Moody’s Analytics economist Sarah Tan said in a television interview on Wednesday that while the Philippines’s trade deficit with the US is “rather small” compared to other global or Asean economies, there’s a universal reciprocal tariff that will be imposed by the US.
“[The reciprocal tariffs] will hurt the Philippines because the duties that are levied on US imports into the Philippines are higher than the other way around,” Tan said.
“If there is a matching of tariffs, then that will make the Philippines’s goods to the US more costly and less competitive, which will ultimately hurt our Filipino manufacturers and exporters,” Tan added.
With the US being the Philippines’ largest export destination, Tan said tariffs are “worrying.”
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country’s exports to the US in 2023 amounted to $11.54 billion, while Philippine imports from the US reached $8.4 billion. This translates to a nearly $4-billion trade deficit for the US. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/12/03/dti-phlmay-not-be-focus-of-trumps-tariff-plan-dti).
“I believe our impact in the Philippines is rather small given our low trade exposure with the US. That said, there are indirect channels of impact on the Philippines because of how dependent we are on the US as the largest export destination,” Tan said.
Japan-based think tank Nomura Asia earlier said that the Philippines’ is more susceptible to being slapped with high reciprocal tariffs by the US. (See: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2025/02/18/higher-phlntbs-put-it-at-risk-of-reciprocaltariffs/).
Nomura explained that non-tariff barriers are “harder to quantify.”
By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
THE Revitalizing the Automotive Industry for Competitiveness Enhancement (RACE) Program, the government’s new incentives blueprint for local car makers, is seen to provide a P9-billion total fiscal support to three participating car makers as they are expected to produce a lower volume requirement but within a tighter timeframe, according to the Board of Investments (BOI).
Under the six-year Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program, the previous incentives program for
local car makers, P27 billion was earmarked by government for the three participating car makers (PCMs), with each enrolled model enjoying up to P9 billion of subsidy.
Now, with the RACE program— dubbed the “new” incentives program of this administration—the government is only allocating a total of P9 billion in fiscal support for the three participants which came from the unused third slot in the CARS program. This represents one-third of the P27 billion total fiscal support provided by the government under the CARS program.
In a Viber message sent to the BusinessMirror, Corazon Dichosa,
Executive Director for Industry Development Services of the BOI explained: “In CARS, we had P27B for 3 models so basically P9B per model, but only 2 slots were taken up. So one slot at P9B was unused. This is the budget now being used for RACE,” Dichosa told this paper.
A briefer provided to reporters on Wednesday noted that the RACE program is set to be implemented to “sustain the gains achieved” during the implementation of the CARS program. The new program “seeks to sustain the viability of the local automotive sector, particularly the manufacture of ICE vehicles in transition to electric vehicles,
through targeted investments and support,” according to the briefer. “By providing the necessary support and incentives, the government aims to create a thriving automotive ecosystem that benefits the economy,” the briefer noted.
RACE Program requirements ACCORDING to the investment promotion agency attached to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the RACE Program will cover the production of three specific models of four-wheeled ICE vehicles, with a commitment to manufacture 100,000 units. This Program, the BOI said, will
By Samuel P. Medenilla
(POGO), according to the Presidential AntiOrganized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
The Commission said the projected gains from confiscated assets are expected to more than offset the government’s expenses from its anti-POGO campaign, currently estimated at P210 million.
In a press briefing in Malacañang on Wednesday, PAOCC director and spokesperson Winston
John R. Casio said their initial valuation of the seized properties and illegal POGOs is between P20 billion and P30 billion.
“And so, we are just waiting for the evaluation, but it’s going to happen in the next two weeks because the Executive Secretary gave the order for the AMLC [Anti-Money Laundering Council] to conduct the market valuation on all items,” Casio said partly, in
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
THE Special Class Busi-
ness Process Outsourcing (SCBPO) sector is poised for further expansion in the Philippines, with the country’s gaming regulator affirming support amid growing foreign investments and job growth.
State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) cited the sector’s contributions in providing quality jobs to Filipinos.
“We recognize the immense contribution of the SCBPOs in creating thousands of jobs for our countrymen, and we thank
our foreign investors for recognizing the unique talent of our workers who provide excellent outsourced services for them,”
Pagcor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alejandro H. Tengco said.
There are close to 5,000 Filipinos who work in the SCBPO sector to date, according to Pagcor. SCBPOs are required to hire Filipinos for at least 95 percent of their total workforce.
Like ordinary BPOs, SCBPOs are licensed by Pagcor and support business operations of up to five legitimate gaming companies in other countries by providing human resources, marketing, graphic design, accounting and
other back-office work.
The gaming regulator collects $100,000 in application fees and another $100,000 in renewal fees per year, which shall be applied for each licensed operator abroad.
Pagcor is also paid a monthly administrative fee worth $10,000 for each licensed operator overseas.
“We also make sure that the SCBPOs are not directly engaged in gaming operations such as taking or soliciting bets,” Tengco said.
Pagcor said foreign principals overseeing SCBPO firms plan to expand both SCBPOs operations
and local hiring further.
“This industry has so much potential, and we are fully committed to its growth and capability to generate more employment for our people,” Mr. Tengco added.
SCBPOs are required to hire Filipinos for at least 95 percent of their total workforce, ensuring quality job opportunities for local workers who also receive above industry salaries.
the training of civil servants in public procurement to encourage openness and good governance, develop the capabilities of public expenditure oversight bodies and connect the legal public procurement framework with worldwide best practices in order to combat corruption.
“The European Union supports the Philippines on issues that Philippine authorities deem key for the country’s sustainable development. At the same time, these issues are in line with the European Union’s values on global objectives, which are at the core of our engagement with external partners,” EU Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Santoro said.
The JSCC is composed of the Supreme Court (SC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the DILG.
DA amends pork MAV rules in bid to tame market prices
By Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
THEDepartment of Agriculture (DA) is amending the minimum access volume (MAV) rules for pork as part of efforts to tame prices.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco
Tiu Laurel Jr. said the proposed 2025 MAV allocation of 55,000 metric tons (MT) for pork would be split among processors, traders, and the government.
Broken down, 30,000 MT would go to the processors; 15,000 MT would be allotted to the DA through Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) and Planters Products Inc. (PPI); and 10,000 MT for traders. However, the DA chief said the allocation is yet to be settled, and the final allocation would be released within the month.
Laurel said the agency would leverage the allocation for imported pork through the said government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and intervene in the market provided that “unreasonable or unfair prices” are proven. The frozen pork would be sold directly to retailers and Kadiwa
stores, he added.
According to the DA chief, he decided to amend the MAV rules for pork to address the alleged sale and recycling of MAV allocation.
“[This is] to level the playing field and to avoid selling of the MAV and mawala ang [to stop the] recycling of the MAV,” Laurel told the BusinessMirror on Wednesday.
However, the government’s bid to import was thumbed down by the Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita).
“The government imported before and lost a lot of money. But why should DA hold the quota when it can import duty-free anyway? The government is not addressing the root cause of the problem, which is lack of supply,” Mita President Emeritus Jesus Cham told the BusinessMirror Mita recently wrote Laurel, decry-
ing the quotas for the 2025 MAV that were yet to be distributed. Pork shortage
THE National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NatFed) recently said local pork shortage due to the persisting effect of African swine fever (ASF) pushed up prices for the protein source in Metro Manila.
“Local pork is short because of ASF last June to August [2024]. Many sows were culled so piglet production was lessened,” NatFed vice chairman Alfred Ng told the BusinessMirror (See: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2025/02/17/pork-shortage-in-market-lingers-as-asfhit-hog-farms-still-recovering/)
He noted that farms hit by the deadly hog disease during the ASF outbreaks last year were still recuperating from the aftermath.
“Some farms need to clean, remodel their buildings, swab the environment before restocking.
They need to look for loans or finances to restock.”
DA officials are banking on the commercial availability of ASF vaccines to boost pork production, and help address price spikes. The agency targets getting commercial approval of the vaccine by the first week of April.
Currently, retail prices of pork are as high as P450 per kilo for pork belly and P380 per kilo for pork ham, based on the government’s latest price monitoring report.
Despite this, the DA announced that the plan to impose a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for pork will be put on hold until a study on cost structure is finalized.
Laurel said pork producers, traders, and retailers agreed to review their cost structures to reduce the price of pork.
Among the cost structures under review are those of viajeros or traders, which are now estimated to add P80 per kilo.
conducted to ensure adherence to the Program requirements, with penalties for non-compliance.
offer a “time-bound” direct subsidy based on capital expenditure and volume of production of qualified automotive manufacturers.
Asked how long this incentives program will run, Dichosa said, “The Program is supposed to be for 3 years, equivalent to the CARS extension period earlier requested.”
“Total fiscal support for the Program shall not exceed P9 billion, with each Participating Car Maker [PCM] qualified to a fiscal support not exceeding P3 billion on the capital expenditure of the Participating Car Maker for tooling and equipment to manufacture the model,” the RACE Program briefer noted.
Each PCM may be entitled to avail of the Fixed Investment Support (FIS) equivalent to not more than 40 percent of capital expenditure.
To avail of the FIS, the investment promotion agency said the following must be satisfied:
i. New investments in the manufacture of the enrolled Model;
ii. Commitment to manufacture 100,000 units;
iii. Introduction of the enrolled Model to the market within 2 years;
iv. Consistently meeting the criteria for enrollment of Car Makers; and
v. Attainment of other conditions to be imposed at the time of registration.
As to the availment of the FIS amount, the BOI said it shall be credited in three equal tranches to each PCM.
The first tranche shall be credited after the production of the first 1,000 units of the enrolled Model; second tranche, after the production of the first 10,000 units; and the third tranche, after the second 10,000 units.
The BOI said each tranche shall be subject to audit/validation. The agency said regular audits shall be
Dichosa also told this paper that there were “No specific penalties mentioned but non-compliance may result in non-entitlement to fiscal support.”
As to the implementation of this incentives program, the DTI will spearhead the program’s execution and shall be subject to the Joint Administrative Order (JAO) to be issued by the DTI-BOI, Department of Finance (DOF), and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and “to other pertinent budgeting, accounting, and auditing laws, rules and regulations.”
According to the program briefer provided by the BOI, this Program “aims to establish the country as a regional manufacturing hub,” adding that it provides “fiscal support to stimulate local and foreign investments in local automotive manufacturing, thereby reducing reliance on imports.”
Dichosa said both Toyota and Mitsubishi signified their intention to enroll under RACE. The two car brands are just waiting for the JAO and the opening of the application period.
On Tuesday, DTI Secretary Cristina A. Roque told BusinessMirror : “We’re expecting to complete the JAO by mid-March and open the application period for participants by April or May this year.”
CARS Program context UNDER the CARS program, Mitsubishi enrolled the Mirage G4 while Toyota enrolled its Vios model.
This program mandated a minimum production goal of 200,000 units for a maximum of six years.
Mitsubishi started its production in February 2018 while Toyota started producing in July 2018.
The CARS Program came in the form of Executive Order (EO) No. 182 issued by the late president Benigno S. Aquino III in 2015. (See: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2025/02/19/new-perks-planfor-car-makers-out-soon/)
such volume could be increased if needed.
“This is just the beginning. We expect more local government units to participate in this effort, which will benefit not only Filipino consumers but also rice farmers,” Laurel was quoted in the statement as saying.
“With the P9 billion allocated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for NFA’s rice procurement this year, and the remaining funds from last year’s record purchases, we aim to buy even more palay from farmers,” he added.
Deportation targets IN his third State of the Nation Address (Sona), President Ferdinand Marcos announced he will ban POGOs and Internet Gaming Licensee (IGL) due to their social costs and generating increased criminal activities.
After the ban took effect on January 1, at least 22,609 of the 33,863 POGO workers listed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) voluntarily left the country.
BI said the 11,254 remaining FNs are facing deportation and being blacklisted for refusing to leave after the deadline. Sandoval said they are keeping track of these FNs through their online monitoring system.
The Bureau said most of the erring FNs were Vietnamese, Chinese, Indonesian, and Burmese.
“Rest assured, we have a good knowledge of where they are located, a good number of them are actually hiding in plain sight. You see them in your local convenience store, your local malls and so on and so forth; congregating in Macapagal Avenue. So they’re all over here in Metro Manila and many urban centers all over the country,” Casio said.
For this year, she said 512 FNs engaged in banned POGOs were arrested. Of which, 121 were already deported.
The BI official said the government is expediting the deportation of the remaining FNs as the expenses for their detention are draining the state.
Moreover, the capacity of the detention facility for FNs linked to POGOs in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig is only at 100 individuals.
Casio said the government is targeting to deport by September most, if not all of the FNs who engaged in banned POGO activities.
As part of government efforts to stamp out POGO activities in the country, BI has intensified its screening measures for arriving FNs.
Since January, Sandoval said they banned 340 FNs from entering the country for attempting to enter the country and engage in illegal online gaming.
She said they also coordinated with PAOCC, Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to go after illegal POGO activities.
The BI official said their recent operations in Parañaque resulted in the arrest of 450 FNs. They conducted similar operations in Cavite and Pasay City.
“The trend we are seeing now is smaller groups [engaged in POGOs]. They are no longer large groups like 1,000 [workers] in a compound. Most of the illegal POGO operations now are in smaller groups in gated communities like condominiums and residences, which are not easily accessible,” Sandoval said.
The DA recently declared a food security emergency in its bid to stabilize rice prices upon the recommendation of the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC). Such a declaration allows the agency to release rice buffer stocks held by the NFA. Last year, the NFA Council raised the palay procurement price range to P23-P30 per kilo for clean and dry rice; and P17 per kilo for wet palay. Previously, palay buying prices ranged from P16 to P23 per kilo. Ada Pelonia Filipino. He said they spend P35 million every four months for the food, water, electricity, security officers, logistics and/or administrative costs for the detained foreign nationals (FN) involved in illegal POGOs. “We started raiding last May 4 of 2023, we are now on February 19; in roughly two years, we may have spent, give and take, 210 million pesos to end this problem,” Casio said. Bureau of Immigration (BI) Spokesperson Dana Krizia M. Sandoval said the government spends about P70 per detained FN with POGO links.
Solons hit Sara attempt to ‘evade accountability’
By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
LEADERS of the House of Representatives on Wednesday dismissed Vice President Sara Duterte’s petition before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to stop her looming impeachment, calling it a desperate and baseless legal maneuver aimed at evading accountability.
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. and Deputy Speaker David Suarez said that Duterte’s petition is a clear attempt to subvert the constitutional authority of the House of Representatives to determine whether she should be held accountable for alleged misuse of public funds and other violations.
“The Constitution is clear—impeachment is the sole prerogative of the Congress,” Gonzales, who represents Pampanga said.
“VP Duterte’s petition is nothing more than a desperate attempt to evade accountability,” he added.
Suarez, for his part, maintained that the House is following due process, and Duterte’s petition sets a dangerous precedent of judicial overreach into a purely constitutional process.
“The House will not be deterred by legal theatrics. We will continue to uphold our constitutional mandate and ensure that the impeachment process proceeds fairly and transparently,” Suarez, who represents Quezon, added.
Panic
SUAREZ also underscored that
Duterte’s legal move “reeks of panic and a blatant effort to undermine the impeachment process even before it formally begins.”
House Assistant Majority Leader Jude Acidre said Duterte’s apparent contradiction, recalling how she previously expressed confidence in facing impeachment proceedings.
“The Vice President is clearly rattled. Her desperation is showing, and no amount of political maneuvering can hide it,” Acidre, a nominee of the party-list group Tingog, said.
“Just months ago, she declared she welcomed the impeachment complaint. Now, she’s pulling every trick in the book to stop it from moving forward. If she truly had nothing to hide, why the sudden fear? Her hypocrisy is staggering,” Acidre added.
He also emphasized that the House Prosecution Panel is fully prepared to present evidence against the Vice President, which he claims will be damning.
He cited a recent survey showing that 73 percent of Filipinos believe she must face trial in the
Senate for her alleged role in a plot against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
“She should be scared—because the truth is closing in, and no amount of deception will save her from it,” Acidre added.
Also, the Makabayan bloc in Congress strongly condemned Duterte’s move to stop the impeachment trial by seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court, calling it a blatant attempt to evade accountability.
“The Vice President’s move to halt the impeachment trial through the Supreme Court is a clear indication of her refusal to face the charges against her at the appropriate venue. The appropriate venue is the impeachment court, not the Supreme Court. By resorting to legal maneuvers, she is reinforcing a troubling pattern of avoiding accountability,” said ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro.
Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas questioned Duterte’s apparent shift in stance, saying, “Whatever happened to her earlier statement welcoming the impeachment and preparing her defense team? It is evident now that she is backtracking on her words.”
Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel criticized Duterte’s legal strategy, arguing that objections should be addressed within the impeachment court rather than through premature legal action.
“The proper venue for raising objections and addressing concerns is within the impeachment court, not through premature legal actions. It is disappointing to see the Vice President attempting to hinder the process instead of embracing it as an opportunity to
‘Provocations won’t deter PHL patrols at Bajo de Masinloc’
DESPITE China’s continued illegal, coercive and aggressive behavior, the Philippines will not give up its “routine maritime operations” in Bajo de Masinloc, the National Maritime Council (NMC) said Tuesday night.
This was after a People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) Harbin Z-9 helicopter made unprofessional and reckless flight maneuvers against a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar) Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft conducting a routine maritime domain awareness flight over Bajo de Masinloc on February 18.
“This blatantly hazardous action endangered the safety of the pilots and passengers onboard. It demonstrated a lack of regard for internationally-accepted norms
on good airmanship and flight safety,” the NMC said in a media release.
Despite these illegal and aggressive actions, the NMC said the Philippines has undeniable sovereignty and jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc and will not be deterred from conducting routine maritime operations over the shoal.
“The Philippines will not waver in its duty to safeguard its maritime interests over the shoal, in accordance with Republic Act 12064 or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and international law, particularly Unclos [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea] and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award. The Philippine Government will also issue a formal diplomatic protest on
this grave incident,” the body added.
It also said the Philippines is committed to the rule of law and will always uphold international law.
“We urge China to respect international law, engage in responsible state behavior, pursue peaceful settlement of disputes, and refrain from actions that undermine regional peace and stability,” the NMC said.
US condemnation
THE United States on Wednesday condemned China’s dangerous flight maneuver against a Bfar plane on a patrol over the Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal.
In a statement on X, US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson called on China to refrain from conducting
defend herself, as she claimed she was ready to do. She is deceiving and confusing the few supporters she has left,” he said.
The Makabayan bloc called on the Supreme Court to uphold due process and reject any attempt to derail the constitutionally mandated impeachment trial.
Cross over
THE impeachment trial of Duterte in the Senate would likely “cross over” to the 20th Congress, former Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said Wednesday.
Citing practical reasons, Lacson said the 19th Congress will not have enough time to convene and conduct the trial before adjourning sine die in the last week of June.
Also, Lacson noted that the Senate assumes a different personality in an impeachment trial, where senator-judges’ work will be more judicial than legislative in nature.
“My humble opinion as a layman is that as an impeachment court, the Senate will act not as a legislative body but as a separate constitutional body,” he said in a statement.
“In an impeachment trial, the Senate will not perform legislative acts but will tackle an impeachment trial,” he added.
In addition, Lacson noted the Senate as an impeachment court can be considered a continuing body, even if new members join it in the 20th Congress.
Citing several legal luminaries, he said the Senate as an impeachment court can be likened to a division of the Sandiganbayan, Court of Appeals, or even the Supreme Court.
“Even if a member of the division retires, the case will not stop, nor will it be removed from the jurisdiction of the Senate as an impeachment court,” he added.
“coercive actions” in the region.
“We condemn the dangerous maneuvers by a PLA [People’s Liberation Army] Navy helicopter that endangered pilots and passengers on a Philippine air mission. We call on China to refrain from coercive actions and settle its disputes peacefully in accordance with international law,” she said.
A PLA Navy helicopter, identified by tail number 68, performed dangerous flight maneuvers towards the Bfar aircraft while the latter was conducting a maritime domain awareness flight over the territorial airspace of the feature on Tuesday.
The mission was accompanied by personnel from the Coast Guard (PCG) and photojournalists.
The PCG said the chopper flew as close as three meters to the port (left) side and above the Bfar aircraft, an action it said was a “clear violation and blatant disregard for the International Civil Aviation Organization’s [Icao] international aviation regulations.” PNA
Coast Guard chief gets 3-year term
By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
PRESIDENT Marcos has signed Republic Act 12122, which fixed the term of the Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant to three years.
The new law amended the provision of RA 9993 or the Philippine Coast Guard Law of 2009 on the term of the agency’s highest ranking officer. RA 12122 mandated that the three-year term of the PCG commandant will now start on the date, when his or her appointment is signed, unless sooner terminated by the President.
It also said that the PCG Commandant will be compulsorily retired upon completion of the maximum term or upon relief by the President.
The new law in effect exempted the PCG commandant from the law which set the retirement date of PCG personnel at age 56 or 30 years of service, whichever comes later, not to exceed age 60. RA 12122 retained the qualifications for PCG commandant, which includes holding a command-at-sea badge and must have served as district commander in his or her career. It will apply to PCG commandants who was appointed or promoted or both under RA 9993.
TB treatment cut to 4 months for kids
By Rizal Raoul Reyes @brownindio
THE Doctors Without Borders, Manila Health Department and University of the Philipines Manila on Wednesday announced the implementation of a shorter treatment for children with tuberculosis
Within four months, the three groups said a child can complete a course of treatment for tuberculosis (TB), and be considered cured. This is the goal of the new national guidelines for the treatment of non-severe forms of TB in children, adopted by the Department of Health (DOH) based on recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Previous studies have shown that this shorter regimen is as effective in eligible children as the previous treatment regimen, which lasted six months.
In Tondo, Manila, Doctors Without Borders or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is supporting the Manila Health Department (MHD) in implementing the new treatment guidelines. During a two-day training workshop, physicians and TB nurses from 15 health centers in Tondo’s Districts 1 and 2 learned about chest X-ray interpretation, screening and diagnosis of TB in children, disease severity classification, and treatment.
MSF said the Philippines belongs to a growing number of countries to include the WHO recommendation in the national guidelines, but one of the few to have started the roll out. The adoption of these guidelines can have a significant impact on the fight against TB, in a country with the fourth highest burden of the disease worldwide.
In Districts 1 and 2 of Tondo, MSF and MHD have been working together on a TB project since 2022. The project
has been focused on screening, and treatment is implemented in collaboration with health centers. As of January 2025, the project has screened 38,465 people and diagnosed 1,826 patients with TB.
Once people identified with TB are linked to care in the health center, the household contacts—including children—are investigated for TB. Children are also identified by health centers when they are presented with symptoms of TB.
The new guidelines recommend the fourmonth treatment regimen 2HRZE/2HR for patients with non-severe drug-susceptible tuberculosis, aged three months to 16 years. This treatment regimen involves a two-month initial phase using four TB drugs, and a twomonth maintenance phase, using two drugs.
The four-month regimen will be an improvement on many levels. Dr. Richard H. Castro of the TB Prevention and Control Section of MHD said: “For sure the shorter regimen will benefit the fight against TB in the City of Manila. Less time for the duration of treatment is equivalent to lesser logistics and commodities consumption, lesser disease burden for the family, and faster recovery from illness, especially in a depressed area like Tondo.”
For the child and his family, it means a better treatment experience: fewer health visits are needed, there are fewer days on treatment, less exposure to drugs and potentially less out-of-pocket expenses. Castro adds, “This is an important step in making treatment easier and faster for our patients in the City of Manila. This new treatment will help more children and adolescents recover from TB in a shorter period, which is a big improvement.”
A4 Thursday, February 20, 2025
Economy
PSA sees birth registration gap narrowing
By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is ramp -
ing up efforts to ensure every Filipino has a legal identity, as it works to bring the country closer to full birth registration coverage, National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said.
“We expect a substantial reduction, thereby increasing our coverage of citizens with birth registration nearer our target of 99.5 percent coverage,” Mapa told the BusinessMirror on Wednesday in a message.
He added that PSA is currently waiting for updated figures from the 2024 Census of Population and the Community-Based Monitoring System to determine how many
Filipinos still lack birth certificates.
“Based on the 2020 census, around 3.7 million remain unregistered, with the highest numbers recorded in Mindanao, particularly in the Bangsamoro autonomous region and parts of the Visayas,” Mapa said.
To address this, the agency launched the Birth Registration Assistance Project (BRAP), which focuses on identifying and registering unlisted individuals at the barangay level, guided by data from the 2020 census.
“As of February 14, 2025, the PSA and the local civil registrars have registered 422,985 under the BRAP,” Mapa said.
Civil registry expansion THE PSA recorded a total of 195.7
million civil registry documents as of January 27 this year. These include 139.5 million birth certificates, 29.2 million marriage records and 27 million death records.
Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande in a presentation said civil registry transactions peaked in 2018 at 23.98 million but dropped in 2020 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. From 2021 to 2024, it processed 69.1 million civil registry documents.
Currently, there are 77 Civil Registry System outlets in various parts of the country. Metro Manila has seven outlets, while Luzon has 33, the Visayas has 14 and Mindanao has 23.
“There will be five more CRS outlets to be launched this
year until the second quarter [of 2025]. This will complete our concessional deliverables of additional 40 outlets which will be totaled to 81 CRS outlets nationwide,” Grande announced on Wednesday at a PSA event at the University of Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
The PSA is currently examining 14.89 million late birth registrations to confirm their authenticity, following concerns raised during a Senate hearing in November 2024. At the time, Sen. Grace Poe noted that the agency was auditing 50,532 birth certificates for possible irregularities.
In 2023, the agency recorded 1,448,552 registered births, with Calabarzon reporting the highest number at 217,906.
Senator seeks increased ALS completion rates
FBy Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
OLLOWING the Second Congressional Commission on Education’s (Edcom II) findings on the dismal enrollment in the Alternative Learning System (ALS), Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian is prodding the Department of Education (DepEd) to address gaps in the ALS law’s implementation to increase completion rates among its learners.
Citing the Edcom II’s Year Two Report that enrollment in ALS averages is more than 600,000 annually, Gatchalian complained that completion rates are alarmingly low.
The report said that for
School Year 2023-2024, only 302,807 (46.2 percent) out of 655,517 learners completed the program. A 2021 United Nations Childrens Fund (Unicef) study revealed that the absence of financial support, the need to work, and the lack of interest contribute to high dropout rates. Among the interventions that Gatchalian proposed is a guidance and counseling program that would encourage ALS learners to stay enrolled. He also emphasized that ALS learners should be informed about the skills that they can develop and the jobs that they can get after completing the program.
Mahalagang maunawaan ng ating mga mag-aaral sa ALS ang
mga oportunidad na maaari nilang matanggap sa ilalim ng programa Ang ALS ay nagbibigay ng pangalawang pagkakataon sa ating mga kababayan at hindi natin ito dapat sayangin ,” said Gatchalian, author and sponsor of the ALS Law.
The ALS is a parallel learning system that provides a viable alternative to the existing formal education instruction. Under the Alternative Learning System Act or Republic Act 11510, the ALS was institutionalized, strengthened, and expanded to provide increased opportunities for out-ofschool children in special cases and adult learners, including tribal or indigenous peoples, to pursue an equivalent pathway
to complete basic education. Out-of-school children in special cases include learners with disabilities, children in conflict with the law, and learners in emergency situations.
The Edcom also flagged that while the ALS law was signed in 2020, many of its implementing guidelines are still pending. These include the guidelines that will help local governments to tap the Special Education Fund (SEF). Revenue regulations that will allow private institutions to receive tax incentives for contributions to ALS also remain unavailable. The Commission also flagged that DepEd has not yet released the guidelines on the recognition of private ALS providers.
DENR renews Clark Water’s discharge permit
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has renewed Clark Water its discharge permit for its Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ) Sewage Treatment Facility after passing parameters cited in its Water Quality Guidelines and General Effluent Standards.
As an operating unit of Manila Water’s Non-East Zone subsidiary, Manila Water Philippine Ventures, and a concessionaire of Clark Development Corp. (CDC), Clark Water remained compliant with the DENR standards.
In a statement, Clark Water said the renewal of its wastewater discharge permit reaffirms the company’s commitment to implement sustainable water management practices and ensuring the protection of the environment and public health.
Specifically, Clark Water hurdled the parameters cited in DENR Administrative Orders 2016-08 and No. 2021-19 or the updated WQG and GES for Selected Parameters.
Clark Water credited the accomplishment to the collaboration of the CDC and Clark Water to ensure proper wastewater treatment before discharged to its designated water bodies.
The facility can treat 27 million liters of wastewater per day (MLD) and is allowed to discharge effluent to Dolores Creek through an underground pipe leading to the Mabalacat River.
Aside from regulatory compliance, Clark Water and CDC continue to implement improvements and upgrades in the facility as part of its commitment to environmental protection and sustainability.
“We in Clark Water recognize the crucial role of proper wastewater treatment and submission to environmental regulations in protecting the environment, preserving the ecosystem, and safeguarding public health,” says Lyn Zamora, Clark Water’s General Manager.
“As we continue to support the growth of the Clark Freeport Zone as one of the top investment hubs and tourist destinations in the country, we also commit ourselves to upholding sustainability in every part of our operations,” she added.
Part of Clark Water’s 2023-2040 Service Improvement Plan is the completion of the retrofitting and construction works in the wastewater treatment facility. The expansion of the existing treatment plant is also underway to cater to the increasing wastewater discharge of the existing and upcoming CFZ locators. Currently, Clark Water is serving more than 1,000 locators in the CFZ, with 100% wastewater service coverage which spans 254 kilometers of sewer network directed to a centralized wastewater treatment plant. This makes the Clark Freeport Zone an ideal location for businesses where opportunity meets sustainability. Jonathan L. Mayuga
Online sale of harmful cosmetics persists–group
THE sale of unauthorized health products, such as cosmetics in online marketplaces, persists despite regulatory efforts, an environmental and health watchdog group reported
EcoWaste Coalition said it was able to purchase 11 skincare cosmetics that are being sold by online sellers without prior authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
EcoWaste said it has already informed the FDA about its findings. The FDA is the primary regulatory body responsible for monitoring the sale of these products.
EcoWaste said unsuspecting consumers are lured into buying these cosmetics, claiming to create healthy and radiant skin, remove age spots, blemishes, dark skin discoloration, freckles, and wrinkles, and solve other dermal conditions. Some are even sold at rock-bottom prices, such as a 20-gram “whitening freckle removal cream” from China that is sold for just P16 per sachet.
Out of the 11 products tested, none conformed to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-prescribed cosmetic labeling requirements, of which six have their labeling information mostly in foreign characters that Filipino consumers would not understand.
While negative for mercury and other heavy metals as per chemical screening
conducted by the EcoWaste Coalition using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, there is no guarantee that the products are safe from other substances, as well as bacterial contaminants, not permitted in cosmetics. As these products have not undergone the mandatory notification process of the FDA, there is no assurance of compliance to good manufacturing practices and that, as pointed out by the FDA, “the use of such violative products may pose health risks to consumers.”
