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‘ONE LIFE IS TOO MANY’ n

Gambling rears its ugly head during a Senate probe into disappearance of 31 ‘sabungeros’

By Rene Acosta

HE Philippine National Police (PNP) is beginning to crack the brazen abduction and disappearance of at least 31 cockfighting aficionados, as it assured the families of the victims they would get the justice that they deserve.

SCREENSHOT from Senate hearing presented by police probers shows several vans were used in one of the apparent abductions.

The assurance was made by PNP chief General Dionardo Carlos and other police officials as the Senate began its probe on Thursday into one of the most audacious abduction cases that the police organization has faced yet, perhaps in its entire history. The 31 sabungeros, according to accounts, were kidnapped in groups in eight separate incidents since May last year. But the abductions only cropped up a few weeks ago after the same pattern and the same general description of the victims were established in those who were seized starting in early January. As reported by the PNP, and confirmed during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs chaired by Senator Ronald dela Rosa—former PNP chief himself before he was elected as senator— all the victims disappeared after attending cock derbies.

Pattern of abduction

THE cockfights were recorded and carried online for “e-sabong,” a flourishing, but controversial, multibillion-peso game of chance that is eclipsing the traditional and original arena-based cockfighting. The sabungeros—from Bulacan, Manila and Laguna—all went in groups on separate dates in cockpits in Santa Ana in Manila, Lipa City in Batangas and Santa Cruz in Laguna where they were “held” after the cockfight sessions before they seemed to have vanished into thin air. Lucky 8 Starquest Inc. is operating the three arenas where cockfights were being held and beamed online by WPC Pit Master. Both Lucky 8 and Pit Master are owned and operated by game tycoon and businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang. The kidnapping and eventual disappearance of the victims and the manner the investigation initially moved perplexed even the senators, especially dela Rosa, noting that the cases were not hidden at all from people, including from the victims’ helpless relatives. Dela Rosa was infuriated for a number of times while steering the hearing, and was even dismayed that the kidnappings and subsequent disappearances of the sabungeros have to occur so many times, with some at the same cockpit arena in Laguna.

SENATOR Ronald dela Rosa, on Charlie “Atong” Ang’s rant against fraudsters in the e-sabong operations: “A reminder, or reminder/threat [to e-sabong workers]?” AP

Hear nothing, see nothing

IT did not help that lawyer Angelo Nino Santos, president of one of Ang’s firms who represented the management during the hearing, said that the management does not know what’s happening inside the cockpit arenas. The lawyer also admitted that the cockpits that they operate do not have CCTVs, a requirement in the grant of licenses of e-sabong operators as disclosed by the state gaming agency, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor). While Santos said that they are already in the process of installing CCTVs in the three arenas, the statement of one of the relatives of the victims rebutted the absence of the vital visual monitoring equipment. Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who also attended the hearing, was apparently peeved that no one seemed to be talking although the kidnappings may have been carried out in the presence of the arenas’ security personnel who were the ones who held the victims before they disappeared. The wives, fathers, mothers and siblings of the victims admitted they feel very helpless, resigned and in a quandary over the cases and what fate may have befallen their missing relatives, since they were not getting anything, including information, even from personnel maintaining the cockpit arenas. They testified one by one before dela Rosa’s committee and in tears recalled what transpired before and after their family members disappeared, sharing details and passed on information from other relatives, and even reading from the exchanges that they had with some of the victims.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 51.2710

A TRADITIONAL arena-based cockfighting scene. JCAPTURE | DREAMSTIME.COM

The family members are desolate, in despair and even afraid.

‘Too hard to carry’

“I AM afraid. We want to live normally. It’s too heavy to carry,” the wife of one of the missing victims, Melbert John Alcantara Santos, told the committee. “Until now, we do not have any idea of where they are, we don’t know anything,” said the weeping pregnant wife of Santos. The victims were either tasked to carry the fowl to the arena, the designated gaffer or the driver of the group, and nearly all were on their first job at the e-sabong in cockpit arenas operated by Ang. The cases of the missing sabungeros were unlike the usual kidnappings. The family members are informed that their relatives are being held at the arenas, asked

to come over and talk about their release, only to be given a runaround or even a blanket denial of their knowledge of the missing persons’ whereabouts. While there have been existing records and passes were also issued for the victims’ entry into the cockpit arenas, there are no records showing or proving that they left the facilities. In the case of the six sabungeros who disappeared on January 13 this year after attending stag derbies at the Manila Arena in Santa Ana district, they were apparently taken to Tanay, Rizal, where a white Toyota Tamaraw FX that they used was recovered the following day. Based on the footage that the PNP showed during the hearing, the vehicle left the arena, escorted by four other vehicles. The plate

numbers or conduction stickers of the cars are already being ascertained with the help of the Land Transportation Office. The father of one of the victims, John Claude Nonog, even got to talk to his son before he and the members of his group vanished. The father narrated during the hearing that he was talking to his son by phone and was hearing another man asking his son who he was talking to. “My son’s reply: my father,” the elder Nonog recounted. A moment later, the line went dead, which prompted him to go to the arena and ask the security guards to show him his son. The elder Nonog was at the basement of the facility, which he said was the “dropping” and “loading” area. The same pattern was used in the cases of other groups of miss-

ing sabungeros: their relatives knew that they were being held by some arena personnel but when their family members arrived to see or check on them, they were nowhere to be found or have been taken away.

‘One life is too many’

REGARDLESS of the reasons why the sabungeros are being held or made to disappear, dela Rosa said “one life is too many,” and they are not even talking of only a single life, but 31 people. During the hearing, Ang’s name cropped up after one of the victims’ relatives recounted that the four sabungeros, including Santos, who disappeared from the arena in Laguna, were being allegedly held by the “men of Ang.” Senator Panfilo Lacson, also a former chief of PNP, expressed Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4460 n UK 69.4517 n HK 6.5691 n CHINA 8.1199 n SINGAPORE 38.0829 n AUSTRALIA 37.0843 n EU 58.0029 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.6661

Source: BSP (February 24, 2022)

NewsSaturday A2 Saturday, February 26, 2022

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World expresses outrage, plans stronger Russia sanctions By Raf Casert & Foster Klug

The Associated Press

RUSSELS—World leaders Thursday reacted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with raw outrage—and vows of unprecedented sanctions—that shrouded a sense of powerlessness to defend Ukraine militarily without running the risk of a wider war in Europe. NATO had already reinforced its eastern flank facing Russia and planned a virtual summit of its leaders on Friday after President Vladimir Putin warned that any interference from other countries would lead to “consequences you have never seen in history.” European Union and NATO member Lithuania declared a state of emergency since the Baltic nation borders Russia’s Kaliningrad region to the southwest and Russia’s ally Belarus to the east. NATO countries had 100 jets and 120 ships on high alert as a deterrent. “Make no mistake: We will defend every ally against any attack on every inch of NATO territory,” said NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Stoltenberg both called the invasion a “barbaric” attack on an independent nation that threatened “the stabil-

PRO-UKRAINE people shout slogans during a small protest outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday, February 24, 2022, after Russian troops launched an attack on Ukraine. AP

ity in Europe and the whole of the international peace order.”

The ‘mission’

THE EU scheduled an emergency summit in Brussels. But no one promised to move in militarily and defend Ukraine at the risk of touching off a bigger European war. Ukraine is not a NATO member, and the US and its Western allies have said for weeks that they would not send troops into the country. The goal instead is to make Moscow pay so high a price by other means that the Kremlin will change course. “Our mission is clear: Diplomatically, politically, economically and eventually militarily, this hideous and barbaric venture of Vladimir Putin must end in failure,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Almost all of the world—but not China—condemned the attack and threatened to hit the Russian elites with, in the words of the EU president, “massive and targeted sanctions.”

More sanctions

VON DER LEYEN said she would put to EU leaders late Thursday a proposal that would target strategic sectors of the Russian economy by blocking access to key technologies and markets. She said the sanctions, if approved, “will weaken Russia’s economic base and its capacity to modernize. And in addition, we will freeze Russian assets in the European Union and stop the access of Russian banks to European financial markets.”

“We want to cut off Russia’s industry from the technologies desperately needed today to build the future,” von der Leyen said. In the days before the attack, Germany suspended approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia, and the EU imposed sanctions against hundreds of Russian lawmakers and other officials and institutions from the defense and banking worlds. The EU also sought to limit Moscow’s access to capital and financial markets. In a similar bid to fend off an invasion, US President Joe Biden announced sanctions over the past few days against Russian banks and oligarchs and warned of even heavier penalties in the event of an attack. He convened a morning meeting Thursday of his National Security Council to deal with the crisis. Von der Leyen insisted all Western powers were in lockstep on the crisis. Even Hungary, an often recalcitrant member of the EU, promptly condemned the attack, raising hopes that the 27 states would quickly achieve the required unanimity for the sanctions package.

China to the rescue

HIGHLIGHTING a widening rift in superpower relations, China stood alone in failing to condemn the attack and instead accused the United States and its allies of worsening the crisis. China went further and approved imports of wheat from Russia, a move that could reduce the impact of Western sanctions. Russia, one of the biggest wheat

producers, would be vulnerable if foreign markets were closed off. In a clear defense of Moscow, China “called on parties to respect others’ legitimate security concerns.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that “all parties should work for peace instead of escalating the tension or hyping up the possibility of war”—language China has consistently used to criticize the West in the crisis. One thing was clear: Weeks of diplomatic cajoling, global crisscrossing of leaders and foreign ministers, and the threat of sanctions against Putin’s inner circle had failed to persuade the Kremlin not to plunge Europe into one of its biggest crises since the end of the Cold War. The turmoil set off by the attack rippled from Europe to Asia. Stock markets plunged, oil prices surged, and European aviation officials warned of the danger to civilian aircraft over Ukraine amid the fighting. Oil prices climbed by more than $5 per barrel. Brent crude briefly jumped above $100 per barrel in London for the first time since 2014 over fears of a disruption of supplies from Russia, the No. 3 producer. The possible repercussions extended well beyond economics and geopolitics. The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worried that the crisis will further distract global attention from helping the world’s least vaccinated continent fight Covid-19.

‘ONE LIFE IS TOO MANY’ Continued from A1

confidence that the cases would not be too hard to solve given the leads that the police already have at hand. At one point, the two ex-PNP chiefs, Lacson and Dela Rosa, took turns questioning the current chief, Gen. Dionardo Carlos, about the steps taken by police probers. The presentation by the PNP’s Criminal Investigation Detection

Group (CIDG), represented by its head MGen. Alberto Ignatius Ferro, indicated that several vehicles were used in each apparent abduction, and Dela Rosa could not help but repeat his observation that the men operated with precision and swiftness, indicating they were highly trained. He had earlier held out the possibility that rogue exsoldiers or ex-cops were involved. When Santos said the YouTube video showing Ang’s rant against

fraudsters in the e-sabong operations—for example, those hacking the licensed e-sabong enterprises to create a fake website that was drawing in millions in bets—was just a “reminder” for the public not to be duped, Dela Rosa wondered aloud, “a reminder, or reminder/ threat [to e-sabong workers]?” The next hearing was set for next Thursday, March 3. Meanwhile, the mystery deepens and families wait.

