive, inward-looking Constitution, a senior lawmaker said on Sunday.  The restrictive charter, he said, turns off foreign capitalists because it prohibits them from taking full control of Philippine corporations and owning lands needed for their local  businesses.

C amarines Sur Rep. and National Unity Party (NUP) President LRay Villafuerte made the statement as the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments recently held its sixth public consultation on proposals to reform the 1987 Constitution.

Hence, the need for a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) comprising duly elected delegates to work on, and clear the way  to, amendments to the   oft-putting

economic provisions of the 1987 Charter that bar foreigners from having 100-percent control of corporations they invest in or buying lands needed for their operations because they are limited to owning or controlling a maximum 40 percent of these businesses, said Villafuerte.

V illafuerte said the Con-Con route at this early stage of the Marcos presidency is the more feasible route, in lieu of legislators conven -

ing themselves into a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass), as he asserted on TV that the House of Representatives would go ahead on this latest Charter Change (Cha-Cha)

ORE PROCESSORS SEEK CLEARCUT POLICY FIRST

initiative even if the President said recently that amending our Constitution is not one of his administration’s priorities.

THE Philippine mining industry should first have a “clear cut” policy before it can attract investments into nickel processing, according to officials of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

D TI Special Trade Representative (STR) for Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Tokyo, Bernardita A. Mathay told reporters at a recent virtual press briefing that none of the Japanese firms have expressed interest to go into nickel processing, noting that “the sequence should be: we have to have a clear-cut mining policy for these people to come in.”

However, Mathay revealed that five years ago, DTI had already identified firms that should be working with them to process metals into batteries.

T hese are “companies like Panasonic, et cetera, ’yun yung mga tumatanggap ng [those who accept] processed nickel products to further input that into production of the battery,” Mathay said.

So, we’re just hoping that some of these people will come in and be brought in after we have a very clear-cut policy that we announce from the relevant authorities. So right now, nobody has expressed any interest,” Mathay noted.

W hen asked on what specific clearcut policy is needed, the Trade representative said “Pag sa industry lang, gusto natin makita na lahat ng paggamitan ay hindi lang ore,” adding that technology

to be used in the processing of ore for batteries for the anticipated “high demand” for electric vehicles should be included.

Mathay reported that DTI aims to stop direct sales of ore as it is a “depletable” source. Instead, she said, they only encourage new entrants that will invest in processing ore into high value-added products, which apply to nickel and copper, among others, so the country will move up the value chain.

A s for the planned move of the Trade department, DTI Assistant Secretary Glenn Peñaranda said Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual “would already really strongly promote our interest to export value-added minerals especially here in the demand for minerals for battery manufacturing.”

T he Trade official said a working group led by the Board of Investments (BOI) is studying the options.

In January, Pascual said the Philippines can be a “vital partner” for the critical minerals such as nickel and copper, among others, not only as an exporter of raw ores but as a processor and producer of semifinished and finished products.

He said these minerals can be used for “downstream industries” such as EV battery manufacturing, hyperscale data centers, and renewable energy projects.

T he Philippines has Indonesia as a model, as a processor of these critical minerals, he said.

A ndrea E. San Juan

UE HONORS BERSAMIN Retired Chief Justice and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin receives the Resolution of Commendation from the Board Officials of the University of the East (UE) and University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center Inc. (UERMMMCI) during the testimonial dinner last February 10, 2023 held at Century Park Hotel in Manila. Also conferred on Bersamin was the Golden Warrior Award from UE College of Law. Photo from left: UERMMMCI Vice Chairman, Mr. Wilson Young; UERMMMCI President, Dr. Ester A. Garcia; UE and UERMMMCI Chairman of the Board, Dr. Lucio Tan; Executive Secretary Bersamin; UE Vice Chairman, Mr. David O. Chua and UE President Dr. Zosimo M. Battad.

Continued

Companies

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

B1

Monday, February 20, 2023

Figaro H2 income surges as store network expands

By VG Cabuag @villygc

For the entire 2022, meanwhile, the company’s revenues reached P4.47 billion. Gross profit increased by 91 percent primarily due to the rise in volume from store expansion and opening, though the gross profit margin slightly reduce to 48 percent from 49 percent due to the higher cost of major raw materials.

Operating costs also increased by 114 percent as a result of the massive store opening activities during the year and the initial public offering activities resulting to increasing overhead costs.

Systemwide sales from July to December grew by 79 percent to P2.05 billion from P1.14 billion in the same period in 2021.

t his was brought about by the opening of stores which brought the total number of stores to 150 by the end of December 2022. t his resulted to an 88-percent increase in revenues

versus same period last year,” the company said.

Figaro, which operates the homegrown coffee shop brand of the same name and pizza chain a ngel’s Pizza, went public in June 2021. revenues for the six-month period almost doubled to P2.04 billion from the previous P1.08 billion.

much of the company’s revenues came from a n gel’s Pizza, which reached P1.34 billion during the period , up by 52 percent from the previous year’s P877.76 million. For the entire 2022, the pizza chain delivered revenues of close to P3 billion.

Figaro Coffee, meanwhile, deliv-

ered P90.44 million in revenues for July to December, or almost doubled from the P47.28 million in the previous year. For the entire year, Figaro Coffee’s revenues reached P116.01 million.

t he company said its cash and cash equivalents as of end-2022 stood at P259 million, some 32 percent up versus the cash balance as of June 30, 2022 audited financial statement. Cashflow from operations during the period provided an inflow of P151.7 million, while the investing and financing activities during the period provided a net outflow of P10.7 million and P77.6 million, respectively.

t he company was able to fully liquidate all its interest-bearing bank loans in September. It has new availments of P30 million from UnionBank as of end-2022.

Smart network gets Ookla’s nod

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

Smart Communications Inc.

said on Sunday it still reigned supreme in Ookla’s latest mobile network awards, clinching once again the Philippines’s Fastest and Best mobile Network award for the second half of 2022.

Citing data from Ookla, PLDt Group Chief transformation and Customer a d visor Emmanuel C. Lorenzana said Smart won both the Fastest mobile Network and Best mobile Coverage awards within the same reporting periods of Ookla.

Smart previously won the Best mobile Network award for the first half of 2022. t hese awards continue to inspire

us to innovate and deliver leveledup services to our customers across the country, in our quest to power their increasingly digital lifestyles, foster meaningful connections, and become the telco that our subscribers can truly count on,” he said.

Smart bagged the Fastest mobile Network with a Speed Score of 62.3, while its closest competitor posted a Speed Score of 36.36. Smart posted a median download speed of 31.04 m bps and a median upload speed of 6.8 m bps, while its closest competitors posted a median download speed of 20.22 m bps and a median upload speed of 5.13 m bps.

t he Pangilinan-led company also won the “Best mobile Coverage” category with a Coverage Score of 795, surpassing its closest competitor’s

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) annulled a l liance Select Foods International Inc.’s ( a SF II) share acquisitions in 2014 and 2015.

BOEING Co. is giving Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun a $5.3-million incentive to stick around to see the recovery that he has promised investors.

t h e board approved a grant of 25,000 restricted stock units, reflecting its “recognition of and continued confidence in m r. Calhoun’s strong leadership,” Boeing said in a regulatory filing Friday.

t h e award will vest in two equal installments over the next two years. t h e move is a vote of confidence in Calhoun and an indication that the board doesn’t expect to seek new leadership through at least the middle of the decade. He’ll forfeit any unvested shares if he voluntarily leaves Boeing for any reason, including retirement, according to the filing.

Calhoun has guided Boeing through a long—and at times uncertain—recovery, since joining the planemaker in early 2020 in the aftermath of two fatal 737 m a x crashes. t h e board raised the then-64-year-old executive’s retirement age to 70 after he’d spent a year on the job, dispell ing questions over succession. Bloomberg

In a 33-page ruling signed by SEC Chairperson Emilio aquino and Commissioners Javey Paul Francisco, Kelvin Lester Lee, Karlo Bello and mc Jill Bryant Fernandez, the SEC’s En Banc reversed the decision of the ma rket Securities r egulation Department (mSr D) on a complaint dated November 2, 2020.

t h e verdict was promulgated last December 15 but was released to the media only recently.

“Wherefore, premises considered, the appeal is hereby granted. t h e decision of the [m S r D] is hereby reversed and set aside,” the ruling said.

t he a SFII shares acquired by Strongoak, Inc. under the 2014 Private Placement and 2015 SrO a re hereby declared void subscriptions and shall be cancelled from the Stock and transfer Book (S t B) of a SFII where these shares shall be considered as unsubscribed, and shall be allocated for subscription by any person who intends to buy the same provided that he/she complies with all the legal requirements; and once the subscription is fully paid, a SFII shall pay Strongoak the price it paid for the subscriptions that were nullified,” it further held.

It stemmed from the complaint

Coverage Score of 757.

t he Coverage Score captures both the number of locations in which an operator offers service and the quality of service in each location, according to Ookla. t he Fastest mobile Network award is based on more than 2.9 million user-initiated tests, whereas the Coverage award is based on over 3.4 million scan counts.

“Speedtest awards, presented by Ookla, are an elite designation reserved for the fastest and top-performing fixed broadband and mobile operators around the world,” Ookla CEO Doug Suttles said.

“It is our pleasure to present Smart with the award for Fastest mobile Network, Best Coverage which gives Smart a high accolade of Best mobile Network in the Philippines. t his rec-

ognition is testament to their exceptional performance in Q3-Q4 2022 based on Ookla’s rigorous analysis of consumer-initiated tests taken with Speedtest.”

Francis E. Flores, SVP and Head of Consumer Business Group-Individual at Smart, attributed the company’s win to its aggressive network builds.

“Our relentless efforts at improving our network have enabled Smart to receive these accolades once again. t his year, we will continue to empower Filipinos with Smart’s fastest speeds and widest coverage, and at the same time provide our Smart and t N t subscribers with value-packed offers and awesome experiences. We want to enable our subscribers to live more today and make the most of the moments that matter to them.”

Last week

Share prices fell for the fourth straight week after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised its rates by 50 basis points, but analysts said this was expected as inflation accelerated in January.

The benchmark Philippine Stock exchange index fell 97.77 points to close at 6,779.02 points.

The main index was down almost all week long, except on Wednesday, when it gained 30.85 points, ahead of the policy meeting of the BSP.

average value for the week was lower at P5.3 billion. Foreign investors, who accounted for 37 percent of the transactions, were net sellers at P1.23 billion.

a l other sub-indices ended in the red, led by the broader all Shares index that fell 31.48 points to close at 3,621.69 points, the Financials index declined 12.31 to 1,818.80, the Industrial index shed 58.49 to 9,792.96, the holding Firms index plunged 159.27 to 6,485.38, the Property index retreated 40.23 to 2,959.04, the Services index was down 20.61 to 1,703.13 and the Mining and Oil index decreased 190.80 to 11,227.31.