Repeating the FDA’s advice, EcoWaste Coalition encouraged online shoppers to refrain from patronizing health products without valid product notifications or registrations. Before making any purchase, consumers are reminded to check if the product is authorized or not using the FDA Verification Portal at https:// verification.fda.gov.ph. FDA said “potential hazards [from using an unauthorized product] may come from ingredients that are not allowed to be part of a cosmetic product or from the contamination of heavy metals.”
“The use of substandard and possibly adulterated cosmetic products may result in adverse reactions, including, but not limited to, skin irritation, itchiness, anaphylactic shock, and organ failure,” the FDA warned.
Discrimination, red-tagging in campaigns now punishable offenses, Comelec warns
By Justine Xyrah Garcia
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has drawn a firm line against discrimination and political labeling with the release of new fair campaigning guidelines on Wednesday, warning that such acts could be punishable as election offenses.
Under Resolution No. 11116, Comelec prohibits discrimination against candidates who are women, persons with disabilities, or members of cause-oriented groups.
If proven, such offenses could carry legal consequences.
The resolution also bans gender-based harassment—whether in person, online, on air, or in print—including stalking, incessant messaging, catcalling, lewd sexual actions, and psychological or physical threats.
“We believe election campaigns can be
conducted with decency. A female candidate, a person with a disability, or someone who simply holds different beliefs should not be disrespected,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said, partly in Filipino, in an ambush interview.
Beyond discrimination, Comelec also aims to protect candidates from unjust labeling, particularly red-tagging.
Under the new guidelines, branding individuals, groups, or organizations as “vocal dissenters,” “activists,” or sympathizers of subversive or terrorist groups—without evidence—will be considered as labeling and could lead to penalties.
Garcia clarified that this measure does not contradict the government’s efforts to protect national security.
“We are not opposing the actions of other government agencies. What we are condemning is the act itself, because it is wrong,” he said.
Violators of these guidelines could face imprisonment of one to six years and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
Comelec first announced in November 2024 that it was working on anti-discriminatory and red-tagging guidelines.
The move was hailed by activists, with Makabayan spokesperson Reyna Valmores Salinas calling it a “significant victory for democratic rights and electoral reform.”
Also last year, the Supreme Court declared red-tagging a grave threat to life, liberty, and security, citing its potential to incite harassment, intimidation, and even violence against government critics.
‘Don’t challenge us’
WHILE many concerned and progressive groups welcomed the new guidelines, Garcia acknowledged that not everyone in government agreed with them.
He revealed that one government agency—whose name he refused to disclose—had even red-tagged Comelec itself for issuing the measure.
I just hope that, as fellow members of the government, we can be mindful of the words we use. It would be alarming if even Comelec itself were red-tagged,” he said.
He also warned against challenging Comelec’s authority in enforcing election laws.
“Do not ever challenge the power of Comelec, especially in this election. Our authority comes from the Constitution, we were not merely created by an executive order,” Garcia added.
While the commission has yet to disclose details of its exchange with the unnamed government agency, it reiterated its commitment to ensuring that candidates and their supporters are protected in the upcoming elections.
Copyright registrations rise by 0.5% in 2024, reflecting growing appreciation for intellectual property protection
T
By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
HE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said there is an “increased” appreciation in safeguarding works as copyright registrations posted a 0.5 percent increase with 6,552 certificates issued in 2024.
According to the country’s intellectual property rights watchdog, the books, pamphlets, articles, e-books, audio books, comics, novels and other writings category accounted for over half or 65 percent of the certificates issued last year.
This was followed by computer programs, software, games and applications with 10 percent; musical compositions with or without lyrics, 7 percent; drawings, paintings, architectural works, sculpture, engraving, prints, lithography or other works of art, models or designs for works of art with 7 percent.
In the four years ending 2024, copy -
right registrations and deposits increased steadily, IPOPHL said in a statement on Wednesday.
In a Viber message sent to the BusinessMirror, IPOPHL said in 2020, there were 940 copyright registrations. This surged by 127.77 percent to 2,141 copyright registrations in 2021.
In 2022, there were 3,706 copyright certificates issued, a 73.1 percent increase from 2021.
Transitioning to 2023, IPOPHL said copyright filings posted a 76 percent increase, reaching 6,522.
The 0.5 percent growth rate in 2024, however, was the smallest increase in the last five years, reaching 6,552 in copyright registrations.
For her part, IPOPHL Director General Brigitte M. Da Costa-Villaluz highlighted that while a work enjoys copyright protection the moment it is created, the upward trend signals a “societal shift” towards
greater regard for copyright registration and deposit.
“More individuals and organizations are realizing the added value of registering and depositing their works with the National Library of the Philippines through IPOPHL. Certificates covering registration and deposit not only provide additional proof of creation and ownership, but also help authors and creators unlock commercial opportunities,” she said.
Da Costa-Villaluz said these certificates often serve as “essential” documents for licensing negotiations and settlement of intellectual property disputes.
“In this digital age, platforms increasingly accept certificates to resolve claims of content misuse,” the IPOPHL chief said.
In line with the rising demand for registration, the Bureau of Copyright and Related Rights (BCRR) Director Emerson G. Cuyo emphasized the bureau’s commitment to enhancing service quality.
Marcos admin maintains plurality support at 36% as pro-Duterte sentiment surges to 18% in survey
By Claudeth S. Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and his administration seems to enjoy the support of nearly four out of ten or 36 percent of adult Filipinos, based on the latest January 2025 Tugon ng Masa (TNM) Pre-Election Survey.
Filipinos adults, who are identified as pro-Marcos, responded to the survey question, “Alin sa sumusunod ang pinakanaglalarawan ng sinusuportahan ninyo sa pulitika?” conducted from January 25 to 31, 2024. The survey, using face-to-face interviews have 1,200 male and female probability respondents aged 18 and above were interviewed for the study. This survey has a ±3 percent margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level. While this figure remains statistically unchanged from the third quarter TNM survey conducted in August 2024 (considering the ±3 percent margin of error), a slight decline of two percentage points was recorded.
Pro-Duterte family
MEANWHILE , 18 percent of adult Filipinos continue to support the Duterte family and their political allies, identifying themselves as pro-Duterte. This figure remains statistically unchanged from the 3rd Quarter TNM survey conducted in August 2024, considering the ±3 percent margin of error. There
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against her are gambling that it would result in a change in the composition of the Senate.
“Unfortunately, this political stratagem was done at the expense of constitutional standards that respondents, as public officers, are mandated to observe, with the ultimate goal of having the petitioner perpetually disqualified from running for any national elective office in the future,” it said.
“By directing the respondent House Secretary General to freeze the first three impeachment complaints to make way for the fourth impeachment complaint, which was filed a month or two after, the House of Representatives committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of excess of jurisdiction by circumventing and violating the One-Year Bar set by no less than the 1987 Constitution,” it added.
To support her arguments, Duterte cited the landmark cases of Francisco v. House of Representatives (2003) and Gutierrez v. House of Representatives (2011), where the issue on One-Year Bar was discussed and clarified when impeachment proceedings are deemed “initiated.”
In the case of Francisco, an impeachment complaint was filed against then Chief Justice Hilario Davide in June 2003.
On October 13, 2003, the complaint was ruled to
was a 3 percentage point increase was observed, according to the survey.
Notably, pro-Duterte preference among Class E respondents saw a significant increase of 19 percentage points, rising from 21 percent in the third quarter TNM survey (August 2024) to 41 percent in the latest survey.
“This surge indicates a strong resurgence of pro-Duterte support in the first quarter of 2025, reversing the previously observed downward trend,” the survey stated.
Around 8 percent of adult Filipinos support the opposition. This figure remains statistically unchanged from the 3rd Quarter TNM survey conducted in August 2024, considering the ±3 percent margin of error.
“It is important to note that respondents were provided examples of traditional opposition figures and groups, such as former Vice President Leni Robredo, the Liberal Party, and the movements they represent,“ the survey noted.
Meanwhile, 26 percent of adult Filipinos consider themselves independent, meaning they do not identify as pro-Marcos, pro-Duterte, or opposition supporters. This proportion remains statistically unchanged from the previous TNM survey. Also, 12 percent of respondents remain ambivalent about their political preferences.
Areas ACROSS major regions, pro-Marcos supporters
make up around four out of every ten adult Filipinos in National Capital Region (NCR) and Visayas with 39 percent and 37 percent, respectively.
A significant portion of overall support comes from Balance Luzon with 47 percent.
In Mindanao, nearly one out of ten Filipinos or 9 percent identify as pro-Marcos.
By socioeconomic class, pro-Marcos supporters are primarily from Class ABC (42 percent), followed closely by Class D (36 percent). The support earned among Class E is lowest at 29 percent.
On the other hand, support for the Duterte family and its allies remains strongest in Mindanao, where 63 percent of the population identifies as pro-Duterte.
In contrast, the survey indicated, support in NCR and Balance Luzon is significantly lower, at just 5 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
In Visayas, only 12 percent of respondents identify as pro-Duterte. By socioeconomic class, four out of ten adult Filipinos from Class E (41 percent) support the Duterte family and its allies, followed by 16 percent from Class D and just 9% from Class ABC.
Opposition supporters
MEANWHILE , support for the opposition varies by region, ranging from 1 percent to 12 percent. The highest opposition support is in Visayas (12 percent), followed by NCR (10 percent).
be sufficient in form but insufficient in substance, and thus, dismissed by the House Committee on Justice on October 22, 2003.
A day later, a second impeachment complaint was filed by several members of the House, accompanied by a “Resolution of Endorsement/Impeachment“ signed by at least 1/3 of its members.
Several petitions against the House were then filed before the SC to stop the impeachment proceedings, arising from the second complaint, on the ground of violation of the One-Year-Bar.
In its decision, the SC ruled that “initiation takes place by the act of filing coupled with Congress’ taking initial action on the complaint.”
In the case of Gutierrez, two impeachment complaints were filed against then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez on July 22, 2010 and August 3, 2010, and these were simultaneously referred to the House Committee on Justice on August 11, 2010.
Gutierrez elevated the issue to the SC, seeking the application of the One-Year-Bar on her case.
She argued that the referral to the House Committee on Justice could not be the reckoning point of initiation, because something prior to the had already been done, which was the actual filing of the complaint.
In resolving Gutierrez’s petition, the Court reiterated that the term “initiate an impeachment complaint” refers to the filing of the impeachment complaint coupled with Congress’ taking initial action
on said complaint.
He announced the recent launch of “new, simpler and more user-friendly” forms.
“These updates are designed to streamline the process, making it easier for creators to register and deposit their works in just a few minutes,” said Cuyo.
“We recognize that some authors require prompt access to their certificates for various purposes, including resolving disputes over content ownership or infringement. Our goal is to accelerate the process and reduce waiting times, ensuring authors can protect their rights quickly and efficiently,” Cuyo added.
The improvement in services is part of a broader initiative to further digitalize and modernize the copyright registration and deposit process.
IPOPHL said it plans to introduce “additional enhancements in the coming months, with the aim of providing faster certificate turnaround times and more convenient services for creators nationwide.”
The survey showed that only 8 percent of respondents from Balance Luzon and just 1 percent from Mindanao identify as opposition supporters. Opposition support by socioeconomic class ranges from 2 percent to 10 percent, with the highest concentration among Class ABC at 10 percent.
Independent voters
FINALLY, independent voters are most numerous in Visayas with 37 percent, followed by Balance Luzon (26 percent l), NCR (25 percent), and Mindanao (20 percent).
By socioeconomic class, independents comprise 28 percent of Class D, 20 percent of Class E, and 17 percent of Class ABC.
Notable movements observed at the regional and class level.
While the national-level TNM survey results for January 2025 remain statistically unchanged from the third quarter, TNM survey conducted in August 2024 showed notable shifts in pro-Marcos, pro-Duterte, and pro-Opposition preferences at the regional and class levels in the January 2025 TNM pre-election survey.
“The percentage of adult Filipinos identifying as pro-Marcos has steadily increased since the first quarter TNM survey conducted in March 2024. The latest figure stands at 36 percent. While +-the finding remains statistically unchanged from the previous 3rd Quarter TNM survey conducted in August 2024, considering the ±3 percent margin of error, a 2 percentage point decrease was observed.”
Duterte also noted that the Court confirmed in Gutierrez case that the House of Representatives should comply with the deadlines provided under paragraph 2 Section 3, Article XI of the Constitution.
The provision states that “a verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any member of the House of Representatives or any citizen upon a resolution or endorsement by any Member thereof, which shall be included in the order of business within 10 session days, and referred to the proper committee within three session days.”
“Given the landmark case of Francisco and Gutierrez, impeachment proceedings and therefore deemed initiated upon the concurrence of the following: (a) filing of the impeachment complaint; and (b) Congress initial action on said complaint,” the petition read.
The fourth impeachment complaint was transmitted to the Senate after it was endorsed by 215 members of the House on February 5. The three other impeachment complaints filed earlier had not been transmitted to the Office of the Speaker or taken up by a House committee, and were later archived.
Duterte stressed that the freezing of the first three complaints “was calculated and deliberately made” by the House in order to avoid the application of the One-Year Bar.
BI alerts on recruitment scams targeting Pinoy workers: Crime syndicates exploit job seekers for overseas scams
CRIME syndicates are now infiltrating call centers and posting job offers online to recruit potential victims for overseas scam hubs, where they face exploitation from their captors, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
In press briefing in Malacañang, BI Spokesperson Dana Krizia M. Sandoval revealed the new modus, wherein aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFW) are offered enticing job offers by unscrupulous activities to engage in online gambling operations abroad.
The recruiters, she said, pose as employees in Business Process Outsourcing firms, call centers, or put our job offers on social media.
“They [victims] are offered, like the last one I saw, 50,000 pesos a month, free board and lodging, free meals, free travel—so the [job] offer is very good. But the truth is, it’s not real kasi when they arrive there, it’s really a scam hub,” she said.
She said those who fall prey from the said scam do not get any pay and suffer physical abuse if they do not reach their quota in conducting online scams in activities similar to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).
“Because of this, they face difficulty to seek help from law enforcement in the country where they are since, technically, they become members of the syndicate and become scammers and their passports are confiscated [by their captors],” Sandoval said.
The victims of the said schemes, who use tourist visas, usually end up in Asian countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and even as far as the Middle East.
“So we are quite worried about this trend, because it is a trend not only in the Philippines. We have also discussed this with other ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] immigration leaders and it is something that is being observed already in some Asian countries and is already posing a problem to the region,” Sandoval said.
To combat the spread of the said illegal activities, the BI official said they coordinate with other countries on intelligence
information on its perpetrators and also enhanced their formalities in airports to protect aspiring OFWs from the said illegal activities.
“What we also try to maximize is sending out the information about these POGO-like operations that exist abroad, their offers are not real, so we want people to know and understand [that],” Sandoval said.
Local investigations HERE in the local front, BI said and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) have also intensified their campaign against the remaining POGO operations, after it was banned by President Ferdinand Marcos last year.
PAOCC director and spokesperson Winston John R. Casio said the crackdown has now led to filing of cases against several local officials including Porac, Pampanga Mayor Jaime “Jing” V. Capil, nine other officials in the municipality, as well as Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.
“Among the cases that we are building up are also cases to be filed against LGU officials of Bamban. We are also contemplating filing graft charges and qualified trafficking in persons complaints against some other government employees, officials,” Casio said. He said several local officials of LapuLapu City in Cebu Mayor Ahong Chan, as well as Pasay City Emi Calixto-Rubiano are also facing investigation due to the large number of POGO activities in their jurisdictions.
“Well, we’re conducting an investigation, together with the Department of Justice and the DILG on the possible culpability of the LGU officials of this particular city, Pasay City,” Casio said.
“We’re taking a look at the possible culpability, criminal liability of LGU officials, primarily those in the issuances of the mayor’s permit, the BPLO certificates—the business permit so to speak. So, we have not yet reached a conclusion, together with the Department of Justice and the DILG on how to proceed but the case build-up is already ongoing—it’s there,” he added.
Samuel P. Medenilla
PHL reaffirms rights, devt push in UN dialogue
TBy Bless Aubrey Ogerio
HE Philippines reaffirmed its commitment to human rights and inclusive development during its dialogue with the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in Geneva, Switzerland.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon on Wednesday outlined the country’s efforts in poverty reduction, labor rights, education, healthcare, and social protection.
“The Philippine Government remains steadfast in its commitment to upholding the rights enshrined in the ICESCR, recognizing their vital role in fostering inclusive and sustainable development,” Edillon said.
“Through strong collaboration among government agencies, civil society, and international partners, we continue to advance evidence-based policies and programs that ensure every Filipino benefits from equitable and rights-based progress, leaving no one behind,” she added.
As the lead agency overseeing the country’s compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), NEDA reaffirmed its “whole-of-government approach” to treaty reporting and policy alignment.
This includes preparing the country’s 7th Periodic Report, responding to the
US. .
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These include import policies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, export subsidies, a lack of intellectual property protection, among others.
For the Philippines, its nontariff barriers are prohibiting used motor vehicle imports, requirement to obtain import permits and cold chain regulations, according to Nomura.
Factory output in the Philippines slowed to a five-month low in January, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence’s latest Purchasing Managers Index.
in January, slower than the 54.3 score in December 2024. Greater competition and expensive raw materials dampened the manufacturing sector.
Jobs in the manufacturing industry have also been declining—the second among five major industries that saw the largest
List of Issues on the Periodic Report, and drafting Chapter 2 of the 4th Philippine Human Rights Plan. NEDA has also led discussions across multiple sectors and agencies to improve national policies on economic, social and cultural rights.
Since ratifying the ICESCR in 1974, the Philippines has taken steps to incorporate these rights into its national development efforts.
“As a state party, it submits periodic reports to the UN CESCR, detailing progress and challenges in implementing the Covenant’s provisions, including access to education, healthcare, and labor protections,” NEDA said. The government has integrated ICESCR principles into national policies, including the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, as part of efforts to align economic growth with social development, particularly for vulnerable and marginalized groups.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Philippines’ poverty rate was at 15.5 percent in 2023, with an estimated 17.54 million Filipinos remaining below the poverty threshold. Meanwhile, unemployment dropped to 3.8 percent and underemployment to 11.9 percent in 2024, the lowest since 2005, with 1.94 million jobless and 5.8 million underemployed.
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ATHEROSCLEROSIS:
THE INVISIBLE RISK BEHIND STROKES, KIDNEY DISEASE, AND MORE—WHY EARLY SCREENING MATTERS
HEART disease is often perceived as a sudden, lifechanging event—a heart attack, a stroke, or a sudden medical emergency that seems to appear out of nowhere. But what if we told you that the seeds of this crisis are planted years, even decades, before the first alarming symptoms show up?
Atherosclerosis, the gradual buildup of plaque inside your arteries, is the silent countdown to many cardiovascular conditions. It begins quietly, without warning, and when you feel its effects, it may be far too late to reverse the damage. In this article, we will explore how atherosclerosis silently progresses over time, often without symptoms, and how its invisible march towards heart disease can be halted or slowed—if we act early enough. Understanding this slow-moving process can be the key to surviving and thriving as you protect your heart from the damage you are yet to feel. What is atherosclerosis?
Atherosclerosis is a progressive condition where the walls of your arteries become thickened and hardened due to the accumulation of fatty deposits, cholesterol, and other substances. These buildups, known as plaque, can restrict blood flow, making it harder for oxygenated (oxygen-rich) blood to reach vital organs, including the heart and brain. Over time, the plaque can rupture, leading to blood clots that may result in heart attacks,
strokes, or other serious medical conditions. What makes atherosclerosis particularly sneaky is that it develops gradually, often without any noticeable symptoms until the damage is severe. When you experience symptoms like chest pain or shortness of breath, significant harm may already have been done, which is why understanding and managing the risk factors for atherosclerosis early on is crucial for heart health.
What diseases can atherosclerosis cause?
Atherosclerosis can cause a variety of serious medical conditions such as:
n Coronary Artery Diseases (CAD)
The coronary arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle. In atherosclerosis, plaque buildup narrows and hardens these arteries, making it harder for blood to flow freely. As the plaque grows, it can restrict blood flow to the heart muscle, leading to chest pain (angina) or, if the plaque ruptures, blood clots can form, blocking the artery entirely, and causing a heart attack (myocardial infarction). Reduced blood flow to the heart muscle can also lead to ischemic heart disease and heart failure over time.
n Stroke
Atherosclerosis can affect the carotid arteries, the main arteries supplying blood to the brain. As plaques build up in these arteries, they can narrow or even completely block blood flow into the brain. This restriction can lead to an ischemic stroke, where the brain tissue is deprived of oxygen and nutrients. A transient ischemic attack (TIA), often called a “mini-stroke,” can occur when blood flow is temporarily disrupted.
n Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
Atherosclerosis can also affect the arteries that supply blood to the limbs, especially the legs. As plaque builds up in these arteries, blood flow to the muscles and tissues of the legs decreases, leading to claudication (pain, cramping, or fatigue in the legs during activity) due to lack of oxygen. In severe cases, the reduced blood flow can cause tissue death (gangrene) and amputation or removal of the affected limb.
n Aortic Aneurysm
Atherosclerosis weakens the walls of the aorta, the body’s largest artery. The constant pressure from blood flow and the weakening of the aortic walls due to plaque buildup can lead to the formation of an aneurysm—a localized bulging of the artery. If the aneurysm ruptures, it can lead to massive internal bleeding and be fatal.
n Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
The kidneys receive their blood supply through the renal arteries. When atherosclerosis narrows or blocks these arteries, both kidneys receive less blood and, consequently, less oxygen. Over time, this can lead to kidney damage and chronic kidney disease . Reduced kidney function can result in fluid and waste buildup in the body, requiring interventions like dialysis in severe cases.
n Hypertension
Atherosclerosis causes the arteries to become stiff and narrowed. This increases the resistance the heart must overcome to pump blood through the circulatory system. Over time, the increased workload on the heart leads to high blood pressure (hypertension), which in turn increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease.
What can you do to avoid atherosclerosis?
Despite the medical conditions it can cause, atherosclerosis is largely preventable, or its progression can be slowed with certain lifestyle changes and medical interventions. Some steps that you can take to prevent or slow atherosclerosis are as follows:
n Adapt a healthy lifestyle n Choose healthy fats n Reduce refined carbs and sugar
n Engage in regular physical activities
n Maintain a healthy weight
n Quit smoking
n Limit alcohol consumption
n Control your blood pressure
n Maintain a healthy cholesterol level
n Reduce stress
n Regular checkups and screenings
Asian Hospital’s Atherosclerosis Screening Package Asian Hospital and Medical Center offers a comprehensive screening for atherosclerosis, using advanced diagnostic tools and personalized care to detect early signs of artery disease. Early detection is crucial to preventing heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular issues. Don’t wait for symptoms to appear—take control of your health today! Schedule your atherosclerosis screening at Asian Hospital and ensure the best care for your cardiovascular health. – Asian Hospital and Medical Center www.asianhospital.com
Makati Medical Center Celebrates Landmark ECMO Successes
MD. The critical care team—composed of Rod T. Castro, MD, Maria Claudia G. Alcancia, MD, and Jillian Mae Tabora-Lacdao, MD—provided expert post-procedure management. The patient was decannulated after four days on ECMO and discharged in stable and improved condition.
“It speaks volumes on how not only the doctors, but all the medical staff involved in her care, stepped up and did their best to keep her alive.” Dr. Cristi-Limson says in her statement. “The malasakit was evident, and everyone was just giving it their A-game. I don’t think anyone slept the first 36 hours of her stay.” These accomplishments underscore Makati Medical Center’s commitment to providing
and multidisciplinary
for patients requiring the most advanced life-saving treatments.
Philippine Heart Center eyes bringing back the ‘Golden Era’ of cardiology, cardiac surgery
TBy Rory Visco Contributor
HE Philippine Heart Center (PHC), or formerly the Philippine Heart Center for Asia, was established in February 14, 1975 and was envisioned then to be the first and the best in Asia in terms of cardiac care.
During the 1970s, the PHC was part of what was called the “Golden Era” of cardiology and cardiac surgery.
For its current Executive Medical Director, Dr. Avenilo “Jun” Aventura Jr., he said that they will do what they can to bring it back. “We will do our best to try and bring that back. Definitely, our nation really needs improved delivery of patient care not only in innovations but more importantly, in the number of patients that we can help when it comes to heart healthcare,” he said during a press conference to celebrate the PHC’s 50th anniversary, which carries the theme “Ginintuang Pamana: Limang Dekada ng Taos-Pusong Serbisyo.”
The PHC has a very rich history and reputable stature when it comes to heart healthcare. It is the first Asian public hospital recognized by Accreditation Canada International, which empowers and enables organizations to meet national and global standards with innovative programs to ensure quality of care. It is also the first in Asia dedicated to provide heart healthcare and was created through the efforts of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Marcos with the vision of having a sub-specialty center to care for heart-related issues in the entire region.
At present, Dr. Aventura said the PHC now has 570 rooms compared to the 150 rooms when the PHC started. It also has 10 operating rooms and six cardiac catheterization laboratories, where precise imaging equipment are used so that doctors can examine how well the heart is functioning.
Dr. Aventura pointed out that the hospital performs at least 5,000 cardiac procedures per year and admits around 18,000 patients annually. He reported that they have already started their regionalization efforts in order to increase access to cardiovascular care and cater to patients who cannot physically go to the PHC in QC.
The five regional government hospitals, who all have upgraded infrastructure and manpower resources, include the Mariano Marcos Memorial Medical Center in Batac, Ilocos Norte for Region 1, Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital in the Bicol Region for Region 5, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City for Region 7, Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro for Region 10, and Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City for Region 11.
“We cannot expect people from far-flung areas who look for specialized heart treatments to come to the PHC because of the distance so we went to them through our regional heart centers. And they can also expect the same brand of focused and compassionate care that the PHC is known for. On a regular basis, we also go to these regions to train the doctors or sometimes we bring them here
in Manila to teach and train them on how to perform cardiac procedures, all valuable knowledge they can bring back to their regions where they can do these procedures independently,”
Dr. Aventura explained.
The PHC is one of the centers in Asia that performs many cardiac procedures, especially those called isolated bypass procedures. On top of that, the hospital has projects that entail efforts to disseminate manpower and capacitate doctors in the regional heart centers.
“We continue to expand because of the demand for heart healthcare. Now in the pipeline is the continued expansion of our services, including manpower resources, in order to maintain our status as one of the best in the Asia-Pacific region and keep up with all the advancements in other countries like Japan, South Korea, and China. We always strive to be at par with these countries,” noted Dr. Christopher Cheng, Department Manager of Cardiovascular Surgery at the PHC.
Where is the PHC going?
EVERY day, the PHC deals with so many patients that need surgery, and it’s always a challenge so they plan to expand by developing capable cardiologists and surgeons. The PHC has been a major source of heart surgeons in the country, and the thrust is to go to the regions and develop a unified training program so that the regional specialists will be able to deliver the same quality services that the PHC provides right there in their area.
When asked by BusinessMirror about the use of advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the field of medicine, Dr. Aventura pointed out that AI is already present in almost every aspect of medicine and the PHC should be ready for that. Right now, the PHC is already performing minimally invasive cardiac surgeries although he said they still need more equipment like a robot that will perform more minimally invasive techniques, and funds are needed for that.
Dr. Myla Gloria Supe, Chief of Miscellaneous Services of the PHC and is also part of diagnostics, said they are already using AI. “Our machines are high-end already, and we’ve been doing AI for the past several years. Our education, training, and research efforts are very strong. We have been discussing about educating not just us but also our regional centers so we have simulation programs in terms of education through the use of specialized machines so we’re not just joining the AI bandwagon because we are already doing it. We may not yet be in the robotics stage because that’s still in the pipeline but when it comes to diagnostics, training and research, we have been doing AI already.”
And for the next five years, Dr. Juliet Balderas, Department Manager, Pediatric Cardiology and Overall Chairperson of the 50th PHC anniversary celebration 2025-2030, said “we are looking to enforce our mantra of Have One Heart, One Mind to drive strategic impact together, create better and healthier outcomes for Filipinos, and to be the best in the Southeast Asia and Asian regions.”
In the photo are, from left, Dr. Samuel Andin, head, Valvular Surgery; Dr. Antonio Pascual, Deputy Director for Medical Services; Dr. Avenilo L. Aventura, Jr. Executive Medical Director; Dr. Christopher Cheng, Department Manager, Cardiovascular Surgery and Dr. Juliet B. Balderas, Department Manager, Pediatric Cardiology and Overall Chairperson, 50th PHC Anniversary Celebration
Editor: Angel R. Calso
February 20, 2025
Israel’s West Bank crackdown triggers wave of displacement unseen in decades
FBy Isabel Debre The Associated Press
AR’A REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank—By car and on foot, through muddy olive groves and snipers’ sight lines, tens of thousands of Palestinians in recent weeks have fled Israeli military operations across the northern West Bank—the largest displacement in the occupied territory since the 1967 Mideast war.
After announcing a widespread crackdown against West Bank militants on January 21— just two days after its ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza—Israeli forces descended on the restive city of Jenin, as they have dozens of times since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
But unlike past operations, Israeli forces then pushed deeper and more forcefully into several other nearby towns, including Tulkarem, Far’a and Nur Shams, scattering families and stirring bitter memories of the 1948 war over Israel’s creation.
During that war, 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in what is now Israel. That Nakba, or “catastrophe,” as Palestinians call it, gave rise to the crowded West Bank towns now under assault and still known as refugee camps.
“This is our nakba,” said Abed Sabagh, 53, who bundled his seven children into the car on Feb. 9 as sound bombs blared in Nur Shams camp, where he was born to parents who fled the 1948 war.
Tactics from Gaza HUMANITARIAN officials say they haven’t seen such displacement in the West Bank since the 1967 Mideast war, when Israel captured the territory west of the Jordan River, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, displacing another 300,000 Palestinians.
“This is unprecedented. When you add to this the destruction of infrastructure, we’re reaching a point where the camps are becoming uninhabitable,” said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency. More than 40,100 Palestinians have fled their homes in the ongoing military operation, according to the agency.
Experts say that Israel’s tactics in the West Bank are becoming almost indistinguishable from those deployed in Gaza. Already, President Donald Trump’s plan for the mass transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza has emboldened Israel’s far-right to renew calls for annexation of the West Bank.
“The idea of ‘cleansing’ the land of Palestinians is more popular today than ever before,” said Yagil Levy, head of the Institute for the Study of CivilMilitary Relations at Britain’s Open University.
The Israeli army denies issuing evacuation orders in the West Bank. It said troops secure passages for those wanting to leave on their own accord.
Seven minutes to leave home OVER a dozen displaced Palestinians interviewed in the last week said they did not flee their homes out of fear, but on the orders of Israeli security forces. Associated Press journalists in the Nur Shams camp also heard Israeli soldiers shouting through mosque megaphones, ordering people to leave.