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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Washington looks forward to more economic engagements with Manila, envoy says

he United States looks forward to closer economic cooperation with the Philippines as both countries plan for a post-pandemic future. In an economic briefing hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. on Thursday night, US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Heather Variava said the two nations could start working on new areas of cooperation, including clean energy, information technology, and supply chain resilience. On energy, the US would start by facilitating the long-term transition away from fossil fuel, Variava said as she recognized the importance of affordable, accessible, and sustainable sources of clean energy. Variava said this would particularly benefit the climate-vulnerable countries, including the Philippines. The Embassy is likewise ready to connect US and Philippine companies that are focused on solar, wind, and geothermal power development, among others. Variava said the US would also work with Philippine authorities to “lay the foundations” for safe and reliable nuclear energy generation. “As we look ahead toward the postpandemic global economy, our continued partnership on a range of economic issues

would become increasingly important. We look forward to engaging our partners in the Philippines to strengthen this collaboration,” she said. Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, for his part, said Manila would continue to pursue its current priorities on climate change and clean energy transition, including enhancing its participation in the global supply chain and improving its digital economy environment. “We are seeking engagements with the United States on these economic priorities that will help transform the economy as these sectors are expected to grow in the coming years,” he said. “The United States has also signified its willingness to assist the Philippines in pursuing its energy transition from coal to clean energy, including nuclear energy,” he added. Almost two years into the pandemic, Romualdez noted that the Philippine economy is “indeed poised” for recovery. Citing the Philippine economic team, the Filipino diplomat said the gross domestic product (GDP) would likely go back to prepandemic levels starting this year, supported by a strong 5.6 percent full-year GDP growth last year. PNA

‘No such thing as an Isko-Sara tandem’

ICE presidential candidate Inday Sara Duterte has affirmed her unwavering loyalty to Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., amid apparent attempts by a rival candidate to, as the UniTeam camp put it, “snatch some numbers from the formidable BBM-Sara tandem by deceptively pairing himself as her presidential candidate.” In a Facebook post while on break with presidential candidate Marcos Jr. during the UniTeam’s Bacolod/Negros Occidental campaign sortie on Thursday, Inday Sara said, “Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte will always be one team.” Furthermore, in a news statement, Sara stressed, “We stand firm in unity along with the entire senatorial slate of the UniTeam.” She added: “We stand undivided and shall remain strong despite the proclamation of other tandems that single out either Marcos or Duterte as a candidate.” Recently, aside from the proliferation of tarpaulins making people believe that there is such a thing as an Isko-Sara tandem, presidential candidate Isko Moreno showed himself campaigning aboard a vehicle which sported a sticker that says “Isko-Sara.” Meanwhile, Moreno’s vice presidential bet Dr. Willie Ong was reported to have expressed dismay and hurt on being dumped by the Manila mayor. “Syempre na-hurt ako ‘di ba? Masakit ‘yun,” he was quoted saying in a media interview.

According to the Davao mayor, the Marcos-Duterte UniTeam remains the duo to beat, citing national surveys, including the latest mega-survey conducted by Laylo Research where they received huge numbers compared to those gained by rival presidential and vice presidential candidates. “An affirmation of the Marcos-Duterte UniTeam is the January 10 to 26 survey with a sample size of 15,450 lifted from the Laylo Report that shows BBM taking 64 percent share and Sara taking 60 percent of the respondents,” Duterte said. “Our good showing in the surveys, however, would not lull us into complacency. Instead, we will be relentless in our efforts to reach more and more Filipinos in the coming days—with the message of unity that we believe is of utmost importance to achieve what we have been dreaming for the Filipinos and our great country,” she added. The vice presidential candidate expressed her gratitude for the warm support they were getting from Filipinos all over the country, with tens of thousands gracing or joining the UniTeam caravans and rallies. “We wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the political parties, volunteer groups, supporters, and ordinary citizens who showed up and joined us in the proclamation rallies and other activities that the UniTeam conducted in various parts of the country,” she said.

DPWH to maximize spending of ‘22 funds, eyes projects supportive of mandate in ‘23

epartment of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Roger G. Mercado has emphasized that overall preparedness of agency implementing offices will enable maximum utilization of funds allocated for the department in Fiscal Year 2022. “While budget to complete several high-impact projects under the multi-year program is insufficient, the least we could do is to see to it that available money allocated in the Central Office and different Regions will be spent,” Mercado said during the DPWH Unified Directors’ Meeting. The meeting, held on Thursday, February 24, in San Fernando City, La Union was attended by all DPWH Management Committee members led by Senior Undersecretary Rafael C. Yabut, 16 Regional Directors, 6 Bureau Directors, 9 Service Directors and 6 Project Directors. The DPWH chief lauded DPWH Regional Office 1 as the top performing region in the implementation of 2021 regular infrastructure program and for leading efficiency in project spending of FY 2022 Budget. “Let me congratulate Regional Director Ronnel M. Tan and his men and women for the timely delivery of significant number of construction projects in 2021 and the early showing of efficiency in the utilization of budgetary resources/appropriations made in the 2022 General Appropriations Act,” Mercado said. The DPWH chief added that implementing units that are performers can absorb the money, and able to find right ways and means to facilitate timely implementation and completion of priority projects like DPWH Regional Office 1 should be given more budget in 2023 so that people

will be able to reap the benefits of these infrastructures. Mercado also cited Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations and Build, Build, Build Chief Implementer Emil K. Sadain as he continuously monitor and evaluate progress of flagship infrastructure projects on the ground, hands-on and able to compare report with actual development in the field, and eventually provide action to problems or delays on the early stage. The thrust in the budget would be the maximum utilization of fund allocations by the implementing offices. As an affirmation of an established cohesive and hardworking DPWH organization in Region 1, Pangasinan Second District Engineering Office (DEO) headed by District Engineer Marieta B. Mendoza and Pangasinan 4th DEO under District Engineer Simplicio D. Gonzales have shown the effectivity and efficiency in managing financial resources by making it in the Top 10 DEOs with highest rank in Absorptive Capacity as of end of January 2022, placing second and ninth, respectively. DPWH is preparing to submit a new proposed Fiscal Year 2023 budget with emphasis on the national mandate for highways that will ensure the overall growth and development of the Philippines. The Regional Offices and Project Management Offices were instructed by the Office of the Secretary to submit budget estimates, which they can actually spend. Mercado cautioned DPWH men and women and the public against individuals or groups soliciting and conducting fundraising activities for candidates in the 2022 national elections.

Saturday, February 26, 2022

Dominguez to US investors: Now’s the best time to do business in PHL T

HE Philippines is a “growth leader in the region and a reliable host for international partnerships,” Finance Secretar y Carlos Dominguez III told American investors Thursday night, assuring them it’s a good place to bring in their capital with new economic liberalization measures either being carried out or about to be implemented by the Duterte administration. “Now is the best time to do business in the Philippines,” Dominguez said at a briefing for American business leaders and policy makers on Thursday night [Manila time]. “This year, we are well on our way to returning to normal with the Philippine economy expected to expand further between 7 and 9 percent.” “Our economy is recovering rapidly. In the last quarter of 2021, our GDP [gross domestic product] grew by 7.7 percent, making the country’s expansion the highest in the Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] region and among our credit rating peers globally,” the Finance Secretary said. Dominguez said the recent enactment of the amendatory bill to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act (RTLA), along with the Congress-approved amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA) and Foreign Investments Act (FIA) that will soon be signed into law by President Duterte, complete the set of economic reform initiatives that make the Philippines’ a premier investment destination in the region. “ T hese three for ward-look ing measures widen the horizon for investments. They create numerous opportunities for synergy between local and international firms. There is now enough space for international firms to form joint ventures

with Filipino companies, especially those at the cutting edge of information technologies,” Dominguez told about 200 American business leaders and policymakers gathered via teleconferencing for the virtual Philippines’ Economic Briefing (PEB) hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC. With the Philippines committing to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030, Dominguez also expects a sharp rise in green investments in the country. He urged American investors to establish or expand their retail trade operations in the Philippines, now that the new RTLA has lowered the minimum paid-up capital requirement for foreign corporations from $2.5 million to about $500,000. Foreign retailers who want to open more than one physical store can now expand through a lower minimum investment of $200,000 per store, compared to the previous requirement of $830,000 per store. The law simplified the qualification requirements of foreign retailers by removing the required net worth, the number of retailing branches, and retailing track record conditions. Dominguez said experienced and strategic investors from the US could bring in their capital to the Philippines to invest in telecommunications, media and private transportation vehicles once the PSA is enacted. Under the amended PSA, public services will be open to 100-percent foreign ownership, while retaining public utilities as majority owned by Filipinos, subject to the 60-40 ownership rule under the Constitution. The list of public utilities will be limited to distribution and transmission of electricity; water pipeline

distribution system, wastewater, and sewerage pipeline systems; petroleum and petroleum products pipeline transmission systems; seaports; and public utility vehicles (PUVs) under the amended PSA. US-based businessmen can also look forward to the amendments to the FIA as this mandates a review of the Foreign Investment Negative List every two years, and liberalizes the practice of certain professions. This means enterprises that would otherwise be unable to do business in the Philippines without foreign talent can now set up shop in the country. “I invite you to look closely at the Philippine economy in the light of the pro-business policies instituted over the last five and a half years. The Philippines is a growth leader in the region and a reliable host for inter nat iona l par tnerships,” Dominguez said. He t out e d t he Ph i l i p p i ne s ’s 2021 full-year GDP growth of 5.6 percent which exceeded the government’s target and is among the best compared to its neighbors and credit rating peers. Last year’s tax collection was 9 percent higher than in 2020, signaling a return to robust economic activity, while trade volume recovered to prepandemic levels, Dominguez said. The Philippines’ foreign direct investments (FDI) in 2021 surpassed the full-year level of 2020, and remittance inflows from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) rose 5 percent, fueling consumer demand. T he cou nt r y ’s g ross i nter n ational reserves also grew steadily to US$109 billion as of end-December 2021. Covid-19 cases are subsiding rapidly owing to accelerated vaccination,

allowing more people to return to work and the unemployment rate to go down, Dominguez said. He said the three economic liberalization measures to be implemented soon complement the earlier reforms put in place under the Duterte administration, including two tax reform programs that lowered tax rates for both individuals and corporations; an accelerated digita lization program and strengthened tax enforcement; the President’s signature “Build, Build, Build ” infrastructure modernization program; a National ID System; the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Act; and rice tariffication. Even with a pandemic, the reforms were pursued, he noted: the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Law was enacted in 2021, cutting corporate income tax rate from 30 percent to 20 percent for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and 25 percent for all other businesses. T he long-dor mant Rea l Estate Investment Tr ust (R EIT ) L aw was implemented, br ing ing in $6 bi llion wor th of capita l to the prop er t y development sector in just t wo years. Dominguez also cited accomplishments on the peace and order and good governance fronts; and investments in the country’s greatest asset—the Filipino people—through improved social services and free tertiary education in state universities and colleges (SUCs). “All of these increased the Philippines’ competitiveness and provided us with the financial strength to weather the worst of the [Covid-19] crisis,” Dominguez said.