For the week, losers edged gainers 149 to 71 and 32 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers were Concrete aggregates Corp. a and B shares, Lodestar Investment holdings Corp., Keppel Philippines holdings Inc. a Ginebra San Miguel Inc., Liberty Flour Mills Inc., Oriental Peninsula resources Group Inc., Jackstones Inc. and iPeople Inc.

Top losers, meanwhile, were Figaro Coffee Group Inc., allhome Corp., roxas and Co. Inc., asiabest Group International Inc., Premiere horizon alliance Corp., easycall Communications Philippines Inc., Now Corp. and MerryMart Consumer Corp. this week

Share prices may still go down this week, but analysts see bargain hunting as total market loss for the fourth straight week of downturn is now at 4 percent.

“With this, we may see some episodes of bargain hunting this week. however, overall, the market is still seen to move with a downward bias amid resurfacing worries over aggressively hawkish monetary policy outlooks of the BSP and the Federal reserve,” Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, senior research analyst at Philstocks Financials Inc., said.

he said investors may continue to price in the BSP’s inflation outlook as its signal of more rate hikes.

“Concerns over a further tightening by the Federal reserve is also expected to weigh on the market following the higher than expected US January inflation and strong labor market,” Tantiangco said.

Meanwhile, 2Tradeasia noted that the fourth quarter reporting season is currently in full swing. ayala Land Inc. and Wilcon Depot Inc. will report this week.

“So far, stories have danced around corporate level strategies against higher capital costs and ways to grow ePS [earnings per share] growth outlook of about 19 percent for 2023,” it said.

“Inflation-interest rate related gyrations should keep the market anxiety up over the near-term. On the brighter side, these pain points could be tradeable opportunities, especially for value hunters looking to hold at lower valuations,” it said.

Tantiangco said chartwise, the local market has already gone below its 6,800 support. If it is unable to regain its ground at the said level, this will become its new resistance while its next support is seen at 6,600, he said.

stock picks

MayBaNK Investment Banking Group placed a hold recommendation on aboitiz Power Corp. (aP) as the stock has risen 14 percent since the end of last year and has already outperformed the growth of the main index.

“GNPower Dinginin Ltd.’s coal plant fully came on stream in the fourth quarter of 2022 and will continue to contribute. In addition, 16 percent of aP’s capacity is selling to the spot market, where we see upside amid the tight supply conditions,” it said.

It added that the company’s long-term earnings growth will be driven by 3.7 gigawatts of renewable energy projects between this year and 2030.

“however, we think most of the positives are priced in,” it said.

aboitizPower’s share price closed at P38.50 last week. Maybank placed a target price on the stock at P40 apiece.

Meanwhile, Maybank maintained its buy rating on the stock of Bank of the Philippine Islands as it raised its earnings forecast on the lender by 3.5 percent to account its recentlyraised credit card interest rates.

“During the earnings call, BPI confirmed that there will no longer be any dilution arising from its treasury shares. Our higher 2023 earnings forecast, along with our lower share base forecast, raises our target price to P118,” it said.

BPI shares closed at P105.50 apiece on Friday. VG Cabuag

filed by minority stockholders Hedy S.C. Yap-Chua, Harvest a l l Investment Ltd., Victory Fund Ltd. and Bondeast Private Ltd.

Yap-Chua and others alleged that the private placement of shares made were null and void as it violated Section 19 of the Securities r e gulations Code. t he m Sr D, however, junked the complaint for prescription of action and forum shopping on m a y 19, 2022.

In the assailed decision, the mSr D did not pass upon the matters relating to the possible violation of Section 19 of the SrC and its Implementing ru les and r egulations (Ir r), and proceeded to dismiss the complaint on the basis of a finding that Yap-Chua, et al.’s cause of action has prescribed, and that they were guilty of forum shopping.

t h is prompted them to appeal their case before the SEC En Banc, which found that it impressed with merit.

a c cording to the commission En Banc, the cause of action of

the appellants is not yet barred by prescription.

“While the m S r D took cognizance of the fact that the appellants filed with the Office of the Chairperson a complaint letter on 5 October 2018, it posited that such filing did not toll the prescriptive period because under the 2016 r u les of Procedure of the [SEC], it is the filing of a verified complaint that triggers the commencement of an adjudicative action,” the commission ruled.

Considering the seriousness of the alleged violation, the SEC En Banc held that it found “the complaint filed on 04 October 2018 substantially compliant with the requirements of the 2016 r u les, therefore filed within the period prescribed under Section 62.2 of the S rC , and more importantly, sufficient in substance as to not preclude the commission from acting on the same.”

t h e SEC also found that the complainants did not violate the rule against forum shopping.

THE increasing demand for flavored milk particularly in developing countries will drive the growth of the milk packaging industry, according to a report published by a l lied m a rket r e search ( a mr ) a mr said the milk packaging market is projected to reach $65.97 billion by 2031, from $40.01 billion in 2020, growing at a compounded annual growth rate (C aGr ) of 4.69 percent from 2022 to 2031.

“Significant surge in the demand for single-serve milk packs among people, growing awareness about the health benefits of dairy products to meet essential calcium and nutrient requirements in the body, and rise in geriatric population across the globe are expected to drive the growth of the global milk packaging market,” a mr said.

Urbanization and surge in demand for eco-friendly milk packaging materials are expected to boost the market growth.

Based on region, the market across a s ia-Pacific held the lion’s share in 2020, garnering nearly half the global market. In addition, the same region is predicted to cite the fastest C aGr of 5.2 percent during the forecast period. t he research

also analyzes regions including North a merica, Europe, and Latin a merica, m iddle East, and a f rica (L a m E a ) t h e milk packaging market analysis shows that paperboard segment is anticipated to grow at the highest C aGr of 5.25 percent during the forecast period,” a mr said.

a sia-Pacific is projected to maintain its dominant position in the global market from 2020 to 2031.

China occupied more than one fourth of the a s ia-Pacific market in 2021.

“In terms of value, Italy is expected to grow at a significant C aGr of 4.37 percent during the forecast period.”

t he report also noted that the pouch segment occupied more than half of the total market in 2021. t he milk packaging market is segmented on the basis of packaging type, material, and region. Depending on packaging type, it is categorized into cups, cans, bottles, pouches, and others. a c cording to material, it is classified into glass, plastic, metal, paperboard, and others. r e gion wise, it is analyzed across North a m erica, Europe, a s ia-Pacific, and L a m E a

Figaro Coffee group inc., an operator of cafes and a number of restaurants, said its income in the second semester of 2022 rose 47 percent to P265.11 million from the previous year’s P179.62 million.

Boeing gives its CEO a $5.3-M perk

‘Milk packaging market to reach $65B by 2031’

Carbon tax on electricity use pushed by lawmakers

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

LAwMAkERS seek the speedy congressional approval of a proposal to impose a first-ever carbon tax on electricity use (CTE) to raise extra funds for climate action initiatives and, thus, help the Philippines meet its ambitious decarbonization target of cutting the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 75 percent by 2030.

Camarines Sur Rep. LRay F. Villafuerte emphasized said that the enactment into law of the proposed CTE—to be tucked into monthly electricity bills—is urgent in light of government’s tight fiscal space after a whole-of-government approach to stem Covid-19.

Villafuerte’s House Bill (HB) 4939 proposes a carbon tax on electricity use equivalent to P1 for every kilogram (kg) of CO2 emission per kilowatt hour (kw h). The revenues from the CTE are to be used for programs on climate-change mitigation and adaptation.

“Abrupt climate change is not only imminent; it is here,” the lawmaker said. “It is consequently necessary for us to make a significant contribution to the global effort to stabilize GHG concentrations in the atmosphere; more so because the Philippines is considered as ground zero for climate disaster.”

Exemptions

HB 4939 seeks to exempt from CTE households that consume 60 k w h or below per month and those using renewable energy (RE) sources. The bill requires the latter to secure a certificate from the Department of Energy (DOE) confirming they are harnessing RE power and not using electricity from the grid.

Villafuerte believes the “swift congressional approval” of the bill “will send a strong message to the global community of our country’s steadfast commitment to inter-

national climate action policy and the 19th Congress’s affirmation of the people’s right to a balanced and healthy ecology as well as the State’s paramount duty to safeguard such right for the present and future generations.” Villafuerte has filed a similar climate-tax bill in the previous Congress.

‘Act now’

VILLAFUERTE said adoption of aggressive de-carbonization measures would help the country meet its ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDO) target set in 2015: to reduce GHG emissions by 75 percent over the 2020 to 2030 period.

“This measure recognizes the unfortunate status quo of the environment and encourages every Filipino to act now,” Villafuerte said.

“The CTE proceeds shall be used to explore alternative and clean sources of energy, provide green public transportation and disseminate climate change awareness, among other objectives.”

HB 4939 noted that the volume of carbon released from electricity and heat production almost doubled from 25.83 percent of total fuel combustion in 1972 to 49.74 percent as of 2013.

Collections from the proposed climate tax shall be used exclusively for programs that explore and promote the use of alternative and clean power sources like RE and assist communities in adapting to climate change and managing disaster risks, among others.

Collections would also fund programs that would: improve the resiliency of critical infrastructure; provide better public transportation; disseminate climate change awareness; protect environmental quality and wildlife; and, meet international commitment made by the Philippines to assist with climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management.

SC voids BIR, SEC rules forcing firms to disclose investor data

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

THE Supreme Court has declared void for being unconstitutional the regulations issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requiring businesses, including those in the banking and financial sectors, to disclose the names of their investors including their addresses, tax identification number (TIN) and their corresponding amount of income and withholding tax.

In a 46-page decision penned by Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando, the SC held that BIR Revenue Regulations 1-2014, Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 5-2014 and SEC Memorandum Circular (MC) 10 (Series of 2014) violate the petitioners’ right to privacy and due process.

The Court raised the possibility of abuses in the enforcement of the regulations.

“There is no assurance that the information gathered and submitted to the listed companies pursuant to the questioned regulations will be protected and not be used for any other purposes outside the stated purpose,” the SC stressed.

“The investors provided their information to the brokers, presumably without the intention of sharing such with any other entity, including the investee companies and the BIR,” it added.

Criminal penalties

ON September 9, 2014, the Court

Perspectives Emerging Trends in Infrastructure

Tw ENTY twenty three may represent an epoch unlike any other.