Some displaced families said soldiers were polite,
knocking on doors and assuring them they could return when the army left. Others said they were ruthless, ransacking rooms, waving rifles and hustling residents out of their homes despite pleas for more time.
“I was sobbing, asking them, ‘Why do you want me to leave my house?’ My baby is upstairs, just let me get my baby please,’” Ayat Abdullah, 30, recalled from a shelter for displaced people in the village of Kafr al-Labd. “They gave us seven minutes. I brought my children, thank God. Nothing else.”
Told to make their own way, Abdullah trudged 10 kilometers (six miles) on a path lighted only by the glow from her phone as rain turned the ground to mud. She said she clutched her children tight, braving possible snipers that had killed a 23-year-old pregnant woman just hours earlier on February 9. Her 5-year-old son, Nidal, interrupted her story, pursing his lips together to make a loud buzzing sound.
“You’re right, my love,” she replied. “That’s the sound the drones made when we left home.”
Hospitality, for now
IN the nearby town of Anabta, volunteers moved in and out of mosques and government buildings that have become makeshift shelters—delivering donated blankets, serving bitter coffee, distributing boiled eggs for breakfast and whipping up vats of rice and chicken for dinner.
Residents have opened their homes to families fleeing Nur Shams and Tulkarem.
“This is our duty in the current security situation,” said Thabet A’mar, the mayor of Anabta.
But he stressed that the town’s welcoming hand should not be mistaken for anything more.
“We insist that their displacement is temporary,” he said.
Staying put WHEN the invasion started on February 2, Israeli bulldozers ruptured underground pipes. Taps ran dry. Sewage gushed. Internet service was shut off. Schools closed. Food supplies dwindled. Explosions echoed.
Ahmad Sobuh could understand how his neighbors chose to flee the Far’a refugee camp during Israel’s 10-day incursion. But he scavenged rainwater to drink and hunkered down in his home, swearing to himself, his family and the Israeli soldiers knocking at his door that he would stay.
The soldiers advised against that, informing Sobuh’s family on Feb. 11 that, because a room had raised suspicion for containing security cameras and an object resembling a weapon, they would blow up the second floor.
The surveillance cameras, which Israeli soldiers argued
could be exploited by Palestinian militants, were not unusual in the volatile neighborhood, Sobuh said, as families can observe street battles and Israeli army operations from inside.
But the second claim sent him clambering upstairs, where he found his nephew’s water pipe, shaped like a rifle.
Hours later, the explosion left his nephew’s room naked to the wind and shattered most others. It was too dangerous to stay.
“They are doing everything they can to push us out,” he said of Israel’s military, which, according to the U.N. agency for refugees, has demolished hundreds of homes across the four camps this year.
The Israeli army has described its ongoing campaign as a crucial counterterrorism effort to prevent attacks like Oct. 7, and said steps were taken to mitigate the impact on civilians.
A chilling return
T HE first thing Doha Abu Dgehish noticed about her family’s five-story home 10 days after Israeli troops forced them to leave, she said, was the smell.
Venturing inside as Israeli troops withdrew from Far’a camp, she found rotten food and toilets piled with excrement. Pet parakeets had vanished from their cages. Pages of the Quran had been defaced with graphic drawings. Israeli forces had apparently used explosives to blow every door off its hinges, even though none had been locked.
Rama, her 11-year-old daughter with Down syndrome, screamed upon finding her doll’s skirt torn and its face covered with more graphic drawings.
AP journalists visited the Abu Dgehish home on Feb. 12, hours after their return.
Nearly two dozen Palestinians interviewed across the four West Bank refugee camps this month described army units taking over civilian homes to use as a dormitories, storerooms or lookout points. The Abu Dgehish family accused Israeli soldiers of vandalizing their home, as did multiple families in Far’a.
The Israeli army blamed militants for embedding themselves in civilian infrastructure. Soldiers may be “required to operate from civilian homes for varying periods,” it said, adding that the destruction of civilian property was a violation of the military’s rules and does not conform to its values.
It said “any exceptional incidents that raise concerns regarding a deviation from these orders” are “thoroughly addressed,” without elaborating. For Abu Dgehish, the mess was emblematic of the emotional whiplash of return. No one knows when they’ll have to flee again.
“It’s like they want us to feel that we’re never safe,” she said. “That we have no control.”
RESIDENTS of the West Bank refugee camp of Nur Shams, near Tulkarem, evacuate their homes as the Israeli military continues its operation in the area on Tuesday, February 11, 2025. AP/MAJDI MOHAMMED, FILE
Hamas to free 6 living hostages and hand over 4 bodies, accelerating Gaza releases
By Samy Magdy & Natalie Melzer The Associated Press
CAIRO—A top Hamas official says the militant group will free six living Israeli hostages on Saturday and return the bodies of four others on Thursday, a surprise acceleration in releases apparently in trade for Israel’s allowing mobile homes and construction equipment into the devastated Gaza Strip.
The six are the last living hostages set to be freed during the ceasefire’s first phase in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The announcement by Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, in prerecorded remarks released Tuesday, said the dead would include the “Bibas family”—two young boys and their mother who for many Israelis have come to symbolize the plight of those taken captive. Israel has not confirmed their deaths, and the prime minister’s office urged the public not to distribute “photos, names and rumors” after the announcement by Hamas.
“In the past few hours, we have been in turmoil,” surviving members of the Bibas family said in a statement released Tuesday by a group representing the relatives of hostages. “Until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over.”
Israel has long expressed grave concern about Shiri Bibas and her sons, Kfir and Ariel, who Hamas claimed had been killed in an Israeli airstrike early in the war. Husband and father Yarden Bibas was kidnapped separately and released this month.
Kfir, who was 9 months old at the time, was the youngest hostage taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 in Israel and ignited the war. A video of the abduction showed Shiri swaddling her redheaded boys in a blanket and being whisked away by armed men.
The six living hostages slated for release are Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham Al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Tuesday. Cohen, 27, Shem Tov, 22, and Wenkert, 23, were abducted from a music festival.
Shoham was taken from the hardhit community of Kibbutz Beeri. Al-Sayed, 36, and Mengistu, 39, have both been held since crossing into Gaza years before the October 7 attack.
The release of all six this week would mark an acceleration of the ceasefire deal, which called for Hamas to release three living hostages Saturday, with three more to be freed a week later. When the deal was made, it called only for the bodies of the dead to be returned by the end of the first phase.
Israel is expected to continue releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including many serving life sentences for deadly attacks, in exchange for the hostages. Others were detained without charge. During the first phase, Israel is also due to release all women and children seized from Gaza since the war began.
The warring sides have yet to negotiate the second and more difficult phase, in which Hamas would release dozens more hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.
Equipment allowed in AN Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to allow long-requested mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza as part of efforts to accelerate the hostages’ release.
Hamas last week threatened to hold up releases, citing the refusal to allow in mobile homes and heavy equipment among other alleged violations of the truce.
Israel began allowing entry of
rubble-removing equipment Tuesday, according to an Associated Press journalist in southern Gaza and Egypt’s state-run media. The AP journalist saw two bulldozers clearing rubble in an area near the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing. An Egyptian driver told AP that dozens of bulldozers and tractors were at another crossing, awaiting Israeli permission to enter.
Rebuilding Gaza could cost $53.2 billion, according to a report released Tuesday by the World Bank, the U.N. and the European Union. The report identified almost $30 billion in damage from the war, nearly half reflecting destruction of homes.
Palestinians want to stay in their homeland
THE ceasefire that began in midJanuary paused fighting that has
Toronto plane crash: Investigators probe weather, human error, and malfunction
By John Wawrow & Michael Casey The Associated Press
TORONTO—Investigators will consider the weather conditions, as well as the possibility of human error or an aircraft malfunction as they try to determine why a Delta Air Lines jet burst into flames and flipped upside down as it tried to land in Toronto, aviation experts said Tuesday.
Video from the scene Monday afternoon shows the plane landing so hard that its right wing is sheared off. It bursts into flames before sliding down the runway and flipping over.
Miraculously, all 80 people on board the flight from Minneapolis to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport survived.
“It appears from the video that the plane landed so hard that the right main gear collapsed. The tail and right wing began skidding causing the plane to roll over to the right,” Ella Atkins, the head of Virginia Tech’s aerospace and ocean engineering department and a pilot.
“During the rollover, the right wing and tail sheared off, and a fire ignited, likely due to skidding and fuel leakage at least from a right wing tank.”
All but two of the 21 people injured on the flight have been released from hospitals, the airport CEO said Tuesday.
“How grateful we are there was no loss of life or life threatening injuries,” Deborah Flint, CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said during a news conference. “The crew heroically led passengers to safety.”
Crash investigation
COMMUNICATIONS between the tower and pilot were normal on approach and it’s not clear what went wrong when the plane—a Mitsubishi CRJ-900 made by the Canadian
company Bombardier—touched down.
Aviation experts said investigators will consider conditions on the ground, the pilot’s actions before landing, and potential problems with the landing gear. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is leading the investigation with support from the US National Transportation Safety Board.
Juan Browne, a commercial pilot who discusses aviation incidents on his popular YouTube channel, said preliminary data suggests the speed and rate of descent, crosswinds and the weather were “within limits.”
But Browne raised concerns about the pilots’ actions before landing.
“It appears that the aircraft simply did not flare at all,” Browne said. Flaring slows the aircraft’s rate of descent. “They just drove it into the runway.”
At the time of the crash, Pearson was experiencing blowing snow and winds of 32 mph (51 kph) gusting to 40 mph (65 kph), according to the Meteorological Service of Canada. The temperature was about 16.5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.6 degrees Celsius). Browne said blowing snow reduces visibility.
Michael McCormick, an assistant
professor and program coordinator for air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, said investigators would look closely at the landing gear to make sure it was properly locked in place, and would consider staffing on the ground and in the aircraft.
“They will look at the number of people working both on the aircraft and the control towers. And they will look at their schedules,” McCormick said. “Are they well rested? Are they well-staffed?”
But a Canadian investigator refused to comment on preliminary theories.
“At this point, it’s far too early to say what the cause of this accident might be,”
TSB Senior Investigator Ken Webster said in a video statement Tuesday, as he stood near the remains of the aircraft.
He said investigators will examine the wreckage and runway, and have removed the cockpit voice and flight data recorders and sent them to the lab for analysis.
‘Everything just kind of went sideways’
Peter Carlson, who was traveling to Toronto for a paramedics conference, said the landing was “very forceful.”
“All the sudden everything just kind of went sideways and the next thing I know,
it’s kind of a blink and I’m upside down still strapped in,” he told CBC News.
That everyone survived the Delta crash is a testament to the safety improvements made by airlines and aircraft manufacturers, including wings that are designed to come off to reduce explosions, well-trained flight crews and seats built to withstand impacts of up to 16 times the force of gravity.
“That seat is your single best resource in order to keep you protected,” McCormick said. “There’s a reason why the flight attendants walk around the aircraft prior to (landing) ... to make sure everybody has their seat belts fastened.”
But is it safe to fly?
THE crash was the fourth major aviation accident in North America in recent weeks. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on January 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on January 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground. And on Feb. 6, 10 people were killed in a plane crash in Alaska.
Nevertheless, according to Jeff Guzzetti, an airline safety consultant and a former FAA and NTSB investigator, air travel is “extremely safe.”
“The odds of getting injured or killed in a commercial airline accident is far less than driving in your car,” Guzzetti said.
Still, he worries about layoffs at the Federal Aviation Administration under the Trump administration. “I am concerned that the proposed cuts and changes to the FAA may increase the risk of further accidents,” he said.
The Delta flight was cleared to land at about 2:10 p.m. Audio recordings show the
killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants.
But Israel’s government still says it wants to eliminate Hamas as a military and governing force in Gaza. And US President Donald Trump ‘s proposal to permanently remove Gaza’s 2 million residents and redevelop the territory, though rejected by the Arab world and the Palestinians, has stirred even more uncertainty. Egypt is working on a counterplan to rebuild without moving Palestinians.
Mohammad Bahjat, also from Jabaliya, said Trump’s proposal is “unacceptable” and that he and his family would resist being expelled. Israel has embraced the plan, and it and the Trump administration have emphasized they share the same goals in the war. Israelis were horrified by the sight of three emaciated hostages in an earlier release this month, and revelations about hostages being held alone, barefoot or in chains have increased the pressure on Netanyahu’s government to push ahead with the ceasefire’s next phase. A number of Palestinians released from Israeli prisons have shown emaciation, and some have reported abuses including beatings.
Fears fighting will resume THE deal’s first phase calls for Hamas to gradually release 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are believed to be dead. So far, 19 living Israeli hostages have been released in the current phase, in addition to five Thai farmworkers who were abducted. If this week’s releases go as planned, four bodies will remain and are set to be returned next week.
Hamas-led militants would still hold some 60 captives, around half believed to be dead. The ceasefire’s current phase runs until the beginning of March, and there are fears that fighting will resume. Talks on the second phase were to start early this month.
Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel.
“We will not leave our country, no matter what happens,” Muhammad Shaaban, a resident of Jabaliya in northern Gaza, told the AP. The area was hit by some of the fiercest bombardment of the war and most of its buildings and infrastructure was destroyed or damaged.
Pope Francis has pneumonia in both lungs but remains in good spirits, Vatican says
By Nicole Winfield The Associated Press
ROME—Pope Francis has developed pneumonia in both lungs, the Vatican said Tuesday, after new tests showed a further complication in the condition of the 88-year-old pontiff that raised concerns about his ability to fight off the infection.
The Vatican said Francis’ respiratory infection also involves asthmatic bronchitis, which requires the use of cortisone antibiotic treatment. “Laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture,” the Vatican said.
Nevertheless, the pope, who had the upper lobe of his right lung removed as a young man, is in good spirits and is grateful for the prayers for his recovery, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a late update.
Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital in a “fair” condition on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. On Monday, medical personnel determined that he was suffering from a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection, meaning a mix of viruses, bacteria and possibly other organisms had colonized in his respiratory tract.
“The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon... demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy,” Bruni said.
Bronchitis can lead to pneumonia, which is a deeper and far more serious infection of the lungs’ air sacs. Pneumonia can develop in part of one lung or an entire lung or both lungs. It tends to be more serious when both lungs are affected because there isn’t healthy lung tissue to compensate.
Treatment varies by severity but can
include providing oxygen through a nasal tube or mask, intravenous fluids – and treatment of the underlying cause of the infection. To date Francis is not known to be using supplemental oxygen, and he has eaten breakfast every day, read the newspapers and done some work from his hospital room.
The Vatican hasn’t provided any information about how Francis is responding to any of the drugs he has been given other than to say he isn’t running a fever.
Dr. Carmelo D’Asero, an infectious disease and geriatric disease expert in Rome, said Francis’ lack of a fever was not necessarily a positive thing, given the seriousness of his infection.
“A high fever is a sign of an immune response to a pathogen,” he said. “Having a low fever and having a serious bronchial infection...is a sign of a decreased immune response and that makes us worry a little bit more, let’s say. Maybe if he had a fever, it would have been better.”
The Vatican has given no indication of how long the pope might remain hospitalized, only saying that the treatment of such a “complex clinical picture,” which has already required several changes in his drug regimen, would require an “adequate” stay.
Despite the less than positive news about Francis’ condition, a rainbow appeared over the Gemelli hospital on Tuesday afternoon and Francis received getwell drawings and cards from children being treated in the hospital’s oncology ward. In a sign that other Vatican business was proceeding as usual Tuesday, the Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, continued his delicate visit to Burkina Faso and another top Vatican cardinal, Cardinal Michael See “Pope,” A15
SCORES of trucks carrying mobile homes line up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing in preparation for entering Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing, Egypt, Tuesday, February 18, 2025. AP/MAYAR MOKHTAR
www.businessmirror.com.ph
The World
Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy; but experts warn they come at a price
By Aniruddha Ghosal & Vincent Thian The Associated Press
JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia—Win-
son Lau has always had contingency plans. But he wasn’t prepared for data centers.
Lau relies on water and electricity to operate his thriving export business in Malaysia’s Johor province, where he raises a kaleidoscope of tropical fish in rows of aquariums, including albino fish with red spots that can fetch up to $10,000 from collectors. His contingency plans in the event of an outage involve an intricate system of purifying wastewater through friendly bacteria and an alarm system to quickly switch to backup power.
But these measures can’t compete with the gigantic, power-guzzling and thirsty data centers being built in Johor. The province is on track to have at least 1.6 gigawatts of data centers at any given moment from nearly nothing in 2019, making it the fastest-growing data center market in Southeast Asia, according to a report published in April.
Data centers are large, windowless buildings filled with racks of computers that need lots of electricity. To prevent overheating, they rely on energy-intensive air conditioning systems using pumped water. Increasingly used by tech companies for running artificial intelligence systems, the power demand from future facilities in Malaysia may rise to over 5 gigawatts by 2035, according to researchers at Malaysia’s Kenanga Investment Bank. This is more than half of Malaysia’s entire renewable capacity in 2023.
Over 95% of the energy available to Malaysia in 2022 was from fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency. The country is now fifth-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas globally. And with planned renewable projects, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in September that the country was “confident of a surplus of energy” to fuel
large projects and keep exporting.
But Lau doesn’t fancy the chances of his homegrown business competing against the foreign-funded behemoths for energy. Even without data centers, Malaysia is susceptible to power interruptions because of storms, including one that lasted 30 minutes last year and killed 300,000 fish, costing Lau over $1 million. He worries that data centers would result in longer outages.
To survive, he is moving to Thailand and already scouting potential locations for a new fish farm.
“Big data center is coming and there is shortage of power,” he said. “It’ll be crazy.”
Costs versus benefits
MALAYSIA is betting that potential economic growth from data centers justifies the risk. Once touted as an Asian tiger on the cusp of becoming rich, its industries shrunk in the late 1990s after the Asian financial crisis. It has since languished in the middle-income trap. Data centers, the government hopes, will modernize its economy and indirectly create thousands of high-paying jobs.
But experts worry that Malaysia, and others like Vietnam, Indonesia and India vying for billion-dollar investments from tech giants, may be overstating data centers’ transformative capabilities that also come at a price: Data centers gobble up land, water and electricity while creating far fewer jobs than they promise. Most data centers provide 30 to 50 permanent jobs while the larger ones create 200 jobs at most, according to a report by the American nonprofit Good Jobs First.
Add to this the rapid increase in power and water use and some experts like Sofia Scasserra, who researches digital economies at the Amsterdam-based think tank Transnational Institute, said that tech companies exploiting resources in poorer countries while extracting data from their populations to get rich is akin to “digital colonialism.” She compared data extraction to
silver mining in Bolivia, which enriched colonial Spain but left nothing behind for Latin America.
“They are extracting data in the same way. Data doesn’t even leave (behind) taxes,” she said.
Indeed, only a small portion of Malaysia’s data center capacity is actually for Malaysian users. Through a network of submarine cables that fans out into the world, they service East Asia, China and Europe. And the data centers themselves are run by foreign companies like America’s Equinix and Microsoft as well as Chinese competitor GDS Holdings that works with tech giants like Alibaba.
These data centers are also on the front lines of AI competition between the US and China. Shortly before he left office, US President Joe Biden’s administration proposed new rules that would limit exports of advanced AI chips made by US companies like Nvidia, part of a strategy to deprive China and other US adversaries from gaining access to AI technology through data centers in places likes Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Although it’s unclear if the Trump administration will retain the policy, which hasn’t yet taken effect, GDS Holdings saw its stock drop more than 18% on the day of the announcement.
Filling the void FOR now, artificial intelligence is driving the hunger for even more data centers, with tech companies seeking out bigger—and cheaper— sites worldwide as a part of a “global strategy,” said Rangu Salgame, chairman and CEO of Singapore’s Princeton Digital Group, which is building a 170-megawatt site in Johor. Data centers larger than 40-megawatt typically need land the size of seven football fields—about enough power for 36,000 American homes, according to data center service provider Stream Data Centers.
That’s costly to build in rich nations like the US, which over time has built more data centers than
any other country but where land comes at a high price. Enter Malaysia, with its inexpensive land, excess power capacity and tax incentives. The country was the fastest growing data center market in Asia Pacific in the first half of 2024, according to global real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield. This makes Malaysia the eighth-largest data center market in terms of operations and the fifthlargest behind China, India, Japan and Australia when accounting for projects already in the pipeline.
Globally Malaysia ranks 14th in terms of operational capacity—still smaller than Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin—but it is on track to be among the top 10 markets in five to seven years, according to Pritesh Swamy, who heads research on data centers in Asia for the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
“We are talking about a region that really grew at a pace that nowhere in the world has seen,” Salgame said.
Next door to Malaysia is Singapore, which paused the construction of new data centers in 2019. The moratorium was over concerns that the energy-guzzling infrastructure was straining the tiny country’s limited resources. In 2019, data centers consumed 7% of the total electricity in the citystate that imports both power and water while aiming to reach netzero emissions by 2050. They have been trying to build data centers sustainably since 2022, when the moratorium ended.
In the meantime, Malaysia has stepped in to fill the void, attracting investments of over $31 billion—three times the investments for 2023—in the first 10 months of 2024, according to research by real estate firm Knight Frank. Johor already has 22 mostly foreign data centers spanning over 21 hectares, according to the research firm Baxtel. That’s the equivalent of nearly 40 football fields, although not all of the data centers are operational.
Concerns over power and water shortages
THE data centers that are running look anonymous from the outside. But they can be identified by the tell-tale signs of barbed wire fences, CCTV cameras and patrolling security guards. Elsewhere, a thicket of cranes and workers operating construction machinery is transforming the landscape in the sleepy province.
Salgame said that he hoped data centers could accelerate clean energy growth and experts like Putra Adhiguna of the Jakarta-based think tank Energy Shift Institute agreed that this could happen, but warned that the sheer volume of unforeseen, future demand complicates the transition.
“Add data centers on top of that, it just becomes much more challenging,” he said.
Tropical Malaysia is warmer than the countries that were initially preferred by data centers, including Ireland, and would require more water and power for cooling, said Alex de Vries, the founder of Digiconomist, a research company studying the unintended consequences of digital trends. He said that these companies are moving to new countries after their promises of economic growth were found to be “empty.” And while new solar or wind farms can be built faster than other forms of energy, data centers need a lot of electricity from the get-go.
“These big tech companies are trying to distract you from the really simple math,” he said.
Malaysia acknowledges that the energy demand from data centers is “substantial” but believes that Johor’s rise as a “data center powerhouse” will make it a “key player in Southeast Asia’s digital ecosystem,” said Malaysian Investment, Trade and Industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz in an email. He added that Malaysia was writing efficiency guidelines for data centers and has a policy to let them buy clean energy directly from producers. But concerns are rising among residents about potential water shortages in the future—echoing the concerns of other developing countries like Chile. Malaysia, like much of Southeast Asia, is at risk of extreme weather including drought, according to a 2022 UN climate change report. Francis Hutchinson, an analyst at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said that Johor has faced recent disruptions and new stressors, like a growing population and water parks to boost tourism, could exacerbate the crisis.
“Water, more than power, is a potential issue,” he said.
AP writer Eileen Ng contributed from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Matt O’Brien in Providence, Rhode Island contributed to this report.
Plane crash.
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control tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow “bump” on approach.
NORTH KOREAN soldiers are our citizens under the Constitution and respecting individuals’ free will is in line with the international law and customs,” South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement. BLOOMBERG
South Korea is willing to accept North Korean POWs from Ukraine
By Soo-Hyang Choi
SOUTH KOREA said it’s willing to accept any North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine who express a desire to defect to the South, an idea that emerges amid reports of thousands of North Korean soldiers sustaining casualties in support of Russian troops.
“North Korean soldiers are our citizens under the Constitution and respecting individuals’ free will is in line with the international law and customs,” South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Ukraine earlier said it captured two North Koreans fighting for Russia in the Kursk region and that it was ready to return the captured soldiers if Pyongyang can facilitate an exchange for Ukrainian soldiers held in Russia. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier said about 4,000 North Korean soldiers were killed or injured in the Kursk region, a figure that hasn’t been verified.
South Korea’s comments came after a captured soldier said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo newspaper that he wants to seek asylum in South Korea. The newspaper quoted an unidentified Ukrainian official saying that whether that might be possible would depend on the views of the South Korean government, without elaborating further.
South Korea said it has delivered its intent to its Ukrainian counterparts and that they would continue necessary consultations. “They should not be sent against their will to a place where there’s a threat of persecution,” the ministry added.
Top officials from the US and Russia met earlier this week for a first round of talks over the war in Ukraine and raised the possibility of broader cooperation, signaling President Donald Trump’s desire to reboot a battered relationship. Bloomberg News
“It was windy, but the airplanes are designed and certified to handle that,” said John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida. “The pilots are trained and experienced to handle that.”
Carlson said when he took off his seat belt he crashed onto the ceiling, which had become the floor. He smelled gas, saw
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Czerny, prepared to leave Wednesday for a five-day visit to Lebanon.
But other business had to be canceled. There will be no weekly general audience Wednesday, and it’s not clear if Francis will miss his Sunday noon blessing for a second week in a row. His hospitalization has also forced the cancellation of some events surrounding the Vatican Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century ceremony in which millions of pilgrims flock to Rome.
This Holy Year weekend was dedicated to deacons, the ministry that is a necessary step for men who are preparing to become priests. Francis had an unrelated audience Saturday and was supposed to have ordained the deacons during a Mass on Sunday. The Vatican on Tuesday announced his audience was canceled and that the archbishop who is organizing the Jubilee would celebrate the Mass in the pope’s place.
aviation fuel cascading down the cabin windows and knew they all had to get out.
Carlson and another man assisted a mother and her son out of the plane, then Carlson dropped onto the snowy tarmac.
“All of us just wanted to be out of the aircraft,” he said.
Casey reported from Boston. Associated Press journalists Michael Sisak, Wyatte Grantham-Philips and Anne D’Innocenzio in New York; Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota; Alex Veiga in Los Angeles; Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia; and Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis, contributed.
It’s a similar arrangement that the Vatican announced last weekend when artists in town had to settle for a scrapped papal audience and a cardinal presiding over their special Mass.
The next Jubilee events on the calendar that would typically involve the pope are the March 8-9 weekend dedicated to volunteers.
Francis had part of one lung removed after a pulmonary infection as a young man and is prone to bouts of bronchitis in winter. He has admitted in the past that he is a non-compliant patient, and even his close Vatican aides have said he pushed himself too far even once his bronchitis was diagnosed.
He refused to let up on his busy schedule and ignored medical advice to stay indoors during Rome’s chilly winter, insisting on sitting through an outdoor Jubilee Mass for the armed forces on February 9 even though he was having trouble breathing.
Visual journalist Paolo Santalucia contributed.
Arctic air grips central US, plummeting temperatures to record lows and triggering widespread disruptions
By Jack Dura The Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D.—More than 95 million people are facing gripping cold Tuesday as a polar vortex sends temperatures plunging to record levels, closing schools, bursting pipes and forcing communities to set up more temporary shelters for the homeless.
“Some of the coldest temperatures of the entire winter season right now across the central United States,” said Andrew Orrison, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The harsh cold descended on the nation’s midsection Monday on the heels of weekend storms that pummeled the Eastern US killing at least 17 people. Some areas in the Midwest have wind chills as cold as -50 to -60 degrees, Orrison said.
It is so dangerous that hundreds of public school districts canceled classes or switched to online learning Tuesday in Oklahoma, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Kansas and Missouri. And in Kansas City, Kansas, dozens of tents were set up in one building to house the homeless.
The biggest batch of record-setting cold temperatures are likely to hit early Thursday and Friday, Orrison said. But North Dakota already felt more like the North Pole on Tuesday as Bismarck hit minus 39, breaking the record of minus 37 (minus 38.3 C) set in 1910 for the same date.
Stephanie Hatzenbuhler’s family has been contending with the cold in many ways on their farm and ranch west of Mandan, North Dakota, from their calving operation, to vehicles and equipment starting, to their coal-fired furnace keeping up.
“There’s always something new to learn and something new to experience. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve done this, so you have to adapt,” said Hatzenbuhler, who called the cold spell “the Siberian experience.”
Conditions were rapidly deteriorating across northeast, east and central Oklahoma as residents in these parts of the state were dealing with freezing rain, ice and snow, according to the National Weather Service.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said US Highway 75 between Tulsa and Okmulgee was shut down in both directions because of the amount of vehicles and semi-tractor trailers that were stuck on the road due to ice.
“Our troopers are working to get salt and sand trucks to the area to treat the roads but it is
extremely slick in that area,” the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said in post on X.
In upstate New York, a foot or more of lake-effect snow was expected to fall Tuesday in some areas east of Lake Ontario. The blowing snow created white-out conditions and prompted travel advisories.
Snowfall across the US measured as much as 3 feet (0.91 meters) to 6.5 feet (1.98 meter) in southeastern Wyoming’s Snowy Range, to several inches from South Dakota to Missouri.
Kentucky braces for winter storm IN flood-battered Kentucky, the state was bracing for a winter storm that could dump a halffoot or more of snow in some parts of the state, starting Wednesday.
“This is a snowstorm in the middle of a natural disaster,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference Tuesday in Frankfort, the capital city.
The weather-related death toll in Kentucky rose to 14, the governor said, with the two latest fatalities in Jefferson County, which includes Louisville. The two, an adult male and an adult female, were apparently homeless and both appeared to die from hypothermia, he said.
“So that should tell all of us that the weather conditions are as dangerous as that water is,” Beshear said.
Part of Virginia prepares for a foot of snow
OFFICIALS in Virginia prepared for up to a foot of snow in the state’s southern region, less than a week after being pummeled with snow, freezing rain and floodwaters.
“If you are not where you want
to be by midnight tonight, please don’t go,” Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a news conference on Tuesday.
Youngkin said the National Guard will be deployed across the state, and officials have also stockpiled water and meals for those in need. Local governments will also keep the doors of their homeless shelters open.
North Carolina governor declares a state of emergency IN North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as the National Weather Service forecast the approaching storm could bring up to 9 inches (22.9 centimeters) in far northeastern counties near the Atlantic coast.
The most populated areas of the state, including Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro, could see from 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 centimeters) of snow, according to the weather service. Mountain areas still recovering from Hurricane Helene in the fall are largely expected to receive an inch or two.
Stein and state Emergency Management Director Will Ray
also warned residents—particularly in east-central counties— about freezing rain and ice accumulation that could threaten power outages and make roads treacherous.
“At this time our greatest concerns are potential power outages and road safety,” Stein said at a media briefing. Ray said more than 180 North Carolina National Guard members have been activated to help any affected communities. Over 1,300 state Transportation Department employees and contractors were preparing for the storm in part by pretreating roads.
In Tennessee, Obion County Mayor Steve Carr said on social media Monday evening that there are currently no reports of missing people or deaths after a levee failed Saturday, flooding the small community of Rives, home to around 300 people in the western part of the state.