Butch Fernandez

Thales to provide digi comms, supervision tech for Metro Manila’s first subway system

hales, in a consortium with Colas Rail (lead) and Egis, has been awarded a contract worth over €1 billion by Mitsubishi Corp. to design and build the turnkey rail system for the Metro Manila Subway project. n Thales will design and deploy its latest generation of Integrated Communications and Supervision systems, and the Automatic Fare Collection system for a total of €156 million. n The contract represents Thales’ first major win in the public transport sector in the Philippines and reinforces its position as a leading rail solutions provider in South East Asia, a news statement read. n The state-of-the-art system, based on digital technologies, will provide an environmentally friendly transport alternative in Manila to improve connectivity as well as reduce congestion and atmospheric pollution in the city. n Connecting Valenzuela and Parañaque, the new 35-kilometer line will consist of 15 underground stations and will reduce travel time from Quezon City to Taguig to 35 minutes, from close to two hours today. The Metro Manila Subway is one of the Philippines’ largest infrastructure projects aimed at creating an efficient rail system in the world’s most densely populated city. As part of this push for development, construction has begun on a third Mass Rapid Transit line and the metropolis’ first underground subway line to connect its northern and southern cities. This contract represents Thales’ noteworthy entry into the transportation sector in the Philippines. This is also the first in the Asian region where the latest generation of the firm’s Integrated Communications and Supervision solution will be implemented, supported by global expertise from Thales teams in Singapore, Hong Kong, Portugal and France. Thales will design and develop the integrated and secure communications networks (including radio, Multi Service Network, wayside telephone and wireless LAN systems), wayside equipment for security systems (including CCTV and Video Analytics features), passenger information and public address, the digital supervision solution as well as the centralized supervision of energy system (power-SCADA). This state-of-the-art ICS solution is compliant with the highest cybersecurity standards and will offer the Department of Transportation and Communications the latest digital technologies for an intelligent, sustainable and scalable system that is designed to last. Thales will also provide Automatic Fare Collection as part of its scope in the project. Thales has built extensive experience in major metro projects in the region over the last decade, with strong local expertise from teams situated all across Asia, collaborating with Thales teams in Europe and North America. “We are delighted to have been selected, together with our consortium partners, to help modernize Manila’s rapidly-changing urban infrastructure. The Metro Manila Subway will significantly improve mobility for the city’s residents, and we are committed to working with our partners to bring innovative technology for safer, quicker, and more

comfortable journeys. This contract also further reinforces Thales’ leading position in South East Asia for rail solutions, from signalling to integrated communications and supervision

systems and ticketing, for some of the region’s most complex metro projects. This marks an exciting new journey for Thales in the Philippines, and with the strong collaboration from our teams

in Asia and Europe, we look forward to helping the Philippines build a robust transportation network,” Nicolas Bouverot, Vice President, Thales South East Asia said.

Saturday, February 26, 2022

News BusinessMirror

Oil’s war spike likely to hurt PHL, Thailand, India the worst in Asia

ndia, the Philippines and Thailand will likely stand to lose the most in Asia as a sustained increase in oil prices fans inflation, slows growth and weakens their currencies, according to Nomura Holdings Inc. Those impacts in Asia from Russia’s Ukraine invasion will be felt mostly through commodities, specifically fuel and food, analysts including Sonal Varma and Ting Lu wrote in a report Friday, adding that other factors outside the conflict will also keep prices sustained. A 10 percent rise in oil prices could add 0.4 percentage points to inf lation in India and the

Philippines, and 0.3 percentage points in Thailand, as transportation and utility costs surge, the analysts wrote. Heavy reliance on oil imports also mean their current account deficits could widen further and undermine their currencies. India is expected to suffer the biggest blow to economic growth, dragging it down by 0.2 percentage points, while Philippines and

Thailand will see a hit of 0.1 percentage points. Commodities giant Indonesia would be a relative beneficiary, with a 0.05 percentage point growth boost due to its exports of palm oil, gas and coal. “Most Asian consumers have not yet fully recovered from the pandemic and have lower savings, so higher inflation can squeeze rea l d isposable incomes a nd weaken the incipient consumption recovery,” Nomura said. “We also see risk to corporate profit margins, as the entire input cost burden is unlikely to be passed on to consumers.” W h i l e e s c a l at i n g R u s s i a Ukraine tensions have pushed Brent oil about $100 a barrel, it would be a “mistake” to ignore other factors that could drive a more sustained increase in prices, such as a rebound of travel demand

and inadequate investment in fossil fuels, according to the report. This has knock-on effects on food prices due to costlier gas, fertilizer and feedstock, which bodes poorly for Asian economies in aggregate. Nomura expects central banks in developed Asia to tighten policies to nip the threat to their recovering economies. Others will likely prioritize still-weak growth, with Indonesia and the Philippines seen hiking rates only later this year while Thailand stays on hold. India, which has reiterated its dovish signals, could see inflation “surprise decisively” at 5.8 percent in 2023 against the central bank’s 4.5 percent forecast, Nomura said. This could force a pivot in June and 100 basis points of cumulative repo rate hikes in 2022. Bloomberg News

DFA chief Locsin flies to Ukraine-Poland border By Malou Talosig-Bartolome

oreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. is flying to Poland to personally oversee the repatriation of Filipinos from Ukraine as death toll continues to rise few hours after Russia launched military attacks on Ukraine cities and military bases Thursday. In a tweet, Locsin said he would be accompanied by DFA Assistant Secretary Jaime Victor Ledda and his protocol officer George Pineda. “I’m going w it h A ssec Jet Ledda and @georgexpineda my

protocol to personally see to the safety of my people at Ukrainian border. Deeply grateful to Poland. We’ll never forget this,” Locsin said. The DFA Secretar y did not say when his trip will be in his t weet posted around 3:47am Friday. But he is presumably f lying to Poland from Paris, where he has been attending the Indo Pac if ic conference EU -A sea n meeting. There are 180 Filipinos in Ukraine, mostly domestic helpers in capital Kyiv. There are 180 Filipinos in Ukraine, mostly domestic helpers in capital Kyiv. But only 10

Filipinos have volunteered to be repatriated since last week. The Philippine Embassy in Warsaw and the honorary consu l ate gener a l i n Ky iv h ave tried to reach out to Filipinos in Ukraine to come home amidst threat of Russian invasion into U k ra ine, but many Fi l ipinos opted to stay, thinking that the war is just a western media hype and that they may not be able to come back to work if the war rumor fizzles. W h e n Ky i v w a s at t a c k e d T hu r s d ay, o ve r s e a s Fi l ipi no workers (OFW) have called the Embassy officials temporary sta-

t ioned i n wester n c it y Lv iv, near the border. However, three military facilities in Lviv have been under attack by Russian troops. It’s not clear as well how safe the land travel would be from Kyiv to Lviv for evacuating OFWs. Locsin said Poland has agreed to give border passes to Filipinos from Ukraine. “Poland finally agreed to let ours in sans EU visas; not heard anything from Russia on our request re: its closest border. Most Filipinos in Ukraine are grateful guests and want to stick it out with their warm welcoming neighbors,” Locsin tweeted.

Tap digitech for sustainability, resilience, group urges govt

n advocacy group championing environmental stewardship is calling on the national and local governments to follow the lead of the private sector in investing in digital technologies to achieve economic recovery and environmental sustainability. Philippine Business for Environmental S t e w a r d s h i p c o n v e n o r, E n g r. F e l i x Vitangcol, said it is crucial to achieve environment-friendly operations and build resilience to extreme weather events caused by climate change. “We only have to look at how the breakdown of power and telecommunication services hampered critical rescue and rehabilitation efforts in the immediate aftermath of Typhoon Odette in December,” said Vitangcol. “If we fail to optimize digital technologies,

we will only widen social divides and expose the most vulnerable among us to economic and environmental risks.” He added that aside from crucial responses during and after calamities, digital technologies can enable industries to become greener by being efficient in waste and pollution management. This also translates to efficiency and competitiveness because of lower operating costs, allowing for growth, expansion and more jobs. The private sector has made great initiatives in this respect such as Globe’s ongoing shift to renewable energy to power their key facilities, Vitangcol said. “The private sector has proven to be an instrumental partner to the government in this regard. It has visibly shifted capital funds toward tangible, measurable initiatives to this end. Through

environmental, social and governance [ESG]-based interventions, they have shown their capability to expand people’s access to education, proper and wellinformed health-care, and immediate financial support.” Sustainability values initiatives are now integrated into business cultures especially in big enterprises. “This is a sign that industry captains are putting their money where their mouth is, by committing substantial resources to longterm environmental concerns.” It is crucial, however, that the government matches this commitment, especially since it is the government’s mandate to ensure that no one is left behind. “Access to the best technology neither defines sustainability nor guarantees economic prosperity,” Vitangcol said. “As

many Filipinos as possible should enjoy access to technology and develop the know-how to navigate it. These are tools for achieving a better life. Beyond obtaining the latest innovations, people should be able to use them to serve their own needs.” “For individuals, communities, and organizations alike, platforms and applications serve a purpose that furthers their objectives and improves their wellbeing. We now have a valuable tool to help us prepare for physical, social, and economic shocks when disasters strike,” the group said. “Technology does not have to come at the expense of turning our back on the environment; on the contrary, it helps us become more conscientious stewards of the environment, for the benefit of all,” the group added.

‘With oil prices spiking, agri, transport sectors must get fuel subsidies now’

ITH the price of crude oil breaching the level of $100 per barrel as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine roils markets worldwide, there’s no time to quibble over the release of vital fuel subsidies for the agricultural and transport sectors,

the chief of the Senate Economic Affairs panel said Friday. Senator Imee Marcos said Russia’s attack on Ukraine and a possible embargo on Russian oil and gas exports will further push up world oil prices and make local fuels more expensive.