Future generations may look back at 2023 with deep admiration or deep scorn. They may praise leaders for their foresight or damn them for their inaction. Leaders today have a choice. The repercussions of these choices can resonate for future generations.

The risk is that leaders allow the worst of our human nature to rule decision-making during this period of massive social, political, economic and environmental change; collaboration could falter, globalization could fail and society could fracture. The opportunity is that leaders allow the best of human nature to win the day. Society could unite in the face of danger, adapt to change and innovate in adversity.

The willingness to let go of the past may largely dictate how societies move into the future. They won’t make much progress if they are shackled to sunk investments and entrenched systems.

They won’t innovate if they can’t open their minds to new ideas and approaches. They won’t adapt if they aren’t looking ahead. And they won’t unite unless they believe in a better future.

This mindset shift is important as the Philippines forge its path in a post-pandemic world. The infrastructure sector must adapt and develop in order to address the changing needs of society. k PMG in the Philippines Deal Advisory Head and Infrastructure Sector Head Michael Arcatomy H. Guarin further supports this saying, “it is a new era and we have to think differently in terms of tackling the challenges and opportunities that this presents to the infrastructure sector.”

Guarin highlighted that “more than seeing it as risks, the emerging trends in infrastructure are great breakthroughs that could champion sustainable chang-

es if addressed and implemented appropriately. These trends cut across different segments of society, from ESG, healthcare, finance, digital literacy and communication—a clear manifestation of the interconnection of each one.”

Ten trends in infrastructure

Trend 1: Tilting toward territorialism and shifting allegiances.

A big risk for 2023 is that all this geopolitical complexity and uncertainty that we’re currently seeing can slow the pace of decision-making to a crawl. Right now, however, action is needed and lots of it. Populations need more infrastructure and more leadership, not less. Infrastructure players must keep their new geopolitical and supply chain security lenses on a pivot. In a world ruled by unstable temporary alliances, awareness and agility may be key.

Trend 2: Backed into the sustainability corner.

This year, we expect to see individuals and organizations take serious steps to move from talk to action. Much focus will likely remain on mitigation (anything we can do to keep global warming and climate change to a minimum is welcome, even if humanity overshoots the 1.5-degree goal). But the growing focus will likely be placed on adaptation as people come to terms with what it means to live in a climate-stressed world. There may also be multiple paths to adaptation, though some require a fundamental shift in mindset.

Governments and infrastructure players must leave the old mindsets behind and factor sustainability into decision making now. Retrofitting using an old mindset is going to be more expensive, less effective and more disruptive. And history has proven you can’t win this fight doing what you have done in the past.

issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining the BIR and the SEC from implementing the regulations.

The TRO was sought by the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE), the Bankers Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Association of Securities Brokers and Dealers Inc., the Fund Managers Association of the Philippines, the Trust Officers Association of the Philippines and Marmon Holdings Inc.

Petitioners argued that their right to privacy over their personal information protected by Republic Act 10173 (Data Privacy Act), is violated by the regulations.

Requiring broker dealers to divulge personal information of their clients such as TIN, birthdate and address, if such were followed, would expose the broker dealers to criminal penalties under the Data Privacy Act.

Petitioners said their right to due process was violated by the respon-

dents—Department of Finance, BIR and SEC—which failed to send notice or hold hearings to explain the provisions and requirements of the regulations.

The SC affirmed both of the arguments of the petitioners. It held that the government failed to prove that issuing the regulations would prevent abuses in the payment and collection of taxes.

The DOF, the BIR and the SEC did not claim or show that taxes were improperly collected or there was collection deficit due to lack of certain details like the ones sought by the assailed regulations, the SC said.

Increasing burden

ACCORDING to the High Tribunal, “the State must show an active effort in showing the inefficacy of all possible alternatives; this is to assure that the chosen course of actions is the sole effective means. This can be supported through sound data gathering, which respondents failed to do or show in the instant case.”

“Thus, the Court sees that the enforcement of the questioned regulations puts the right to privacy of the investors in peril. For this, the questioned regulations must be struck down,” it added.

The SC said respondents should have held a public hearing since the assailed regulations are not mere “interpretative issuances” but “legislative in nature that change, if not increase, the burden of those governed.”

Thus, the SC said, notice and hearing are required for such to be considered valid.

“In fine, the questioned regulations should have undergone notice and hearing prior to their enactment. They imposed new and substantial burdens on those governed. For failure to conduct notice and hearing prior to issuance and publication, the questioned regulations are

therefore void.”

Aside from requiring businesses to submit an alphabetical list of payees, BIR RR 01-14 also prohibits the lumping into one single amount and account of various income payments and taxes withheld such as “PCD nominee,” “Various Payees,” or “Others.”

No authority

ON the other hand, BIR RMC 5-15 requires withholding agents to indicate in the alphalist the tax identification numbers, complete names, income amount and tax withheld from the payees.

SEC MC 10-14 supplements the provisions of RR 01-14 by directing the Philippine Depository and Trust Corp. (PDTC), broker dealers and other depository participants to provide listed companies with the information needed to enable the latter to comply with RR 01-14.

The BIR earlier said RR 01-14 was issued “for purposes of ensuring that information on all income payments paid by employers/payors, whether or not subject to the withholding tax except on cases prescribed under existing international agreements, treaties, laws and revenue regulations, regardless on the number of employees and/ or payees, are monitored by and captured in the taxpayer database of the BIR, with the end in view of establishing simulation model, formulating analytical framework for policy analysis and institutionalizing appropriate enforcement activities.

The SC also ruled that the SEC had no authority to issue SEC MC 10- 2014 and that the DOF and the BIR, in including the prohibition on lumping of accounts, acted outside of their scope of authority.

It said the enforcement of tax laws is within the powers of the DOF and the BIR and not the SEC.

Trend 3: The “Age of Mass Customization” emerges.

The “Age of Mass Customization” is about personalizing infrastructure to the user—both in its physical manifestation and in the way we use it. And that will require a step change in digitization, new business and services models. Focus can be placed on creating unique experiences for users while protecting their data, their privacy and their interests.

The challenge facing infrastructure providers and governments is two-fold.

The first big challenge is how to remain relevant in an age where technologies and private players are already disrupting the service delivery model. Governments may need to rethink where and how they will play (or perhaps, just intervene) in the provision of infrastructure. In part, this requires new ideas and models that eschew the industrial age and embody the age of mass customization. It will likely also require some tough decisions about what to do with existing industrial-age assets.

Trend 4: Inflation, pricing and supply elevate the risk.

A health pandemic, followed by a supply chain pandemic, led to an inflationary pandemic. The big worry for infrastructure players is that the next stop is a bankruptcy pandemic.

The continued volatility and financial disruption of the past few months have certainly not been easy for infrastructure players. we are seeing infrastructure planners and owners struggling to budget for projects that will take years to deliver and decades to finance. As costs rise, return on investment equations rapidly change. As inflation bites, so does affordability.

To be sure, supply chain bankruptcy would be a worst-case scenario this year. But the risk of not building anything at all would be much, much more danger-

ous over the long term.

Trend 5: Getting the most from digital.

Digital transformation can deliver massive potential benefits for infrastructure owners, operators and users. The use cases are manifold. The value is quantifiable. The capabilities are plentiful.

This year, we expect to see significant pressure on contractors and developers to up their digital capabilities and integrate into the wider value chain. we a lso expect to see more infrastructure players work to overlay data with experience—applying human capabilities to drive real value from data.

Trend 6: Cities look for purpose.

This year, expect to see the city, regional and national governments start to engage in real and collaborative debates on what value cities can deliver. And, with that, expect to see a much greater focus on bringing together the essential ingredients to drive the work, play and live agenda.

Trend 7: Institutional players drive the climate agenda.

Governments have big ambitions for climate change. But they also know that the cost of the required structural changes will likely be enormous—some estimates suggest upwards of 7 percent of global GDP between now and 2050.

This is at a time of massive pressure on government pocketbooks, rising inflation and justifiable debates on who holds the costs and reaps the benefits of climate change.

Perhaps not surprisingly, governments are looking to institutional investors to help finance the costs. Institutional investors are also long-term investors. This isn’t just about patient capital. It’s about investors who understand the long-term effects of climate change and are invested enough to want to do something about it. And over the

past few years, many have become much more active in their management of their assets, working with their investments to deliver real and measurable de-carbonization goals.

Over the coming year, we can expect institutional investors, governments and owners to become much more comfortable allowing the power of capital to drive climate outcomes.

Trend 8: Globalization gets buffeted by security.

This year, expect to see infrastructure players start to rework their supply chains into more dynamic supply webs that form around the security of supply. And don’t be surprised to see some significant fallout as less-friendly markets and companies get dropped.

Trend 9: Dealing with sunk costs and abandoned assets.

Infrastructure assets are expensive. And they are made to last decades. So, there is an obvious reluctance to abandon them early. Yet society’s needs and expectations have changed. Climate change has rewritten the value equation in many markets. And technological change has upped the risk of obsolescence.

The potential risks of trying to solve new problems within an old context and mindset are huge. It limits the imagination. It stifles innovation. It slows investment from flowing into new ideas and technologies. It increases costs, encourages waste and creates redundancy. If society is to move peacefully and confidently from the industrial age to the age of mass customization, it should become much more willing to abandon the status quo and encourage greenfield thinking.

Trend 10: The definition of infrastructure evolves.

In the past, it was pretty easy to identify infrastructure; it was stuff that governments built to deliver on

citizens’ needs and policy agendas. Now those lines are blurring. Infrastructure is no longer the remit of government alone. It does not always deliver on citizen needs or policy agendas. In many cases, the lines between sectors are rapidly blurring. Given all of the trends we have raised in this report—the shift to issue-specific alliances, changing supply chain expectations, rising economic uncertainty, unsolved questions about existing assets, digitization and the shift to the age of mass customization, encouraging this type of flexible federation of capabilities may prove to be the only way that governments may be able to execute on their agendas. They certainly can’t do it alone. And jumping into bed with one big partner to the exclusion of others has proven to be unpopular with citizens who worry about who is controlling their infrastructure. w hat is clear is that the definition of infrastructure is evolving. The competitive landscape is rapidly changing. Governments are no longer the sole purveyor of infrastructure. There will likely be implications for everyone in the sector.

The excerpt was taken from the KPMG Thought Leadership publication: https://kpmg.com/xx/en/ home/insights/2022/01/emerging-trends-ininfrastructure.html.

© 2023 KPMG Intl Ltd., a private English company limited by guarantee, has Philippine partnership R.G. Manabat & Co. as a member-firm. All rights reserved.