After assessing the destruction with the sheriff, the mayor said it is “unprecedented and has profoundly impacted the community.” Rives remains under a state of emergency and more than 75 percentof the city has had power
restored, the mayor said.
West Virginia had 3 stormrelated deaths IN S outhern West Virginia, officials announced three flood-related deaths in McDowell County, where multiple roads were destroyed, public water systems were severed, schools remain closed and thousands were still without power Tuesday.
The county has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation. More than 90 people have been helped from their southwest Detroit homes after a nearly century-old water main burst Monday, leaving streets and basements flooded during below-freezing temperatures. The flood waters receded later Monday morning after the break was found and the water flow stopped, according to the Great Lakes Water Authority. What caused the break has not yet been determined. Nearly 400 homes are in the emergency flood zone, Mayor Mike Duggan told reporters Tuesday. Scores of snow-covered vehicles were stuck in water up to their wheel wells or engine hoods. Fire and dive team crews used inflatable boats to help some people from homes. A few people were driven out in the bucket of a frontend loader.
The Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, Julie Walker in New York, Corey Williams in Detroit, Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky, Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Virginia, Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia, Juan Lozano in Houston, and Michael Hill in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.
A deeper look at talks between US and Russian officials as Trump suggests Ukraine is to blame
By Matthew Lee & Vladimir Isachenkov
RThe Associated Press
IYADH, Saudi Arabia—Top US and Russian officials had their most extensive high-level engagement since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine almost three years ago, meeting for four hours Tuesday before President Donald Trump suggested that Kyiv was to blame for the conflict.
Trump showed little patience for Ukraine’s objections to being excluded from the talks in Saudi Arabia. He said repeatedly that Ukraine’s leaders never should have allowed the conflict to begin, indicating Kyiv should have been willing to make concessions to Russia before it sent troops into Ukraine in 2022.
“Today I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you been there for three years. You should have ended it three years” ago, Trump told reporters at his Florida residence. “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”
Such comments and Trump’s goal of mending ties with Moscow may come at a cost to the transatlantic alliance of the US and Europe and significantly damage Washington’s standing with Ukraine as well as with other nations counting on US leadership in NATO and elsewhere for their security and protection.
During former President Joe Biden’s administration, the US and
Europe focused on isolating Russia and defending the post-World War II international order.
In Riyadh, the delegations led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to set up teams to look into restoring staffing at the US and Russian embassies in Moscow and Washington that have been decimated by a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions.
The effort is aimed at using those channels to support Ukraine peace negotiations and to explore ways to restart economic and global cooperation. A Russian official pointed to possible joint energy ventures.
Here’s a look at the meeting and what comes next:
Reestablishing tattered diplomatic relations
FIRST on both countries’ list of accomplishments was an agreement to end what has been years of dwindling diplomatic relations that hit a post-Cold War low point after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
The meeting, which came just a week after Trump spoke to Putin by phone, was the first substantive face-to-face discussion between the nations’ top diplomats since former Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Lavrov in Geneva in January 2022 in an unsuccessful bid to prevent the Ukraine conflict.
Lavrov said after Tuesday’s
talks that the sides agreed to fasttrack the appointment of new ambassadors, adding that senior diplomats from the two countries will meet shortly to discuss specifics related to “lifting artificial barriers to the work of the US and Russian embassies and other missions.”
In reality, the decimation of the US and Russian embassies’ personnel began well before Russian troops rolled into Ukraine in 2022, starting after 2014 Russia’s annexation of Crimea. That was seen as illegal by most of the world during the Obama administration, which ordered several Russian offices in the US to close.
It picked up steam after the 2018 poisoning in Britain of an exiled Russian spy and his daughter, which British authorities blamed on Russia, and which resulted in mass expulsions of diplomats and the closure of numerous consulates in both countries and Europe.
Asked by The Associated Press if the US now considered those cases closed, Rubio declined to say but said it would be impossible to get a Ukraine peace agreement without diplomatic engagement.
“I’m not going to negotiate or talk through every element of the disruptions that exist or have existed in our diplomatic relations, on the mechanics of it,” he said.
Bringing an end to the conflict cannot happen “unless we have at least some normalcy in the way our diplomatic missions operate in
Moscow and in Washington, D.C.”
Negotiating an end to the conflict in Ukraine
The two sides agreed to set up high-level working groups to begin exploring a negotiated end to the conflict. It was not immediately clear when these teams would first meet, but both said it would be soon.
As to concessions that may need to be made by all sides, Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, who participated in the talks Tuesday, said the issue of territory and security guarantees would be among the subjects discussed.
Rubio said a high-level team, including experts who know technical details, will begin to engage with the Russian side on “parameters of what an end to this conflict would look like.”
On the key issue of a prospective peacekeeping mission to monitor a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, the top Russian diplomat said Moscow would not accept any troops from NATO members, repeating its assertion that Ukraine’s bid to join the Western military alliance poses a major security issue.
“We explained that the deployment of troops from the countries that are NATO members, even if they are deployed under the EU or national flags, will not change anything and will certainly be unacceptable for us,” Lavrov said.
Exclusion of Ukraine and Europe from the talks NEITHER Ukraine nor European
nations were invited to Tuesday’s talks in Riyadh, but US officials said there is no intention to exclude them from peace negotiations should they begin in earnest.
“No one is being sidelined here,” Rubio said. “Obviously, there’s going to be engagement and consultation with Ukraine, with our partners in Europe and others. But ultimately, the Russian side will be indispensable to this effort.”
Waltz agreed: “If you’re going to bring both sides together, you have to talk to both sides.
... We are absolutely talking to both sides.”
He noted that Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately after speaking with Putin last week and that US Vice President JD Vance and Rubio met Friday with Zelenskyy in Germany.
Still, Zelenskyy was clearly peeved at being omitted from the meeting, postponing plans to visit Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to avoid any linkage of his trip with Tuesday’s US-Russia talks.
And that was before Trump’s comments suggesting Kyiv was at fault in starting the fighting.
“This whole negotiation from the start seems very tilted in Russia’s favor. And it’s even a question whether it should be termed a negotiation or in some sense, a series of American capitulations,” said Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Eurasia and Russia at the International Institute for Strategic
Studies in London and a former British ambassador to Belarus.
Possible lifting of US sanctions against Russia
ASKED whether the US could lift sanctions against Moscow imposed during the Biden presidency, Rubio noted that “to bring an end to any conflict, there has to be concessions made by all sides” and “we’re not going to predetermine what those are.”
Asked if the US could officially remove Lavrov from its sanctions list, Rubio said that “we’re just not at that level of conversation yet.”
Potential US-Russian cooperation
KIRILL DMITRIEV, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund who joined the Russian delegation in Riyadh, told reporters that Russia and the US should develop joint energy ventures.
“We need joint projects, including in the Arctic and other regions,” he said. Should the parties succeed in negotiating an end to the Ukraine conflict, Rubio said, it could open “incredible opportunities” to partner with the Russians “on issues that hopefully will be good for the world and also improve our relations in the long term.” He did not say what those would entail.
Isachenkov
reported from Moscow. Associated Press Writer Emma Burrows in London and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.
Brazil’s former President Bolsonaro charged over alleged coup that included a plan to poison Lula
By Eléonore Hughes & Mauricio Savarese The Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO—Brazil’s prosecutor-general on Tuesday formally charged former President Jair Bolsonaro with attempting a coup to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat, in a plot that included a plan to poison his successor and current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and kill a Supreme Court judge.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet alleges that Bolsonaro and 33 others participated in a plan to remain in power. The alleged plot, he wrote, included a plan to poison Lula and shoot dead Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a foe of the former president.
“The members of the criminal organization structured a plan at the presidential palace to attack institutions, aiming to bring down the system of the powers and the democratic order, which received the sinister name of ‘Green and
Yellow Dagger,’” Gonet wrote in a 272-page indictment. “The plan was conceived and taken to the knowledge of the president, and he agreed to it.” Bolsonaro is often seen in Brazil’s yellow-and-green national soccer jersey and the colors have become associated with his political movement.
Bolsonaro’s defense team said it met the accusations with “dismay and indignation,” adding in a statement that the former “President has never agreed to any movement aimed at deconstruct -
ing the democratic rule of law or the institutions that underpin it.”
Bolsonaro’s son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who is a senator, said on the social platform X that the indictment was “empty” and there was no evidence of wrongdoing. He accused the Prosecutor-General’s Office of serving “the nefarious interests of Lula.”
In November, Brazil’s Federal Police filed a 884-page report with Gonet detailing the scheme. They allege a systematic effort to sow distrust in the electoral system, drafting a decree to provide legal cover for the plot, pressuring top military brass to go along with the plan and inciting a riot in the capital.
In the indictment, Gonet described the alleged crimes as part of a chain of events articulated with an overarching objective of stopping Bolsonaro from leaving office, “contrary to the result of the popular will at the polls.”
The Supreme Court will analyze the charges and, if accepted, Bolsonaro will stand trial.
The far-right leader denies wrongdoing. “I have no concerns about the accusations, zero,” Bolsonaro told journalists earlier on Tuesday during a visit to the Senate in Brasilia.
“Have you seen the coup decree, by any chance? You haven’t. Neither
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic—They’re known as “frog men,” inmates who are forced to sleep on prison floors across the Dominican Republic, often next to overflowing toilets or holes in the ground that serve as one. Thousands of them are crammed into the country’s severely overcrowded prisons, some operating at seven times their capacity. A majority languish there without ever having been charged with a crime, and activists warn they face inhuman conditions and a lack of medical care.
Despite promises to improve the system, critics say the Dominican Republic continues to push for and allow pretrial detentions in nearly all criminal cases where no charges have been filed and has made few changes as problems within prisons keep mounting.
“Prisons have become no man’s land,” said Rodolfo Valentín Santos, director of the Dominican Republic’s National Public Defense Office.
Over 60% of the country’s roughly 26,000 inmates are being held under preventive detention, without any charges, according to the National Public Defense Office. Proponents argue the measure aims to protect society and allows authorities time to collect evidence in a case.
But some detainees have spent up to 20 years in prison without ever being found guilty of a crime, Valentín said.
He noted that the country’s Constitution and penal code dictate that preventive detention is an “exceptional” measure. There are six other measures that don’t involve prison time, including bail, but Valentín said they are rarely used.
‘We have a situation’
ON a recent afternoon, Darwin Lugo and Yason Guzmán walked out of La Victoria National Penitentiary, in the northeast corner of the sprawling capital, Santo Domingo.
The prison was built for a maximum of 2,100 inmates but holds more than 7,000 of them, with more than 3,300 under pretrial detention, according to the National Public Defense Office.
It is the country’s oldest and most
populated prison.
“You have to watch out for your life,” said Lugo, who with Guzmán visited several friends held there, some under pretrial detention.
“There are a lot of them who are not doing well,” Guzmán said of inmates there.
“There’s extreme poverty.”
They said their friends, who have spent more than five years incarcerated there, are well-connected and only occasionally request money or ask that their cell phone’s SIM card be recharged.
Last year, at least 11 inmates died at La Victoria following a short circuit in a cell that sparked a fire and an explosion. It was one of the country’s deadliest prison fires since 2005, when at least 134 inmates were killed in the eastern town of Higüey after rival gangs set their bedding ablaze.
After last year’s fire at La Victoria, Dominican President Luis Abinader appointed former prisons director Roberto Santana as head of a commission tasked with overhauling and improving the country’s more than 40 prisons.
“We must admit, gentlemen, that we have a situation in all of the country’s prisons,” Abinader said when he announced the appointment last March. He also announced that money recovered from corruption cases would help fund construction of new prisons.
Santana has long called for the closure of La Victoria and the 15 de Azua prison, located in the country’s western region. The commission he leads is working on those and other monumental tasks, free from outside interference, he said.
“We don’t take orders from politicians or anyone else,” said Santana, who previously trained staff for the new prisons built in the early 2000s.
Santana, who once served as president of the Federation of Dominican Students in the 1970s, was arrested multiple times under President Joaquín Balaguer, known for having political opponents and dissidents jailed and sometimes killed.
Santana knows first-hand the conditions of La Victoria—he spent two years in solitary confinement there.
‘On the brink of collapse’ IN the early 2000s, the Dominican
have I,” he added.
As well as participating in a coup d’état, the 34 defendants are accused of participating in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, damage qualified by violence and serious threat against the state’s assets, and deterioration of listed heritage, according to a statement from the Prosecutor General’s press office.
Gonet said the criminal organization he charged “had as leaders the (then) president himself and his running mate, Gen. Braga Netto.”
“Both accepted, stimulated, and
the government held inmates outdoors in trucks with metal roofs that broiled under the sun, sparking lawsuits, Valentín said.
Republic began building 21 new prisons to improve conditions. They were staffed by trained personnel, not police and soldiers, which oversee the country’s other 19 prisons.
But conditions in the new prisons have deteriorated, according to the Dominican Republic’s National Commission of Human Rights.
“The Dominican Republic’s prison system is on the brink of collapse,” the commission said in its 2023 report, the latest one available.
In prisons across the country, overcrowding is rampant. Cells lack bathrooms, natural light and ventilation, leading to worsening health conditions.
Some 5,000 inmates are ill with conditions ranging from heart problems to cancer to HIV, but they receive only the most basic medication, if that, and some prisons have no medical staff, according to Valentín, whose office issues a yearly in-depth report on the conditions of all prisons.
In its 2023 report, the latest year available, his office called for the closure of prisons including one in the north coastal city of Nagua.
“The level of overcrowding…makes it impossible to achieve true rehabilitation for the inmates since they have been forgotten by the state,” the report read.
“In the conditions they are in, it is obvious that they are treated as objects and not as human beings endowed with rights.”
Another prison was so overcrowded that
A spokesperson for Col. Roberto Hernández Basilio, director of prisons, did not respond to requests for an interview. Hernández has previously said his office is taking measures to improve conditions.
Meanwhile, Dominican Attorney General Miriam Germán Brito has repeatedly spoken out against pretrial detention but noted that the decision lies in the hands of judges. A spokesperson for Germán said she is not granting media interviews.
Both Santana and Valentín said they believe government corruption is one reason the country has dragged its feet in overhauling the system, accusing soldiers and police who run prisons of benefiting from illegal activities.
Public corruption also prompted authorities to halt construction of a muchtouted prison in recent years that was expected to ease overcrowding.
Even as that half-built prison wastes away, Santana said he expects that 25 new prisons capable of holding more than 20,000 inmates will be built by 2028.
While those are expected to help ease overcrowding, concerns remain. Activists note that inmates are not freed even when a judge has legally released them.
The National Commission of Human Rights noted that roughly 2,700 inmates are still in prison because their paperwork is paralyzed in backlogged courts. Meanwhile, hundreds of others remain incarcerated despite being officially freed because they owe the government money and are unable to pay fines ordered by a judge.
performed acts that are described in our criminal legislation as attacking the existence and the Independence of (the branches) of power and of the democratic rule,” Gonet wrote in his report.
The crimes have varying penalties. If Bolsonaro is convicted of attempting a coup and the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, according to the country’s criminal code.
The indictments, based on manuscripts, digital files, spreadsheets, and message exchanges, expose a scheme to disrupt democratic order, according to the prosecutor-general’s office.
The charges are “historic,” said Luis Henrique Machado, a criminal attorney and professor at the IDP university in Brasilia, adding that he expects the Supreme Court to accept the charges and put Bolsonaro on trial sometime before the end of next year.
“The charges show Brazil’s institutions are robust, independent and agile,” Machado said. “They are a role model for other countries where democracy is at risk.”
Bolsonaro is barred from running in the 2026 election after judges with the country’s top electoral court ruled that he abused his power and cast unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system.
Following Tuesday’s charges, Bolsonaro will “position himself as a victim,” said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in São Paulo. Bolsonaro has previously said his legal woes are an attempt to stop him from returning to office.
“There are polls saying he would be competitive in the 2026 elections against Lula, one of them published today,” said Melo. “There’s going to be political dust, but it will settle.”
Savarese reported from São Paulo.
Honduran president changes course on vow to end extradition treaty with US
By Marlon González The Associated Press
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras—Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Tuesday reversed course on a decision to end a long-running extradition treaty with the United States after reaching an agreement with US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The reversal came as the Trump administration has struck agreements with a number of Central American nations to receive deported migrants from other nations, often after pressure was applied or offers of support made on other issues.
“I announce that I have reached an agreement with the new American administration so that the extradition treaty will continue with the necessary safeguards for the state of Honduras,” Castro wrote in a post on X.
Honduras was not a stop on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent Central American tour and while Honduras has continued to receive its own deportees, neither Honduras nor the US have said there is a deal for Honduras to also receive migrants from other nations.
In February, Mexico started sending 10,000 troops to the US-Mexico border to postpone threatened 25% tariffs. Last month, Colombia’s firebrand leftist leader caved in a showdown after Trump threatened steep tariffs and sanctions after the Colombian government said it wouldn’t take deportation flights in US military aircraft.
On Tuesday, Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina said the extradition treaty was part of direct talks with the White House, in which the governments discussed five key issues: migration, military agreements, free trade agreements, investment in trade infrastructure
in Honduras and extradition. It wasn’t immediately clear what, if anything, Honduras would get from the agreement. Reina added that the extradition treaty would include “important, normal safeguards,” namely that cases of extradition would not be politicized in any way and based on legal factors.
It’s a change of tone from Castro’s administration. In August, Castro said that she would end the treaty after the US ambassador in Honduras questioned a visit of Honduran military officials to Venezuela to meet with officials accused by the State Department of drug trafficking.
The comments by the diplomat stroked anger in the Honduran government, which decided to end the treaty. The treaty has seen high-profile crime suspects including Castro’s predecessor former President Juan Orlando Hernández extradited to the US. He’s serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for drug trafficking.
Days after Castro announced she was canceling the treaty, her brother-in-law Carlos Zelaya, brother of former President Manuel Zelaya, appeared in a video in which he is seen with several well-known drug traffickers negotiating a bribe. The video fueled anger in many Hondurans, who said that her real reason to end the treaty was to protect her family.
Reina said Tuesday the latest decision was important to ensure the democratic integrity of the country’s upcoming elections, a process in which the Honduran military is a guarantor.
“We are not here to favor politicians or criminals, but, if in any way, the extradition treaty is used to destabilize the government or elections through an attack on the armed forces, that does concern us,” he said.
FORMER Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arrives for a luncheon with senators from his support base at the National Congress building in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, February 18, 2025. AP/ERALDO PERES
Securing the future: Diversifying beyond OFW remittances for sustainable growth
THE latest figures from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) paint a familiar, yet crucial, picture of the Philippine economy: the unwavering contribution of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). In 2024, cash remittances soared to $34.49 billion, a 3 percent increase from the previous year, and a figure that dwarfs both foreign portfolio investments and foreign direct investments. This influx of hard-earned money from our countrymen abroad continues to be a vital lifeline, propping up consumption and fueling economic activity. (Read the BusinessMirror story: “OFW remittances up 3% to $34.49 billion in 2024—BSP,” February 18, 2024).
While we celebrate the dedication and resilience of OFWs, whose sacrifices are directly translated into economic stability for the country, we must also recognize the inherent limitations of relying so heavily on remittances. As Jeremaiah M. Opiniano of the Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI) aptly points out, these remittances represent a staggering 217.8 percent of “hot money” and a substantial portion of foreign direct investments. This highlights a critical imbalance: the Philippines remains overly dependent on the earnings of its citizens working overseas, rather than attracting and retaining sustainable, long-term investments within its own borders.
The factors driving this remittance growth are multifaceted. A weaker peso undoubtedly boosts the value of remittances in local currency. Rising inflation at home may also compel families to seek greater financial assistance from relatives abroad. However, these are reactive measures, addressing immediate needs rather than fostering long-term economic prosperity.
Looking ahead, potential challenges loom on the horizon. The economic and immigration policies of the United States, particularly under President Trump, could significantly impact remittance flows. Tariffs and stricter deportation policies raise concerns about the financial well-being and security of Filipino workers in the US, potentially impacting their ability to send money home. The government must be prepared to provide reintegration assistance to those who may be deported, ensuring they are not left without support upon their return.
The central challenge for the Philippines remains: how to diversify the economy beyond its reliance on OFW remittances. We must find ways to attract these private funds as investments within the country. This requires creating a more attractive investment climate, fostering entrepreneurship, and providing opportunities for OFWs and their families to invest in local businesses and industries.
Furthermore, it is crucial to encourage responsible spending and saving habits among remittance recipients. While “revenge spending” after the pandemic is understandable, prioritizing investments in health, education, and savings will contribute to long-term financial security and economic growth.
Finally, we must not forget the well-being of our OFWs. They continue to face vulnerabilities in their work, incomes, and mental health. Providing adequate support and resources to address these challenges is essential to ensuring their continued success and contribution to the Philippine economy.
The enduring strength of OFW remittances is a testament to the resilience and dedication of Filipinos abroad. However, it is also a call to action. The Philippines must seize this opportunity to diversify its economy, attract sustainable investments, and create a future where economic prosperity is not solely dependent on the sacrifices of our overseas workers. Only then can we truly honor their contribution and build a more resilient and prosperous nation for all Filipinos.
BusinessMirror
T. Anthony C. Cabangon
Lourdes M. Fernandez
Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio
Dollar dominance or peso prosperity?
TG. Reyes
D. Edgard A. Cabangon Benjamin V. Ramos Aldwin Maralit Tolosa
Rolando M. Manangan
BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025. (Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807. (Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news.businessmirror@gmail.com www.businessmirror.com.ph
John Mangun
OUTSIDE THE BOX
HERE are two myths that people hold like a cute puppy. Highly educated or not, worldly or provincial, most people believe that “paper” money is a substitute for something else. We cling to the sweet fantasy that our cash is backed by something in the BSP’s secret vault.
The second myth is that our ancestors jingled gold coins in their pockets like “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Actually, silver was the currency of daily life; gold was reserved for doing business with foreign merchants in Manila.
In 1900 under the gold standard, the value of each currency was fixed to gold. The official price in the US was $20.67 per ounce, £4.25 in the UK, 31.07 French francs under the Latin Monetary Union, and 86.95 marks in Germany. Back then, one ounce of gold universally bought you a man’s suit be it in London or Tokyo where yen to gold was fixed at 37.50. Even today, an elegant bespoke suit and accessories in Manila still costs one ounce of gold. However, in 2025, we measure currency value not by how much precious
metal we can buy but by how many units of another currency we can exchange for it. Even Bitcoin’s value is pegged to US dollars with any conversion to another currency based on its exchange rate to USD.
No one boasts, “My thousand pesos/yuan/bitcoin can buy me XXX kilos of pork,” but they should. Last Friday, your PHP1,000 was “worth” $17.23, 125 yuan, 0.00018 BTC, and for the record, 2.78 kilos of “Good Meat Pigue Skinless/Boneless.”
When was the last time you pondered what your pesos are worth? Probably yesterday or even this morning. You are constantly aware of the peso-dollar exchange rate.
When I hear an expert forecast the future exchange rate six months or a year ahead, I ask, “What’s the rate going to be next month?” Total
Despite fluctuations in Philippine interest rates, GDP, politics, and BSP interventions, the USD-PHP exchange rate still dances to the global dollar index. However, I know you want to know what will happen to the peso in 2025.
silence. Or if the prediction is only a number, “What’s the ETA on that?”
More silence.
The peso follows—inversely—the US Dollar Index trend, which measures the dollar against a basket of major currencies. Since January 2021, DXY has risen 21 percent; PHP has fallen 18 percent against the USD. Over two years, DXY is up by six percent; PHP down by 4.5 percent. Over 12 months, DXY increased by 3.2 percent; PHP decreased by 2.7 percent.
Despite fluctuations in Philippine interest rates, GDP, politics, and BSP interventions, the USD-PHP exchange rate still dances to the global dollar index. However, I know you want to know what will happen to the peso in 2025.
The US dollar is not just going to appreciate; it is set to moonwalk.
The Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes are drawing investors like gamo-gamo to a light bulb. Globally, capital is chasing these US yields even faster than Trump drives liberals crazy. Geopolitically, the USD remains
the safe harbor in turbulent times. Even with inflation, the US handles it better than most. Demand for US goods keeps the dollar strong, and there is an emerging psychological narrative—if everyone believes the dollar will rise, it will. The DXY is proving its dominance. The Philippine peso will suffer. Does that make you happy? No? Then try this perspective: The US economy is like a car running on empty. GDP numbers look good, but it is all smoke and mirrors with the 36 trillion dollar debt still piling up. The Fed is playing highstakes poker with interest rates; too high, they will choke the economy; too low, inflation wins. Geopolitically, nations are looking for dollar alternatives. Inflation is persistent, eroding dollar purchasing power. Confidence is waning, and once the global mood shifts, it is a domino effect. The dollar is not just losing value; it is losing its magic, setting the stage for the Philippine peso to thrive. Now, it is your turn to decide which prophecy rings true. Will you bet on Dollar Dominance or Peso Prosperity? Good luck, and remember, in the end, it is not about numbers; it is about the joy or sorrow those numbers bring.
E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.
Musk debuts Grok-3 AI chatbot to rival OpenAI, DeepSeek
By Amy Thomson & Vlad Savov
ELON MUSK’S artificial intelligence startup xAI debuted its updated Grok-3 model, showcasing a version of the chatbot technology to challenge OpenAI days after the billionaire’s unsolicited cash bid to buy the company was rejected.
Across math, science and coding benchmarks, Grok-3 beats OpenAI’s GPT-4o, Alphabet Inc.’s Google Gemini, DeepSeek’s V3 model and Anthropic’s Claude, xAI said via a live stream on Monday. Grok-3 has “more than 10 times” the compute power of its predecessor and completed pre-training in early January, Musk said in a presentation alongside three xAI engineers.
Musk’s performance claims, which have not been independently verified, ramp up an increasingly bitter rivalry between his startup and OpenAI. He launched xAI in 2023 as an alternative to the ChatGPT maker, which he’s publicly criticized for its plans to restructure as a for-profit business.
Musk, the world’s richest person, has filed two lawsuits against OpenAI for allegedly straying from its founding principles and offered to buy OpenAI’s nonprofit arm for $97.4
billion in a bid that was rejected last week. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman classified the bid as a tactic to “slow us down.” Musk was involved in OpenAI’s founding but has been critical of the company since leaving the board in 2018. XAI also introduced a new smart search engine with Grok-3, calling it DeepSearch. DeepSearch is a reasoning chatbot that expresses its process of understanding a query and how it plans its response. It includes options for research, brainstorming and data analysis, the demonstration showed. Musk’s team also said it intends to release a voice-based chatbot.
“We’re continually improving the models every day, and literally within 24 hours, you’ll see improvements,” Musk said.
Grok-3 is available to Premium+ subscribers on X, a service that costs $22 a month. That compares to $200 a month for full access to
After the Grok-3 updates were released, Andrej Karpathy, an OpenAI co-founder no longer at the company, posted a preliminary review of the new model on X, writing that it “feels somewhere around the state of the art territory of OpenAI’s strongest models.” But the computer scientist, who formerly led AI efforts at Tesla Inc., said Musk’s model also fabricated facts and lagged behind in certain functions. Karpathy said more evaluations are needed over the next days and weeks to get a better idea of the model’s capabilities.
OpenAI’s GPT-4o. xAI is starting a new subscription called SuperGrok for the bot’s mobile app and Grok. com website, and plans to opensource preceding versions of Grok models as soon as the latest one is fully mature. Musk said he expects that transition to be complete for Grok-3 in a few months.
After the Grok-3 updates were released, Andrej Karpathy, an OpenAI
co-founder no longer at the company, posted a preliminary review of the new model on X, writing that it “feels somewhere around the state of the art territory of OpenAI’s strongest models.” But the computer scientist, who formerly led AI efforts at Tesla Inc., said Musk’s model also fabricated facts and lagged behind in certain functions. Karpathy said more evaluations are needed over the next days and weeks to get a better idea of the model’s capabilities. AI powerhouses like OpenAI and xAI have raised funds at a rapid clip with valuations soaring. Musk’s xAI is in talks to raise about $10 billion in a funding round that would value the company at roughly $75 billion, Bloomberg News reported last week. The company was last valued at about $51 billion, according to data compiled by PitchBook. OpenAI is in talks to raise as much as $40 billion in a round that would push its valuation to as much as $300 billion. These businesses are also capitalintensive. SoftBank Group Corp., OpenAI, Oracle Corp. and Abu Dhabi-backed MGX jointly announced a program in January to
ICE detained 10,000 migrants in Trump’s first two weeks
By Jason Kao & Alicia A. Caldwell
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained about 10,000 people in the first two weeks of the Trump administration, according to federal data, underscoring the White House’s early efforts to ramp up deportations.
The new detentions represent almost a tripling from the average two-week period during former President Joe Biden’s final year in office, according to an analysis of data from ICE.
The wave of detentions is part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to carry out what he has described as the largest deportation campaign in American history. Still, it’s not yet clear whether the new administration will be able to keep arrest numbers at higher levels after initially trumpeting its crackdown with media crews in tow and help from television personality Phil McGraw, better known as Dr. Phil.
His administration has said it’s prioritizing removing people with criminal records, though the data show that about 14 percent of those detained between January 25 and February 8 had no criminal record, beyond immigration violations. During Biden’s last year, that share was lower—about 7 percent of detainees hadn’t been convicted or accused of crimes.
The data is broken out into twoweek increments, so it’s hard to discern the number of arrests per day. ICE stopped publishing daily figures at the start of February. Even as book-ins increased, ICE released about 10,400 people from immigration jails—a daily average of 740
releases, which is about the same level as under the Biden administration.
To carry out mass deportations, the administration has expanded enforcement beyond traditional immigration officers. Thousands of military personnel have been deployed to the border, military aircraft have been authorized for deportation flights, and agents from the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service have been deputized to bolster the ranks of ICE.
ICE, the Department of Homeland Security agency in charge of arresting and deporting immigrants living in the country without permission, has set a goal of at least 1,000 arrests per day, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
But the push has not gone entirely as planned. Some ICE operations have been leaked in advance, drawing public scrutiny and disrupting efforts. Internally, officials have expressed frustration that the proportion of criminal arrests has been lower than expected, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Last week, ICE’s two top deportation officials were removed from their posts, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed, a sign of internal tensions as the administration expands its immigration crackdown. Bloomberg
FDA official with oversight of Musk’s Neuralink devices fired
By Rachel Cohrs Zhang & Sarah McBride
AN official who oversees a team at the Food and Drug Administration that reviews Neuralink Corp. devices was fired, according to an email the agency sent to staff Tuesday morning viewed by Bloomberg.
Ross Segan, who was formerly the director of the Office of Product Evaluation and Quality at the FDA’s medical device center, was one of thousands of employees fired across the US Department of Health and Human Services in recent days.
The firings, some of which hit the device division, followed an executive order last week directing agencies to reduce their workforces in line with the goals of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. Musk has founded several companies including the medical device firm Neuralink.