“We must finalize ASAP the implementing rules and regulations for the release of P500 million in fuel subsidies for farmers and fisherfolk,” Marcos said, addressing the Department of Agriculture (DA). The senator also urged the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) “not to wait for April” before fuel subsidies are made available to drivers of public utility vehicles, taxis, tricycles, and ride-hailing and delivery services. Under Special Provision No. 8 of the General Appropriations Act 2022, the government can release P2.5 billion in fuel subsidies for the transport sector when the average price of Dubai crude reaches $80 per barrel within three straight months. However, Presidential Spokesman Karlo Nograles said the DBM has not yet decided on how to interpret the threemonth time frame that will trigger the release of fuel subsidies. “We must decide at once whether the time frame starts in January this year or earlier. With oil now trading above $100 per barrel, the three-month average price of oil from November may reach $80 by

next week,” Marcos said. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy must act to quickly reduce the country’s dependence on imports from the Middle East by finding other sources of oil, the senator said. She suggested availing of lower prices from China “and other big players not involved in the sanction system of Western nations. Let’s open negotiations with Venezuela and African countries to safeguard our national supply and boost our reserves.” In the long-term, she added, “we can cut our dependence on fossil fuels by exploiting wind and solar energy more. Our success in Ilocos Norte suggests we can do it on a national scale.” She was referring to the windmills and expanding solar installations in her home province. She lamented that the Philippines “still lacks a comprehensive and coherent energy plan beyond UC Malampaya.” One option, she said, is to “explore more local sources of energy with China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, if we make our tax regimes more attractive for investment.” Butch Fernandez

www.businessmirror.com.ph

VERA Files Komiks handbook to address worsening health disinformation in PHL By Bryan Manalang

VERA Files

edical experts on Thursday said the Philippines has grown into a prime hub for health mis- and disinformation amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “The Philippines has the highest rate of misinformation and the highest rate of beliefs in conspiracy theories,” medical anthropologist Dr. Michael Tan said in his opening message during the February 24 virtual launch of VERA Files Komiks handbook to counter health-related mis and disinformation. Citing a 2021 Frontiers in Psychology study involving eight different countries, Tan noted “that educational attainment has no role” in the spread of health mis- and disinformation. He expressed his frustration, a sentiment shared by colleagues present at the launch when fellow physicians themselves spread false or unproven information to the public. Younger people, and those most exposed to social media, were more likely to spread healthrelated misinformation, the study also showed. At the same time, due to the highly polarized political climate in the country, politicians were also often sources of false information, Tan said. The study also showed that people who trust medical professionals and rely on traditional media are less likely to be vulnerable to health disinformation.

Strong influencers

Echoing the same observation, Dr. Iris Isip-Tan, an endocrinologist and University of the Philippines College of Medicine professor, remarked that health-related information usually becomes misinformation through misunderstanding, selective reporting, or excessive inf luence of political and commercial interests. She pointed out that politicians were among the strong influencers of health communication during the pandemic. Unfortunately, “politicians are motivated by myopic goals and may prioritize short-term successes compared with building trust for the next health crisis,” Dr. Isip-Tan said, quoting a 2021 United States National Academy of Sciences study. Isip-Tan added that “information voids” are created when the scientific community fails to keep up with the surge of healthrelated information, thus allowing health misinformation to fill in the gaps. In an analysis that looked into more than 12,000 tweets in the National Capital Region, Isip-Tan said they found that the most common way health misinformation spreads is through humor or satire, which people may find true.

Something must be done

Meanwhile, Dr. Beverly Ho, director of the Department of Health’s Health Promotion Bureau, admitted government efforts were limited to stop the over whelming production of misinformation. The health official underlined how crucial it is to hold social media platforms accountable and demand they take action, even as she stressed the importance of partnering with organizations to address the growing problem. “This is also the time to ask the [social media] platform owners… What is the big shift that needs to happen? Because otherwise, the platforms are really a breeding ground for misinformation and something needs to be done about it,” Ho said.

Dr. Michael Tan

She compared the “enabling environment” of digital media to repeatedly putting out the fire while doing nothing to stop its source.

Easy-to-read format

The VER A Files handbook in comics format aims to counter health mis- and disinformation that can easily be digested by readers of all ages. The manual is the culmination of the organization’s four-year experience in working on online health disinformation. The comic book, with a Filipino and English version, is initially accessible online. A print version will also be available soon. It tells the story of Liwayway, a 20-year-old woman, and her grandmother (Lola) Pining as they wade through Covid-19 disinformation and other old hea lt h my ths handed dow n through generations. DZRH talents dramatized a portion of the komiks handbook about the misinformation that tuob (steaming) cures Covid-19 during the launch. VERA Files President Ellen Tordesillas said the organization, a signatory of the International Fact Checking Network and is third-party fact checker for Meta, formerly Facebook, uses various media formats to make the serious task of debunking falsehoods interesting. T hey t hought of using t he K om i k s for m at b e c au s e of t he med iu m’s appea l across generat ions. Celine Samson, VERA Files’ online verification head said, “The comic book we are launching today, titled ‘Teka Muna, Teka Muna! Tama Ba ‘Yan? [Wait a second! Did you get that right?]’ is a result of the observation that health misinformation is incredibly popular in the Philippines, even before the Covid-19 pandemic,” Samson said. However, she clarified that the spread of the disinformation is not always “nefarious” in nature. “Sometimes, people simply are just in search of hope and they are willing to try everything, to cure them of whatever ailment they are experiencing,” Samson added. In cor rect ing d isinfor mat ion, V ER A Fi les does t h is “not to shame, but to educate” net i z en s, a nd more i mpor t a nt ly, f r iend s a nd fa m i l ies. “A f ter a l l, fact- c hec k ing is a pract ice t hat shou ld st a r t at home,” she sa id. A mong the g uests at the launch is Meedan’s Asia-Pacific program director Shalini Joshi, who lauded the production of a health comic book guide, produced in partnership with their organization. “We’re ver y proud of this partnership with VER A Files. Very, very supportive of all the excellence that they’re doing around media literacy, factchecking…and also using creative formats like the comic book,” she said. Meedan, in its efforts to counter health disinformation, has formed the Health Desk, which provides health-related information to fact-checkers and netizens alike. VERA File is a partner in it’s Global Check program.

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso

The World

Wall Street reels, then recovers after invasion

EW YORK—Markets swung wildly Thursday as the world reacted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Stocks in Europe fell sharply, while stocks in the US recovered from early losses after President Joe Biden stopped short of implementing the steepest possible sanctions against Russia. The S&P 500 rallied 1.5 percent after erasing an early 2.6 percent loss, while the Nasdaq staged an even bigger comeback to end with a gain of more than 3 percent. The heaviest losses hit stocks in Europe, where officials called Russia’s actions a “brutal act of war,” with the German DAX down 4 percent. Beyond its tragic human toll, the conflict looked set to send prices even higher at gasoline pumps and grocery stores around the world as prices for oil, wheat and corn soared. Russia and Ukraine are major producers not only of energy but also grains and various other commodities. Oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic briefly jumped above $100 per barrel to their highest levels since 2014. But they gave back much of their gains after Biden said the sanctions package is “specifically designed to allow energy payments to continue.” Biden also said he wanted to limit the economic pain for Americans. While Biden described the sanctions as severe, Ukrainian officials had urged the US and West to go further and cut Russia from a crucial financial payments system called SWIFT. “I think the market certainly could gauge here that sanctions are a little more limited, so there’s not as much transmission of economic difficulties to the rest of the world” from Russia, said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management. Afterward, the price of US oil settled at $92.81, up 71 cents for the day, well below the $100.54 it had touched earlier in the day. Still, prices rose for everything from heating oil to wheat to gasoline. As with stocks, the movements were sharper in Europe than in the US because its economy is more closely tied to Russia and Ukraine. The spot price in Europe for natural gas jumped more than 50 percent. Higher energy and food prices could amplify worries about inflation, which in January hit its hottest level in the United States in a couple generations, and what the Federal Reserve will do in turn to rein it in. The Fed looks certain to raise rates for the first time since 2018, with the only question being how quickly and how aggressively it will move, starting next month. In the past, the Fed has sometimes delayed big policy decisions amid uncertainty over geopolitical events such as the Kosovo war and the US invasion of Iraq, according to Goldman Sachs. But economists at the bank say they still expect the Fed to raise rates steadily at its upcoming meetings. The Ukraine tensions probably just make it less likely the Fed will start the process with a bigger-than-usual increase in rates, something some Fed officials had recently suggested. “The Fed may become more worried about the impact on economic growth and will probably want to tread more cautiously,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco. The Fed was already saddled with the delicate task of raising interest rates enough to stamp out high inflation but not so much as to choke the economy into a recession. Strategists at Evercore ISI said that risk still remains, and has become even more complicated by the attack on Ukraine, but that it’s “substantially greater in Europe relative to the US.” Many investors also said that past global events, such as an invasion, have had only short-term effects on markets that last a few weeks or months. With expectations falling for a bigger-than-usual increase in rates next month, stocks that tend to benefit the most from low interest rates led the way for indexes to pare their losses through the day. That put the spotlight on big tech stocks, and Amazon, Microsoft and Nvidia all rose 4.5 percent or more. That helped the Nasdaq composite swing from a 3.4 percent loss in the morning to a 3.3 percent gain by the end of the day, rising 436.10 points to 13,473.59. It was a remarkable turnaround after the Nasdaq was on track during the morning to close 20 percent below its record high for the first time since the coronavirus collapsed the economy in 2020. Expectations for higher interest rates had been beating down high-growth and tech stocks for weeks. “We’re seeing some attempt at bottom-fishing here in terms of prices,” said Haworth. Such a “buy-the-dip” ethos has proved profitable in the past, but he said he thinks it’s still “a little early. We just have a lot of uncertainty ahead of us.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which isn’t as influenced by big tech stocks, rose a more modest 92.07 points, or 0.3 percent, to 33,223.83. It rallied back from an earlier 859-point loss. The S&P 500 rose 63.20 points to 4,288.70. Huge swings also rocked the bond market, where yields initially sank as money moved into investments that looked to offer safer returns than stocks. But yields recovered through the day, and the 10-year Treasury yield was 1.96 percent in late trading, close to the 1.97 percent it was at late Wednesday. The FTSE 100 in London fell 3.9 percent after Europe awakened to news of explosions in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the major city of Kharkiv and other areas. The CAC 40 in Paris lost 3.8 percent. Markets in Asia fell nearly 2 percent or more. Moscow’s stock exchange briefly suspended trading on all its markets on Thursday morning. After trading resumed, Russian indexes plunged by a third or more. “How bad could this get? Well, how long is a piece of string, right?” said Jonas Goltermann, senior global markets economist at Capital Economics. “There aren’t that many obvious examples of this type of shock to markets.” AP

BusinessMirror

Saturday, February 26, 2022

‘The sky’s the limit’: Global food inflation set to worsen on Ukraine

ood inflation is already plaguing global consumers, but now the price gains could get even sharper as Russia’s attack on Ukraine threatens key shipments of some of the world’s staple crops. Ukraine and Russia together account for more than a quarter of the global trade in wheat, as well as a fifth of corn sales. Port and railway closures in Ukraine, nicknamed the breadbasket of Europe, have already started to throw the nation’s commodity exports into chaos. It’s not just the threats to grain shipments that could drive inflation. Russia is also a major lowcost exporter of nearly every kind of fertilizer. It’s hard to overstate how important fertilizer is to the food supply chain—practically

every plate of food you touch has gotten there with the help fertilizers. If global trade gets disrupted, it will mean higher costs for farmers across the globe, and in turn, more food inflation. Prices are already spiking, with everything from wheat to corn to soybeans surging this week. A war that would stop Ukrainian grain exports would likely drive wheat prices higher by another 30 percent, and corn by 20 percent, according to analysts at Rabobank. “It is going to drive inf lation up,” Andrew Harig, a vice