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

This article is for general information purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice to a specific issue or entity. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the BusinessMirror , KPMG International or KPMG in the Philippines.

Tivoli Royale is actor Bayani Agbayani’s Dream Place

SM scholar-alumna takes the road less travelled; pursues career in SPED

TEACHING surpasses the realms of jobs or professions–it encompasses service, vocation, and life mission.

Proving this day and night are millions of Filipino teachers who stand as second mothers to students. One of them is Rosalie Macaspac, an SM scholar alumna who chose to pursue a career in Special Education (SPED).

Choosing to teach, especially pursue SPED, is a path less travelled. Out of over 800,000 public school teachers, only about 4,000 are in SPED, and Rosalie is one of the few who took the path. For 21 years now, the SM scholar alumna has dedicated her life to teaching SPED students. She wanted to empower and give special children a voice by advocating the welfare of deaf learners.

With much dedication and determination to have the right skills for her students, she pursued graduate studies in special education and Filipino sign language at the Philippine National University and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, respectively.

She currently teaches at the Philippine School for the Deaf in Pasay, the only government-owned institution for the deaf in the country. Here, she spearheaded the numeracy skills training program for deaf learners.

Her journey to becoming an educator was not easy. Her parents separated when she was three years old, and her mother became the breadwinner.

“In the early years of my life as a threeyear-old, awareness of how hard life is became a part of my growing up. I grew up with a mindset that whatever happens, I will not abandon my studies. Sensing my determination, my mother earned a living by washing and ironing clothes of our neighbors. I came to realize my mom had to wash and press thousands and thousands of clothes so I could finish my studies. But I did not pity myself. Instead, I kept a strong determination to battle on and promised my mother that she will not grow old and die as a laundry woman,” she said.

The weight on their shoulder became heavier when her mother became bedridden for half a year. Instead of slowing her down, it did the opposite. She continued her studies with much determination. With the help of her uncle, the Missionaries of Charity, and the puto bigas she sold, they got by.

She finished primary school with good grades, and was a consistent honor student in high school, despite having one centavo allowance and rice and coffee as meals.

With good standing, she had her mind set on her next goal: going to college.

“Giving up or surrendering wasn’t in my vocabulary. The strong heart of my mother was passed on to me as she was my inspiration to strive to get us out of the predicament we were in,” she stressed.

“When I was in fourth year high school, I was deep in thought of what to do to support my college education. Then, God in all His goodness, stepped in again. The Guidance Office in our school announced that the SM Foundation was offering scholarships for qualified students. I knew at that very moment that He was with me. All I had to do is to apply for the scholarship,” she recalled.

She vividly remembers sending her SM College Scholarship program application at the Customer Service of the SM in Quiapo and how she learned on May 9, 1995 that she would be interviewed for the scholarship in room 214 of the MSE Bldg. The three-digit number has since become unforgettable for her. By June 1995, Macaspac was among the SM scholars who had started their college education under the scholarship program.

According to her, the scholarship helped her become a well-rounded individual.

It was the key to the realization of her dreams and paved the way to success. The activities provided by SM Foundation, such as the scholars’ assembly, the orientation, leadership training, sports fest and annual retreat, were very memorable for her.

“Looking back, the retreats, monthly meetings and being able to work in SM as an employee, followed up by our project director boosted my self-esteem and opened my world to service,” she said. efore teaching, she first worked as a Merchandise and Planning Control-Clerk at the SM Head Office, which was then located in Calle Echague, Manila. She was hired immediately after college.

Working in DepEd has always been her dream, and she is proud of where she is today: “Since day one of my college days, I aimed to be a public-school teacher. I am happy with my work now as a High School Teacher for Deaf learners. I am so privileged that I am in this community and my heart is entwined with my students.”

“I am not ashamed to tell my colleagues that I had a humble beginning and I thank SM Foundation for putting me where I am now. I owe these blessings to SM, Henry “Tatang” Sy, SM Foundation, Ma’am Nilda Bernaldez, and my fellow SM-Scholars, most especially, my mother. They are all the instruments to why I chose to give back to a special community and dedicate my life to being an effective SPED teacher.”

PAGCOR is now accepting entries for its Photo Contest 2023

THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is now accepting entires for the Photography Contest 2023.

This year's theme, “Sa’n Tayo Next?”, aims to showcase the unadulterated, yet equally beautiful places in the Philippines with tourism potential. Photo entries must depict underrated or not-so famous spots in the country with the potential to become major tourist hubs.

PAGCOR‘s Assistant Vice President for Corporate Communications Carmelita Valdez invites photography

enthusiasts, newbies and professional lensmen to join the contest which will run from February 15 to July 31, 2023.

“This is your chance to show amazing destinations in the Philippines that are not yet widely known and often visited. It will not only give travelers more options to explore, but it will also help boost tourism in that area, which will later provide sources of livelihood to locals,” she said.

To join, participants must register at and submit their entries through the contest website https://www.pagcor.ph/ photocon2023. They need to fill out the needed information and upload the necessary documents to complete the registration. Photographs to be submitted must be in landscape (horizontal orientation) format.

The photography contest has two categories – Conventional Category, which includes photos taken using traditional or conventional cameras like Single Lens Reflex (SLR) or Digital SLR, compact cameras and the like; and Mobile Category or photos taken using mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, drone-mounted cameras, and action cameras.

“We allow only a maximum of two entries from each participant.

Individuals have the option to submit two photos either under Conventional Category or the Mobile Category or submit one photo for the Conventional and one for Mobile category,” Valdez added.

Valdez also reminded the participants to register under the regional group where they are residing such as Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas or Mindanao. They will be required to upload a valid ID with address as proof of residency. However, they can still submit photos taken anywhere else in the Philippines regardless of their residence’s location.

“We will screen the entries carefully. Photos sent to the wrong group will be automatically disqualified. The entries must also be taken within the period August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023 only,” Valdez explained. Big cash prizes await the 24 grand winners of the contest –P80,000 each for the 12 winners under the conventional category, and P35,000 each for the 12 winners under the mobile category. Another P10,000 will also be awarded to the “Most Liked Photos” under each category.

The Photography Contest 2023 is open to all Filipino nationals who are at least 18 years old as of February 15, 2023.

For more information, visit www.pagcor.ph or follow PAGCOR’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pagcor.ph).

GOOD property locations are already hard to find in highly-urbanized Metro Manila, where homeowners have to contend with congestion and a dense population. However, there is a property development in Quezon City that offers a more relaxed way of life. Think seclusion, security, and convenience with a proven prestigious location.

Tivoli Royale Subdivision by New Creation 101 Realty and Development Corporation offers an exclusive enclave that has attracted residents who want to experience modern living while still being in touch with the wonders of nature but still close to places that matter.

One of the long-time residents of Tivoli Royale is comedian-actor Bayani Agbayani, who calls Tivoli Royale his “Dream Place,” “When I first saw the property around 16 years ago, it was still underdeveloped, but I saw the potential. The panoramic view of the mountains of Antipolo and the lights in the city below immediately attracted me. I did not hesitate to invest in life here for my family,” he says.

Bayani is very happy with his choice, not only because of the view and the wide-open spaces that are rare for living in the Metro but also with the subdivision’s security and sense of community. “The subdivision is compact, so you get to know your neighbors. There is a feeling of belonging in a community. I also like that there are two security gates before you enter the subdivision, so you know that your family is safe.”

One of the other aspects that Bayani enjoys is the five-storey Tivoli Royale Country Club which offers exciting amenities such as a swimming pool, bowling and billiards lanes, fitness club, dining options, and venues for socialization such as the 400-seater badminton/ pickleball courts convertible to an events venue.

“I told my wife there was no need to set up our own pool because the clubhouse already has a swimming pool, along with all the other activities that are available. This is really my dream place, and I feel at home at Tivoli Royale.”

Moreover, the combination of breathtaking beauty and functional luxury makes Tivoli Royale Subdivision the ideal retirement home for Bayani. “This is where I want to grow old, especially since this subdivision has got everything we enjoy and need to support the lifestyle we’ve worked hard for, which includes raising our grandkids.”

Tivoli Royale Subdivision covers a sprawling total of 22 hectares divided into low-density blocks of 300 to 800 square meter lots. There are now more than 100 established homes in the development, lived in by families who value a peaceful and quiet neighbourhood above all. The property has well-lighted streets, RFID-activated gates, and 24-hour security patrols to complete the world-class residential experience.

Tivoli Royale’s entire property is floodfree, with no fault line connection for each homeowner’s added peace of mind. There are a few choice lots that have opened up in the subdivision for more prospective homeowners to experience the luxury of Tivoli Royale living. While the sweeping views are the hallmark qualities of this luxurious hilly property, Tivoli Royale Subdivision is only built with the finest craftsmanship and innovation.

New Creation 101 Realty and Development Corporation’s very exclusive, four floors of lowrise condominium laid out in a one-unit-perfloor configuration is in the works for those who dream of being in a tastefully designed community of Tivoli Royale. With a target completion in the third quarter of 2023, buyers at this phase will have the opportunity to customize their future dwellings. A symphony of modern aesthetic design and the highest quality of attention to detail, endless views can also be enjoyed by anyone who looks for an open concept of living, dining, and kitchen.

The five-story building which is customdesigned to host only one family home per floor is adjacent to the country club for easy access to its amenities. Each unit has three bedrooms with ensuite baths, living and dining rooms, household staff quarters, and a dedicated elevator foyer. Each unit also has two balconies to catch the majestic views of Antipolo and the Sierra Mountain range.

Active Group chairman, family donate Castrillo sculpture titled ‘Pagsisigasig. Pagyabong, Pag-unlad’

Pagyabong, Pag-unlad” by well-known Filipino artist Eduardo Castrillo.

Conceptually, the sculpture represents various aspects of growth. As the work’s title implies, hard work or perseverance lets one flourish, which in turn allows one to progress and prosper.

THE deed of donation of the Eduardo Castrillo sculpture to U.P. Diliman signed and presented, by, from left to right:

Elvira A. Zamora, vice-president of development of U.P.;

Danilo L. Concepcion, 21st president of U.P.; Arch. Antonio A. Turalba, chairman and founder of the Active Group of Companies; and Arch. Antonio V. Turalba, Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Active Group of Companies.

THE family of Active Group Chairman

Castrillo is an award-winning sculptor and jewelry designer. Among others, he has received the Araw ng Maynila Centennial Award, the TOYM Award, and the Republic Cultural Heritage Award. Many of his figurative and abstract works are typically composed with embossed copper and welded brass. Art critics and experts describe his aesthetic as having both a neo-realist and a cubist tendency.