Segan was part of the chain of command that oversees the review of Neuralink devices.
Musk’s Neuralink is developing an implanted brain-computer device that aims to allow people with paralysis to operate electronic devices using only their thoughts. Neuralink has registered two US trials with the FDA for its implants. One trial allows patients to control devices such as smartphones, and another allows patients to control devices including robotic arms.
Segan occupied a top role at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. He oversaw a division of reviewers that examined devices related to neurosurgery, which includes Neuralink’s devices. Segan had worked at the agency since September 2024, according to his LinkedIn profile. People who have worked at a federal agency for less than a year generally have fewer civil service protections than employees with longer tenures.
While its early trials, known as feasibility studies, are underway, Neuralink still must conduct regular check-ins with the FDA, particularly if something doesn’t go as
Ex-Pimco executive to run world’s first catastrophe-bond ETF
Cexpected, said former FDA official Cristin Welle. Last year, Neuralink said electrode-studded threads had moved out of position in its first patient, Noland Arbaugh; after software tweaks, the company was able to improve the performance of the device. That is the type of event that would likely prompt discussions with the FDA, Welle said. The FDA has the power to halt a trial at any time.
Neuralink would also need the FDA to approve the next major type of trial, called a pivotal trial, when the device goes into more patients. Those studies typically start after a company has six to 12 months’ worth of data on each patient in the feasibility study and once the FDA has reviewed those early results. The company has approval from the FDA to implant its devices in humans as part of studies. Musk said in January that the company had implanted its third device, and has plans for about 20 to 30 more this year.
Welle said the situation is not ideal. “If you’re cutting staff in the division that is regulating your products specifically, it does pose the appearance of a conflict,” she said. The person in Segan’s former position has influence over the approval process for medical devices, any conditions companies have to meet after their devices are approved, and how reviewers manage their workloads. Many companies with similar devices to Neuralink are at various phases of their own FDA clinical trial processes, including Synchron, Paradromics, Precision Neuroscience and Science.
Segan, who goes by Rusty, had sent e-mails to staff to encourage them to continue in their mission of public service, according to a reviewer in his division who was fired on Saturday.
The FDA didn’t respond to a request for comment Monday night. Neuralink didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Reviewers who worked on Neuralink were also fired, Reuters reported Monday. Segan’s departure was first reported by STAT. Bloomberg
By Gautam Naik
ATASTROPHE bonds, whose returns have consistently trounced those of high-yield debt markets in recent years, are about to become accessible to a wider group of investors.
An exchange-traded fund based on a portfolio of as many as 75 of the 250 so-called cat bonds outstanding is due to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange next month, marking a world first.
“It’s a very nuanced asset class and our goal is to demystify it,” Rick Pagnani, co-founder and chief executive of King Ridge Capital Advisors Inc., which will manage the ETF, said in an interview. The fund will be overseen by Texas-based Brookmont Capital Management LLC.
Pagnani, who until last year was running the insurance-linked securities desk at Pacific Investment Management Co., said it’s “challenging to build a diversified catastrophe-bond portfolio for a typical investor on their own.” By packaging cat bonds into an ETF, “we aim to lower some of the barriers to entry,” he said.
As an investment, cat bonds have drawn attention in recent years after far exceeding returns on other highrisk fixed-income markets. The Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Index rose 17 percent in 2024, following a record 20 percent gain the year earlier. A Bloomberg gauge of high-yield US corporate bonds increased 8 percent last year and 13 percent in 2023.
Insurers, reinsurers and some government entities issue cat bonds in order to transfer risks associated with natural disasters to the capital markets. Investors who own the bonds can make hefty gains if a predefined catastrophe doesn’t occur, but also face potentially large losses if it does.
Against a backdrop of intensifying extreme weather events fueled by climate change and the spread of urbanization in areas prone to natural disasters, demand for cat bonds is climbing fast.
“A lot of insurance companies are leaving high-peril areas as the risk of owning hard assets increases,” said Ethan Powell, Brookmont’s chief investment officer. So “more capital needs to flow” into cat bonds to provide an additional buffer against future losses, he said.
The market, which is dominated by US issuance, is currently valued at roughly $50 billion. Deal volumes have been “exceptional” in recent years, according to industry specialist Artemis.
Pagnani said the pipeline still looks “rich and continues to build,” which he expects to help drive the market to about $80 billion by the end of the decade.
An exchange-traded fund based on a portfolio of as many as 75 of the 250 so-called cat bonds outstanding is due to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange next month, marking a world first.
Catastrophe bondholders have so far managed to avoid major losses despite the devastation caused by recent natural disasters, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as the fires in Los Angeles. Asset managers that specialize in the bonds continue to calibrate their investment models to reduce the probability of payment clauses being triggered.
The last time investors saw a meaningful dent in their returns was back in September 2022, after Hurricane Ian ripped through Florida, leading to about $65 billion of insured losses. Cat-bond losses that year were limited to about 2 percent, according to the Swiss Re index.
Brookmont and King Ridge are still in the process of finalizing launch partners, and are looking to raise $10 million to $25 million in seed capital, Pagnani said. The ETF recently met regulatory requirements and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ILS, he said.
The fund will cover perils ranging from Florida hurricanes and California earthquakes to Japan typhoons
Rubio says sanctions to stay for now as Trump eyes Putin summit
SBy Natalia Drozdiak, Alberto Nardelli & Daniel Flatley
ECRETARY of State Marco Rubio told European allies that the US will keep sanctions on Russia in place at least until a deal to end the Ukraine conflict is reached, even as his boss, President Donald Trump, said he’ll probably meet Vladimir Putin to discuss a settlement before the end of February.
Rubio gave the assurance that sanctions won’t be lifted sooner to a group of European counterparts on a call Tuesday, according to people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The conversation took place after Rubio joined other US officials in Saudi Arabia Tuesday in the highest level face-to-face meeting with Russian counterparts since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Ukraine and European allies were excluded from those talks, raising fears in Kyiv and beyond that the US will cut a deal with Putin to end the fighting that sacrifices the security of Ukraine and Europe, upending years of US policy.
Speaking later in Florida, Trump did little to assuage those concerns. “Russia wants to do something,” he said, adding that he was “much more reassured” that a deal could be reached after the talks in Riyadh.
By contrast, Trump said he was “disappointed” to hear that Ukrainian officials complained about being left out of the talks. Blaming Russia’s invasion on Ukraine’s leadership under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said “you should have never started it. You could have made a deal.” He signaled support for holding new elections after an agreement.
The concern is if “Trump wants this to be over so badly and he seems to be looking at economic opportunities with Russia” there “really could be a quick and terrible end to the conflict,” said Andrea Kendall-Taylor, a former senior intelligence official who’s now director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. “That’s
what I’m really worried about.” Mineral rights
THE same day Trump spoke to Putin by phone last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was in Kyiv with a draft deal that would see Ukraine sign over half the value of its vast mineral rights to the US as compensation for aid. Zelenskyy declined to sign the pact, but Bessent said Tuesday he’s hopeful Kyiv will ultimately agree “once the Ukrainians understand that this is a long-term agreement that’s very beneficial to their security.”
The push to work with Russia signaled Trump’s desire to reset ties with Putin’s government that were ruptured over Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, continued to deteriorate over a series of cyber-attacks and overseas assassinations and went into deep freeze with the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Steadily increasing sanctions on Russian targets, from its central bank to major energy companies and top officials and tycoons, were a central part of the allied effort to squeeze the Kremlin.
Many of the sanctions were put in place in partnership with European allies. A US decision to remove the restrictions early would deal a serious blow to Europe’s effort to deny Putin the money he needs to fund his war machine.
Rubio’s assurances on sanctions may offer a measure of relief to European allies that have feared the US would let up on the crippling financial penalties that the Biden administration imposed on Russia over its invasion.
A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on Rubio’s comments. A State Department readout
Rubio’s assurances on sanctions may offer a measure of relief to European allies that have feared the US would let up on the crippling financial penalties that the Biden administration imposed on Russia over its invasion.
of Rubio’s call with European allies didn’t mention sanctions but said the countries “agreed to remain in close contact as we work to achieve a durable end to the conflict in Ukraine.”
Earlier in the day, Rubio signaled sanctions relief would be part of any deal.
“There are sanctions that were imposed as a result of this conflict,”
Rubio told reporters in Riyadh after the talks. “In order to bring an end to any conflict, there has to be concessions made by all sides.”
He added that a deal to end the war would open the “incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians, geopolitically on issues of common interest, and frankly economically.”
Russian officials were also upbeat after the talks, hailing the prospect of pulling relations with the US out of the deep freeze even as they ruled out concessions such as allowing European troops into Ukraine to police a peace deal.
“The Russians will undoubtedly demand lifting all sanctions as part of the ceasefire,” said Daniel Fried, a former top US sanctions official now at the Atlantic Council.
Trump’s advisers “would be illadvised to give into that demand because one, if you lift sanctions and then the Russians don’t adhere to the terms of the ceasefire, you’re a sucker,” he said. “And since when have the Russians adhered to any terms about anything in Ukraine?”
Rubio acknowledged that the European Union would need to come to the table given that the bloc’s countries have also imposed numerous sanctions on Russia. The EU currently has no plans to ease restrictions on Moscow.
and European windstorms, according to the prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Because cat bonds tend not to move in lockstep with stock and bond markets, the ETF will offer “uncorrelated income” as well as “resilience in volatile markets,” Brookmont said in an e-mail.
Cat bonds’ highly complex structure has raised questions as to their suitability for non-specialist investors. In Europe, where investors can gain exposure to cat bonds through UCITS funds, the instruments are listed as securities whose structure makes them difficult for a client to understand the risks involved.
Investing in cat bonds “isn’t without risk,” Pagnani said. But with a diversified ETF, “you can dampen volatility while increasing returns.”
“We expect thematic fixed income to continue growing given that demand remains strong and performance of certain products such as catastrophe bonds has led among fixed income, with returns of about 17 percent in 2024 and 20 percent in 2023. The sustainable debt market continues to evolve and expand through specialized environmental or social products ranging from blue bonds to new or growing markets like debt-for-nature swaps and catastrophe bonds. We expect this trend to continue through 2025 in all three of these types,” said Bloomberg Intelligence’s Chris Ratti and Adeline Diab. Bloomberg
Allied officials were encouraged last month when Trump threatened to tighten limits on Moscow to force Putin to negotiate. But there’s been no mention of such steps since the two leaders spoke by phone last week, the first such call since Russia’s invasion. Russian asset prices jumped on news of the conversation. Still, Trump does not have a completely free hand in relaxing sanctions on Russia. Beyond any consultations with allies that might be required, the US would be required to notify Congress of any changes to some Russia sanctions after the Biden administration redesignated several entities before leaving office under a 2017 law that requires the president to tell Congress about waivers in advance of issuing them. Just before leaving office, the outgoing administration tightened restrictions on the ships Russia uses to evade a Group of Seven effort to cap the price it’s paid for its oil exports and sanctioned two big Russian oil companies.
The G-7 is considering tightening the price cap and potentially revisiting the $60 per barrel price in a bid to further squeeze Moscow. But it is unclear whether the Trump administration would go along with such a move.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has been under US sanctions since the second day of Russia’s fullscale invasion, but the Trump administration didn’t see that as an obstacle to Rubio sitting down with him in Riyadh Tuesday. Putin is also sanctioned by the US, which has said “no one individual is more responsible for Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
Asked if a meeting with the Russian leader would take place before the end of the month, Trump said, “probably,” without elaborating. Earlier in the day in Riyadh, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the two sides had discussed a meeting between the leaders but it was unlikely to take place next week. With assistance from Courtney McBride /Bloomberg
Thursday, February 20, 2025
VP Sara to SC: Declare 4th case vs me unconstitutional
By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573
VICEPresident Sara Duterte has asked the Supreme Court to declare as unconstitutional the fourth impeachment complaint filed against her before the Senate for violating the One-Year Bar rule under the Constitution.
Duterte’s petition for certiorari and prohibition was filed with the High Court on February 18, the same day that a group of Mindanaoan lawyers filed a similar petition assailing the constitutionality of the fourth impeachment complaint.
The petition was filed through lawyer Philip Sigfrid Fortun of the Fortun Narvasa and Salazar Law Firm.
Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. and father-in-law Lucas Carpio Jr., joined the petition as counsel for the Vice President.
Named respondents in the peti-
THE National Food Authority (NFA) is targeting to procure as much as 870,000 metric tons (MT) of palay this year.
“[We aim to procure] 545,000 MT, and if there’s still a budget for it we will go as high as 870,000 MT of palay,” NFA Administrator Larry Lacson told the BusinessMirror on Wednesday.
Earlier, the grains agency said it is seeking more funds to increase its buffer stock as mandated by the amended Rice Tariffication Law (RTL). (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/01/23/nfaseeks-more-funds-for-increasingits-buffer-stock/)
Under the amended RTL, the NFA should now maintain a buffer stock enough to cover 15 days of national rice consumption, up from the previous nine-day requirement.
The agency explained that with an average of 37,000 MT of national rice consumption daily, the additional six days of reserve would require the agency to procure roughly 300,000 MT of palay from local farmers at around P23 per kilo.
Lacson said the initial allocation of P9 billion for palay procurement this year should be doubled to achieve its new buffer stocking requirement.
“We were initially allocated a budget of P9 billion for buffer stocking this year, based on the 9-day requirement. But the additional 6 days will necessitate an extra P9 billion for palay procurement, considering that our palay price procurement per kilo increased in 2024,” he said in a statement.
Released rice stocks
MEANWHILE , the Department of Agriculture (DA) started to release the grains agency’s rice stocks to local government units (LGUs) following the declaration of a food security emergency on rice.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. officially handed over rice supplies to San Juan City Mayor Francisco Javier Zamora in a ceremony at the NFA warehouse in Valenzuela City on Wednesday.
NFA had planned to release around 25,000 MT per month during the food security emergency, noting that
tion were House Speaker Martin Romualdez, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco, and Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero. Durterte’s petition also sought the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or a writ of preliminary injunction to immediately enjoin the Senate from conducting impeachment proceedings against her, branding such as “politically-motivated.”
She said a TRO is necessary to halt the violation of her constitutional right under Section 3, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution.
That provision states: “No im-
peachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year.”
“This right was violated when respondent House of Representatives, through Secretary General Velasco, froze the First Three Impeachment Complaints to make way for the Fourth Impeachment Complaint in an attempt to circumvent the OneYear-Bar,” the petition read.
“What cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly; otherwise, all laws would be illusory,” it added.
The petitioner said the respondents also violated her right to due process of law under Section 1, Article III of the 1987 Constitution, when Velasco circumvented the One-Year-Bar by sitting on and essentially dismissing the first three impeachment complaints.
The petitioner also cited a need to prevent irreparable injury on her part as she would be haled into a public trial despite the “fatal infirmity” of the fourth impeachment aside from “the fact that this impeachment effort is undeniably politically-motivated.”
“In addition, her constitutional right to run for public office, despite
having all qualifications and none of the disqualifications, is now put at risk. If convicted on the basis of an infirm process and impeachment complaint that is barred by the One-Year prohibition under the Constitution, she will be perpetually disqualified from holding public office on the basis of a null and void, and constitutionally-barred Fourth Impeachment Complaint,” the petition read.
Duterte noted that the House of Representatives and its members deliberately circumvented the OneYear Ban by directing its Secretary General to give them more time to file the fourth impeachment complaint, despite the fact that three prior separate impeachment complaints had been filed on December 2, 2024, December 4, 2024, and December 19, 2024, respectively.
The reason for awaiting the fourth impeachment is clear, Duterte said: to allow the House and its members to gather the required number of signatures to “railroad” the impeachment process, in order to beat the May 12, 2025 elections.
By waiting for the outcome of the May elections, Duterte said those behind the impeachment raps
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
THE national government has secured a P1-billion (€16.5 million) grant from the European Union (EU) to improve the country’s justice system—vital for economic stability, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
The grant for the Enabling Justice and Rule of Law in the Philippines program of the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) aims to contribute to the Philippines’ socioeconomic development by creating a more effective, inclusive and accountable justice system.
“This agreement is of great importance to us because we recognize that economic progress and the rule of law must go hand in hand,” Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said in his opening remarks at the ceremonial exchange of documents on February 19, 2025.
Recto said there can be no real economic growth without trust in the law since people cannot confidently engage in the economy, seek better opportunities and create a future defined by dignity if order is not upheld.
“Without progress, our people cannot reach their full economic potential, keeping them in the
grip of poverty. Ultimately, a properly functioning justice system is key to achieving economic security and prosperity,” the Finance chief added. As such, the program seeks to enhance the ability of local justice sector actors to address difficulties faced by women and vulnerable populations, aiming to improve legal aid services for marginalized groups. The role of local government units (LGUs) as the first entry point for individuals seeking justice and increasing people’s awareness of legal rights and remedies available to them are also part of improving access to justice.
Additionally, it will refine collaboration between the justice institutions, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), and civil society organizations (CSOs). This also entails standardizing and extending the Justice Zone model to address significant challenges at the local level. Justice Zones are areas where the local justice sector actors, such as police, public attorneys, and judges, cooperate to discover and solve daily problems.
The initiative will also improve
SBy Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
ENATE President Fran-
cis “Chiz” G. Escudero said Wednesday he has already sent to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) the petition of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s allies asking the Supreme Court to direct the Senate to cease and desist from conducting her trial. The Solicitor General, as the government lawyer, will represent the Senate in the various petitions filed before the Supreme Court in relation to the impeachment trial of Duterte, Escudero said. Duterte on Wednesday also filed a petition with the SC challenging the constitutionality of the impeachment complaint against her.
A petition for mandamus asking the SC to compel the Senate to “immediately” convene as an impeachment court was also filed last week.
“We referred the matter to the Solicitor General’s office. As the government lawyer, it will be the SolGen who will answer, appear, and handle
the case on behalf of the Senate,” Escudero said in Filipino at a press conference, adding that he had already talked to the OSG to make that representation before the Supreme Court on behalf of the Senate.
The Senate has started initial preparations for the trial, but Escudero reiterated Wednesday the chamber will not convene as an impeachment court while on recess.
“That’s part of the Senate preparations,” said Escudero, replying to reporters who noted the recent inspections done on the physical facilities and the tables, chairs and equipment used in the last impeachment trial—that of Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012.
“We had to check if the witness box is still intact and had not been eaten by termites,” among other physical checks done, he continued, adding that as much as possible, they will not spend extra for items that can still be used from the 2012 trial.
While such preparations are being made—after the validation of signatures on the impeachment
complaint signed initially by 215 members of the House of Representatives—he stressed that, “No trial can be done when we are on recess—That’s clear in our rules.”
Escudero’s reaction was sought after Senate minority Leader Koko Pimentel wrote him, saying that per his understanding of the Constitution, once the Senate receives an impeachment complaint, it must immediately convene as a court.
Escudero said that while he respects Pimentel’s opinions as a Bar topnotcher, it is clear that convening for trial purposes is not possible at the moment.
“The soonest time we can convene as an impeachment court for trial purposes is when the 20th Congress convenes, and we are complete.” Before then, he said, the members of the 19th Senate can act only on the preparations and pretrial processes required by law, which he said will definitely reach June 30, when the term of the incumbent senators ends.
The petition filed by Davao lawyers and the one filed by VP Sara
on Wednesday before the SC do not affect the preparations of senators, he said, and only a temporary restraining order from the high court will stop the Senate’s actions. Still, he deemed “perhaps providential that we did not immediately” go to trial right before adjourning for recess last February 5, because now, the SC “has enough time to resolve” all these issues even before the impeachment court convenes.
The Senate, he asserted, “will perform its duty and functions under the Constitution unless there’s a TRO from SC. Absent that, we will continue our duty.”
Lacson: Trial likely to reach 20th Congress ALSO on Wednesday, Escudero got support on his timeline from former senator Panfilo Lacson, who is seeking a comeback.
The impeachment trial of Duterte in the Senate would likely “cross over” to the 20th Congress, Lacson said.
Citing practical reasons, Lacson
said the 19th Congress will not have enough time to convene and conduct the trial before adjourning sine die in the last week of June.
Also, Lacson noted the Senate assumes a different personality in an impeachment trial, where senatorjudges’ work will be more judicial than legislative in nature.
“My humble opinion as a layman is that as an impeachment court, the Senate will act not as a legislative body but as a separate constitutional body,” he said in English at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum. Also, Lacson noted the Senate as an impeachment court can be considered a continuing body, even if new members join it in the 20th Congress.
Citing several legal luminaries, he said the Senate as an impeachment court can be likened to a division of Sandiganbayan, Court of Appeals, or even Supreme Court.
“Even if a member of the division retires, the case will not stop, nor will
Editor: Jennifer A. Ng
Instant noodles, biscuits lift ‘24 income of Monde Nissin
By VG Cabuag @villygc
MONDE Nissin Corp. said its preliminary financial results indicated that its consolidated core income in 2024 rose by 25 percent year-on-year.
Consolidated sales of the maker of Lucky Me! noodles and SkyFlakes crackers grew more than 3 percent on a comparable basis, with a gross margin expansion of over 350 basis points, it said. The expansion was driven by its Asia-Pacific (APAC) branded food and beverage (BFB) segment which grew by 4 percent. The segment includes instant noodles and. However, the company said its veggie meat business was “neutral.”
approximate mid- teens sales decline year-on-year on a constant currency and comparable basis for the fourth quarter, partly due to fewer selling weeks compared to last year.”
The company said it expects to achieve positive earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the fourth quarter despite the ongoing topline weakness.
dends subject to board approval. It added that it will report its fullyear results next month.
Program
MEANWHILE, the company, in partnership with social enterprise Hapinoy, celebrated the graduation of its first batch of beneficiaries from its sari-sari store enablement program, which helps train and support store owners nationwide.
This was driven by volume growth across all categories, with contributions from both domestic and international markets.
The company said its market share in the noodles category increased by 140 basis points to 68.7 percent in value and by 150 basis points to 74 percent in volume over the past 12-week period ending December 2024.
“We observed a gross margin expansion of over 100 basis points year-over-year in the fourth quarter,” it said.
“Our meat alternative business continues to operate in a challenging environment, as we expect an
“I am pleased to announce that our preliminary fourth quarter results reflect sustained momentum from the third quarter, driven by our APAC BFB business. This has resulted in record-high revenues for both the quarter and the year,” Henry Soesanto, the company’s CEO, said. For the fourth quarter alone, its APAC BFB business achieved strong revenue growth at over 8 percent year-on-year and more than 4 percent sequentially, reaching the upper end of its guidance.
Its ongoing annual impairment test for the loss-making business indicates a significant impairment charge this year, estimated between 80 million pounds and 100 million pounds.
“Although substantial, this figure is notably lower than last year’s impairment. Additionally, due to unfavorable changes in volatility, interest rates and stock prices, we anticipate a material mark-to-market loss on the fair value of our guaranty asset,” the company said.
“Despite these challenges, both the impairment and the mark-tomarket loss, we expect our consolidated reported net income after tax to return to positive territory for the full year.”
The company said it expects to have sufficient retained earnings, providing flexibility to declare divi-
The program trained 40 existing sari-sari stores through handson training modules conducted by Hapinoy.
Monde Nissin offered packages that included inventory grants, store merchandise and marketing materials to the beneficiary sari-sari stores.
“We would like to thank our participants for their hard work during the Hapiskwela programs. We hope you can take what you’ve learned to achieve your and your families’ dreams and further grow your businesses,” Hapinoy President Mark Ruiz said.
Graduates from the program also shared their experience with the three Hapiskwela modules, which were held online. Some beneficiaries set up their shops despite the concerns of friends and families and without formal training.
ACEN RES, school ink supply deal
ACEN RES, the supply retail electricity arm of the Ayala Group, said on Wednesday it has signed up its first customer under the government’s Retail Aggregation Program (RAP).
In a statement attached to a disclosure, ACEN said the Philippine Cultural College (PCC), a ChineseFilipino educational institution, has enrolled five of its facilities across its Manila, Quezon City, and Caloocan campuses under ACEN RES’s RAP initiative.
The combined electricity demand of these facilities reaches
MGreen energizes solar plant
MANILA Electric Co.
(Meralco) unit MGen
Renewable Energy Inc. (MGreen) has officially energized its 19.8-megawatt alternating currents (MWac) solar power plant in Barangay Pesa, Bongabon, Nueva Ecija.
The solar facility, completed six months ahead of schedule, is the first project under the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Green Energy Auction Program (GEA-2) to come online.
It is expected to supply electricity to at least 20,000 households while helping the Philippines reach its renewable energy (RE) target of 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
“More than just a solar power plant, MGreen Bongabon Solar is about creating opportunities, reducing our carbon footprint, and setting a new standard for renewable energy initiatives in our country,” MGreen President Dennis B. Jordan said. Lorenz S. Marasigan
nearly 1 megawatt (MW), well above the 500-kilowatt threshold required to qualify for the program.
RAP is a government-backed initiative designed to provide electricity consumers with greater flexibility by allowing multiple facilities to pool their power demand and directly source energy from a preferred supplier. The program enables businesses and institutions to transition toward renewable energy (RE) while optimizing electricity costs.
“This partnership with Philippine Cultural College demonstrates
ACEN RES’s commitment to making renewable energy accessible to more businesses and institutions across the country.
Through programs like the RAP, we’re empowering customers with the power of choice and giving them greater control over their electricity usage. We fully support the government’s initiatives to promote competition and provide more options for electricity consumers,” ACEN SVP Tony Valdez said.
PCC Board of Trustees Director Willie H. Go, for his part, said the shift to renewable energy aligns
By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan
Nwith its long-term environmental goals.
“By utilizing renewable energy through the RAP, we’re not only reducing our carbon footprint but also ensuring a more sustainable future for our students. This initiative allows us to optimize our electricity costs, freeing up resources that can be further invested in providing quality education.”
ACEN Corp. plans to scale its RE capacity to 20 GW by 2030. It also aims to achieve 100-percent RE generation this year and reach net zero by 2050. Lorenz S. Marasigan
iPhone parts maker Murata eyes supply chain shifts toward India
IPHONE components maker
Murata Manufacturing Co. is weighing whether to move some of its production capacity to India, reflecting a global realignment of the supply chain toward the world’s most populous country.
The Kyoto-based maker of multilayer ceramic capacitors sees growing demand in India and is running simulations for what it would take to dial up its pace of investment there, according to Murata President Norio Nakajima.
“We’ve been making our newest capacitors mostly in Japan, but customers are asking us to manufacture more overseas due partly to business continuity planning purposes,” Nakajima said.
Murata’s components are found in almost all electronics, from Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. smartphones to Nvidia Corp. servers and Sony Group Corp. game consoles. The company has also helped put a NASA helicopter on Mars. Right now, it makes almost 60 percent of its MLCCs in Japan, but that proportion will likely fall closer to 50 percent in the years
ahead, 63-year-old Nakajima said. Murata is the world’s leading supplier of capacitors, which regulate the delivery of power to electric components.
Apple has been diversifying production beyond China, most recently beginning production of its AirPods wireless earphones on a trial basis in India. Many Chinese manufacturers of mid-range smartphones are also expected to open more factories in India, drawn by the country’s abundant workforce and surging consumer spending.
Those moves by its customers, along with promises of support from Narendra Modi’s government, have spurred Murata to rent a plant in OneHub Chennai Industrial Park in India’s southernmost state of Tamil Nadu, where it plans to package and ship ceramic capacitors in the fiscal year starting April 2026. Murata is using the ¥1 billion ($6.6 million) five-year lease to test long-term demand in the country, before it commits to building a factory to span more production processes, Nakajima said. Bloomberg News
LEX Corp. is pouring nearly P1.4 billion in technological enhancements aimed at improving customer experience and ensuring seamless toll transactions across its expressway network.
According to Nlex Corp. OIC and CFO Maria Theresa Wells, the investment includes the installation of Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras on all 315 toll lanes.
Currently, 77 lanes are equipped with ALPR technology, which captures vehicle license plate data at barrierless toll plazas and monitors vehicles without RFID tags or with insufficient balances.
Furthermore, the investment will be used to upgrade the remaining 127 RFID antennas to high-frequency antennas. These advanced antennas aim to improve the efficiency of RFID sticker readings, increasing the read range and allowing detection
of up to three vehicles in advance to expedite toll lane transactions. The upgrades are designed to meet strict operational targets, including achieving a 98-percent RFID readability rate, detecting vehicles at toll lanes within one second for all vehicle classes, and ensuring accurate vehicle classification. To further enhance traffic enforcement, Nlex is also deploying additional speed cameras to help mitigate speeding violations and improve road safety. Other enhancements include replacing toll lane computers and installing upgraded Plaza Computer System (PCS) and Video Enhancement System (VES) servers in the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (Sctex).
“Over the years, Nlex Corp. has shown its commitment to providing world-class service. By benchmarking its technologies against those used in other countries, we aim to provide greater accessibility and convenience to all motorists at Nlex, Sctex, and Nlex Connector,” Wells said.
PHOTO FROM WWW.MPTC.COM.PH
Banking&Finance
DOF, US diplomats gab after USAID fund halted
By Reine Juvierre Alberto @reine_alberto
OFFICIALS of the Department of Finance (DOF) and US government representatives met recently nearly a month after US Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio “paused all US foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and US Agency for International Development [USAID] for review.”
The DOF said last Monday that Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto and US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay L. discussed trade and investment ties between the two countries to keep up with the new Trump administration policies.
On January 24, the US State Department issued a “stop-work” order for all existing foreign assistance after Rubio ordered a pause to assess whether the aid allocation was in line with the foreign policies of the President of the United States. ( https:// www.state.gov/implementingthe-presidents-executive-orderon-reevaluating-and-realigningunited-states-foreign-aid/)
The USAID has a total grant portfolio of $623.75 million, with initiatives in health and education, based on the 2023 Official Development Assistance (ODA) Portfolio Review Report. Recto expressed Manila’s gratitude to the Ambassador for Washington’s continuous support and partnership with the Philippine government, especially in its development efforts. He added that the DOF hopes for the continuation of the ongoing and pipeline projects across various development sectors.
Carlson commended the Philippines’s constant improvement of its trade and customs facilitation measures.
The countries’ bilateral trade relationship is in a “good position” and is “aligned” with the USA’s prosperity agenda, according to Carlson.
American investors are also optimistic about the Philippines, particularly on possible investments in the Luzon Economic Corridor, Carlson said. They are also bullish in other high-value sectors, such as manufacturing supply chains and semiconductors.
Earlier, Recto said the Philippines would benefit more from Trump’s tariff plans as this would only affect countries with high trade deficits.
“Today, we’re not so much concerned. There are also opportunities for Western companies to leave China and come to the Philippines to export to the United States,” Recto said.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the Philippines has a trade surplus with the US, with total exports amounting to $11.169 billion as of end-November 2024. This is compared to the $7.518 billion the Philippines has imported to the US.