Smallholders use pitch forks to collect hay during a summer wheat harvest in Chernihiv, Ukraine, on August 10, 2017. Ukraine’s wheat harvest reached 19.1m tons as of August 1, local Agriculture Ministry said in an e-mailed statement. Bloomberg

president of the Food Marketing Institute, said at the US Department of Agriculture’s annual Agriculture Outlook Forum on Thursday. “We just don’t have a total understanding of how that process plays out.” Global food prices have already soared to records over the last few months. Extreme weather

Oil back in the $90s after West shuns Russian energy sanction

il pushed higher in early Asian trading following a wild session in which prices spiked above $100 a barrel before giving up gains after Russian energy supplies were spared from sanctions. We s t Te x a s I nt e r me d i at e climbed around 2 percent after surging more than 9 percent at one point on Thursday. Oil pared most of that advance as US President Joe Biden made it clear that Western powers were not willing to sacrifice their own economies to penalize Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. While the US imposed its toughest ever sanctions on Russia as its tanks and troops moved closer to the Ukrainian capital, it said restrictions on currency clearing would include carve-outs for energy payments, a crucial source of revenue for Moscow. Biden also

said Russia will not be barred from the Swift international banking network because Europe opposed that action. “The initial concerns that oil would be caught up in any sanctions on Russia has eased, resulting in prices pulling back from yesterday’s rally,” said Daniel Hynes, a senior commodity strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “However, steep discounts being offered for Russian crude are still not receiving bids. This suggests there may still be some supply issues if banks can’t facilitate trade in the short term.” Price n WTI for April delivery climbed 1.9 percent to $94.55 as of 8:47 a.m. in Singapore after settling 0.8 percent higher on Thursday

n Brent for April settlement closed up 2.3 percent at $99.08 a barrel on Thursday Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spooked a global oil market that was already perilously tight due to the inability of supply to keep up with the demand recovery from the pandemic. Biden said the US is working with other major consuming nations on a coordinated reserves release. Any such sales would need to be very large to have a major impact on prices, however. Global benchmark Brent crude moved deeper into backwardation on Thursday, highlighting investor nervousness over the tight supply situation. The discount of WTI to Brent, meanwhile, ballooned to its widest since April 2020, possibly leading traders to explore arbitrage opportunities. Bloomberg News

has made it harder to grow crops, while a shortage of workers and higher shipping costs snarled supply chains. The crisis in Ukraine will only push prices up further, said Jack Scoville, vice president of Price Futures Group Inc. in Chicago. “The sky’s the limit,” Scoville said. Bloomberg News

Coronavirus has led to surge in orphaned children–study

t least 5.2 million children have lost a parent or caregiver to Covid-19, putting them at risk of poverty, exploitation and abuse and highlighting the lasting scars of the pandemic, a study shows. More than 1.2 million children under nine years of age were orphaned between March 2020 and October last year, along with 2.1 million kids between 10 and 17, according to a new modeling study published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal. The estimates on orphaned children, however, are probably higher as the death toll from Covid-19 has been vastly underestimated, especially in Africa where cases could be 10 times higher than official figures, said Juliette Unwin, an author of the study. A mathematical model estimates the global toll was 6.7 million in January. This grim statistics highlight the number of children at risk of sexual abuse, trafficking, exploitation and dropping out of school, endangering decades of progress, especially in developing countries. Still more families are being shattered as the global death toll rises, piling pressure on government to provide safety nets. Bloomberg News

Cargill-chartered ship hit while in Ukraine’s waters

ship chartered by Cargill Inc. was hit while sailing in Ukrainian waters in the Black Sea and is currently sailing south to Romanian waters to receive assistance, the US agricultural trading giant said. “The vessel and all crew are safe and accounted for,” Cargill

said Thursday in a statement. The vessel was empty when the incident occurred, the company said. The attack is the first confirmed instance of physical damage related to commodity trading in the region. Ukraine and Russia together account for more than a quarter of the global trade in

wheat and about a fifth of corn. T hat trade has been t hrow n into chaos after Ukraine’s ports closed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of the country. Cargill didn’t confirm the name of the vessel. Istanbul-based YASA Holding said earlier that Yasa Jupiter, a Marshall Island-flagged

ship it owns, was slightly damaged by a shell after unloading coal at the Ukrainian port of Odesa. It was unclear whether the ship was deliberately targeted or who fired the shell, and the vessel is heading under its own power to the closest port for a damage assessment, YA-SA said. Bloomberg News

Russian billionaires lose $39B in a day on Ukraine offensive

ussia’s wealthiest individuals were already feeling the squeeze from escalating tensions between the nation and Ukraine. It got much worse for their net worth after Russian President V ladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. In less than 24 hours, they lost $39 billion— more than they had up to that point this year. The damage was across asset classes. Russia’s benchmark MOEX Russia Index closed 33 percent lower in Moscow, the fifth-worst plunge in stock market history in local currency terms. It marked the first time since 1987’s Black Monday crash that a decline of

that magnitude hit a market worth more than $50 billion. UBS Group AG, meantime, triggered margin calls on some wealth management clients that use Russian bonds as collateral for their portfolios after cutting the lending value of some debt from the countr y to zero, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News. The Swiss wealth manager says it caters to half of the world ’s billionaires. One of the worst security crises in Europe since World War II threatens to deepen market declines in the region, but especially in Russia, which has been hit with sanctions by the

US and UK. A handful of billionaires, including Gennady Timchenko, are also subject to penalties for their ties to Putin, though there are calls for widening the potential targets. “There are a lot of people in the US and Europe who want to hit them directly,” Chris Miller, co-director of the Russia and Eurasia program at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, said of Russian billionaires in an interview. “I don’t think there’s any good news in the sanctions for them.” Vagit A lekperov, the chairman of Lukoil, saw the sharpest decline in his net worth. It was slashed by almost a third in a day, falling by about $6.2 billion

to $13 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Shares of t he Moscow-based oil producer slumped about 33 percent on Thursday. Alexey Mordashov, chairman of the steelmaker Severstal, lost $4.2 billion on Thursday, bringing his fortune to $23 billion. Vladimir Potanin, president of Norilsk Nickel and currently Russia’s richest person, lost $3 billion. Alekperov and Timchenko have each lost about $10 billion this year, or more than 40 percent of their fortunes. Those are the biggest percentage declines among the Russian billionaires tracked by the Bloomberg wealth index. Bloomberg News

Saturday, February 26, 2022

The World BusinessMirror

137 ‘heroes’ dead, 316 injured on first day of Russian assault–Ukraine leader

YIV, Ukraine—Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early Friday as Russian forces pressed on with a full-scale invasion that resulted in the deaths of more than 100 Ukrainians in the first full day of fighting and could eventually rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. After using airstrikes on cities and military bases, Russian military units moved swiftly to take on Ukraine’s seat of government and its largest city in what US officials suspect is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime. Ukrainian leaders pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee, and hotels in Kyiv were being evacuated amid early indications of an assault. Ukrainian forces braced for more attacks after enduring for hours a Russian barrage of landand sea-based missiles, an assault that one senior US defense official described as the first salvo in a likely multi-phase invasion aimed at seizing key population centers and “decapitating” Ukraine’s government. Already, Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster. In u n lea sh i ng t he l a rgest

ground war in Europe since World War II, Putin ignored global condemnation and cascading new sanctions. With a chilling reference to his country’s nuclear arsenal, he threatened any country trying to interfere with “consequences you have never seen,” as a once-hoped for diplomatic resolution now appeared impossible. “Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won’t give up its freedom,” Zelenskyy tweeted. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, he pleaded Thursday for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilization that would last 90 days. Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 “heroes,” including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people wounded. The dead included all border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians. He concluded an emotional

Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, on February 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to “consequences you have never seen.” AP

speech by saying that “the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders.” He also said the country had heard from Moscow that “they want to talk about Ukraine’s neutral status.” US President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin “chose this war” and had exhibited a “sinister” view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. Other nations also announced sanctions, or said they would shortly. “It was always about naked aggression, about Putin’s desire for empire by any means necessary— by bullying Russia’s neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause,” Biden said. Blinken said in television interviews that he was convinced that

Russia was intent on overthrowing the Ukrainian government, telling CBS that Putin wants to “reconstitute the Soviet empire.” Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyiv’s subway stations. At times it felt almost cheerful. Families ate dinner. Children played. Adults chatted. People brought sleeping bags or dogs or crossword puzzles—anything to alleviate the waiting and the long night ahead. But the exhaustion was clear on many faces. And the worries. “Nobody believed that this war would start and that they would take Kyiv directly,” said Anton Mironov, waiting out the night in one of the old Soviet metro stations. “I feel mostly fatigue. None of it feels real.” AP

Analysis: Putin’s war imperils global security arrangements By John Daniszewski The Associated Press

ARSAW, Poland—It was the tale of two Vladimirs—one noble, grim and stubbornly open to peace; the other angry, threatening and bellicose—on a day that seemed to presage the demise of the security architecture, consensus and arrangements that have kept Europe and the world, for the most part, stable and secure for threequarters of a century. As missiles and a sense of tragedy rained down on the great European plain early Thursday, the eve-of-war remarks of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin showed the starkly opposing poles of this conflict. Putin, wearing the same clothing and in the same seated position of his history-twisting speech of Monday night, raising the likelihood that the remarks were prepared and taped two days before, announced that Russia is launching a special military operation supposedly in defense of the two breakaway districts of Ukraine that his government has recently declared sovereign. That he was announcing an attack on a neighboring country and unilaterally abdicating the international agreement that national borders should not be changed by force was glossed over by him. Instead he insisted that Ukraine, the country he likes to call Little Russia, was an existential threat to Big Russia, and preparing to attack his country that is three times its size and vastly better armed. And in a naked message to the rest of the world, he threatened any foreign country attempting to interfere with “consequences you have never seen.” Not since the time of Nikita Khrushchev has a Russian leader waved Moscow’s nuclear sword so brazenly.

Putin’s speech repeated a litany of accusations against the United States, which he called “an empire of lies,” and included US allies, or its “satellites” as he called them, part of that empire. He denounced past US military interventions in Syria, Iraq, Libya and the Balkans. He insisted that the ultimate US end goal was to end Russia’s sovereignty. And he accused the Ukrainians of being a collection of neo-Nazis and far-right nationalists who, he claimed, are aspiring to get nuclear weapons. (In fact, Ukraine voluntarily eliminated the part of the Soviet nuclear arsenal that it controlled in the 1990s, along with Belarus and Kazakhstan.) Instead of a war of aggression, he said the operation would be a defensive one to save the people of the region known as Donbas. “They left us no choice.” Zelenskyy, in a tailored suit standing in front of a map of Ukraine late Thursday, was not aggressive. He was pleading in a dignified way over Putin’s head to the Russian people in their own Russian language: please stop this madness. It was unlikely many Russians would see Zelenskyy’s message. State broadcast media was long ago captured in Putin’s Russia. Only those with Internet access or who listened to foreign broadcasters on the Internet would have heard him. But they are not stupid. The reality that Russia is launching a war with unknown consequences was reflected in a crash of the Russian stock market and lines at ATMs of Russians eager to take out cash from banks that have been or may soon be sanctioned and cut off from the international financial network. Nevertheless, Zelenskyy’s address was moving. He said that he had tried Wednesday to call Putin directly. “The result was silence.”