Are

Arch. Antonio A. Turalba and Active Group

Vice-Chaiman Arch. Ma.

Cristina V. Turalba donated last February 7, 2023 to the University of the Philippines (U.O Diliman campus, through Active Realty & Development Corporation, a modernist avantgarde metal sculpture entitled “Pagsisigasig.

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The sculpture was installed at the Tau Alpha corner, which is part of the Tau Alpha Fraternity Legacy Boardwalk, a grand legacy project envisioned as the fraternity’s everlasting gift to the U.P. Diliman campus on the occasion of its 90th anniversary. Accepting the Turalba family donation for the U.P. community was Danilo L. Concepcion, 21st president of U.P. and Elvira A. Zamora, vice-president of development of U.P.

ROSALIE Macaspac (left) interprets the contents of the program for her students.

Style

The beauty, subtlety and versatility of cotton

FOR 20 years, cotton farming stagnated in the Philippines, specifically in Pinili, Ilocos Norte. But a native Ilocano, Dr. Joven Cuanang, spearheaded in revitalizing the industry. With guidance from Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan awardee Magdalena Gamayo, and vital support from the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority, the National Seed Industry Council, and the Philippine Textile Research Institute, Cuanang is steadily realizing his dream of helping cotton farmers and inabel weavers.

A neurosurgeon, Cuanang is also the enterprising president and founder of the Pintô Art Museum in Antipolo, Rizal. In Algodon: The Story of Cotton, staged on February 5 at the sprawling museum’s Gallery 7, he tapped the stellar talents of fashion designers Pepito Albert, Vic Barba, JC Buendia, Tonichi Nocom and Randy Ortiz to “demonstrate the beauty, subtlety, and versatility of inabel fabrics made of pure cotton and dipped in organic dyes.”

The sustainable effort, assures Cuanang, is worthwhile: “Cotton farming supplements traditional products: rice, corn, monggo and vegetables. It can be a farming substitute for tobacco, most especially as this is harmful to health. Moreover, it provides the yarn for cotton fabric, now preferred ethically over synthetic fibers.”

Cotton, among other plant-derived fibers like abaca, maguey and pineapple, which are cultivated in farms, fertilized organically, and colored from plantderived dyes, is consonant to acceptable standards for clothing prevailing globally. Ecologically, Cuanang said, this direction is sound.

“Algodon, which is Spanish for cotton, is a statement of an idea put into action. Painstakingly, over the last six years, we nurtured it from seed farm to fiber to fashion. Farm-produced cotton has its rightful place in our times. It is part of our cultural heritage. It should be revitalized all over our country,” declares Cuanang.

Cotton is a soft, fluffy, feel-good fabric, and the designers have fully committed to supporting its resurgence. Pepito Albert, who has been indisposed as of late, sent down a single look of a sexy, sculptured inabel blazer paired with a skirt made of silk taffeta and Swiss lace worn by supermodel Jo Ann Bitagcol.

Here, the country’s four other foremost fashion purveyors share their design process for “Algodon.”

BARBA BY VIC BARBA

AlGODON’ being the title of the show was also the working title [of my collection]. My design mission was to show the fabric in prominence alongside other

ONE thing that’s not openly talked about in beauty circles is underarm care but many people do struggle with it. Finding the right deodorant is one of the problems. For context, I sweat a lot and 15 years ago, I decided to stop using antiperspirant, except for certain days when I know there will be extensive physical activity.

I have used everything from well-known products used by Hollywood celebrities to those from local indie brands and to be honest, nothing has worked except for maybe four. Most products don’t work, meaning you’ll still stink after using it, or they can be itchy, sticky, and never dry down.

The ones from multinational brands work but they make my underarms itch. I suspect the culprit is aluminum, which has been linked to contact dermatitis. Another culprit could be the dyes used in manufacturing the deodorant.

If you’re someone with very sensitive skin, it’s probably best to switch to a natural deodorant because underarm deodorant or antiperspirant is one of the most common sources of allergies. It makes a lot of sense because, aside from aluminum, most underarm products contain fragrance which can cause irritation.

Unfortunately, most of us need to wear deodorant because our underarm is a warm and moist environment where bacteria and fungus like to grow, so it’s natural for the area to have a funky smell. If you have underarm hair, then that’s a breeding ground for bacteria. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology showed that the strongest armpit odors came from those who left their pit hair unshaved or unwaxed. Meanwhile, the study showed that those who removed their armpit hair had the cleanest underarms.

A 2018 study in the Microbiome Journal showed that sweat itself does not have any odor. The odor is caused by the bacteria in your armpits, which is usually trapped by the hair

fabrics we use in the tropics like cotton and linen, and to show the Abel Ilokano in ways other than the usual ‘Filipiniana.’ The show was conceptualized in May 2022 and was originally slated to be shown last October. Majority of the pieces were already done by then. New fabrics and colors came in November and December so we incorporated that in the collection.

“I’ve had orders pouring in while the show was going on. Does that mean it’s saleable? Definitely! Mass production possibilities? The fabric itself is not mass-produced. It is made by hand which makes it quite dear. But it is a beautiful fabric so it certainly has

its place in the design world.”

JC BUENDIA

“WOUlD you believe I sewed the collection in two weeks? Because it was wedding season, I started making the collection just two weeks before the show. I already had a mood in mind and I’ve already asked experts regarding appropriation. If I use stampitas as accessories, it’s best I only use a representation.

“I’ve said too often that designing is problemsolving. In designing my capsule collection for ‘Algodon,’ I thought of addressing our problem with

fluctuating weight. We can be fit and toned one day, and by the weekend we’ve gained again.

“It was a joy working with the new inabel weaves of pure cotton. They were soft and breathable, and very easy to iron. I decided to make bibs that can be tied tight or loose at the sides [so go ahead with the second serving of Japanese fried rice]. The collection wouldn’t be complete without new interpretations of the Philippine Terno. I came up with Terno bibs worn over pleated tulle skirts for a garden reception, perhaps, or with a beaded embroidered tulle skirt for candlelit dinners.”

TONICHI NOCOM

“MY collection is resort dressing—it should be known to everyone that it’s not the generic look of T-shirt/tank tops/shorts. It’s having the right pieces of clothing to wear at a resort. We are a resort country with exclusive beach clubs and private/gated communities along the beach. Weddings are now common in resorts. I have always dreamed of seeing everyone dressed even at the beach. Pinoys for sure have been to resorts abroad and noticed the manner of dressing.

“With the new show date, I had time to do variations until the final edit. My clothes do not call attention, they are essentially basic in silhouette and fabric. I am always guided by the principle of versatility and appeal. My aim is to evoke ease, comfort and self-confidence wherever the wearer finds himself in. The overcoats can be for travel wear. The collection is consistent and cohesive with my DNA as a menswear designer. “This is my first time to work on inabel and the ‘mosquitero’ fabric. I asked Vic Barba about the characteristic of inabel and he said it is a superfluous fabric. Once cut, it frays easily, the width is 22” (if soaked, expect shrinkage), and there is color bleed (evenly).

“To sustain inabel, the government should support the weaving industry in partnership with the private sector, and tap the right people to work as one group focused on a goal. We have no textile industry except for these weavers. We should work together to be partners and be one in fashion.”

RANDY ORTIZ

“AS I have been advocating for several years, modern Filipino fashion is the main inspiration from the cotton inabel that was especially woven and provided for us. I opted to stick with my core, simple and elegant cocktail/lounge pieces, clean classic lines with subtle details of embroidery. The techniques we used are draping, patching and tailoring to create the collection which I think would complement the color story of beiges, grays, and hints of blue, green and rose pink.

“I started early doing the designs and treatments, from soaking to actual patterns as I basically used inabel 70 percent to 80 percent for the whole collection. I took into major consideration wearability with very subtle couture treatments while doing the collection, Some are even hand-stitched to manipulate the fabrics. I’m thinking of infusing it for my future pop-ups until the weaving reaches maximum potential.” n

that grows there.

So based on these studies, it’s not true that those who have had their underarm hair removed via laser are more prone to underarm odor that those who still have hair there. Here are the deodorants that have worked on me and why

I like them:

n Lafe’s Unscented aLoe spray deodorant. Lafe’s Unscented Aloe Spray Deodorant comes in a spray formula and is made with soothing, certified organic aloe vera. It claims not to contain “harmful chemicals.” The brand has a disclaimer that some products, although natural, may still cause allergic reactions.

The brand recommends doing a patch test for 48 hours.

I like this because it is easy to use and isn’t sticky. The downside is that it’s not effective during days when you are expected to sweat a lot. To use, just apply on clean armpits. Make sure you dry it before putting on your clothes.

n BLack chicken remedies axiLLa deodorant paste. I got this Australian-made deodorant paste from my boss, who is also on a quest for the best natural deodorant.

I looked at the brand’s web site and realized that there are

several variants of this paste. What I have is the Barrier Booster one. This bicarbonate-free deodorant for sensitive skin, which promises to neutralize odor for all-day protection, is in an eco-friendly tin. It is vegan and cruelty-free, and does not contain alcohol, parabens, propylene glycol, triclosans, synthetic fragrances, or other chemicals deemed harmful for humans and animals. The deodorant paste is also free from aluminum salts or sweat blockers. What I like about this is that it smells good and doesn’t make my underarms itch. It’s more effective that the Lafe’s variant for sweaty days and it doesn’t leave white marks on clothes. It may be a paste but it’s not sweaty and dries down easily. n fresh formULa sgt. at arms deo spray. Fresh Formula is a brand owned by the same company as Colourette Cosmetics. It took a hiatus in December 2022 and came back recently with its best-selling product, the Sgt. at Arms Deo Spray. I have hoarded several bottles of this product after the brand closed in 2022 and I’m down to my last two. “In our absence, we took our time to get to know you better,” said brand owner Nina Dizon-Cabrera during the brand re-launch event recently. “We reflected on our brand purpose and values. We have put the work in developing various product lines, so this is just the first of many to come.” Fresh Formula’s direction forward is to cultivate a safe space for all who embark on the journey of self-love and acceptance so, yes, it’s just right that the re-launch product is the Sgt. at Arms Deo Spray. The new Sgt. at Arms Deo Spray and Overnight Cream now come in improved formulas to address the old products’ areas for improvement like stickiness, texture and drying time. Both are fragrance-, paraben- and cruelty-free. The deodorant spray helps eliminate odor-causing bacteria,

provides protection from underarm perspiration, and effectively smoothens and moisturizes your underarm skin while evening out discoloration. I am not sure if this spray has sweat blockers but I like it because it really keeps my underarm area dry and odor-free. I can’t use it for one week straight but I apply it when I’m wearing clothes that aren’t black.