The meeting also gathered Finance Undersecretaries Luwalhati C. Dorotan Tiuseco, Joven Z. Balbosa, Domini S.D. Velasquez, and Charlito Martin R. Mendoza and Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio.
From the US Embassy to the Philippines, the attendees include Economic Counselor Philip Nervig, Agricultural Counselor Michael Ward, Economic Officer Tom Pohlman, Economic Specialist Alta Paraiso, and Commercial Officer John Kim.
BSP names group to carry out plan to buttress cybersecurity
SIX months after launching the plan, the central bank finally established the Financial Cyber Resilience Governance Council last week to implement the “20242029 Financial Services Cyber Resilience Plan,” which it launched in August 6 last year.
The plan outlines “high-level” goals and strategies to maintain the integrity and security of the country’s financial system.
A statement issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) last Wednesday read that the council aims “to create a safe, secure and resilient financial system through strong cybersecurity practices, governance and collaboration.”
“This Council represents our collective resolve to strengthen our cyber defenses,” BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. was quoted in the statement as saying. The central bank governor also emphasized the importance of strengthening cyber defenses in response to growing digital threats.
The council is composed of Monetary Board Member Jose L. Querubin, who will serve as the advisor. BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier will serve as chairman while Sandeep Upper, president and CEO of HSBC Philippines, was named vice chair-
THE Kinangan Farmers Marketing Cooperative (Kifarmaco) from Malita, Davao Occidental has experienced significant growth and development through the Malasakit sa Kooperatiba (MK) program, an initiative supported by Senator Christopher “Bong” Go and implemented by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). Through this program, Kifarmaco received financial support last year to expand its working capital for purchasing whole nuts baker, read a statement issued by Go last Wednesday. “This financial boost allowed the cooperative to increase its purchasing capacity from five tons to eight tons,”
Power firms’ real property taxes condoned by Marcos
By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
TO maintain the financial stability of Independent Power Producers (IPP), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order (EO) 83, which reduced and condoned IPP’s real property taxes (RPT) last year.
Under the three-page EO 83, the chief executive use his powers provided by RA No. 7160 to reduce the RPTs of IPPs under build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts with
government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) for property, machinery, and equipment for Calendar Year 2024 to 15 percent of their fair market value.
It also condoned the interests/ penalties related to RPT liabilities which were incurred by IPPs last year.
“All RPT payments made by the IPPs over and above the reduced amount under Section 1 of this Order shall be applied to their RPT liabilities in succeeding years,” Marcos said.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Finance were tasked to ensure the compliance of local government units to EO 83.
They are required to submit to the President a progress report on the implementation of EO 83 six months after it took effect last Wednesday, when it was uploaded in the website of the Official Gazette.
“Any violation of the provisions of this Order shall be dealt with in accordance with relevant laws, rules and regulations,” Marcos said. The President said a substantial portion of the RPTs of the IPPs are contractually assumed by the National Power Corp. (Napocor) and/or the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) under BOT contracts with GOCCs. He said requiring the IPPs to pay RPTs for Calendar Year 2024 will impose massive direct liabilities on Napocor and Psalm, which can threaten their financial stability. It can also cause the closure and non-operations of IPPs, which is estimated to provide 3,100 megawatts to the country’s power grid, leading to higher power bills or rotating power outages.
‘Banks’ noncompliance harms agri credit sector’
By Ada Pelonia
THE noncompliance of some banks with the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009 adds to challenges faced by the agricultural credit sector, an expert on agribusiness posits.
University of Asia and Pacific Center for Food and Agribusiness (CFA) Senior Agribusiness Specialist Joy Kristel Orzales said this is worrying since the country’s agricultural credit sector plays a crucial role in supporting farmers and fishermen through various financial instruments and programs.
However, certain issues confront the agricultural credit landscape, among which are banks’ noncompliance with Republic Act (RA) 10000 and perceived risks in lending to the farm and fisheries sectors.
man of the Council.
The BSP added that the group will meet quarterly to discuss the success metrics of the plan, review relevant cyber threat reports and recommend policy enhancements.
“The role of the Council is clear: it is to lead the way by overseeing industry initiatives so we are on the right track in ensuring that we remain prepared for any threats that may arise,” Fonacier was quoted in the statement as saying.
“The Council is a symbol of our unity, of our shared commitment to protect the financial system, and of our resolve to outpace and outmaneuver those who seek to undermine it,” Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) President Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco also said.
Members of the Council include representatives from the Chamber of Thrift Banks, the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines, the Philippine E-Money Association of the Philippines, BancNet Inc. and the Philippine Clearing House Corp. The heads of the BSP’s policy and specialized supervision sub-sector, technology and digital innovation office and technology risk and innovation supervision departments will also serve on the council.
Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
it continued. The cooperative expressed their gratitude for the support, saying after receiving from the program about P50,000, the money was deposited in a bank. “Dati, limang tonelada lang ang aming nabibili, ngunit matapos naming gamitin ang pondong ito, nakakapaghatid na kami ng walong tonelada. Tunay na napakalaking tulong ng programang ito para sa amin at sa lahat ng miyembro ng aming kooperatiba, lalo na sa mga nag- commit ng kanilang niyog sa aming samahan,” the cooperative said. Go, who advocates for cooperatives and grassroots economic development, reaffirmed his commitment to support-
Orzales noted that compliance
Lacson
rate regarding Section 6 (Credit Quota) of the Agri-Agra Reform Credit law (RA 10000) remain low. That section mandates banks to “set aside at least 25 percent of their total loanable funds for agriculture and agrarian reform credit in general, of which at least 10 percent of the total loanable funds shall be made available for agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).”
By 2020, banks allocated only nine percent of their portfolios to agriculture and less than one percent to ARBs, according to Orzales.
“While formal lending institutions contribute to agricultural credit, they often prefer to pay penalties rather than comply with mandated lending quotas due to perceived risks,” she said.
Orzales noted that banks perceive lending to small farmers as “highrisk” due to factors such as unpre -
frets over
holding fund release in abeyance
By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
FORMER Senator Panfilo “Ping”
M. Lacson is not very comfortable with the Executive Department’s withholding of the release of funds in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Instead, Lacson advocates giving more importance to the local government units’ needs and priorities in the national budget, as they are the backbone of our country’s development and livelihood.
“The GAA is already a law. If the Executive branch withholds the release of funds mandated by law, I am not very comfortable with it,” said Lacson who had consistently opposed pork barrel and zealously watched over the budget during his term as senator.
During the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum last Wednesday, Lacson said that while the Executive branch may be taking such actions because the National Expenditure Program (NEP) was “mangled” by Congress,
ing initiatives like the MK program, the statement continued. Napakahalaga ng papel ng mga kooperatiba sa pagpapalakas ng ekonomiya at pagbibigay ng kabuhayan sa ating mga kababayan. Kaya naman, patuloy nating isusulong ang mga programang nagbibigay ng direktang tulong sa mga kooperatiba upang mas lumakas at lumago pa ang kanilang operasyon,” Go, a member of the Senate Committee on Cooperatives, was quoted in the statement as saying.
The MK program aims to “empower cooperatives by providing financial support, training and capacity-building initiatives.”
With sustained support from gov-
this could have been avoided had local development councils’ output been given more importance.
The senatorial aspirant laments that only 20 percent of regional development councils’ output makes it to the NEP, and the share becomes smaller as it goes through Congress.
“The local government units are the backbone of the country’s overall development and livelihood program. Giving them a fair and equitable share of the national budget will lead to the decongestion of the highly urbanized centers like Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao, to cite a few examples,” Lacson said.
He added that he has always “questioned on the floor why only 20 percent of LGUs’ output makes it to the NEP, when the function of development and livelihood lies with the local governments.”
“As a result, there is a disconnect between the national budget and the needs and priorities of the local government units,” Lacson said.
ernment leaders and projects like the MK program, cooperatives such as Kifarmaco are poised for long-term growth and economic resilience, the statement read. “Their success is a testament to the importance of collaboration between cooperatives, local officials, and national government agencies in fostering inclusive and sustainable development,” it added.
“Ang ating malasakit sa mga kooperatiba ay malasakit rin sa mga pamilyang Pilipino na bumubuo ng ating ekonomiya. Hangga’t kaya natin, ipagpapatuloy natin ang pagsuporta sa kanila upang mapalakas pa ang kanilang kakayahan at kabuhayan,” Go said.
dictable weather, pest infestations, and the small scale of operations.
“In the case of fisherfolk, formal lenders struggle to extend credit due to seasonality of fishing and lack of insurance of fishing vessels,” she said.
Orzales also noted that policies like the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program have “unintentionally restricted land transactions and reduced the collateral value of agricultural land, limiting credit access.”
Solutions ORZALES said certain opportunities could improve the country’s agricultural credit system.
For one, she said expanding agricultural insurance coverage through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) could reduce risks for both farmers and lenders.
Orzales also noted that investments in rural infrastructure could
lower costs and boost market access for farmers. This would increase their income opportunities which could lower the risk for credit.
She added that adopting technologies for risk assessment, credit delivery, and insurance products could enhance efficiency and accessibility.
“The agricultural credit sector in the Philippines faces considerable challenges, but ongoing efforts to implement innovative financing mechanisms, policy reforms, and strategic collaborations offer a promising future for the sector,” Orzales said.
“A comprehensive, multistakeholder approach that combines improved credit access, risk mitigation, market integration, and infrastructure development is key to ensuring financial inclusion and fostering sustainable growth in the agriculture sector,” she added.
Trump’s order tightens grip on bank regulators
PRESIDENT Donald Trump sought to rein in independent federal agencies in an executive order Tuesday that aims to curb the ability of some of Washington’s most powerful regulators to oversee banks and other companies.
The order, which applies to agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, calls for the entities to submit draft regulations for White House review before publication and consult with the Trump administration on their priorities and strategic plans.
Independent agencies have frequently followed directives from the White House, but their mandates don’t require them to do so. This order would change that requirement—and has the potential to draw legal challenges from the agencies.
The order exempts the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors and the Federal Open Market Committee’s work on monetary policy from the additional oversight. The order, however, specifies that the Fed’s Board of Governors will need to comply on issues related to “its supervision and regulation of financial institutions.”
“Previous administrations have allowed so-called ‘independent regulatory agencies’ to operate with minimal Presidential supervision,” according to the order Trump signed Tuesday. “These regulatory agencies currently exercise substantial executive authority without sufficient accountability to the President, and through him, to the American people.”
The directive is Trump’s latest attempt to clamp down on the power of agencies. The president has sought to
appoint loyalists to key administration jobs. Elon Musk, a close Trump confidant involved with the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-cutting effort, has embedded allies across the federal government to identify spending cuts and staff to terminate.
Independent agencies are designed to have a degree of separation from the White House, said James Angel, an associate finance professor at Georgetown University. At the SEC, for example, no more than three of its five commissioners are allowed to be from the same party. Those members have staggered terms, and the appointments are not designed to be part of the “political spoils system.”
“Congress set up these specialist agencies for very good reason,” Angel said. “They are designed to be technical experts run by a bipartisan group that would be slightly isolated from the whims of the current president.”
Bill Kovacic, former FTC chair under President George W. Bush, said the White House has always been involved in the budget process for independent agencies, but had far less engagement in their priorities and plans for regulations.
During the first Trump administration, Trump clashed with thenFTC Chair Joe Simons over an executive order targeting Big Tech companies after the platform then known as Twitter imposed fact-checks on his posts. Trump personally pressured Simons to open a probe into the social network over how it enforce its terms of service, but lacked the ability to fire him, though the White House did interview potential replacements and considered demoting him. Bloomberg News
PHL agri trade deficit still at $3B in Oct-Dec
TBy Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
HE country’s agricultural imports continued to outpace its farm exports in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Preliminary figures from the PSA, however, showed that farm trade deficit in October to December 2024 narrowed slightly to $3.014 billion from $3.016 billion recorded in the same period in 2023.
“The country’s total agricultural trade in the fourth quarter of 2024, which amounted to $7.36 billion, posted an annual increase of 17.3 percent. In the third quarter of
2024, the total agricultural trade recorded an annual increase of 12.1 percent, while an annual decrease of 0.8 percent was registered in the fourth quarter of 2023,” PSA said.
“In the fourth quarter of 2024, the total balance of trade in agricultural goods was recorded at $3.01 billion, which reflects a deficit with an annual decrement of 0.1 percent. In the third quarter of 2024, the trade deficit registered an annual increase of 1.6 percent, while an annual decrease of 6.6 percent was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.”
Figures from the PSA indicated that the total value of farm exports in the October-to-December period reached $2.17 billion, accounting for a 29.5 percent share of total farm trade. Earnings from
farm exports were higher by 33.3 percent than the previous year’s $1.62 billion.
Receipts from exports, however, paled in comparison to the import bill, which amounted to $5.18 billion or 70.5 percent of the total agricultural trade. Payments for food purchases during the period were 11.6 percent higher than the $4.64 billion recorded in the same period in 2023.
Cereals, including rice and wheat, were the country’s top food imports at $1.26 billion or 23.9 percent higher than the $1.02 million recorded in the previous year. It accounted for 24.4 percent of the total value of agricultural imports in the fourth quarter.
The top five sources of cereals for the Philippines were Vietnam,
Manila bans poultry from 4 US states due to bird flu
THE Department of Agri -
culture (DA) imposed a temporary ban on poultry products from four US states where outbreaks of bird flu have been confirmed.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. signed Memorandum Order (MO) 11, which authorized the ban on the entry of imported domestic and wild birds, including their products such as poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen from the states of Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
The DA said it decided to issue the ban after US veterinary authorities confirmed several outbreaks of H5N1 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the said US states.
The Deputy Administrator and Chief Veterinary Officer of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) submitted the official report on February 3.
It added that the rapid spread of bird flu in the US in a short period since its first laboratory detection prompted a “wider coverage” of trade restrictions to prevent the disease’s entry and protect the local poultry industry.
The agency also noted that
‘Municipal
there has been a mutual HPAIrelated arrangement in 2016 between the veterinary authorities of the USA and the Philippines wherein a state-wide ban should only be imposed if there are three or more counties affected by bird flu in one state.
Following this report, the DA chief ordered the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to suspend the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC) to the affected commodity.
He also noted that only birds slaughtered or products processed 14 days before the first outbreak in the particular locality would be allowed to enter the country.
In this case, Illinois’s first outbreak was recorded on November 14, 2024; Minnesota’s on November 26, 2024; Ohio’s on December 13, 2024; and Wisconsin’s on December 10, 2024.
The agency warned that shipments that failed to comply would be stopped and confiscated by
veterinary quarantine officers or inspectors at all major ports of entry.
The DA also recently imposed a temporary ban on poultry products that originated in South Dakota, Maryland, and Missouri due to bird flu outbreaks.
Meanwhile, the agency earlier said that the long-awaited bird flu vaccines are expected to hurdle field trials by the end of March this year. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/01/29/ phl-seen-completing-field-trials-for-bird-flu- vaccines-inmarch/)
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the trial results for avian influenza (AI) vaccines would be presented to the BAI through the Veterinary Technical Advisory Committee (VTAC), which would then be endorsed to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“By the end of this quarter, the two trials would be concluded and then the application for approval will be sent to the FDA,” de Mesa told reporters in a previous interview, noting that the vaccines undergoing field trials came from companies in Hungary and Germany. Ada Pelonia
ports need cold storage facilities for tamban export’
By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie
THE chairman of the House Committee on Aquaculture and Fisheries Resources on Wednesday said there is an urgent need to equip municipal ports with cold storage and modern postharvest facilities to sustain the production of “tamban” and other fishery products for export.
Bicol Saro Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan, the panel chairman, said these improvements would also help raise the incomes of small-scale fishers and create more jobs across the sardine industry’s supply chain.
Yamsuan added that the government must be prepared for the export opportunities that will arise following the recognition
THE senatorial slate of the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas has proposed a string of measures aimed at controlling food prices and ensuring food security in the country.
During a press conference before the administration slate’s campaign rally led by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., former Senate President Vicente
of “tamban” as part of the Codex Standard for Canned Sardines and Sardine-Type Products by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), an international food standards body.
Post-harvest facilities, which are sorely lacking in the fisheries sector, are necessary to prepare for these export opportunities, along with helping small-scale fishers raise their incomes and create more jobs along the sardine industry’s supply chain, Yamsuan said.
“We acknowledge and thank the efforts of the Department of Agriculture, through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources [(BFAR] and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute [NFRDI], in lobbying for the inclusion of ‘tamban’ in the Codex. This is certainly welcome news for
“Tito” Sotto III outlined his proposal for the government to purchase 50 percent of all farmers’ output. According to him, this strategy would allow the government to buy produce directly from farmers at fair prices while reducing dependence on middlemen.
Former Senator Manny Pacquiao proposed a national frame -
our artisanal fisherfolk,” he said.
“The next step is to ensure that ‘tamban’ and other locally grown and caught fish remain competitive products in the export market by providing our fishers with adequate facilities and equipment to preserve the quality of their catch, which, in turn, would allow them to sell these at higher prices.”
Yamsuan made the remarks in response to reports that the CAC recently approved ‘tamban’ as a standard product for canned sardines, a move that Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said would open new export opportunities in the European market, attract investments, and generate more jobs in the fisheries sector.
He expects these investments to include modern drying, canning, and bottling facilities for
work called PDC—production, distribution, and consumption—to regulate basic commodities more efficiently. He emphasized the need for government participation in these three key areas.
Pacquiao, however, added that he is not against importing food products but insisted that the country should import because of trade agreements and not to
the United States, Australia, Thailand, and Pakistan.
Among the other major agricultural imports during the period were meat and edible meat offal; miscellaneous edible preparations; residues and waste from the food industries; and animal, vegetable, or microbial fats and oils and their cleavage products.
Meanwhile, the top five farm exports of the Philippines were animal, vegetable, or microbial fats and oils and their cleavage products; edible fruit and nuts; preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts, or other parts of plants; tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; and preparations of meat, of fish, of crustaceans, mollusks or other aquatic invertebrates or of insects.
The PSA noted that of the commodity groups, animal, vegetable, or microbial fats and oils and their cleavage products, which were valued at $779.20 million, comprised the largest share of total agricultural exports in the fourth quarter.
“Among the Asean member countries, Malaysia was the top buyer of agricultural exports worth $163.78 million or a share of 44.8 percent to the total value of agricultural exports to Asean member countries in the fourth quarter of 2024,” the PSA said.
“Among the EU member countries, Netherlands was the country’s top destination of agricultural commodities worth $273.23 million or 61.4 percent of the total agricultural exports to EU member countries for this quarter of 2024.”
Egg shortages and price hikes are challenging small businesses
SMALL business owners that rely on eggs for their products are facing sticker shock because the usually reliable staple is in short supply.
Avian flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, causing US egg prices to skyrocket. The average price of a dozen Grade A eggs in US cities reached $4.95 in January, eclipsing the previous record of $4.82 set two years earlier and more than double the low of $2.04 that was recorded in August 2023. The Agriculture Department predicts prices will soar another 20 percent this year.
Most owners are taking the increase in stride, looking at it as just one of many hurdles they constantly face. But if the problem persists, they could be forced to raise prices or adjust their products.
Liz Berman is the owner and sole proprietor of The Sleepy Baker in Natick, Massachusetts. She specializes in custom, fromscratch cakes but also sells cupcakes, cookies, pies and other baked goods.
Eggs are just one of the baking ingredients experiencing price shocks. Items such as cocoa powder and butter have gone up as well. And price isn’t the only issue.
“tamban,” as well as cold storage and ice plants in major sardine fishing communities.
“Adding value to their catch by providing them adequate postharvest facilities is a key factor in helping our small fishers rise above poverty, along with providing support in accessing markets and training them on ensuring the sustainability of our marine resources.”
“Tamban” and other sardine products are usually found in the municipal waters of the Zamboanga Peninsula, Bicol, and Northern Mindanao. Other sardineproducing regions are Western Visayas, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan).
address shortages.
Makati Mayor Abby Binay said legislation is not the issue, but rather the poor enforcement of existing laws. She called for stricter actions against rice smugglers and those manipulating food prices.
Former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos and ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo both expressed concerns about the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), suggesting that the National Food
“It’s not just the cost of eggs, right? It’s also just the availability,” she said. She prefers to buy medium-sized white shelled eggs, buying a box with 18 dozen eggs, but two weeks ago those were unavailable, so she had to buy brown eggs in individual cartons of 12.
“It sounds kind of silly, but when I I’m the sole proprietor and I have a huge volume of work, to have to take a dozen of eggs out of my walk-in at a time as opposed to a flat of eggs, it’s just it’s a pain,” she said.
She doesn’t think prices will ease anytime soon. Cocoa powder prices have been elevated for years.
“I think ultimately I’m going to have to increase my prices, which is hard because that’s going to mean that there’s a category of customer that won’t order from me anymore,” she said.
In Princeton, New Jersey, John Nachlinger, owner of the Bad
Authority (NFA) should be given back the power to import and sell rice to stabilize prices.
Tulfo said that when the RTL was passed, it stripped the NFA of its ability to sell rice directly to consumers.
“We need to review the law to allow the NFA to do its job properly.”
Deputy Speaker Camille Villar supported the idea of government subsidies and direct procurement from farmers, arguing that these measures would provide imme -
Cookie Company, is imposing a temporary 25 cent per cookie surcharge to help mitigate added costs.
“As cookies are already a tightmargin food, these increases have really hurt our bottom line,” Nachlinger said. He said he doesn’t want to permanently raise prices or adjust the size of his cookies since he hopes the egg situation is temporary. “We want to bring value to our customers,” he said.
At Daisies, a pasta restaurant in Chicago, chef/partner Joe Frillman and chef/partner Leigh Omilinsky haven’t raised prices but are thinking of adjusting menu items.
Omilinsky said she is thinking of adding more vegan and egg-free deserts to the menu and has been working more with flax seeds. She said the shortage has made her more conscious of the ingredients she is using and wasting less.
“You know, if we need egg yolks we are absolutely saving those whites,” she said.
Meanwhile, Frillman said the restaurant has shifted to making pastas that use less eggs.
“We’ve just changed the shape of the noodle,” he said. “We use an extruder which is a piece of equipment that allows us to basically extrude pasta without eggs.” Depending on how long the egg shortage lasts, they could adjust menu items too, he said.
“We have a pappardelle on our menu that’s been on since day one,” he said. “If this gets to the point where it’s just cost prohibitive, it’s very egg yolk heavy, we would then transfer to something like a spaghetti or a fettuccine that is a similar noodle that we can make without eggs.”
Meanwhile, Stephanie Maynard, co-owner of Ox Hollow Farm in Roxbury, Connecticut, faces a different issue: skyrocketing demand. The farm she owns with her husband produces beef, pork, poultry, eggs and vegetables. They have 950 laying hens, with 300 more coming in March. The winter is generally a quieter time as the farm prepares for busy spring and summer months, increasing the inventory on hand until it is ready to sell. But this year, they’re rushing to increase egg production for customers at greenmarkets. AP
diate relief to both farmers and consumers.
“For short-term solutions, the government should buy rice directly from farmers to lower prices,” Villar said. “In the long run, we need to revisit laws like the RTL to see if they are still serving the public effectively.”
She said there is a need to strengthen infrastructure and provide additional resources for farmers to produce rice at lower costs. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz
CHICKENS walk in a fenced pasture at an organic farm in Iowa on October 21, 2015. AP/CHARLIE NEIBERGALL
Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz
Health& Fitness
St. Luke’s, Converge bring ‘smart rooms’ to patients
By Candy P. Dalizon Contributor
ospital confinement
Hcan be daunting. But imagine a room with hotel-like amenities such as in-room concierge, highspeed Wi-Fi, entertainment, and personalized eHealth access.
st. l uke’s Medical Center (sl MC) and Converge iC t s olutions i nc. have forged a partnership that will bring unparalleled, innovation-driven patient care and guest experience through technology.
l ast February 17, 2025, st. l uke’s introduced its i n-Room Digital Concierge, a digital platform that ensures a “smart” and seamless patient stay. Recognizing the increasing emphasis on hospitality in healthcare, this latest innovation underscores s t. l uke’s commitment to transforming healthcare into a more connected, informed and comforting experience.
a t s t. l uke’s, we constantly seek innovative ways to improve patient care,” said Dr. Dennis s errano, s t. l uke’s p resident and CE o
“We are revolutionizing the patient experience with this i n-Room Digital Concierge powered by Converge, a first for philippine hospitals. t his innovative system provides patients easy access to essential services, allowing them to focus on their recovery and enhancing their overall
healthcare experience at s t. l uke’s.”
Improving connectivity DR s errano shared that almost two years ago, he met with Converge CE o and Co-Founder Dennis a nthony Uy and talked about improving WiFi connectivity, which was a major issue for patients, hospital staff, and visitors. it started with Wi-Fi. i n a heartbeat, Mr. Uy said, ‘ i ’m going to solve that problem for you.’ He didn’t end up just solving that problem for me. He ended up solving a lot of other problems,” he added. “ true to our motto to take leaps in innovation and drive technological advancement, Converge is proud to debut the F tt R (Fiber to the Room) technology and Converge Content+
in the philippines’ foremost hospital, s t. l uke’s Medical Center. With their focus on patient-centered care and our mission for excellent digital experiences, this partnership will really set the standard for patient hospitality in the healthcare industry,” said Uy.
t he F tt R solution was deployed to 400+ rooms in s t. l uke’s Medical Center, BGC and nearly 400 rooms in sl MC in Quezon City are underway for activation. t his is in addition to the high-capacity, seamless Wi-fi provided by Converge in all the common areas of both hospitals.
Comprehensive digital experience
F R o M the comfort of their room, patients enjoy a comprehensive
digital experience via s mart t V, powered by Converge’s smart box. t his seamless integration provides instant access to eHealth records, a diverse entertainment hub, simplified bill management, real-time sl MC updates, online mass participation, streaming services (Netflix, Disney+), convenient meal ordering, and direct access to the s t. l uke’s eHub app.
“Moving to the next generation of connectivity and ease of access to information. i think this is revolutionary as far as hospitals are concerned. t his is going to be something that patients will really rave about. a ll in the name of enhancing patient experience in s t. l uke’s,” said Dr. s errano.
Emphasizing the need for digital transformation in healthcare, he stated that the partnership with Converge is a crucial step in preparing their hospitals for the future.
“a s everyone knows, we’re building a third hospital. You can be sure that whatever gains we have made in the two hospitals, we’re going to translate that also into the third hospital. a s we speak, Mr. Uy is laying down the fiber work for s t. l uke’s QC already,” added s errano.
Earlier reports said s t. l uke’s is investing around p 18 billion to build its third hospital, a 450-bed new hospital at the 107-hectare mixeduse central business district a seana City in p arañaque.
sBy Vincent Peter Rivera
UN toRY Beverage & Food a sia pa -
cific and Global s trategic p artners
Distribution, i nc. officially intro -
duced BR a ND’s Essence of Chicken to the philippines during its product launch at Manila Marriott Hotel last February 12, 2025.
o riginated in 1820, the Essence of Chicken was first created by Henderson
William Brand, a head chef of the royal kitchen, to boost the ailing health of King George i V. a fter witnessing the royal broth’s positive results, he established the BR a ND’s Essence of Chicken to make the product available to the public. today, the product has been clinically proven to improve an individual’s concentration, recovery after exercise, mood, and reduces tiredness and glycemic response, perfect to power up the day and a good addition to the daily diet.
BR a ND’s Essence of Chicken is made of an all-natural extract of fine quality chicken hygienically processed under high temperatures. it is sealed air-tight by a patented triple safety cap and packaged in an easily digestible form.
With two years of working together, the partnership between s untory and G spDi for this product launch was only the first step to their aspirations of being an integral part of Filipino consumerism on energy products.
Divine appointment
a s a consumer of the product, himself, peter t iope, p resident of Global strategic partners Distribution i nc., described the collaboration as a “divine appointment” because of how things fell into place despite the Covid-19 pandemic and rigorous selection process.
“We are deeply grateful to s untory Beverage & Food a sia for entrusting us with this incredible opportunity. a s the exclusive distributor of BR a ND’s Essence of Chicken in the philippines, we whole-heartedly embrace the mission of bringing this world-loved product to the Filipino consumers, supporting their health, well-being and pursuit of excellence,” he said.
t he G sp D i team is a joy to work with and together, we are committed to bringing high quality, trusted products to Filipino consumers, empowering you to live healthier and more vibrant lives,” said John Wong, Business Development Manager for Export Markets of s untory Beverage & Food a sia p acific. “ t heir passion, ‘never give up’ philosophy, and resilience is inspiring and sets them apart.” today, BR a ND’s Essence of Chicken is already available in 19 countries with over 150 million bottles sold worldwide.
By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
CERV iC al cancer is the third most frequent cancer among Filipino women.
t he Department of Health (D oH) said that only 1 percent of Filipino women have undergone screening for early detection and prevention of cervical cancer. With this, the D oH has strengthened steps to detect and prevent cervical cancer.
a s part of the directive of Health s ecretary teodoro J. Herbosa to prioritize women’s health, 150 public school teachers from a ngelo l oyola s chool Carmona Cavite were given free pap smear which usually cost p 2,000 to p4,000 and H p V DN a testing amounting to p 8,000 to
Fullerton Health,
p 10,000 on February 14, 2025,t hey also received a free cervical cancer test called Visual i nspection with a cetic a cid (V ia ). “ Sa maagang screening, mas mapapababa ang panganib ng cancer dahil mas magiging maaga ang gamutan habang hindi pa ito Malala [With early screening, the risk of cancer will be reduced because we get to treat the cancer earlier and before it is not yet severe.],”Herbosa said.
Matriarchal society
H ERB osa noted that a community will become strong if women are also strong.
t he philippines is a matriarchal society. We have to take care of women. Dahil sa bagong Pilipinas, bawat babae mahalaga,” he added.
l ikewise, the D oH also conducted free Clinical Breast Examination (CBE) and Breast Ultrasound, H p V vaccination, H i V screening and counseling, mental health services, and family planning services by giving oral contraceptive pills, depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DM pa ), and contraceptive implants.
Herbosa said that the D oH is targeting to give those mentioned services to 320,000 women aged 30 to 65 in Region 4- a and across the nation.
Signs
n t he most common signs of cervical cancer include:
n Vaginal bleeding between periods
n Menstrual bleeding that is longer or heavier than usual
n pain during intercourse
n Bleeding after intercourse
n pelvic pain
n a change in your vaginal discharge such as more discharge or it may have a strong or unusual color or smell
n Vaginal bleeding after menopause
o ther risk factors for cervical cancer are :
n smoking and passive smoking
n a weakened immune system
t he Human p apilloma Virus (H p V) causes 99 percent of cervical cancer among women. Cervical cancer is preventable, through vaccination against H p V. t he H p V vaccine protects against the types of H p V that most often cause cervical cancer.
for Women in
in
in the heart of
in health and wellness is that it must be preventive, predictive,
Mitera Wellness
Batangas, hopes to be
to motherhood.
l ipa, Batangas, Mitera has established a name for itself as a nurturing sanctuary for women. All massages are performed by certified therapists and the center is managed by an o B-GY n with decades of experience in women’s health. We all know about the wonderful benefits of massage therapy: massage helps improve blood circulation, lessens pain and inflammation, strengthens immunity, and promotes better quality of sleep. Aside from the physical benefits, people also get mental health benefits after massage therapy. Moods improve and feelings of stress and anxiety decreases, giving the client an increased feeling of wellness. But do you know that there are specific massages designed to accommodate a woman’s different needs, especially when she is expecting?