Instead he sw itc hed f rom Ukrainian to Russian to address Russians directly. He said it was absurd that Ukrainians harbored hatred for their compatriots in the breakaway regions, areas where he grew up and where his best friend lived. How could he be accused of being a Nazi, he asked. Explaining to Russians who may not be aware that their joint 2,0 0 0 -k i lometer border w it h Ukraine was ringed with nearly 200,000 Russian troops, he said nobody needs a hot war, a cold war or a hybrid war. “The people of Ukraine and the government of Ukraine want peace,” he intoned somberly, speaking in a mild tone with the ease and directness of a former television actor. He said that Ukraine would be ready for whatever is to come. “But if we come under attack, if we face an attempt to take away our country, our freedom, our lives and lives of our children, we will defend ourselves. When you attack us, you will see our faces. Not our backs, but our faces,” he said. Within hours, rockets and barrages began falling on military installations all across Ukraine. Ironically, the forum created after World War II to resolve such threats of conflict, the UN Security Council, is currently chaired by Russia, one of the five permanent members that has veto power over any actions. The emergency Security Council meeting, which was still taking place as Putin announced his intentions, soon broke up with angry words between the envoy from Ukraine and the envoy from Russia. Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia insisted that what was happening was not a war, bur a “special military operation.” “Lunatic semantics,” responded the Ukrainian ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, outside the meeting. But on the first day of the assault on Ukraine, everyone seemed

to reckon that the world cannot go back to the assured détente and balance of power that kept the European continent mostly free of major warfare between nations since 1945, a long peace that has allowed millions of people to thrive and generations to grow up relatively unscathed by fear of a devastated future. “Peace on our continent has been shattered,” declared Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of NATO, as reports of first casualties began to trickle in. For the West, the immediate answer will be imposing harsh sanctions against Putin, his associates and the Russian state. President Joe Biden has ruled out a US military response. But such sanctions will have an economic cost to Americans, Europeans and people around the globe. What follows next, as many Ukrainians take to their vehicles to flee the country and others wait to be distributed arms by their government, and as NATO builds up forces in the countries that now face directly the Russian threat, from Estonia to the north to Romania in the south, is unpredictable as in all wars. Governments are recalculating and internal European quarrels for now are being set aside to adjust to a new reality. Anna-Lena Lauren, a columnist in Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, predicted that the attack may mean the end of the aging Putin’s near absolute rule. “The Russian dictator will not survive his catastrophically miscalculated decision in the long run. And history won’t be kind,” she said. “A war that will not yield any results, that lacks the support of the people and that leads to bloodshed for a peaceful neighbor to which a large part of the Russians have emotional ties. The madness is complete.”

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Protests erupt around the world after invasion

raped in Ukraine’s gold and blue flag, Maryana Kret joined hundreds of protesters marching through New York City on Thursday to support her home country after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion hours earlier. The majority of her family, she said, is still in Lviv, a city in western Ukraine. Kret’s father, who turns 70 in just a few days, is among them. “When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he told me he wanted a bomb and a gun,” Kret said. If Russian troops reach Lviv, he doesn’t want to go down without a fight, she explained. An estimated 500 protesters rallied outside the United Nations building housing the Permanent Mission of Russia. But it wasn’t just Ukrainians voicing their outcry in the streets. Belarusians and Russians joined in, as did a group of protesters from Georgia. While inspired by the show of solidarity, Kret and other protesters said it’s simply not enough as the country’s capital city of Kyiv braces for collapse. And they said the economic sanctions that President Joe Biden and other countries imposed on the country’s biggest financial institutions and Russian elites won’t deter Putin. Biden announced Friday that Russia will suffer harsher economic consequences for his continued aggression. “The sanctions we imposed exceed anything that’s ever been done,” Biden said, adding that two-thirds of the world is joining the US with what he called “profound sanctions.” Some of the protesters said that, to stop Putin’s advance, the US will need to pledge additional financial and tactical support to Ukraine. Until then, they said they’ll continue to call attention to what’s happening in Ukraine and demand that leaders across the globe hold Putin responsible for violating international law. They weren’t alone. Around the world, people gathered in groups that numbered from the dozens to the thousands to express support for the people of Ukraine. Social media feeds were filled with people using the hashtag #StandWithUkraine, urging leaders from Germany to Georgia, and from Israel to France, to take action. Here are scenes from some of those efforts:

US Protests have popped up across the US in such cities as Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago. In Denver, outside the state capitol, Elizabeth Hernandez, a Denver Post reporter, tweeted out that some protesters burst into tears when talking about trying to reach their family and friends in Ukraine. Supporters rallied outside the federal building in Westwood, California. A KTLA 5 reporter estimated there were about 200 people, many of whom said they grew up in Ukraine. “We’re still waiting for the support by authorities in other countries who guaranteed safety for us,” said one protester whose family is in Kyiv. “I’m not a little bit angry, I’m very angry.” Around 100 protesters gathered on a Kennedy expressway overpass in Chicago to sing the Ukrainian national anthem and urge leaders to do more, the Sun-Times reported. Tensions were similarly high in the city’s Ukrainian Village. “Not only economic sanctions, we need help, we need military help, we need the west and the United States to help Ukraine before there’s blood on the streets,” said Marta Farion, the Illinois division vice president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.

UK Protesters rallied in front of the Russian embassy in London and 10 Downing Street, home to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. They waved Ukrainian flags as they called for sanctions and chanted “Stop Putin, stop the war,” a video showed.

Spain Actor Javier Bardem was among the protesters who gathered before the Russian embassy in Madrid. Other protesters met in front of the Russian consulate in Barcelona. Bardem told Reuters he was there “to demonstrate my condemnation of the Russian Federation’s warlike actions against Ukraine,” and that the bombing of Ukrainian cities by Russia was “an invasion… It violates Ukraine’s fundamental right to territorial sovereignty, international law, and many other things.”

Japan Activists gathered outside Shibuya Station in Tokyo to condemn the attack on Ukraine.

Poland Several thousand people gathered in front of the Russian embassy in Warsaw to protest the country’s invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg’s Wojciech Moskwa said. There was heavy police presence, but the protests were calm, with participants calling for letting Ukraine decide if it wants to become a member of Nato and the EU.

Russia There were anti-war protests in more than 40 cities in Russia. Hundreds of people have been detained in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. More than 1,000 people have been arrested across the country, according to rights group OVD-Info. Pushkin Square, maybe less than 1000 meters from Red Square and the Kremlin, is the cite of a significant protest. These people know the risks of challenging the regime. They’re on the street in-spite of major personal costs. pic.twitter.com/bYEfbO91xG — Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) February 24, 2022 Russia has increasingly tightened restrictions on peaceful assembly, amending its law on demonstrations 13 times since 2004 to further restrict and suppress protests, according to an Amnesty International report. Anything beyond a single-person protest without a permit is regarded as illegal in Russia. Nearly 1,000 people detained so far at antiwar demonstrations in 44 cities across Russia. These are brave people given protesters have received multiple years in prison for such serious acts of civil disobedience like tossing a plastic cup at a cop pic.twitter.com/ UuXkxb4Jgl. Bloomberg News

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Hong Kong seniors who refused vaccines are ‘ticking time bomb’

EATHS in Hong Kong’s worst ever Covid-19 outbreak are forecast to spiral, with experts predicting a wave of fatalities among the city’s under-inoculated and vaccine hesitant elderly population. Only 43 percent of seniors who are 80 or over have received even one dose, according to government data. While that’s up from 22 percent in early January, it still isn’t enough to protect the segment of the population most at risk, according to Karen Grepin, an associate professor in the school of public health at the University of Hong Kong. Elderly patients have already made up the majority of the 311 deaths in this outbreak so far. “Even doubling of a small number is still a small number,” Grepin said. “There are still unvaccinated people in nursing homes and that is just a ticking time bomb.” In the current wave, Hong Kong could have nearly 100 deaths a day in late-March and a total of around 3,200 by mid-May, according to a new report from the university’s researchers released on Tuesday. An overwhelming majority of those deaths is likely to be among the elderly. With hospitals overflowing and unable to take in more patients, local nursing home operators are warning of the danger of Covid-positive seniors seeding widespread outbreaks. Facilities don’t have the staff, equipment or space to cope with any infected residents, the Elderly Services Association of Hong Kong said in a February 18 statement that called on the government to find other places to house asymptomatic elderly. Infected people on-site “could lead to an imminent crisis in residential homes,” the association said. The worry is well founded, given the experience in other countries. In the US, Covid fatalities among unvaccinated people 80 and older were nearly seven times higher than for vaccinated seniors in the same age group, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

many risk-averse physicians advised patients to wait. As the months went by and the elderly vaccination program stalled, officials urged patience, saying seniors would eventually come around to the idea of getting shots. During that time, Hong Kong didn’t make much progress in preparing the additional quarantine facilities, isolation wards or hospital capacity the elderly would need once Covid pierced the city’s defenses. “We were basically buying time to get our most vulnerable sectors of the population vaccinated and we failed to do that,” said Grepin. That is putting the city at greater risk of deaths compared to other places that prioritized vaccinating the elderly first and have had more success in takeup. While the number of cases in South Korea has been soaring, the fatality rate is falling, dropping to just to 0.38 percent on February 20, compared to 0.88 percent a month ago. That’s thanks largely to the success in the vaccination effort: Among South Koreans 60 and older, 88 percent have received third shots. Even countries like the US and the UK prioritized vaccinating the elderly first, given their vulnerability. Adding to the risk in Hong Kong, many seniors getting their first vaccines are choosing less effective shots made by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. rather than the mRNA vaccines from BioNTech SE, which have been found to provide more protection against the Omicron variant.