THE new Sgt. at Arms Deo Spray and Overnight Cream now come in improved formulas to address the old products’ areas for improvement, like stickiness, texture, and drying time. Both are fragrancefree, paraben-free, and cruelty-free. dinna chan

from farm to fiBer to fashion

The creations of Vic Barba, Pepito Albert, Randy Ortiz, Tonichi Nocom and JC Buendia. photographed By neLson V LLarica

B6

Monday, February 20, 2023

Meet Mike Constantino: the MusiC Guy froM the PhiliPPines

MUSIC has always been a big part of our lives. We use music to communicate in countless ways. From the time when we are still in our mothers’ wombs, we are exposed to our mothers’ singing and lullabies to send us to sleep. At an early age, we are taught music lessons in school and for those who are fortunate to have the means, they may be given further lessons in piano, guitar, violin, and any musical instrument that they choose. Growing up, we are barraged by music on the radio, television, computers and gadgets, not to mention live concerts by musical groups and artists and every media we consume is always accompanied by music.

PR Matters

By Joy Lumawig-Buensalido

We in IPRA Philippines believe that music is a major component of the communication process so we have invited a music professional to be our speaker for our first Communitalks for this year. The topic is: “Sonic Branding: The Power of Sound in Communication.”

We are fortunate to have as guest speaker Mike Constantino, who humbly calls himself “half-artist, half-music entrepreneur” in his Instagram profile.

Mike is the Founder and CEO of Homonym, the premier sonic branding and music/audio marketing agency in the Philippines today. In 2019, together with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Mike founded Sonik Philippines, the country’s official Music Conference and Festival, which is now an annual industry event.

Although Mike is only in his early 40, he is considered a 25-year veteran with international exposure and extensive experience in multiple disciplines and has been a key figure in the local and regional music industry for decades.

His impressive work experience includes being the Country Sales Director of Yahoo Philippines, Marketing Head for the Asia Pacific for the Filipino Channel, and head of Brand New Media, a global content marketing agency.

On the music front, Mike has been a professional DJ, since the early 2000s. He is a two-time Awit Award-winning singer and songwriter for his work with his independent Soul band, Conscious and the Goodness.

On the music industry side, Mike is part of the technical working group for the SUDI National Music Awards and represents the independent sector for the Music Industry Act of the Philippines.

On February 22, 2023, Mike will be our featured speaker for IPRA Philippines’ Communitalks 2023 series, the first time to be held in partnership with the UP College of Mass Communication, and the first time to be conducted in a hi-flex manner because aside from the live presentation at the UPCMC studios, it will also be streamed via Zoom to other participants both locally and internationally.

Without preempting Mike’s presentation which we know will be interesting to both students and practitioners in the communications industry, we asked him the following questions which we hope will encourage more participants to join our free Communitalks by registering at this link: https:// bit.ly/IPRAphilippines

who was also supported as one of event partner ASUS‘ featured artists.

Jason Magbanua on changing the wedding ga M e through storytelling and continued learning

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—On the second day of Graphika Manila weekend, one of the biggest names to grace the stage was wedding photographer and filmmaker Jason Magbanua,

Jason has made a name for himself in the Philippine creative community by pioneering the creation of stunning same day edit wedding videos, an industry trend that has turned into a lasting service many photographers and videographers have added to their catalogues after Jason turned it into a staple and key element in any wedding event.

In his Graphika talk, Jason discussed how he sold his craft to the Filipino audience at a time where wedding videos were typically consumed through lengthy documentations mailed weeks after the ceremony.

Here are the three questions with Mike’s profound answers:

Pr Matters: w hy do you think music/audio is a strong and powerful communication tool?

Mike: Out of all the human senses, sound is the only one that subconsciously influences emotions, guiding and pacing them whether we are aware of it or not. Many studies already state that sound penetrates/ infiltrates our brain much faster (you hear anywhere from 20 to 100 times faster than you see), making you less aware that you’re already being overtly marketed to vs. a visual stimuli that’s served right in front of your eyeballs. Why do you think Podcasts are so huge these days? Human beings are learning while being entertained at the same time (they don’t mind being served an inPodcast ad), without getting visual fatigue. Not to mention, they can do a lot of other things while they’re listening vs. being glued to a screen.

In the Sound On Era or the Headphone Generation, it is getting crucial to add sound

This was one of the biggest obstacles in his early career, he shared, where he had to change people’s perspective on how a wedding video could and should look like. He achieved this by making his product stand out and making customers understand that he wasn’t selling merely a video, but a complete service of immortalizing one of the most important days in a couple’s relationship. Jason continually pursued this by maintaining an open mindset to learning, and seizing every opportunity he can to educate himself on new techniques, technologies, and trends.

In fact, if there was one thing he hoped the Graphika audience would

to every visual that you serve to your audience. Your readers are probably wearing earbuds right now as they read this article. At Homonym, we believe that visuals go straight to the brain, while sound goes straight to the heart. But combining great visuals with great audio is where it gets really interesting—a powerful combo that’s neurologically irresistible to humans.

Pr Matters: a r e there a lot of opportunities for students in communication and other related courses such as marketing, music, the arts, film, Pr and journalism to embark on careers in the industry?

Mike: Definitely! At Homonym, we’ve proven that there are lots of ways one can earn a dignified living doing something you love, like music. A lot of our former employees are now working for the biggest labels, agencies and music platforms in the market. Even if you are not a musical person (meaning, you do not sing/perform or play an instrument), there are many avenues for you to join in on the fun. Not limiting things

take away from his session, it would be just that: Never stop learning.

“Grab every opportunity to attend these kind of learning experiences for growth, whether it’s at school, at SMX, or your local barangay. If you have an opportunity to learn, take it,” Jason emphasized on stage and during an interview with adobo Magazine.

Another main point in his talk was the importance of storytelling. He underlined the value of understanding one’s subjects, especially for wedding videos, to be able to successfully and effectively capture the couple’s personalities, and the specific magic of their wedding. He

to just music, there’s also Audio, Sound, Voice. Just in Audio/Sound alone, there are opportunities in Production (song writing, composing, mixing/mastering, immersive audio production, scriptwriting, songwriting, etc.), studio management and even NFTs and AI.

For Voice, it’s not just what you may think—like being a voice talent or managing voice talents. Just like the nascent fields of NFTs and AI that I mentioned, aCommerce (Audio Commerce) is emerging as a ubiquitous way to buy and sell products and services. As long as you have a smart speaker (reports show that there will be 75 percent smart speaker penetration in the US by 2025—from just 2.5 percent in 2015), you can order anything by just speaking. And we haven’t even touched on the music industry wherein you can earn from not just gigging, events and music/merchandise sales. Licensing, Publishing, Music Distribution, Artist Management and all the new music tech breakthroughs out there make this a space that will never run out of opportunities.

Pr Matters: Please name one or two of the most influential people in the music/audio industry globally and locally, and the reasons why?

Mike: There are many audio/sonic branders out there that I admire and fortunately, have become friends of mine. Trailblazers like Michele Arnese of amp Sound Branding, one of the biggest sonic branding agencies in the world, are breaking new ground in branded sound every day. David CourtierDutton and his team at SoundOut are pioneering Sonic Testing and Sonic Search, allowing brands to objectively determine what sounds fit a brand’s essence and resonate with audiences. Damian Scragg and Scot Simonelli of Veritonic are leading the way in Audio Analytics so we can measure whether our Audio assets are actually contributing to our bottom line.

I must also note Homonym’s Special Advisor for Sonic Branding and Multi-sensory Experience, Dean Aragon. Dean is the CEO and Vice Chairman of Shell Brands International (he's currently based in Zurich, Switzerland). He was the one who spearheaded Shell's iconic Sound of Shell global Sonic Branding rollout. Dean just joined the fold this year, consulting and advising us on how to take our sonic ideation to higher levels as we explore Homonym’s global footprint in this very exciting space.

Everyone is invited to meet Mike and listen to his talk. Please register here: https:// bit.ly/IPRAphilippines or for inquiries, please call Jingjing Romero at 0918 9042415.

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

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

shared that it’s an integral part of his process to have multiple conversations with the couple—find out their hobbies, the music they listen to, their stories, etc. and really get to know them as people and as a couple to do their wedding story justice.

He shared that this is key to having each wedding video unique to the couple, despite it being Jason’s nth shoot in this popular church, or that sought-after reception venue. He also noted some important elements to capture: “There are really key elements in a wedding day that we really have to lazer focus on. Number one is the personal vows, and number two

is the first time the groom meets the bride in her wedding gown, walking down the aisle. It’s just magical, that moment.”

Lastly, Jason reminded all the aspiring and young creatives in the room that sometimes, your passion doesn’t have to be your job. There’s also value in being a creative just for yourself: “The money doesn’t always come [in this field], and that’s perfectly fine. If you’re a creator, in whatever field, it’s fine if you just create for the sake of creating—for personal pleasure, for personal growth, for other people, and not necessarily to make money. That’s one point I’m really driving right now.”

(At IPRA Philippines’ Communitalks 2023)

MARYHILL College is in control in the first weekend of the tournament.

Maryhill College girls go 2-0 in U18 tilt despite daily trips

MARYHILL College’s players didn’t mind the four-hour land trip to Manila and back to Lucena City during both days of the weekend as they swept their matches in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Under-18 Championships at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

“Everybody struggled and adjusted in our first game last Saturday, but we performed better today [Sunday],” Maryhill College coach Joannes Rey Supnit said.

On Saturday, Maryhill College’s team motored to Manila and beat Junction Youth Organization (JYO) of Los Baños, 2514,25-20, and returned to Lucena City after the match.

On Sunday morning, they went through the same routine and defeated New Gen Volleyball Club of Santa Cruz (Laguna), 25-8, 25-10, to go 2-0 won-lost in girls’ Pool A.

The reason for the Lucena City girls’ dynamic enthusiasm?

“The players are excited because most of them are first timers to play here in Manila,” said Supnit, minutes before he and the girls boarded a bus back to Lucena City Sunday.

“It’s amazing to see the enthusiasm of these girls from the provincial teams,” PNVF president Ramon “Tats” Suzara said. “The federation is inspired by their love of our sport.”

Team captain Claire Castillo, Icon Maravilla and Closer Losloso—all 17 years old—showcased a steady game for Maryhill College in the tournament supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, PLDT, Rebisco and Akari.

“Our setter [Losloso] played well both games despite the struggle and lack of sleep and rest,” Supnit said. “We’re very thankful to the support of Sister Rowena Labitigan [school official] and our coordinator Willie Pagsuyuin [team sponsor].”