Aside from the great benefits of massage, Mitera’s specialty massages are formulated to bring targeted results as needed by every client. Mitera’s massage menu offers a therapeutic massage for every stage of motherhood, so that every woman is given the most care possible at every stage of her reproductive life. For starters, Mitera’s Mother’s Stress- relief Massage is a relaxing moment for mothers to get away from their challenging roles in the household. t heir stressrelief massage is also is a very effective way to promote better physical and mental health for moms, especially for first-time moms.
For women embarking on their role as mothers, Mitera offers Fertility Massage t herapy and Pre- n atal Massage t herapy. Fertility Massage t herapy helps bring fresh oxygenated blood and nutrients to the ovaries and tone and strengthen the uterus to optimize fertilization and implantation. t his massage is also recommend for those suffering from Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCo S), ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, and unexplained fertility. For those who have successfully conceived, Mitera’s Pre- n atal Massage t herapy is a great addition to pre- natal care for women. t his relaxing massage relieves common problems during pregnancy such as headaches, edema,
sciatic pain, stress, and depression. Having a new baby in the family is a wonderful cause for celebration. However, for a mom that has just given birth, the first few weeks can be quite challenging. Some find it hard to breastfeed their babies. Mitera’s l actation Massage t herapy helps moms find the joy in breastfeeding their newborns. t his massage applies smooth and gentle pressure to specific contact points on the breasts to stimulate the glands that produce milk. t his massage also helps prevent the clogging of milk ducts which can be painful and hinder proper breastfeeding, which might affect mothers emotionally. With this massage, mothers are able to increase their milk production and have more bonding times with their babies.
Another after-pregnancy massage that Mitera offers is their Post- n atal Massage t herapy, which helps flush out excess water, cellular waste, and other toxins. t his aids the new mother lose a few unwanted pounds, while regaining firmness and muscle tone in the belly area. Mitera has designed this massage to give both mental and physical relief to mothers who have just given birth.
Mitera also offers Menopausal Massage t herapy for women going through the burdensome symptoms of menopause. Designed to help women go through this significant stage in their lives with ease, this massage helps manage hot flashes, soothe aches and pains, improve sleep quality, and regulate hormone imbalance. t his massage helps alleviate the side effects of conventional medical treatments for menopausal women.
At Mitera Wellness Spa for Women, the exciting adventure that is motherhood is given the full love and care that every woman needs. Women deserve to be pampered, especially when they are in their most fragile state during pregnancy. e xperience Alagang Mitera and we’re sure that it will be worth the visit. to book a session or explore how Mitera Wellness Spa for Women can help make mothers the most out of motherhood, please visit their Facebook page miterawellness, or call or message 0917-167-0225. Mitera Wellness Spa for Women may also be reached through email at miterawellness@gmail.com.
GSIS marks two decades of Filipino artistic excellence
THE Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) marked a historic milestone as it launched the 20th GSIS National Art Competition last February 7, 2025, celebrating two decades of promoting Filipino artistic excellence and cultural heritage.
“This milestone competition represents our enduring commitment to Philippine arts and culture,” GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso said.
“Through this platform, we celebrate not just artistic innovation, but the profound stories and aspirations that shape our national identity.”
Veloso emphasized that promoting Philippine culture and the arts forms a vital part of GSIS’s corporate social responsibility.
“As a government institution, we have a deeper purpose beyond our core mandate. Supporting Filipino artists and preserving
our cultural heritage demonstrates our commitment to nation-building through the arts.”
The competition, which has become a cornerstone of Philippine cultural development, features two distinct categories: representational and nonrepresentational art. This format continues GSIS’s tradition of embracing diverse artistic expressions while preserving Filipino creative heritage.
In collaboration with the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP), the competition welcomes all Filipino artists
18 and older. With an open theme, artists have the creative freedom to showcase works that reflect their unique vision and artistic philosophy.
“Over the past two decades, this competition has discovered countless talented artists and preserved remarkable works that enrich our cultural landscape,” Veloso added. “Each piece becomes part of our nation’s artistic legacy.”
Interested artists can access complete guidelines through the GSIS website and GSIS Museo ng Sining Facebook page.
Physical artwork submissions will be accepted on April 26, 2025, at the GSIS Gymnasium in Pasay City. Winners will be announced in June 2025. Selected works will become part of the prestigious GSIS art collection, housed at the GSIS Museo ng Sining in Pasay City.
Holiday Inn & Suites Manila Galleria Launches Pet-Friendly Staycations
JUST in time for Valentine’s Day, Holiday Inn & Suites Manila Galleria rolled out the red carpet for four-legged family members with the launch of its Pet-Friendly Staycation Campaign starting February 14, 2025. Now, pet parents can share the love with their furry companions in a comfortable and welcoming hotel environment.
Recognizing the growing demand for pet-friendly travel, the hotel is making select Suite Rooms available for guests checking in with their beloved dogs and cats. To ensure a delightful stay, pets will be welcomed with a special in-room amenity kit, available upon request, including a cozy pet bed, food and water
bowls, and delicious treats. Services such as pet walking and an in-room dining pet menu are available with an additional charge.
“At Holiday Inn & Suites Manila Galleria, we believe that pets are part of the family, and they deserve to be treated with gentle kindness. With this project, we are excited to provide a seamless and enjoyable experience for pet owners and their furry friends,” said Pat Puyat, General Manager at Holiday Inn & Suites Manila Galleria.
To maintain a delightful stay for all guests, the hotel has set clear pet policies, ensuring a safe and comfortable environment. A nightly pet fee will apply to cover deep cleaning and
maintenance, ensuring a fresh space for every guest.
Holiday Inn & Suites Manila Galleria continues to be a top choice for travelers with its convenient location, attached to Robinsons Galleria shopping center, and its array of amenities. The event was a testament to the hotel’s commitment to excellence and innovation, ensuring that guests always enjoy a memorable stay. For bookings and inquiries, guests may contact Holiday Inn & Suites Manila Galleria at +63287909400 or via email at higm.reservations@ihg.com. Follow Holiday Inn & Suites Manila Galleria on social media for more updates and upcoming events.
Families Are Choosing Wellness Over Material Indulgence with the Healing Pool
THE definition of luxury is evolving. Gone are the days when extravagance was measured by designer bags, sports cars, or high-end watches. Today, the most coveted luxury is health, well-being, and quality time with loved ones. Families are shifting away from material consumerism and embracing experiences that nurture their well-being. And leading this transformation is the Healing Pool, a revolutionary swimming experience that prioritizes health for the entire family.
Modern families are investing in meaningful experiences rather than material goods. Studies show that people now seek wellness, relaxation, and quality family time over possessions. From organic diets to eco-conscious travel, family well-being is becoming the ultimate status symbol.
“The world is changing—people no longer see luxury as just owning things. True luxury is about feeling good, living well, and sharing these moments with family,” says Richard Cariño, President of Crystal Blue Enterprises Inc. “The Healing Pool is not just a swimming pool; it’s a wellness retreat at home, giving
families a healthier and more fulfilling way to spend time together.”
The Healing Pool is designed to be more than just a recreational feature; it’s a wellness sanctuary for all ages. Unlike conventional pools that use harsh chlorine, the Healing Pool harnesses nano bubble technology, active oxygen, hydrogen infusion, and therapeutic minerals, creating water that nurtures the body and mind.
How the Healing Pool Benefits the Whole Family:
• Safe and Gentle for Kids. With zero chlorine, parents can let their children swim worryfree, avoiding red eyes, skin irritation, and harsh chemical exposure.
• Relaxation for Parents. Infused with magnesium, potassium, and sulfur, the water soothes muscles, relieves stress, and promotes deep relaxation, perfect for unwinding after a long day.
• Supports Active Lifestyles. Whether it’s morning laps, water therapy, or fun family games, the pool encourages an active, healthy lifestyle for all ages.
Foundever® in the PHL Hosts Nationwide Roadshow for Associates’ Holistic Wellness
ASSOCIATES of Foundever® in the Philippines showcase their talents in one of the show-stopping performances during “Bene-feast 2025”. Foundever, a global leader in customer experience (CX), organized the event to provide information, activities, and opportunities that would enhance the physical, mental, social, and financial wellbeing of its associates.
FOUNDEVER®, a global leader in customer experience (CX), conducted a nationwide wellness roadshow designed to champion the holistic wellbeing of its associates.
Running from January 29 to February 14, 2025 across multiple cities in the Philippines, the event brought to life “Thrive at Foundever,” the company’s flagship wellness program that supports employees’ physical, mental, social and financial wellbeing.
Titled “Bene-feast 2025,” the event was an immersive experience designed to let employees experience their full benefits. Featuring a thoughtfully curated lineup of activities, the initiative focused on four key pillars: physical fitness, mental health, financial empowerment and social wellbeing.
“At Foundever, we are committed to creating a workplace where our associates don’t just work—they thrive in every aspect of their lives,” said Jen Vargas, Human Resources Director. “Bene-feast 2025 is a celebration of this commitment, where associates can explore various programs and resources that support their health, financial goals and overall wellbeing,”
Bene-feast 2025 featured a variety of booths and activities designed to educate associates about the Thrive at Foundever
initiative. Highlights were the company’s healthcare offerings such as its HMO services, integrated medicine program, insurance options, onsite clinics, and its very own wellness program, EverBetter. Financial wellness services showcased at the event include salary advancement programs and available government savings programs, while social wellness initiatives involved Circles and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) such as Pride at Foundever, Women at Foundever and Disability at Foundever. Additionally, the event introduced the new Employee Assistance Program (EAP) of Foundever, which provides confidential, professional support to help associates manage stress, anxiety and other mental health challenges. This 24/7 support system offers access to expert counseling, crisis support and personalized guidance. Attendees engaged with booths, collected stamps, and unlocked exciting prizes, creating an interactive and enjoyable learning experience about the wellness programs available to them.
The Bene-feast 2025 is set to redefine the workplace experience, fostering a culture where associates of Foundever can truly thrive.
Establishment of Japan Philippines Australia Strategic Dialogue seen
AT a time of significant geo-political, geo-economic, and geo-strategic challenges facing countries across the Indo-Pacific, a Japan-Philippines-Australia Strategic Dialogue is being established at a ‘Track 2’ meeting that was held in Manila on February 17 to 18, 2025.
The dialogue focused on regional security cooperation and economic and trade diplomacy, with themes for the inaugural dialogue around joint maritime security and joint economic security.
The meeting involved highly experienced and respected former foreign policy, military, and economic leaders and researchers from the three countries. Dialogue participants included former naval and air force military commanders, former senior foreign and cabinet ministry officials, and academic and legal experts on economic security.
Key Philippines government agencies namely the Departments of Foreign
• Aging Wellness. Active oxygen and nano bubbles boost circulation and joint mobility, benefiting grandparents and individuals seeking relief from body aches.
• Stronger Family Bonds. In a world of digital distractions, the Healing Pool creates meaningful moments, bringing families together for fun, relaxation, and connection.
• Eco-Friendly and Sustainable. With a zerochemical approach, the Healing Pool ensures a safe, natural, and sustainable swimming experience.
More homeowners, resorts, and real estate developers are prioritizing healthconscious designs in their properties. Whether for private residences, resorts, or high-end communities, the Healing Pool is the ultimate upgrade—offering aesthetic beauty, relaxation, and real health benefits that today’s luxury buyers demand.
“This is the future of family luxury,” says Cariño. “A pool should do more than just look beautiful—it should enhance the well-being
Affairs, Defense, Trade and Industry, and the National Security Council sent representatives and participated in the dialogue, together with representatives from the Embassies of Japan and Australia. Former Philippines Energy, Cabinet, and Foreign Affairs Secretary Rene Almendras and former Ambassador of Japan to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, have joined the Board of The Institute as part of the Dialogue initiative and co-hostrd the event with AVM (ret’d) Peter Nicholson AO, a founding director of The Institute for Regional Security and former Air Commander Australia. The Institute for Regional Security, based in Canberra, Australia, intends to follow the inaugural meeting with a “Track 1.5” meeting later in 2025 involving government policy and decision makers from the three countries, and to establish the Dialogue program with annual gatherings rotating between the three countries.
CLUSTER General Manager Pat Puyat and Pet Dog Yoshi in a Two-Bedroom Suite at Holiday Inn & Suites Manila Galleria.
The next chapter of my 'K-tharsis' with Asian dramas
IT’S been almost five years since I first found solace in K-dramas during the pandemic. At a time when the world was shutting down, these stories provided me with an arena for catharsis and, in many ways, a knock to see different perspectives of somewhat similar situations. I put a pause on this post-pandemic.
But last year, I found myself returning to these dramas—this time, not just for entertainment but for healing. The past two years have been filled with difficult moments, and I realized that my journey with Asian dramas wasn’t just about indulging in good storytelling. It was about allowing myself to feel, grieve, and process emotions I had tucked away.
As parents, we often believe we need to be strong. We put on brave faces, especially in front of our children, thinking that showing pain would burden them. But in doing so, we sometimes pause our own sadness for too long, leaving emotions unprocessed. Asian dramas, in their raw and heartfelt storytelling, have become a space where I—and many other moms—can finally let the tears flow. We cry for the characters, but in those moments we also release our own pent-up emotions.
I have now also watched and liked Japanese series. Here are some of the Asian dramas that have deeply resonated with me and have become part of my continued journey of “K-tharsis.”
1. “WHAT COMES AFTER LOVE” (VIU)
THIS Japanese drama explores the aftermath of the heartbreak of a Japanese male and a Korean female couple. It stars one of my favorite Japanese actor Kentaro Sakaguchi and Korean actress Lee Se-young. It shows the courage it takes to move forward and was a realistic portrayal of love lost and found again.
2. “FIRST LOVE” (NETFLIX)
THIS is another Japanese series that portrays a nostalgic and heart-tugging story that takes us through first loves and lost opportunities. With nice cinematography and a beautiful soundtrack by Japanese singer Hikaru Utada, this drama tugs at the heartstrings, making us reflect on the “what ifs” of our own pasts and the beauty of rediscovering love in
unexpected ways.
3. “TWENTY FIVE TWENTY ONE” (NETFLIX)
I HAVE not cried over a K-drama as much as I cried over this. Every decision made, whether joyful or sad, by the two leads were very poignant. It made it more exciting because it is about the lives of Sabre fencers, which is the same weapon my daughter fences with.
4. “FAMILY BY CHOICE” (VIU)
THIS heartwarming series redefines the concept of family, showing that sometimes the people we choose to keep in our lives can be more meaningful than the ones we are born into. With a mix of heartfelt moments and humor, it emphasizes the importance of unconditional love and emotional support… that with it, people can live happy adult lives no matter how hard one’s struggles are as a child.
5. “DR. ROMANTIC” 1 & 2 (NETFLIX)
A MEDICAL drama with depth, heart, and compelling characters, Dr.Romanticis about more than just saving lives — it’s about passion, resilience, and mentorship. The journey of the doctors in this series is a powerful reminder that healing extends beyond
It’s never too late to bring the Sunshine in
IT’S never too late to learn something new and bring more joy to your life. One never grows old at Sunshine Place, which has been a source of new things, new discoveries with its unique classes and opportunities to meet new friends. And the start of the year is the best time to look into Tai Chi, Chair Dancing, Porcelain Painting, and Intermediate and Advanced Acrylic Painting at this senior hub of the Felicidad T. Sy Foundation.
GIVE YOUR HEALTH A BOOST
DISCOVER Tai Chi, a traditional martial art known for its benefits in meditation, balance, and overall well-being. This low impact exercise is especially popular among older adults as it gently strengthens muscles and improves joint flexibility without straining the body.
Instructor Ms. Irene Chia says that what she thinks makes the Tai Chi class in Sunshine Place unique is its strong focus on health and its healing benefits. “Sensitivity to the students is important and each student learns differently so the lessons are adjusted accordingly,” she adds.
Under Teacher Irene, students can explore different Tai Chi styles including Tai Chi 18 Movement Qigong; Tai Chi for Arthritis (Sun Style), Tai Chi for Diabetes (Sun and Yang Styles); and Yang 10, Yang 15, and Yang 24. Through guided sessions, students will master proper breathing techniques, enhance their balance, and develop their inner energy. Tai Chi offers a holistic approach to health, promoting calmness, focus, and vitality.
Tai Chi sessions under Ms. Irene Chia are scheduled on Saturdays at 8:45 - 9:45 am, and 1 - 2 pm.
DANCE YOUR HEART AWAY
CHAIR Dancing is a unique and inclusive fitness class designed for seniors, individuals with mobility challenges and anyone looking for a low impact way to stay active. Performed entirely while seated, this class uses wide, flowing movements for both the upper and lower body, set to the timeless tunes of classic golden hits.
It’s also a fun and engaging way for office workers and those that stay at home to counteract stiffness from
prolonged sitting. Don’t underestimate the workout — an hour of targeted arm and leg exercises will leave you feeling energized and refreshed.
TEACHER Danny Vinculado points out that Chair Dance classes cater not only to seniors, but especially to super seniors who are in wheelchairs and walkers. “We want to make differently abled seniors feel that even if they can no longer dance like they could do before, they are still capable of dancing and having a good time — even while sitting!” he says.”
Chair Dance classes under Teacher Danny Vinculado are held every Tuesday from 3 to 4 pm.
LEARN A NEW CRAFT
IN Porcelain Painting, each brushstroke transforms a simple porcelain plate into a work of art. This traditional technique involves carefully hand-painting designs, then firing a piece in a kiln to fuse the colors permanently. The process is repeated multiple times to build depth, vibrancy, and intricate details, ensuring a stunning, long-lasting finish.
“Like tableware, decorative painting that you can frame, create your own style and skill, discover your talent” enriches your living, says Teacher Mee Lee Casey.
“It also helps improve social skills, soothing, healing, relaxing fun, no pressure.” In the class, “all problems seem left solved and left behind” Porcelain painting classes under Ms. Mee Lee Casey are held every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10 am to 12:30 pm; and 1:30 to 4 pm.
REVISIT YOUR CREATIVE SKILLS
“PAINTING is a stress reliever,” says Vicky Pollisco. “I only concentrate on colors and blending after reviewing legal documents and contracts. It also promotes personal growth because we should not stop learning something new.”
medicine; sometimes, it’s about finding the strength to believe in oneself.
6. “EXTRAORDINARY ATTORNEY WOO” (NETFLIX)
A REFRESHING and inspiring story centered around Woo Young-woo, a lawyer in the spectrum with an incredible legal mind. This drama sheds light on neurodiversity, perseverance, and the power of embracing one’s uniqueness in a world that often demands conformity.
7. “OUR BELOVED SUMMER” (NETFLIX)
THIS is a funny live story of “cats and dogs” and opposites attract. This series takes viewers through the bittersweet realities of love, breakups, and growth. It opens minds on unconventional success through passion and hard work.
8. “LOVE NEXT DOOR” (NETFLIX)
I WATCHED this because the male lead, Jung Hae-in, is one of my favorite Korean actors. It is lighthearted yet meaningful as we see the loving connection of
childhood friends and how they have rooted for each other all these years. The story beautifully highlights how love needs to be patient and courageous.
9. “MELO MOVIE” (NETFLIX)
FOR those who enjoy introspective and melancholic storytelling, MeloMoviedelivers a deeply emotional experience. It delves into the complexities of sacrifices we need to first do for our family before pursuing love.
10. “20TH CENTURY GIRL” (NETFLIX)
A TOUCHING coming-of-age film that beautifully encapsulates the innocence and heartbreak of teenage love. With a poignant narrative and deeply emotional moments, it reminds us how our first loves shape us, even as we grow older. These dramas have been more than just a pastime; they’ve been a journey of rediscovery, helping me process emotions I once set aside. It even opened me up to allowing my children to actually provide me solace in their special way. There is a scene in LoveScoutI could not forget… the little girl hugging his single father during a tough time, and asking with a smile: Did my encouragement reach your heart, Dad? n
Vicky is part of the Immediate and Advanced Acrylic Painting Class under Maestro Fidel Sarmiento and his assistant Mr. Robert Fernandez. Perfect for students with prior experience, this class offers guidance to refine techniques and embrace creative challenges. Led by teachers of the Art Association of the Philippines, the program includes annual exhibitions at the Sunshine Place, providing students with the opportunity to showcase their works. Special sessions are also available for large canvas projects, making this class ideal for those who want to expand their horizons.
Tai Chi is a traditional Chinese
The program provides students with the opportunity to showcase their works in annual exhibitions at the Sunshine Place.
Perfect for both beginners and experienced artists, the Porcelain Painting class offers a creative and therapeutic experience.
Giving birth not a bane for Hidilyn—Doc Canlas
By Josef Ramos
BEARING a child this year and going back to serious training to fulfill a mission in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics is doable for Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, according to renowned sports medicine doctor Jose Raul Canlas.
“Yes, that’s very doable,” Canlas told BusinessMirror on Tuesday, a day after the weightlifting champion in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics announced her plans for the next four years on Monday—have a baby now with husband and coach Julius Naranjo and embark on another gold medal quest in LA28.
“But that depends on how she gives birth,” said Canlas, who heads the country’s surfing association. “It can be done especially without complication.” Canlas, also a FIBA official doctor and a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said Diaz-Naranjo has a lot of time to get into Olympic form in the next three years.
“It’s a normal thing for some athletes who give birth. They rest a couple of months and recover,” he said. “But if by cesarean procedure, that’s another story because it requires surgery and it may take at least three months for the mother to recover.”
“If normal delivery, it’s just a matter of weeks of rest and recovery,” he added. Even at 33 years old, Canlas said becoming a mom won’t affect DiazNaranjo’s strength and condition.
But he said breastfeeding should be a factor because it affects a woman’s hormones.
“There are some other factors, like
Gilas Pilipinas braces for scrap against Taipei
Ain their previous encounter is no guarantee for Gilas Pilipinas to repeat over Chinese Taipei in the third and last window of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup qualifiers on Thursday at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.
“They [Chinese-Taipei] will be a better team this time,” Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone said on the eve of their 7 p.m. game against the Taiwanese. “They are a different team now, so we expect a much different fight.” Cone cautioned his wards on every detail as they expect the hosts to be more lethal in defense as they parade a new naturalized player and head coach and two players.
“No rest for us right now, and we cannot be complacent,” Cone said. “We just have to keep pushing forward.”
Italian Gianluca Tucci will be calling the shots this time for Chinese-Taipei, which will be reinforced by seven-foot Brandon Gilbeck, who averaged 11 points and eight rebounds in their last two FIBA games, and 6-foot-2 Mohammed Al Bachir Gadiaga.
The Taiwanese had no naturalized player when they absorbed a 106-53 loss to the Filipinos in the first window last February at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Justine Brownlee led the Philippines with 26 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in that rout of the Taiwanese.
Sitting on a perfect 4-0 win-loss card that earned them a slot in the The Philippines is 4-0 won-lost and is already qualified for the Fiba Asia Cup in August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, while Chinese-Taipei is struggling with a 1-3 win-loss record in Group B. After Chinese-Taipei, Gilas Pilipinas will fly to Auckland to square off anew with New Zealand on Sunday at 10 a.m. for its final game in the third window qualification. Josef Ramos
SHANER GABALDON and Jairus
Peralta posted double victories to share Most Valuable Player honors in the Mayor Rolen Paulino Jr. National Junior Tennis Championships at the Olongapo Tennis Club recently. Gabaldon overpowered top seed Athena Liwag of the host province twice with identical scores of 6-3, 6-1, to claim both the girls’ 12- and 14-and-under titles in the Group 2 tournament.
STRAIGHT-SETS WIN
Alyssa Solomon scores 12 points as National University beats Ateneo, 25-23, 25-19, 25-15, on Wednesday for its second consecutive win in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines women’s volleyball tournament in San Juan.
breastfeeding for one year, but if it’s just for giving birth and then recovery, and the woman;s strong enough, it’s okay,” he said. “The LA games are three years away, but it’s really up to her.”
Strength and conditioning coach Dexter Aseron of the TNT Tropang Giga team in the Philippine Basketball Association agreed with Canlas, noting that everything depends on how she will deliver her first born.
“It’s a normal thing. Many female athletes have recovered and won gold medals after giving birth,” Aseron said.
“The proper workout, strength and conditioning will return in just a few weeks if the delivery normal.”
“On her physical recovery, she must just recover from trauma of birth and then after that, everything will return to her normal activities for her muscle recovery as well,” he added. Aseron said:
“Pregnancy doesn’t limit her to what she wants to do as an athlete.”
One athlete who came back very strong after becoming a mom was rower Helen Glover, 38, who won gold medals in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics—she retired during the pandemic and give birth to twins but returned in Paris 2024 and clinched a team silver medal.
B8 | Thursday, FeBruary 20, 2025 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph
Editor: Jun Lomibao
EASTRIDGE-PRIMEHOMES tallied 105 at tricky Bacolod Golf Club (formerly Binitin) behind a trio of aces with oneover-par 71s worth 35 points each to open up a 12-point lead on Wednesday in the 76th Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub Men’s Championship.
Powerhouse Manila Southwoods, on the other hand, dropped to third spot as Jeff Lumbo, Alex Bisera and Ronel Taga-an formed a three-sided blade that Eastridge used to slice a huge gap on the field heading into the final two rounds.
The Binangonan-based team took a 204 aggregate into the third round also at Binitin but non-playing skipper and club general manager Gimo Asuncion wasn’t about to fall into a trap of going all out in round three. He was still deep in talks with team members after their sterling effort to prepare rosters that will see action in the final two days.
Peralta, on the other hand, edged past Yuan Torrente, 7-6(4), 6-4, in the boys’ 12-and-under final and defeated Jairo Flores, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, for the 14-and-under crown, matching Gabaldon’s feat. The weeklong tournament, part of a nationwide talent search spearheaded by Palawan Pawnshop president and CEO Bobby Castro, saw intense action across multiple divisions.
In other results, Nueva Ecija’s Jayden
Ballado staged a thrilling comeback to beat Olongapo’s top junior player Jan Cadee Dagoon, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(2) in the 16-andunder finals, but Dagoon struck back in the premier 18-and-under division with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ballado. Local talents also made waves with Troan Vytiaco outlasting Anthony Cosca, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, in the boys’ 16-and-under final as Bais City’s Ariel Cabral dominated Frank Dilao, 6-3, 6-3, to secure the 18-and-under title.
“It’s always good to be leading,” Asuncion said. “But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We would want to come out with balanced lineups for the last two rounds. We will stick to the game plan that we came here with.”
So efficient was Eastridge that it threw away the 31 points of 12-year-old wonder Vito Sarines even as Tagaytay Highlands-Team IMG is now the new pursuer after tallying 98 points built around the 34 of Joaquin Tolentino. Raymund Sangil and Masaichi Otake accounted for 32s to complete scoring for Tagaytay Highlands, which also discarded a 31 turned in by another South Korean, Steve Yoon. Southwoods, which is bidding to win this tournament for the sixth time in the last seven years, has never lagged this far behind in a dominant performance that has stretched for more of the last decade.
debut and the performance of her brave band of sisters awe-inspiring last Sunday was that Adamson was almost given up for dead after being dominated, 0-2, by the gungho Ateneo Blue Eagles. But just when the crowd seemed resigned to an Adamson loss, the Lady Falcons found the stratosphere in the third set and swooped down, striking the opponent from all directions as the Eagles, who were now suddenly the prey, reeled from self-inflicted wounds and miscues.
The Lady Falcons never let go from Set 3, flying with the wind in Set 4 until the decisive Set 5 where Nitura showcased all of her Falcon Powers: speed, vision, agility and intelligence. The super rookie’s mastery of her game comes as no surprise. The good stuff is embedded in her genes. All the members of her family are accomplished athletes, starting with their father whose sport was basketball. Her siblings are all varsity athletes, starting with the eldest, Toni who played volleyball for National University alongside Jaja Santiago. Her brother Iñigo played basketball for Rizal Technological University.
Another brother, Cyrus, plays for the Perpetual Altas and the Emilio Aguinaldo Chiefs in the National College Athletic Association of the Philippines (NCAA). Elder sister Judiel plays
lead, Corpus third in PGT qualifying
OWER-HITTING Jaehyun Jung turned the Splendido Taal Golf Club into his personal playground and delivered a brilliant eagle-spiked five-under 67 for a commanding four-stroke lead midway through the Philippine Golf Tour Qualifying School on Wednesday in Laurel, Batangas. Jung showcased his superior power, iron play and putting while the rest of the 112 hopefuls battled gusty winds and the challenges of the rolling par-72 layout. His near-flawless execution, particularly on the three par-5s, made the leader at six-under 138. After an opening-round 71 that left him tied for third with Carl Corpus and Atsushi Ueda, two strokes behind Ji Sung Cheon, Jung set the course ablaze early. Jung eagled the par-5 No. 2 and followed up with three straight birdies from No. 5 and continued his dominance by capitalizing on the long holes by birdieing Nos. 9 and 11. But just when he thought he had the course all figured out, it struck back and forced him to back-to-back bogeys from No. 13. He steadied himself thereafter and parred the remaining holes to finish with a 30-37 for a six-under 138 total, including his opening-round 71.
He claimed a four-stroke lead over Cheon, who rallied in a frontside finish by birdying two of the last five holes to rescue a 73 and a 142.
“The course, for me, is relatively short but tricky. You really have to be precise with your tee shots,” said 19-year-old Jung, who showcased his power game by dominating the long holes. Corpus birdied the first two holes and gained more strokes on Nos. 10 and 12 to offset bogeys on Nos. 5, 7, 13 and 15 as he saved a 72 for a 36-hole aggregate of 143 for solo third, five strokes off the pace.
“It was a strange day. The wind in the morning was much harder, swirling unpredictably. I had to play conservatively and constantly check the wind, even at the last-minute,” said Corpus, who emerged as the best-placed Filipino contender. On the par-five No. 2, Jung unleashed a 3-wood off the mound, followed by a solid 7-iron from 198 yards, landing the ball 20 feet from the hole, before sinking the putt for eagle. Jung credited his putting when asked to compare his first and second rounds.
“Definitely, it was my putting,” he said. “In the first round, I carded a 71 in the morning wave, but today, my putting was much better. Swing-wise, my game felt similar, but my putting made all the difference.” The switch in tee times turned out to be an advantage for the Seoul native, who thrived in windy conditions as his precise approach consistently landed within 15 feet and led to three consecutive birdies from No. 5.
However, he admitted that the back nine posed a challenge.