Eliminating cases

EVEN as experts call for a renewed campaign to deliver shots, Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s government may divert resources away from vaccination efforts and instead toward implementing the sort of city-wide mass testing that Beijing has used in mainland cities to eliminate outbreaks. “Of the resources available, you should just go all-out for vaccination,” said Jean Woo, director of the CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Mass testing can even make things worse, she said, by forcing older people to spend hours outdoors and in queues while waiting for their turn. “There’s nowhere for them to sit,” Woo said. “It’s cold. It increases the risk of cross-infection.” Bloomberg News

Medical conditions

HONG Kong’s government launched its vaccination program in early 2021 but failed to persuade most seniors, who worried about reports of side effects or were complacent given the city’s low incidence of Covid cases. The government encouraged people with existing medical conditions to consult first with their doctors before getting vaccinated, and

By Ma. Teresa Montemayor

ANILA—About 2.4 million senior citizens nationwide are not yet vaccinated against Covid-19, a health official said last week. In a Laging Handa briefing, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said that only 68 percent of the target senior citizen population have received their first dose of Covid-19 jabs, 70 percent have been fully vaccinated, and 14 percent already got booster shots. “It’s not vaccine hesitancy, some senior citizens don’t want to be vaccinated because they’re already at the later years of their lives,” said Cabotaje, who is also the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) chief. To address the issue, Cabotaje said it would be best to make the vaccination process easier and quicker for senior citizens since most of them dislike going through many procedures. Earlier, some local government units (LGUs) conducted door-to-door Covid-19 vaccination and arranged transportation to inoculation sites for senior citizens. Currently, the NVOC is planning to bring the vaccination centers closer to senior citizens, especially in areas where the inoculation rate of this target population is low. “One of the problems, is in BARMM [Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao], some of those living in these places in the North are hesitant to get the jab because of cultural and religious be-

ELIGIO REYES, 69, from Barangay Salawag (on wheelchair), a person with disability, is assisted by his son after receiving a second dose Covid-19 vaccine shot at the Ugnayang La Salle Gymnasium in Dasmariñas City, Cavite, on February 17, 2022. The national government has been encouraging local government units to consider house-to-house vaccination drives to inoculate senior citizens and persons with comorbidities who are unable to go to vaccination sites. PNA PHOTO BY GIL CALINGA liefs,” Cabotaje said. To focus on areas needing attention, Cabotaje guaranteed the NVOC will work more closely with the senior

citizen groups and the LGUs. “Our senior citizens are important because they are most at risk and most vulnerable and when they

get sick and they are brought to the hospitals and have serious disease, they are at a big risk to die,” she said. PNA

BBM bats for free health insurance for PHL’s 12 million senior citizens

ARTIDO Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP)standard-bearerFerdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said it is time to have free health insurance for all senior citizens in the country. In the SMNI Presidential Debate 2022, Marcos was asked about his plans for more than 12 million senior citizens in the Philippines. “Siguro ang pinakauna bago pa tayo magpapasa ng bagong batas na napakahilig nating gawin, hindi pa natin naiim-

Spark the fire of thinking in the classroom By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH

2.4 million senior citizens still unvaxxed vs Covid-19–NVOC

T the onset, let me make a disclosure. I am neither a professional educator nor an expert in pedagogy. But there was a time when I handled classes and conducted workshops in creative conceptualization and scriptwriting. During the first sessions, I noted that the young participants were restless, fidgety, and bored as I droned on, giving out information that they could just as well get from reading a book. I then tried to enliven it up with support slides to illustrate my talk. No dice. Then comes the next batch, I changed my approach. I made the sessions interactive. I turned the table around and made them do the thinking and the talking. On the very first day of class, I randomly divided them into pairs and asked them to interview

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Saturday, February 26, 2022

each other. After a while, I told them to introduce each other using the information culled from on the spot interviews. The session was ice-breaking. It also gave me an inkling about each attendee’s skill in storytelling and characterization. From there, bonding among them became easier. Every day I had a surprise activity. For an exercise in visualization, I took them outside the room and made them walk in pairs. One was blindfolded while the other would verbally guide his partner as they walked, describing for him what the place looked like. Back in the classroom, I made them reflect on the experience. Throughout the two weeks, I made them do short, simple activities like journal writing, paired brainstorming and role-playing. One moment they would be making stick drawings, next

moment they were acting, trying to bring to life what they’ve just written. At other times, I would bring some of my video collection and we would watch, then I urged them to critique what we just saw. I functioned more as a facilitator, prompter and a standby moderator. I would just trigger the learning process by tossing the ball and let them carry it from there. My class would always begin with a two-question mantra: “What if? Why not?” At the end, they would present what they had accomplished and reflect on it, with comments from me and the rest of the class. Best of all, they went away feeling that they “owned” the learnings, for truly it was them who brought it out of themselves. All of these memories came flooding my mind when I recently stumbled into a Japanese high school dorama series with the prosaic title: “High School Business.” It revolves around the travails of a corporate executive who was tasked to reverse the fortune of a financially distressed private high school and make it profitable. The guy who assigned him there thought it was a surefire way to

plementa ’yung batas ngayon sa pagbigay ng benepisyo para sa mga senior citizens para sa mga retirees,” said Marcos. “Mahalaga ito dahil alalahanin natin na ang mga senior citizens kadalasan ay hindi na nagtatrabaho at meron talaga dahil may edad na e may karamdaman din. Kaya siguro idagdag natin dun sa pension ay ’yung pagbayad na ng kanilang health insurance. Ang gobyerno na ang magbabayad ng kanilang health insurance para kapag

make him fail, which was what he intended. To turn it around, the poor fellow cuts costs and makes the bold decision to infuse fresh new life into the school’s traditional system with the adoption of the so-called “Active Learning” mode of teaching. It turns out to be a stroke of genius and the school gets into the black again. While watching it I began to realize that back then I was probably into an educational approach called “active learning” although I didn’t know the term then. It turns out that “active learning” is not really something new as it is now being practiced in many schools abroad. What is more notable to me is its less emphasis on lecture but more on involving students in doing and thinking. It encourages the student to think actively rather than just passively receive information from the teacher. As opposed to conventional passive learning, it engages students, using such activities as reading, writing, discussion, or problem solving, which in turn promote analysis and synthesis. It also provides students with opportunities for feedback on how well they understood the material. Now that class sessions have

meron silang pangangailangan, may karamdaman sila, meron silang pambayad,” added Marcos. Currently, some of the benefits that senior citizens are getting include the 20-percent discount and VAT exemption on medicines, food, fares and even doctor fees and hospital bills. For Marcos, if all senior citizens have free health insurance, it will be a great comfort and help for them, as well as their families. Marcos added that many senior citi-

migrated to the virtual space, shouldn’t we consider employing the active learning mode to engage the students who, like my granddaughter, are attending their socially distanced class sessions in their bedrooms, still in their pajamas? Let’s face it. Arousing and maintaining the enthusiasm of a virtual class is a daily struggle. Distraction is at the heart of the problem. Not to mention the problem of unstable signal and clear reception. We need to reimagine teaching as no longer just a way of imparting information but also of sparking thought. The teacher’s role is to activate students’ minds. Just like teaching someone how to ride a bike, you let the newbie pedal off by himself after the initial push. I’m glad to see my granddaughter always busy doing something, such as cutting pieces of paper to create characters, doing pastiche or collage on an illustration board, writing a poem, or sketching a story about people in our neighborhood during the long lockdown, recycling plastic cups as plant pots, taking pictures with her tablet and so on. I don’t know what these activities are for, or if she’s learning anything, but it appears she is having fun! Is her teacher on active learning mode? Maybe, but it seems to be working.

zens are also experiencing discrimination. There are senior citizens who are still able and want to work but are no longer accepted by some companies. “’Yung ganyang klaseng pagpipili na bata lamang para makapasok sa trabaho kung kaya namang gawin ng isang nakakatanda ang trabaho eh bakit hindi i-employ, we should not discriminate against them and instead allow them to continue to work and being productive,” added Marcos.

Flexibility, resourcefulness, and talent for creativity are key to virtual teaching at this unstable time. If the techniques and tools of active learning can help energize the learning process, why stick to the traditional mode? What matters is that it starts the development of the student’s ability to think for himself. Keep in mind the Chinese proverb: “I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand.” That, in essence, is what learning should be about: knowledge through the process of actual experience and self-discovery. Let us use active learning to spark our youth to ask fundamental questions and draw lessons from the world around them, such as “How should I live?” “What is truth in the age of manufactured reality?” “What is a good society?” and other relevant questions that will develop the power of thinking for themselves. No more emphasis on memorization of names and dates. No more uncritical acceptance of given information. But then again, as I said at the start, I am no pedagogic expert and I don’t pretend to know anything about teaching. All I’m asking is to give this think piece a chance and hopefully it sparks something in the minds of enlightened education authorities out there.

Education BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, February 26, 2022

Editor: Mike Policarpio

DepEd, UP, USAID help boost numeracy foundation among young learners

HE United States government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), launched a new initiative to help young learners in the Philippines build a strong foundation in numeracy and mathematics.

The Early Numeracy Initiative for Remote Learning will train teachers and school administrators in Regions 5 and 6 to improve the numeracy and mathematics skills of Kindergarten to Grade 3 students. USAID partnered with the De-

CitySavings Bank backs DepEd’s inoculation drive By Roderick L. Abad

IVEN the “progressive expansion” of in-person classes due to the easing of alert levels in areas with decreasing numbers of Covid-19 infections, City Savings Bank Inc. (CitySavings) is supporting the Department of Education’s (DepEd) “Vacc2School” campaign with a raffle promo to reward fully vaccinated teacher-clients. Benjar Ferrer, a teacher at Galarin Elementary School in Urbiztondo, Pangasinan, said in Filipino that his being fully inoculated against Covid-19 is for the children and for the country, as it is free and easy as going to vaccination centers. Even if the nationwide vaccination drive for the DepEd’s teaching and nonteaching personnel is in place, Teacher Robert Baluyot of Alabel National High School in Sarangani admitted there is still some vaccine hesitancy among his colleagues. Some of the reasons, he cited, stem from “the kind of knowledge and information sources my co-teachers access; experience with vaccinepreventable diseases or lack of such, the role of health professional recommendations, social norms, parental responsibility, trust, and religious beliefs.” The Vacc2School initiative aims to address these concerns through proper awareness and information on getting protected with the vaccine. Another is by way of positive implementation, encouraging teachers to get their shots by incentivizing them. CitySavings, the thrift bank subsidiary of Union Bank of the Philippines and a member of the Aboitiz Group, joined the campaign with the belief that health and safety are top priorities to shield the country’s education frontline heroes and their learners from the deadly virus. More than 230 winners were glad to have received their prizes of P2,000 each, including Albien Arayan of Tagbina, Surigao del Sur, who thanked CitySavings by saying: “Simple is good indeed!” Charity and generosity also resonated for winners like Carlo Masangcay of Northern Naguilian National High School in La Union, who shared his fortune to others. He said that he appropriated half of his winnings for a chosen student in his advisory class. “The other half, I gave to my mother. It may be little, but the happiness it brings to them is priceless.”

TEAM NeoFlorence

USAID Philippines Acting Office Director for Education Yvette Malcioln (left) and Department of Education Bureau of Learning Delivery Director Dr. Leila Areola lead the launch of a new initiative set to improve the numeracy and mathematics skills of Kindergarten to Grade 3 students.

partment of Education’s Bureau of Learning Delivery and the University of the Philippines National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (UP NISMED) to design this initiative, which aids DepEd’s goals of developing students’ critical thinking and problem-solving in numeracy. USAID Philippines Acting Office Director for Education Yvette Malcioln joined DepEd Directors Dr. Leila Areola of the Bureau of Learning Delivery, Region 5’s Dr. Gilbert Sadsad, Region 6’s Dr. Ramir Uytico, and UP NISMED Director Dr. Sheryl Lyn Monterola at the virtual launch of the initiative on February 14. “ This activity speaks of the shared commitment and intention

of DepEd as well as the US government, through USAID, to improve not only the literacy of early grade learners, but also their skills in early mathematics and numeracy,” said Malcioln. “If learners are exposed to and attain math skills at a young age, they are more likely to succeed in school and in life.” USAID will also distribute mathematics home learning resource kits to more than 1,700 students. The kits will provide parents and guardians with practical tools to help their children learn mathematics at home and strengthen their ability to reason and make connections. “DepEd is pleased to have education partners like USAID to support our vision, mission and goals of providing quality, responsive, relevant

and accessible education for all Filipinos,” said Areola. “We would like to thank USAID for intensifying the mother tongue-based multilingual education, as well as efforts that contributed to the improvement of literacy skills of our learners while at the same time, capacitizing our teachers and parents.” The Early Numeracy Initiative for Remote Learning is part of USAID’s P1.9-billion ($38.5-million) basiceducation project in the Philippines: ABC+, or Advancing Basic Education. Implemented in partnership with DepEd, ABC+ focuses on improving quality and learning outcomes for Kindergarten through Grade 3 students in early literacy, and foundational math, including social and emotional learning.