PNVF finance head Rommel Bernardez was amazed by how MaryHill College’s young players are responding to the revived under-18 tournament and said “these girls have a bright future in volleyball.”

Arcilla, Pague lead Escudero

Cup cast

JOHNNY ARCILLA and Jose Maria Pague headline a stellar roster in the Escudero Cup National Tennis Championship that gets going Monday at the Aera Tennis Club in San Pablo City, Laguna.

The top two ranked players drew opening round byes but 14 other matches are on tap, ushering in the return of the Don Arsenio Escudero Sr. Cup after a long absence on the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala (PPS-PEPP) calendar.

Third seed Charles Kinaadman faces Jay Papa, No. 4 Vicente Anasta clashes with Riku Komiya, fifth-ranked Jed Olivarez tangles with Mateo Rivas, No. 6 John Mari Altiche collides with Arthur Arrogancia, seventh seed John Tomacruz mixes it up with Jeson Blando, and No. 8 Alexis Acabo tests Stephen Catipon’s mettle in the featured matches in the 32-player draw of the event organized by Aera Tennis Club headed by president Raul de Vera and held in partnership with PPS-PEPP led by president and CEO Bobby Castro, and the Escudero family.

But focus will be on the 10-time Philippine Columbian Association Open champion and Davis Cup veteran Arcilla, who has stayed in top form through the years, winning five Open titles in the Palawan Pawnshop-sponsored circuit last year, including the season-ending Naga Open in Cebu last December.

But a slew of young guns are out to stop his run, led by Ipil, Zamboanga’s Pague, Kinaadman from Lapu-Lapu, Cebu, and Army’s Anasta, among others, guaranteeing a week-long battle of power and style in the Group A tournament backed by Rep. Loreto Amante, Converge, Mitsubishi Motors, Dunlop and Slazenger, which also serves as part of the United Tennis Philippines and Universal Tennis Ranking.

The juniors take center stage from February 23 to 28, according to tournament organizer Bobby Mangunay.

For details and registration, call 0915-4046464.

TIGER GETS SOME MOMENTUM

THAT 67 is Tiger Woods’s

YULO, 2 OTHERS OFF TO GERMANY FOR WORLD CUP

CARLOS “CALOY” YULO flew to Germany on Sunday to vie in the first of four legs of the International Gymnastics Federation Apparatus World Cup—a series of qualifiers for the world championships set later this year. With Yulo in the four-day leg that starts Thursday are Juancho Miguel Besana and Reyland Capellan, who, according to Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) President Cynthia Carrion-Norton, are bound to gain experience for their Hangzhou Asian Games campaign in September.

“Caloy needs these World Cup series for him to return to the world championships,” Carrion-Norton told BUSINESSMIRROR on Sunday. “They’re the only tickets to the worlds.”

After the first leg in Cottbus, Yulo will compete in the second leg in Doha from March 1 to 4, third leg in Baku, Azerbaijan, from March 9 to 12 and the fourth leg in Cairo from April 27 to 30.

IWAS nine years old when the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) made its debut. From the get-go, my parents, aunts and uncles on both sides of the family, and even some neighbors, were all Crispa Redmanizer fans.

I wasn’t that knowledgeable about sports at that age. Who is? I had begun to root for the New York Yankees because of my grandfather (who also introduced the game of baseball

LOS ANGELES—Jon Rahm could hear the cheers from all over Riviera, the sound typically associated with someone making a charge. Except the came from the opposite side of the course that featured players too far away from the lead.

What the meant was not nearly as mysterious as to whom they belonged. “You’re fully aware where Tiger is anywhere,” Rahm said after his own masterpiece Saturday in the Genesis Invitational, a six-under 65 for a three-shot lead.

Woods is cheered wildly just walking to the tee, though this time golf was the source. He had a 67 that didn’t allow him to pick up any ground—in fact, he fell a further shot behind

and was 12 back going into Sunday.

“Today was better,” Woods said. “I felt like I made some nice adjustments with my putting and that was the thing that held make back yesterday. I’ve driven it well the last three days, my iron play was been good. And the firm conditions like, that’s kind of right up my alley with iron play. Just wish I could have putted a little bit better yesterday.”

What stood out was the day. It was his best score on a Saturday in an official event since the fall of 2019.

It’s a small sample size to be sure—12 tournaments since he won the Zozo Championship in Japan in 2019—but his legs

are a bigger issue than how he swings the club.

Woods shattered bones in his right leg and ankle from a car crash in Los Angeles two years ago. He returned 14 months later to play in the Masters and made the cut, a remarkable feat. And then on the weekend, he limped his way to a pair of 78s.

A month later at Southern Hills for the Professional Golfers Association Championship, he again made the cut with some dazzling play down the stretch on Friday. But the wind shifted, a cold front arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he shot 79 and withdrew.

Woods made the cut on the number at Riviera and started on the back nine. He opened with a 15-foot birdie putt, missed a good chance on the par-five 11th and then raised the putter in his left hand as his 25-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-three 14th dropped for another birdie.

The biggest moment was on the par-five opening hole after he made the turn. Caught between clubs and feeling a little wind in his face, he hit a cut with a 5-iron that landed toward the front of the green and rolled inches by the cup before settling three feet away for what amounted to a tap-in eagle.

He finally dropped a shot on the seventh when his approached rolled off the steep ledge, leaving a tough pitch. But he finished better than Friday, when he bogeyed three of his last four holes.

“I thought I could make a run where I could reach out and touch the leaders,” Woods said before conceding that he was too far back.

Rahm is playing at another level right now, a level with which Woods is familiar. The Spaniard has not finished out of the top 10 since August, and he is going for his fifth win over his last nine starts.

Woods said he was sore after his fourth straight day walking—starting with the pro-am on Wednesday when he stopped playing after 16 holes—and he speaks of the recovery after a round and the preparation before it. AP

PSA EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) president Rep. Abraham “Bambol”

Tolentino will be vested the Executive of the Year award for the second consecutive year during the San Miguel Corp.-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Annual Awards Night.

Tolentino will receive the honor from the country’s oldest media organization for again steering Philippine sports to greater heights in 2022. The PSA’s traditional gala night is on March 6 at the grand ballroom of the Diamond Hotel.

Tolentino received the award in 2021 for having led the country’s successful campaign in Tokyo where weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo won the Philippines’s first-ever Olympic gold medal.

The year that passed saw Philippine sports achieve a high level of success once more behind Diaz-Naranjo’s golden treble

at the 88th International Weightlifting Federation World Championships, Alex Eala becoming the first Filipino to win a girls juniors singles at the 142nd US Open, the women’s football team clinching a first-ever berth in the FIFA Women’s World Cup and winning the ASEAN Women’s Championship, EJ Obiena rising to become the world No. 3 pole vaulter after a historic bronze medal finish at the World Athletics Championship and gymnast Caloy Yulo claiming three golds in the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships and a silver and bronze at the World Championships.

There’s also karateka Junna Tsukii bagging gold at the World Games, Carlo Paalam bringing home gold from the Asian Boxing Championships and the billiards team of Rubilen Amit, Carlo Biado and Johann Chua topping the World 10-Ball Teams Championships.

Added to the list are Meggie Ochoa and Kimberly Anne Custodio dominating the jiu-jitsu world championships and Team

to me). I was already aware of my school’s sports team—the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

In fact, one of my earliest recollections of that time was trying to catch a glimpse of the games held at the old Loyola Center inside the Ateneo campus and then-star Steve Watson ruffling my hair. I knew then our coach was Baby Dalupan who coached Crispa, and there were a few Blue Eagles on the Redmanizers squad.

But I gravitated towards Toyota because of three players—Francis Arnaiz, Ramon Fernandez and Robert Jaworski.

The first ever PBA posters of their stars were also sold at the cafeteria of the Ateneo Grade School. The posters were a hit but none more so than Arnaiz who once played for the blue and white.

The posters sold for P5, which was a huge sum, but somehow I managed to get all three of the Toyota players. The posters soon adorned the walls of my bedroom along with my music heroes Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Wings, the Juan dela Cruz Band and Sampaguita among others.

It was tough being a Toyota fan then. Everyone gave me stick. Even when the Tamaraws won, I couldn’t overly celebrate

because everyone still ganged up on me.

Nevertheless, it was a treat to be able to watch Toyota play in the Big Dome of which I live a few minutes’ drive away (including walking distance). The only time I would get to watch was on weekends when there was no school.  remember that series against U-Tex in 1980, I asked my dad if he could get us tickets to the games. Since Crispa wasn’t playing, he didn’t. That fateful Game 5, I wasn’t even able to watch.

We went to watch the film The Final Countdown at Broadway Centrum. When we got out of the theater, the guards at the cinema were all glued to the radio listening to the broadcast of the game. So my parents and I—like many others—stopped to listen to the blow-by-blow account of the game’s final moments.

Like many other Toyota fans, I was stunned and heartbroken over the loss. I forgot the film that we just saw and was despondent over the loss.

Sometime later, I remember my dad bringing me ringside at the Big Dome where he introduced me to Ed Ocampo who was then the new coach of Toyota. My dad and Ed were schoolmates at the Ateneo although the latter was two years ahead of him. It

Philippines finishing a fighting fourth in the Vietnam 31st Southeast Asian Games despite the difficulty of training and campaigning

Tolentino is also the president of the pines or PhilCycling and currently Mayor of Diaz-Naranjo will be recognized as the Athlete of the Year for the second straight time during the formal event presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and Cignal TV and ably backed up by the POC, Tolentino, Milo, Smart, MVP Sports Foundation, Rain or pine Basketball Association, OKBet and the Eala will receive the President’s Award, while Major Awards will be handed out to Obiena, Team Filipinas, Yulo, Ochoa, Paalam, Custodio, Tsukii, Amit Biado and

was a small student body then and everyone knew each other.

What a thrill that was to see the team up close as they went about their round robin.

So stayed a fan right up to their disbandment. Boy was I upset. Even worse, I had to choose—do I root for the team where Jaworski and Arnaiz were or the one with Fernandez?

While rooted for Gilbey’s Gin and then Ginebra, I also rooted for Beer Hausen, Tanduay and Manila Beer (not San Miguel though).

In college, I sent a long handwritten letter to Jaworski after their Game 2 loss to Manila Beer during the 1986 Reinforced Conference. Imagine my surprise that Christmas, I received not only an autographed Christmas card but also a Ginebra jacket and a basket of Christmas goodies.

And years later, I got to collaborate with Arnaiz as we put out a replica Ateneo jersey of his. That was some thrill as his Ateneo teammate and then Ateneo Sports Director Ricky Palou introduced me to him.