“I actually struggled with the wind there. It kept changing direction a lot,” he added.
Making his debut attempt at securing a Philippine Golf Tour card, Jung remained optimistic.
“I’m feeling pretty confident with my game right now, and I hope this momentum continues,” he said.
Dan Cruz also came in unruffled by the wind at dusk, hitting three straight birdies from No. 5 coming in then holed out with another birdie to turn a three-over card into an impressive 71. He jumped to solo fourth at 146.
basketball for Letran. Youngest brother Lance also makes waves in the the NCAA juniors with the Perpetual Junior Altas. Despite her acknowledged brilliance in her chosen sport and the sensational win she and
SHANER GABALDON (left) and Jairus Peralta (center) display their trophies with Olongapo Tennis Club president Julian Mendoza.
JEFF LUMBO plays solid as Eastridge sustains its fine start.
JAEHYUN JUNG, 19, is on track to gain a card in the Philippine Golf Tour.
DR. JOSE RAUL CANLAS says becoming a mother won’t adversely affect Hidiliyn DiazNaranjo’s strength but other factors such as breastfeeding could have an impact.
Envoys&Expats
Chemist-ambassador speaks about NZ-PHL bonds being strong as ever
ONLY a few diplomats assigned to Manila take the time to learn the local language. Their contention: Filipinos speak to them in English—so why bother?
Apparently, New Zealand’s envoys are the exception. Case in point: Former Ambassador Peter Kell studied Tagalog intensively during his four-year tenure before departing in 2024.
His successor, Dr. Catherine McIntosh, proved that she could learn the language in just a few months.
(Editor’s note: Filipino/Tagalog isgenerallyconsideredamoderately difficult language for non-native speakers, particularly those whose firstlanguageisEnglish.ForEnglish speakers, the United States Foreign Service Institute ranks Tagalog as a “Category III language,” as it takes about44weeks,or1,100classhours toachieveproficiency—harderthan Spanish or French, but easier than Arabic, Chinese or Japanese.)
During the recent Waitangi Day celebration, Dr. McIntosh not only delivered a significant portion of her speech in commendable Tagalog but also belted out Hotdog’s 1970s disco classic—in perfect pitch. New Zealand’s top envoy to the Philippines wowed her audience, much to the delight of guests, including members of the local media.
Come to think of it, her engaging way of interacting with locals mirrors New Zealand’s deepening cooperation with the Philippines. The Oceanic nation has been strengthening its presence in key areas of engagement with the Philippine government, spanning trade and investment, education,
culture, and defense, among others.
A chemist by training, McIntosh diagrams these vital exchanges that strengthen New ZealandPhilippines bonds. She also shares the lighter side of her work in this exclusive—one that might just make someone exclaim (with full and due respect to Her Excellency): Bongga Ka, ’Day!”
ENVOYS&EXPATS: The 60th year of Philippine-New Zealand relations will be celebrated under your watch. Preparations must be at a high-level for this significant waymark.
DR. MCINTOSH: New Zealand and the Philippines are in an exciting phase of their partnership. This year is already a landmark year for us, as we mark 50 years of New Zealand’s ties with Asean, reinforcing our commitment to the region. As we look ahead to 2026, we are preparing to elevate our bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Partnership—a major milestone as we mark 60 years of diplomatic relations.
What paved the way for this were the incredible outcomes last year of the visits of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters. These visits to Manila reaffirmed Wellington’s commitment to strengthening engagement across key areas and set a shared vision. Their discussions with Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. have set
the groundwork for enhanced cooperation in trade, security, climate action and people-topeople exchanges.
Our partnership is powering forward with shared goals and commitments. We’re working to boost two-way trade by 50 percent come 2030, harnessing our shared strength in agriculture, geothermal energy, and technology.
In the same vein, security and defense are central to our partnership. We are forging deeper ties through the Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement and ongoing Status of Visiting Forces Agreement negotiations. Our governments stand together in supporting a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Climate action remains front and center with the Joint Declaration on Climate Cooperation at the Paris Conference of Parties or COP29 reaffirming our resolve, while our geothermal energy partnership continues to be a beacon of sustainability and innovation.
We’re currently working on a roadmap to guide our collaboration across these sectors. It’s a big deal, and we’re thrilled to be on this journey with the Philippines.
How are people-to-people connections between our nations evolving?
I firmly believe that the heart of our bond is the people. And this holds in my everyday life here in the Philippines. Everywhere I go, someone tells me they have a sibling in Auckland or a cousin in Christchurch!
Filipinos are our fastest-growing ethnicity, with nearly 110,000 Filipinos calling New Zealand home. In a country of 5 million people, that’s a lot! They’re making a huge impact—from health care to dairy farming, construction to tech—and even in Parliament! It is
to no surprise that Tagalog is one of the fastest-growing languages.
Our cultural ties don’t just migrate: They take flight, scoring points, turning heads, and making waves across the world! They are alive in classrooms, on fashion catwalks, and even on basketball courts.
Through the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship Programme, Filipino scholars can study in New Zealand, growing into future leaders. In fashion and the arts, Kiwi designers turned heads at the “2024 Manila International Fashion Week;” while FilipinaKiwis like Katharina Weischede, Franki Russell and Victoria Vincent proudly carried the New Zealand flag on global beauty pageant stages.
Of course, nothing brings people together quite like sports—more so, in basketball! I’m excited to see Gilas Pilipinas and the Tall Blacks light up the court again soon.
I believe shared values enrich our human connections. Kiwis and Filipinos are both warm and hardworking people, and deeply connected to family and community. That’s what makes this relationship so special.
New Zealand has been actively engaging with our national government agencies. What sectors is it most particularly getting involved in?
Yes, indeed! And thank you for seeing our tremendous work. The embassy is dialed-in on key sectors driving our partnership to full speed ahead. As mentioned earlier, we’re committed to making significant progress in our priority areas. But beyond policy and trade, our partnership is about people, progress, and purpose—which is why development is at the heart of what we do.
New Zealand’s development
partnership with the Philippines is built on a shared commitment to resilience, sustainability, and inclusive progress. Through the “I-LEAD Programme,” we’re fostering indigenous leadership by connecting indigenous Filipino women and girls with Māori knowledge on ancestral domain governance. For this, we are partnering with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Development Programme.
At the same time, our climatesmart agriculture initiative with the University of the PhilippinesLos Baños is helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farming, contributing to a more sustainable food system. These, and more, show that we are investing in people and innovation. New Zealand and the Philippines are working together to build a future that is not just resilient but full of opportunity.
We noticed the embassy’s recent interaction with the local agriculture sector. What can it particularly bring to the table?
New Zealand has a lot to bring to the table when it comes to agriculture. We’re a nation built on farming, and we’ve developed world-class expertise in areas like dairy, sustainable agriculture and biosecurity.
We’re working with Philippine partners to improve food security, increase productivity, and share innovations in agri-tech—whether it be New Zealand’s work in Mindanao, to ready high-quality mangoes for export or in Quezon City aimed at boosting food safety at local markets. There’s a lot of potential, especially as the Philippines looks to modernize its agricultural sector.
Your thoughts about the
current situation in the West Philippine Sea. New Zealand believes in upholding international law—plain and simple.
As a small nation that relies on trade, freedom of navigation and stability in the region are critical. That’s why we have consistently called for the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea, in line with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS. We’ve also spoken out against actions that escalate tensions, because regional security matters to all of us. And yes, we’ll continue to do so.
Please share with us your diplomatic career journey. What was your impetus to be an envoy?
I had a taste for representing my country at an early age when I won a competition to represent New Zealand at the International Science Fair in Alabama as a teenager. It was such an honor to carry the New Zealand flag, and I was enthralled to meet students from all around the world. I was fascinated by other cultures and perspectives. This was no doubt a pivotal moment in inspiring my desire to become a diplomat.
It was further confirmed when I undertook doctoral studies in chemistry at the University of Oxford. I was the only New Zealander in the chemistry department and again, the motivation bubbled up to promote my country. The natural next step was to apply for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and fortunately they recruited me, and did not pigeonhole me as a mad scientist! I learned early on that friendships and collaboration that transcend borders can lead to powerful outcomes. This still motivates me today as an ambassador.
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Singapore hosts Lunar New Year feast; strengthens business, investment ties
THE Singapore Embassy hosted a Lunar New Year reception on February 12 to welcome the Year of the Snake.
The lively event brought together some 120 guests composed of business partners, investors and stakeholders who included leaders from the private sector, key industry stakeholders, and government representatives. This, as the islandstate reaffirmed its role as a key economic partner of the Philippines and reinforced its commitment to expanding trade and investments. Attendees were treated to an energetic traditional Lion Dance and also participated in the lo hei—a Singaporean tradition of tossing a prosperity salad to bring good fortune and good luck.
In her remarks, Amb. Constance See underscored the robust trade and investment ties between Singapore and the Philippines, as she highlighted the former’s position as a top foreign investor in the country.
See noted that the two governments share a deep and dynamic partnership. According to her, Singaporean companies are actively contributing to the Philippines’ growth across key sectors such as smart and
sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, water and waste management, digital innovation and financial services: “These are long-term investments in the Philippines’ future, reflecting Singapore’s confidence in its economy and people. The [Filipinos’] entrepreneurial spirit and strong economic fundamentals make it an attractive partner for Singaporean businesses.”
Her country, the envoy said, has been among the Philippines’ top foreign investors for years, with commitments in foreign direct investments (FDI) around $700 million in 2023: “The economic partnership continues to evolve, with increasing interest in climate technologies, decarbonization, sustainability initiatives, as well as carbon and transition credits, as both countries work towards a greener and more resilient future.”
She highlighted the trend of growing Singaporean FDI into the Philippines in the five-year period from 2017 to 2022, which grew by almost 40 percent.
See also noted that “2025
marks 60 years of [Singapore’s] nationhood: Six decades of resilience, reinvention, and resourcefulness. We are a small country, but we have always believed in thinking big, staying agile, and forging strong [ties]. And one of our most trusted partners in this journey has been the Philippines.”
Last year, the two countries celebrated 55 years of diplomatic relations. High-level exchanges included Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s keynote address at the International Institute of Strategic Studies or IISS ShangriLa Dialogue, along with the visits of Pres. Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Foreign Minister Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan to the country. For the embassy, these reaffirmed the deep
and enduring bilateral ties.
Beyond trade and investments, the two countries enjoy multifaceted cooperation in areas such as education, culture, labor, biodiversity conservation, defense and security. A Republic of Singapore Navy vessel made a call at the Port of Manila from February 13 to 16 as part of a goodwill visit, which reflected the excellent bilateral defense relations and growing defense engagement.
“Singapore and the Philippines have always embraced challenges as opportunities,” said the ambassador.
“[Entering the Year of the Snake, which symbolizes] wisdom and adaptability, I hope we can seize new possibilities and build an even stronger future together.”
Liberation of Manila exhibit opens at the Manila American Cemetery
THE United States government, through the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP), inaugurated an exhibition on February 13 that featured works of renowned Filipino painters to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Liberation of Manila during World War 2. The “Liberation of Manila: 80 Years of Remembrance through Art” exhibit invites audiences to reflect on the destruction and resilience experienced during one of the most significant events in Philippine history. These are reflected through the works of National Artist Fernando Amorsolo (“Burning of Sto. Domingo Church,” 1942), Diosdado Lorenzo (“Ruins of Sales Street, Quiapo” 1946); Nena Saguil (“Ruined Gate of Fort Santiago,” 1949) and Galo Ocampo (“Ruins of the Legislative Building,” 1945).
“Art has the power to transcend time, to give voice to the voiceless [and] to capture history not as cold facts, but as lived experience. The four powerful works in this exhibit, created by some of the Philippines’ most celebrated national artists, serve as a visual testament to
the past,” Amb. MaryKay Carlson said. “They remind us of the shared sacrifices, lives lost, and profound stories that must never be forgotten.”
Director-General Jeremy Barns of the NMP remarked: “The works you [will see are historical visual accounts—some of them firsthand—of the battle that was... It is our honor] to have such significant treasures in its collection, and it is our further honor to share them here at the Manila American Cemetery. Together, we bear the responsibility of commemorating
the struggles and victory of those who valiantly fought for our great nation’s freedom and the continued brotherhood of the Philippines and the US.”
The four artworks were loaned from the Fine Arts Collection of the NMP to the ABMC as part of a series of events marking the Liberation of Manila’s 80th year on February 22.
For the embassy, the paintings featured in “Liberation of Manila: 80 Years of Remembrance through Art” offer a reflection into the past and present: from the devastation of a
Japan-Philippines-Australia Strategic Dialogue established
Aa time of significant geopolitical, geoeconomic and geo-strategic challenges facing countries across the Indo-Pacific, a Japan-Philippines-Australia Strategic Dialogue was established at
city at war in 1945, to the resurgence of Manila with structures rebuilt in the current time.
The exhibition is open for viewing until February 25 at the Visitor Center of the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial inside Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. Admission is free and guided tours are available, including for schools and large groups.
The largest overseas American military cemetery in the world is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, except Christmas and New Year.
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Is this your first time in the Philippines? What do you know about the country prior to your arrival?
I had never visited the Philippines before being posted here as ambassador. It was a step of faith that truly paid off! The Filipino talent and hospitality are world-class and famous, we know that. But prior to my arrival, I was already aware of the amazing creative skills of Filipinos because my grandmother owned a children’s fashion store in New Zealand and imported the most exquisite, embroidered baby clothes from the Philippines. I was the most stylish baby in town! These same clothes have even been worn by my own daughters. Such is their quality.
Anything you could share about life outside the embassy?
Beyond my diplomatic mission, I value family and community. I am a mother of two girls and love to spend time with them and our adorable Filipina shih tzu puppy Trixie.
In terms of juggling motherhood with career, I took time off when my daughters were babies, and then went back to work part-time, progressively increasing my hours as they became more independent. In New Zealand we strive for “worklife balance.” I have heard a lot of Filipinos who study in New Zealand on our Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship Programme say this is a stand out of their experience there—an emphasis on wellbeing, not just academics or work.
Faith is also central to who I am. I grew up in New Zealand as the daughter of an Episcopalian Anglican priest and the church community was key to family life. I also ended up marrying an Anglican priest—my husband Paul! I therefore believe passionately in both the power of community and prayer.
I am constantly impressed by the faith and resilience of Filipinos, and the fact that the Philippines is the third-largest Catholic country in the world.
You seemed to have enjoyed your “Bugtong Challenge” video on social media. What was it like learning Filipino/Tagalog? What would be the first Kiwi words that a Pinoy should know? I love languages, so I had great
fun learning Tagalog during an intensive programme in my first three months in Manila. It was hard work though. The experience of 1:1 lessons with my talented Filipina teacher, Ms Thelma—the author of Salitang Pinoy Tagalog—was a bit like having a personal trainer!
The first Kiwi words a Pinoy should learn are “kia ora!” in the Māori language. This is a warm, friendly greeting widely used in Aotearoa New Zealand. It’s very useful because not only does it mean “hello;” it also means “Thank You!” and “Cheers!” New Zealand has three official languages, reflecting our commitment to diversity and inclusion: English, Māori and sign language.
What do you want to be your legacy in your Philippine tour of duty?
As I mentioned, I entered diplomacy motivated by the potential to bring people together from different countries and produce something more significant than what we could do alone. Therefore, now is my opportunity to bring the relationship between New Zealand and the Philippines closer; to make it stronger and to achieve more together. Ang New Zealand at Pilipinas: Magkalayo man sa mapa, magkalapit naman sa puso. That is the meaning of a Comprehensive Partnership: a status we will proudly reach by 2026. I am committed to realizing this vision across four key sectors: political relationships, trade and climate, defense, and people links. Legacy milestones would include conclusion of a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement, representing a step change in military cooperation; restoration of direct flights between the Philippines and New Zealand to drive growth in two-way trade; climate cooperation taken to the next level to protect our planet; and Philippine indigenous communities inspired and empowered by the Māori people.
I also hope that my example as a woman-ambassador will spark the aspirations of Filipina girls. It would be an honor to leave behind not just policies and agreements, but genuine friendship and lasting partnerships that benefit both our peoples. I want Filipinos to look back and say,
NMP director-general Jeremy Barns (third from right) delivers remarks in the presence of Amb. MaryKay Carlson, NMP deputy director-general Jorell Legaspi, American Battle Monuments Commission superintendent Ryan Blum, Manila American Cemetery Visitor Center director Vicente Lim IV, and members of the media at the exhibit’s inauguration.
AMB. Constance See
THE traditional Lion Dance
SEE (second from right) participates in the lo hei
AMB. Dr. Catherine McIntosh (left) with Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Mary Louise Araneta-Marcos during the recent Vin d’Honneur.
THE Philippine Embassy in London and Amb. Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. hosted about 100 students for their annual socials held at Tollgate Gardens Community Centre.
Locsin highlighted in his message that the “Student’s Socials” is a celebration of Filipino students in the UK, whom he addressed as “the Philippines’ future leaders, innovators and change-makers.” The ambassador expressed pride in the Filipino students’ achievements, as he looked forward to more interaction with them. The learners took part in funfilled games. After the program, they were treated to traditional Filipino holiday fare. The guests also received gift bags with customized notebooks, pens and Filipino snacks.
London-based Filipino nurse and multi-awarded singer Mervic Monocillo and daughter Louise, who is a student of Ancient Greek and Latin at Oxford University, entertained guests with their powerful performances. The reception is the embassy’s yearly tradition of bringing together Filipino students in the UK and
Country’s teams rank high in Bangkok schools swim fest
THE Philippines emerged as a formidable contender during the “5th Asian Open Schools Invitational [AOSI 2025] Swimming Championships” held at the Aquatics Center of the Assumption University-Suvarnabhumi Campus in Bangkok.
The competition, which ran from February 6 to 9, saw the participation of more than 1,150 athletes from 18 countries— including an impressive contingent of 331 swimmers who represented the Philippines.
The country’s teams clinched two of the top five slots: The National Academy of Sports of the Philippines (NAS) landed as second runner-up in the overall team
THE Philippines’ consul general to Chicago
rankings, while Lemmoda Aqua Gliders from Region 10 (Bukidnon) was third runner-up. Additionally, NAS garnered the highest points and dominated the Average Points Category, which displayed the Filipino swimmers’ wealth of talent in the global stage.
Amb. Millicent Cruz-Paredes attended the opening event where she met NAS’ executive director Joy Reyes, along with coaches and Filipino athletes who competed in the championship. She expressed her pride in the Philippine delegation and recognized their dedication and perseverance in bringing honor to the country through sports.
The Philippine Embassy in Thailand commends the Filipino athletes, coaches and organizers for their dedication and commitment to excellence. It said it remains steadfast in its support for Filipino athletes
Melanie Rita B. Diano recently attended the RVP Annual International Teacher Event at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio. The event featured and honored notable contributions of international educators— including Filipino teachers—with a special focus on their impactful role within the United States educational system. The event was attended by 100 international J-1 teachers hailing from the Philippines, Ghana, India and other countries, as well as representatives from various educational organizations. Also present were Min. Amidu Karande from the Embassy of Ghana and Kyle Harrigan who is the program analyst at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State.
In her message, Diano acknowledged the J-1 teachers’ significant contributions in strengthening the US education system, particularly in addressing teacher shortages, as they promoted multicultural awareness and global perspectives among their students and colleagues.
This was echoed by RVP Consultants’ founder and CEO Sabrina Abdu, who underscored the importance of having international J-1 teachers in US classrooms as it prepares American children for a more globalized world.
Diano also took the opportunity to speak with the Filipino teachers and check on their living and working conditions. She assured them of the committed support and assistance of the consulate.
THE Department of Education further strengthened ties with the Malaysian government to boost education opportunities and explore potential scholarships for local students.
Education chief Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara met with Amb. Dato’ Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino and his delegation from Malaysia last month and discussed new opportunities that will benefit not only Filipino learners, but also the broader Asean community, according to a news release.
Angara confirmed that Malaysia has long been a valued partner in education: “We continue to build on our shared history to empower our learners and communities.”
He said the proposed Malaysian scholarship programs were identified as key to expanding access to higher education for Filipinos and fostering regional cooperation, sustainable peace and economic growth.
The meeting focused on advancing bilateral initiatives, including ways to improve the Philippines’ “Madrasah Education Program+,” as well as the “Arabic Language and Islamic Values
Education” or “ALIVE” program in public and private Madaris schools in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Angara and Castelino also discussed the strengthening of workforce development through technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Malaysian deputy prime minister Dr. Ahmad Zahid Bin Hamidi have earlier committed to boost TVET programs to make Filipino graduates more employable on the global stage during their meeting in October 2024.
Angara also expressed enthusiasm for revisiting the 2014 Memorandum of Understanding on Education Cooperation, which was renewed in 2019, to align with emerging priorities. This includes integrating industry-focused initiatives such as the development of the halal sector and strengthening regional collaboration.
“We will explore new opportunities that will benefit not only our learners, but also the broader Asean community,” he averred. PNA/Stephanie Sevillano
AMB. Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. and Mme. Ma. Lourdes Barcelon-Locsin (right and second from right) with Filipino nurse and multi-awarded singer Mervic Monocillo (left) among the company of Filipino students in the United Kingdom
who are competing internationally, “given the significant role of sports in strengthening diplomatic and cultural ties.”
AMB. Millicent Cruz Paredes (center) with Filipino athletes, coaches and parents GLOBAL AQUATICS/DFA
CON. GEN. Melanie Rita B. Diano
SEC. Sonny Angara (left) and Amb. Dato’ Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino DEPED/PNA
SEC. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara (left) and Amb. Kazuya Endo
PHIL. FOREIGN POSTS
Undersecretary reinforces relations with Slovenia
UNDERSECRETARY for Bilateral Relations and Asean Affairs Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro met with Slovenian Foreign and European Affairs minister Tanja Fajon in Ljubljana.
In their meeting last February 7, Lazaro thanked the foreign minister for the warm welcome extended to the Philippine delegation who were in the capital city for the inaugural Philippines-Slovenia Political Consultations.
TThe Philippines and Slovenia marked 30 years of diplomatic relations in 2023, which were officially established on May 26, 1993.
The undersecretary welcomed the upcoming formal opening of the Slovenian Embassy in Manila, which is the first and currently the only Slovenian diplomatic mission in Southeast Asia. Fajon stated that she looked forward to visiting the Philippines for the formal opening ceremony of their deputation in Manila—the first-ever visit to the Philippines by a Slovenian foreign minister. Both sides affirmed their readiness to pursue linkages on areas of mutual interest while strengthening Philippines-Slovenia bilateral relations even further.
HE Bangladesh-Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BPCCI) hosted a dinner reception in honor of the country’s new envoy in Dhaka Nina P. Cainglet.
Some 50 business leaders and key government officials graced the reception late in January, which highlighted the growing economic partnership between the two countries as they explored opportunities for trade, tourism and investments.
friendship between the two nations which is built on shared values, notably close family ties, generous hospitality and strong work ethics. She noted the opportunities for closer linkages in trade, tourism and investments, including the promotion of the Philippine halal industry, education and skills development, along with technical cooperation.
AMB. Ma. Theresa Dizon-De Vega participated in the luncheon-meeting hosted by First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun for the Asean Committee in Seoul on February 5. The meeting, originally scheduled as an activity under the Philippine Chairmanship of the committee from July to December 2024, enabled the Philippines to reaffirm its commitment to deepen ties with the region’s member-states and enhance regional cooperation on key political, economic and security issues with the Republic of Korea (ROK, or South Korea).
In the meeting, Kim engaged in discussions with the Asean Committee on a wide range of topics that covered economic resilience, sustainable development, digital transformation and regional security. In particular, he emphasized ROK’s continued support for Asean Centrality, the bloc’s important role in keeping peace and stability in the IndoPacific Region, and ROK’s dedication to advancing the Korea-Asean
Ambassador
THE Philippine Embassy in Tehran successfully concluded its chairmanship of the ASEAN Tehran Committee (ATC) in a turnover ceremony held on February 4. The chairmanship covered the period of July 2024 until January 2025. For the Philippine Embassy in Tehran, the Philippines’ ATC chairmanship under Amb. Roberto G. Manalo was significant. Despite facing political-security challenges, the chairmanship successfully carried out key initiatives, including the diplomatic reception in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Asean, the coordination of a visit to the Chabahar Free Zone in southern Iran, as well as Asean’s representation at prominent economic events such as CARPETEXIRAN and the Kerman International Expo.
With Asean Friendship Group ON FEBRUARY 6, Lazaro met with member of the National Assembly of Slovenia and head of the Asean Parliamentary Friendship Group Miroslav Gregorič, as both discussed strengthening bilateral relations. Gregorič was accompanied by select members of the Slovenian Parliament during the meeting. It was noted that the establishment of the Slovenian Embassy will boost mutual ties between the two countries.
Congress. Both sides agreed that the said groups are an important platform to pursue cooperation in various areas.
The undersecretary encouraged the Slovenian side to explore the creation of Parliamentary Friendship Groups with their counterparts in the Philippine
Lazaro and Gregorič also discussed potential areas of collaboration, with a focus on possible cooperation on nuclear energy technology.
Asean committee in Seoul to hike regional cooperation
Solidarity Initiative or KASI.
Likewise, Kim reiterated South Korea’s commitment to peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, as he called for continued international cooperation in addressing related security challenges. He highlighted the importance of maintaining a rules-based international order and the importance of strengthening regional mechanisms such as the Asean to promote dialogue. On the economic front,
participants underscored the need to bolster supply-chain resilience, expand trade and investment opportunities, and foster innovation through digital and green partnerships. The Asean Committee in Seoul welcomed the ROK government’s willingness to work closely with Asean in key sectors such as smart infrastructure, clean energy and digital economy.
For the Philippines, Amb. Ma. Theresa Dizon-De Vega looked
forward to the ROK’s continued active engagement in meetings hosted by Asean member-countries.
For 2025, the Philippines will be hosting several international meetings across different sectors such as health and good governance through open government partnership, among others.
She also conveyed her appreciation for ROK’s consistent public support of the importance of upholding the rule of law and a rules-based international order.
The Philippines and ROK are strategic partners whose strong ties are based on like-minded values and a shared vision for a prosperous and stable region.
The robust political and defense cooperation, the recent signing of the Philippines-ROK Free Trade Agreement, the elevation of relations to a Strategic Partnership, and strong people-to-people ties are among close manifestations of their long-standing and dynamic partnership, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Seoul.
completes ATC committee chairmanship
Fervent support was also extended to cultural and recreational events such as the Asean bowling tournament and Asean Crab Food Festival, said the embassy.
In his opening remarks, Amb. Manalo emphasized Asean’s pivotal role in advancing regional and global cooperation, noting its key contributions to negotiating trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP, which extended the organization’s influence beyond its borders. He noted that the region’s importance nonetheless extends beyond economics: “Through promotion of a culture of dialogue and diplomacy, Asean promotes peaceful resolutions to regional challenges.”
The Asean Way, characterized by non-interference and consensus
building, allows member-states to address conflicts amicably and uphold regional peace.
Manalo conveyed his best wishes to Thailand as it assumes the ATC chairmanship, reaffirming full support for the committee’s initiatives and plans.
The turnover ceremony was attended by Amb. Haji Ismail bin Haji Abd. Manap and Second Secretary Victor Cheong of Brunei Darussalam, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Elbanita L.S. Ruru of Indonesia; Amb. Khairi Bin Omar of Malaysia; Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Vu Thi Thu Huong, First Secretary Nguyen Duc Ving Quang and First Secretary To Nguyen Huy of Vietnam; Amb. Pichit Boonsud and Min. Counsellor Wararoj Engsombun of Thailand; alongside Manalo, Deputy Chief of Mission Jabbar M. Adiong and Third Secretary Ansary U. Naga.
BPCCI president Humayun Rashid welcomed the vast potential for economic cooperation and expressed optimism about strengthening bilateral trade, particularly through air connectivity, skills development and agro-processing.
Director Hasan Towhid of the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for his part, shared that the Philippines was one of the first countries to recognize Bangladesh in 1972, and that it was looking forward to the convening of the third Philippines-Bangladesh Foreign Policy Consultations in Manila during the latter half of the year. He also expressed the country’s readiness to look into opportunities in agro-processing, ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals and tourism.
In her remarks, Cainglet underscored the longstanding
Commercial counsellor Eugenio C. Elevado Jr. who is based at the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in New Delhi highlighted key areas of collaboration that are aligned with priorities previously discussed by BPCCI, the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry, and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Discussions also explored cooperation in agroprocessing, particularly for coconuts, carrageenan, natural cosmetic products, and sustainable fibers and textiles. Tourism was identified as a high-potential sector, with a focus on medical tourism, education tourism, and halal tourism development. The event concluded on a positive note, as the commitment of both countries were reaffirmed to deepen economic engagement and explore new frontiers for cooperation. Oneon-one business meetings were arranged with attending companies to discuss specific collaboration opportunities.
Envoy lauds cooperation agreement with UAE
AT the sidelines of the World Governments Summit 2025, the Philippines and United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on February 11 to cooperate on improving and developing government activities.
The agreement was signed by Sec. Amenah F. Pangandaman of the Department of Budget and Management and Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Competitiveness and Experience Exchange and National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals chair Abdullah Nasser Lootah of the UAE.
The agreement aims for the two countries to move forward with cooperation efforts and build an institutional framework to promote and develop engagements to enhance government performance, strengthen capacities, and advance the improvement of performance measurement systems in governmental bodies and entities. Areas of cooperation will be on, but not limited to, capacity building for leadership, public financial management, and/or public expenditure management; development of knowledge management products for government services and performance, innovation and excellence; as well as strategic planning and management. Philippine envoy to the UAE Alfonso A. Ver welcomed the signing of the agreement as another milestone in the growing bilateral ties binding the Philippines and the UAE. For him, the signing of this agreement highlights not only the strengthening of the mutual relations between the Philippines and the UAE, but also the focus of the WGS gathering itself, which is “on shaping the future of governments to become better versions of themselves. We look forward to establishing this cooperation with the UAE and to learn from the best practices of each other’s governance mechanisms.”
The WGS is an annual gathering of governments, international organizations, thought leaders and private sector leaders to foster global cooperation and identify innovative solutions for future challenges, ultimately inspiring and empowering the next generation of governments. The 2025 edition was held from February 11 to 13 in Dubai under the theme: “Shaping Future Governments.”
AMB. Ma. Theresa Dizon-de Vega (front row, right) joins the rest of the Asean Committee in Seoul. SEOUL PE
USEC. Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro (right) calls on Slovenia’s foreign minister Tanja Fajon
AMB. Nina P. Cainglet (center) with BPCCI officers and members DHAKA PE
SEC. Amenah F. Pangandaman (left) and UAE’s deputy minister Abdullah Nasser Lootah ABU DHABI PE
THAILAND’S ambassador to Iran Pichit Boonsud (right) accepts the symbolic turnover of the chairmanship of the Asean Committee in Tehran from Philippine counterpart Roberto G. Manalo. TEHRAN PE