Then several years ago, I got to help Ramon Fernandez with some relief efforts in his capacity as Philippine Sports Commission commissioner. How cool was that? And I will be doing some projects with El Presidente soon.

The world championships are set September 30 to October 8 in Antwerp and because they are a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Yulo will choosing the tournament in Belgium over the Hangzhou Games scheduled September 23 to October 8.

Japanese coach Munehiro Kugiyama will fly to Cottbus from Tokyo to join Yulo—a former world champion in floor exercise and vault—in Cottbus. Yulo, who took a two-week vacation in Manila, as well as Capellan and Besana, will compete in the parallel bars, floor exercise, rings, vault and all-events.

Ironman 70.3 set to honor Davao tribes

THE Alveo Ironman 70.3 Philippines goes diverse as it marks its return to Davao on March 26 at Azuela Cove by unveiling an 11-man Team Maisugon competition in honor of the 11 tribes of the host city with a winner-take-all prize of P550,000 at stake.

“Every Ironman race has its own uniqueness per location. This is our way of showing how this can be diverse,” Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte. “We are showcasing the 11 tribes of Davao City and it’s going to be a prestigious award only in Davao City.” The grand prize was initially pegged at P500,000, put up by the city government, but Davao Light Power Company Inc. added P50,000 to the purse.

The special category is open to teams made up of 11 agegroupers regardless of age, gender, race, nationality or color.

The team with the fastest total time will win the coveted Tribu Maisugon award, including a perpetual trophy handcrafted by noted homegrown artist Kublai Millan.

The Tribu Maisugon team competition will thus be included in the third Ironman 70.3 which Davao City is hosting after 2018 and 2019. It will also mark the pros’ return to one of the highlight events of each triathlon season and the only pro-laced race offered this year, according to the organizing The Ironman GroupSunrise Events Inc.

“It’s a continuity of first two [Ironman 70.3 Davao] races—from race for peace, culture, then now, it’s a race for oneness,” Millan said. Registration is ongoing. For details, log on to ironman.com/im703-davao-philippines-athletes

Tribu Maisugon emanates from the 11 tribes where Davao City is focused on, including Ata, Maguindanaon, Matigsalug, Bagobo Klata, Maranao, Obo Manuvu, Bagobo-Tagabawa, Tasug, Sama, Iranun and Kagan.

Other titles to be disputed in the punishing 1.9-km swim/90-km bike/21-km run race set over a championship course are the relay all male, relay all female and relay mixed.

The event has drawn more than a thousand participants from all over, including a slew of top pros, headed by Aussies Dimity-Lee Duke and Sarah Crowley and Lottie Lucas of United Arab Emirates, with The IRONMAN Group/SEI looking to surpass its target of 1,500 entries with still five weeks left before the blue-ribbon event is fired off.

And in 2016, I got acquainted with Gil Cortez with the BaliPure volleyball team and worked with them not only as media officer, but also with their team building. Since then, that friendship has only grown.

During the first year of the lockdown due to the Covid-19 virus, I got to invite about five players from Toyota to my podcast—Cortez, Emer Legaspi, Ompong Segura, Ricky Relosa and Uly Rodriguez. What a thrill that was.

While writing several chapters in Baby Dalupan’s book, the coach would often tease me when I visited him at his Loyola Grand Villas home that “it killed him every time I visited because I was a Toyota fan.”

I would also gently riposte Coach Baby by saying that I was a fan of his as an Ateneo athlete and as coach of the Blue Eagles.

Last February 18, at the Gaslight Alfresco at Don Chino Roces Avenue, I got to sit down, talk and eat with my Toyota heroes. Now about only 15 of them made it but that was beside the point. I was just thrilled.

If the 50th Anniversary Reunion brought back memories for the players, it sure did for me as a fan. I am still pinching myself so know that I wasn’t dreaming.

The Toyota fan in me

Chua.

(PAL) Interclub golf team championships at the Alta Vista Golf Club are (from left) Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines chairman emeritus Tommy Manotoc, Sam Pagdanganan, Irene Tan, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Bianca Pagdanganan and PAL president Capt. Stanley K. Ng. AP

ABRAHAM “BAMBOL” TOLENTINO

ExecutiveViews

A PUBLIC SERVANT WITH A MISSION

By Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

IF HE had his way, he would have followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the military. However, the father of Sto. Tomas, Batangas Mayor Arth Jhun A. Marasigan had other plans for his son. His father and his five brothers all served in the military and it seemed inevitable that Marasigan would follow in their footsteps.

“My father told me that there were already too many military personnel in the family and on the Marasigan side, there is no lawyer. And up to now, I am still the only lawyer in the family,” Marasigan related in an interview with BusinessMirror.

If you look at my yearbook when I graduated in high school, on the line about ambition, I wrote there that I wanted to be a pilot or a lawyer. To become a lawyer was my secondary option but it was a great choice. I decided to go to law school because of the encouragement of my father,” he added.

Public attorney

AFTER graduating from Arellano University, Marasigan’s first job as a lawyer was as a public attorney at the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) with the City District Office in Pasig. He later transferred to Lipa City. A year later, he became Officer-inCharge of the District PAO in Tanauan City.

After almost five years at PAO. Marasigan decided to try his luck in private practice and joined the Punzalan, Faustino, Punzalan, Marasigan and Associates Law Office. It has offices in Calamba, Laguna and Tanauan, Batangas. Marasigan was the managing partner of their Tanauan Office.

According to Marasigan the transition from being a public attorney to one in private practice was difficult because as a public attorney, he dealt with clients who had less in life and who really had no knowledge whatsoever about the law.

“However, you have to accept sometimes these simple items like fruits, vegetables and live chickens to appreciate their gratitude,” he said.

Litigation lawyer

WHEN he went into private practice, Marasigan became a litigation lawyer of different companies and found himself in the courtroom almost every day in North Luzon, South Luzon and the Visayas.

One of his clients happened to be the late former Batangas Governor Armando Sanchez. Marasigan was the corporate lawyer and secretary of some of the companies that Sanchez owned. When Sanchez died in 2010, Marasigan continued to be connected with his companies.

From 2004 to 2010, Sanchez’ wife Edna was the mayor of Sto. Tomas. She was supposed to run for her last term as Sto. Tomas mayor in 2010 but she substituted for the late Sanchez who ran for governor. She later lost to Vilma Santos.

“So from 2010 to 2013, Mayor Edna took a break from public office and at that time, I was with her corporation too. And then came 2013, I became the head legal counsel of the campaign of Mayor Edna Sanchez. She won in the elections and asked me through our circle if I would be willing to become her administrator,” Marasigan related.

It took me quite a while to decide on that. As a private lawyer, I had developed the discipline of a litigation lawyer. I am not used to public life and politics at that time. But because of the situation at that time, I decided to accept the position as administrator. That was the start of my career in public and political life,” he said.

City administrator

HE SERVED as administrator from 2013 to 2018 and admitted he got culture shocked. At that time, Marasigan was only 34 years old and was probably one of the youngest department heads at that time. To make things more challenging, he also had to deal with personnel who were much older in age and experience than him.

“I had to remain firm because we had a mission at that time so I just stuck to the mission. Along the way, things smoothened up,” he said.

“It was a great help and let's say mastered the rudiments and job of becoming a mayor, adding the pointers about public service that I had learned from Harvard University and studied Leadership Program at Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education,” Marasigan recalled.

He resigned as administrator for personal and professional reasons in 2018. In 2019, he decided to run for Mayor but lost by 3,000 votes. He accepted his defeat with a heavy heart, adding that it was probably not the right time for his political ambitions.

Overwhelming majority

THAT right time came in 2022 when Marasigan ran again for mayor and won by an overwhelming majority. He presented his 12-point agenda that he wants to fulfill during his first term as mayor. It covered health, education, employment opportunities, tourism, agriculture, investments, the youth, the transportation sector, disaster resilience, protection of the environment and to bring government services closer to the people of Sto. Tomas.

Marasigan’s top priority is health. With the help of his friends, he conducted mobile clinics around Sto. Tomas. The clinics provided chest X-ray, ECG, blood chemistry, and CBC. He plans to include other services like dental services and ultrasound. Some time in September 2022, Marasigan led the ground breaking ceremonies for a 30-bed primary hospital to be known as the Ospital ng Lungsod ng Sto. Tomas. Construction is expected to start during the latter part of February or early March.

Thanks to contributions from the AnaKalusugan Party List, Sen. Loren Legarda, and local funds, and the support of his doctor sister, Marasigan said he is confident that the hospital will be completed within this year.

Education thrust

ON THE education front, Marasigan said he was able provide and distribute uniforms to all 25,000 elementary school students in Sto. Tomas. This year, he plans to give away school shoes to the some 15.000 junior and senior high school students.

“For the first time in the history of Sto. Tomas, the budget for education was increased by 35 percent. It is usually increased by only 10 percent. From a budget of P125 million, the budget of the local school board is now at P170 million,” Marasigan revealed.

Also a first for Sto. Tomas was the giving out of social pensions to the city’s senior citizens. Due to budget constraints, the city government gave P300 quarterly to senior citizens from 60 to 70 years old. Those aged 71 to 75 years old received P400 while those older than 75 years old received P500. The pension was personally distributed by the local government officials.

Another campaign promise Marasigan made is to attract more investors to invest in Sto. Tomas. He related that as a way of thanking the big investors, he set up a lounge at the Mayor’s Conference Room where big investors would enjoy coffee and snacks while their business permits are renewed by city hall personnel.

“I invited them to my office for picture taking and I try to convince them to invest even more and thank them for being our partners. I personally signed the business permits as my way of thanking all business owners for supporting the city,” he said.

Satisfying, enjoyable stint

NOW that he has been mayor for eight months, Marasigan said he is finding it very satisfying and enjoyable because “for the longest time I aspired and dreamt of becoming a mayor some day."

"I am proud to say that I have already delivered 70 percent of my campaign promises so I still have to make up for the other promises,” he said.

He added that as mayor he will see to it that he will deliver the “AKSYON BILIS” service to the public every single day.

I will fulfill my duty as a public servant from Monday to Friday, sometimes Saturday and sometimes even Sunday,” Marasigan said.

When asked if he would run for re-election, he said it was too early to say. If he was asked now, he would say yes.

“I have so many plans, like the construction of a new city hall, a convention center and city college. I think I cannot do that in one term,” he said.

My focus right now is to do my job here in Sto. Tomas for the welfare of my fellow Tomasinos. That is my main focus.” Marasigan said.

STO. TOMAS CITY, BATANGAS MAYOR ARTH JHUN A. MARASIGAN