‘Schools of Living Tradition’ to be set up for Baguio’s youth

AGUIO CITY—The city council here has approved on third and final reading an ordinance seeking to provide an avenue for students in all learning institutions to study the cultural practices of indigenous peoples (IPs) in the Cordillera Administrative Region. City Council Information Officer Jordan Habbiling said the ordinance authored by Councilor Arthur Allad-iw aims to inculcate anew the indigenous cultural heritage among students of the different schools here by allowing young people to learn the history, chants, dances, and way of life of IPs in the region. “The establishment of the Schools of Living Tradition [SLT] program shall provide an opportunity for students in public and private educational institutions in the city to experience first-hand the cultural heritage of the Cordilleran IPs by bringing them close to the IP community,” the statement said. Under the approved ordinance, Habbiling said students will study cultural practices except for ritualrelated activities, materials and instruments used during death rituals, as well as sickness and pandemics which are exclusively for the exercise of elders, bearers and practitioners. He explained the ordinance will hold tight foremost and observe sen-

THE schools will give students a first-hand experiential learning mode with the help of cultural experts from the indigenous peoples’ groups. PNA/LIZA T. AGOOT

sitivity toward cultural practices covered by the SLT. Those concerned shall always seek the advice of the elders, practitioners, and villagers considered to be knowledgeable or bearer of knowledge of the said practices. “The ordinance emphasizes that the conduct of any activity under the SLT shall be consulted first to the elders, practitioners, or villagers to avoid misrepresentation or any other forms of negligence,” a statement from the city council revealed. “Approval from the IP community shall be sought first by the students or their advisers in cases of sensitive cultural practices, or those enumerated by law needing the consent of the concerned indigenous groups, as mandated by Republic Act 8371—otherwise known

as the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997, and other issuances on the matter by the concerned agency.” Such ordinance requires the creation of a committee in the schools to come up with, implement, as well as evaluate plans and programs under the SLT. Interschool meetings or seminars may take place, where learning institutions may share studies, researches, and practices that would further improve the SLT activities and programs in their respective schools. Elders of indigenous groups may be tapped as resource speakers. The ordinance passed during the last session of the city council has been transmitted to the City Mayor’s Office for signing. Liza Agoot/PNA

Refocus sells 25% of biz to scale up Asian presence

OCUSING on business development in Asia, Russia-based digital marketing school Refocus recently sold 25 percent of its stake to Skyeng, one of the largest players in the education market in Eastern Europe. The sale is in line with Refocus’ plans to expand in the Philippines and Indonesia. Then, it will launch more than 50 educational courses in the Asia-Pacific region in 2022 to teach 1 million students in the first 5 years. “The modern world is changing very quickly, and what you taught a year ago is no longer relevant, let alone university knowledge,” said Refocus founder Roman Kumar Vyas. “Higher education institutions are unable to meet the market demand for qualified specialists, so we are developing Refocus to help provide students opportunities to quickly master relevant skills and [land] a job.” Moscow-based Skyeng will integrate Refocus into its online university Skypro, which offers vocational courses on data analytics, coding, marketing, and other informationtechnology (IT) professions. Refocus

course programs will be adapted to the new platform, while teaching staff and teaching approaches will remain the same. Vyas said that the sale of a share to Skyeng will help them establish faster in the Asian market, meeting state norms and needs of employers who seek able candidates. Refocus provides students with digital skills during a complete course in the IT profession to increase the chances of students for successful employment. In line with this, the company has launched three educational directions in the Philippines: project management, digital marketing, and quality assurance engineering. Refocus brings together 2,500 students and 35 practicing teachers, plus offers seven and soon, 10 IT professions that are in demand in the labor market. Each course includes over 150 hours of lectures, 19 assignments, 9 months of training and certification. Enrollees will be divided into small groups for practicing new job-ready skills and networking under the supervision of curators.

“Teaming up with Skypro enables Refocus to leverage the power and tools of the online university to deliver an alternative to higher education in a faster and more practice-oriented way,” Vyas pointed out. He believes that the future of education belongs to programs that meet global education requirements, and are locally relevant. He said that to meet this end, the Refocus tutorial team includes Western industry-leading experts with global cases, and local topprofessionals with strong sense of nationalism. Refocus entered Asia to develop digital and IT professional skills in the burgeoning Philippine market. In the second quarter of 2021, the country’s gross domestic product grew by 11.8 percent, which drives rapid digitalization and increases demand for IT professionals. Its Philippine office is headquartered at the Enterprise Center in Makati City. For more information, visit www. refocus.me, or follow its Facebook page: Refocus and on Instagram: refocus.education.

UST Nursing students’ anti-info AI wins UN’s international video tilt

IX students in their third year from the University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) College of Nursing won the Generat ion Connect Video Pitch Challenge organized by the United Nations’ (UN) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for their anti-misinformation artificial intelligence (AI) proposal aptly named NARS, or the Nursing Assistance and Reinforcement System. Trisha Mangahas, Stephen Marasigan, Qjiel Mariano, Ivan Martinez, Zysha Marquez, and Anne Novales named their team “NeoFlorence,” taking inspiration from Florence Nightingale, the “Mother of Modern Nursing.” Armed with the knowledge on the current situation of misinformation and disinformation during the pandemic, the team proposed an AI to tailor-fit health information to the public. The team was mentored by Dr. Gian Carlo Torres and Dr. Sarah Maria Salazar, faculty members of the UST College of Nursing. For winning the challenge, UST’s Team NeoFlorence will share their experiences at the Generation Connect Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in June 2022, preceding the World Telecommunications Development Conference. T heir w inning video will also be presented to world leaders, innovators, and advocates in telecommunica-

tion all around the world in the said events. Recalling the preparations for the pitch, the student nurses researched extensively on public health-situation reports, existing solutions, and timely innovations to address the alarming spread of fake news on the pandemic, especially on vaccine rollout. The team cites Nursing Informatics—a course they completed in their second year—as pivotal in understanding the importance of emerging technologies and the nursing profession. The ITU is a specialized agency of the UN responsible for all matters related to information and communication technologies. Generation Connect, one of the initiatives, aims to engage, empower and encourage the youth to stand as equal partners alongside the leaders of today’s digital change, equipping them with the skills and opportunities to advance their vision of a connected future. According to the challenge, prompt Internet connection provides opportunities for the youth to access education, quality health care, and other necessities. Generation Connect, ITU’s youth strategy initiative, aims to improve the lives of young people around the world and ensure meaningful participation of the youth as key stakeholders in the latter’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Sentro Rizal Toronto opens kids’ corner for Natl Children’s Week

CONSUL General Orontes V. Castro (center), with Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board Vice Chair and Trustee Luz del Rosario (in television screen), Trustee Garry Tanuan (leftmost), Consuls Rodney Jonas L. Sumague, Mary Grace V. Villamayor and Cecilia D. Santos (from center to rightmost) during the soft launch of the Children’s Corner. TORONTO PCG/DFA

ENTRO Rizal Toronto of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto marked Philippine National C h i ld re n’s We e k w it h t he launch of Children’s Corner in its official web site. Children’s Corner featured e-books from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Additions to the collection of e-books will be made regularly with cultural materials to encourage second- and third-generation Filipinos, as well as FilipinoCanadians overseas of all ages, including elementary and secondary students. The e-books will also be made available to mainstream Canadians. Storytelling sessions conducted by Consul Rodney Jonas L. Sumague, Consul Mary Grace V. Villamayor and Vice Consul Edward D. Chan can also be accessed in the Chil-

dren’s Corner. Sentro Rizal Toronto hopes that through Children’s Corner, kids in Western Ontario and the province of Manitoba’s Filipino community will be inspired to read Philippine literary and published works, such as Filipino myths, legends and fables. A soft launch of the project was also held during the meeting among Castro, Vice Chair and Trustee Luz del Rosario and Trustee Garr y Tanuan, who are Fi lipino- Canadian elected trustees from the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board, respectively, which are the two largest Catholic district school boards in the area. The latter two officials will promote Sentro Rizal’s Children’s Corner to students in their respective board-run schools.

Tourism&Entertainment The Trio of the South BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Saturday, February 26, 2022 A9

Story & photos by Ardee P. de los Angeles

n October 7, 1939, Taal Vista Hotel opened its doors to the public. As the second oldest hotel in the Philippines, Taal Vista conjointly goes with the area of Tagaytay, and the wonderful and sublime views of Taal Volcano. The three Ts of history and of past memories, Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay and Taal Volcano, a triune if you may.

The Tagaytay Suite is one of the original rooms of the hotel

Guests can treat themselves to dinner under the stars

All full of fun times with the family, and even up to now, creating more precious moments as visitors enjoy the cold weather, accommodations and great food. The views, the vibe, the place and the feeling; all connected, all dependent on each other.

Getting to know Taal Vista Hotel

Known in 1939 as Taal Vista Lodge, the property was owned by The Manila Railroad Company, and managed and operated by its subsidiary, the Manila Hotel. This was also the time when the first golf course in Tagaytay was constructed. During World War II, the property was converted as quarters for the officers of the Japanese army. The US Army then took control of the area in February of 1945. After the war, the lodge was repaired, renovated and expanded by the Philippine government and was promoted as a major tourist destination in the Philippines. Tagaytay and the lodge then became one of most popular destinations in the country for foreigners, local tourists and businessmen. On January 11, 1984, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) took ownership of the lodge and then renamed it to Taal Vista Hotel. DBP managed the operations of the hotel from 1984 to 1988. The late Henry Sy Sr. has a favorite spot overlooking Taal lake and he would come and sit there from time to time. In August of 1988, his company, SM Investments Corporation (SMIC) took ownership of the hotel. A tree now marks the spot where Mr. Sy used to stay and enjoy the views of the caldera.

This tree marks Henry Sy’s favorite spot

THE wall of history is a visual retelling of the hotel’s story

The author with his mother, Elena M. Patron at Taal Vista Hotel

Back to the present

Nowadays, people come here to be amazed at the sight of Taal Volcano. That was my experience before when my parents used to bring me here many moons ago. Now, as an adult, I realized that Taal Vista Hotel offers much more than just the views. It was also my turn to bring my mother, writer/novelist Elena Patron-delos Angeles to have lunches at Taal Vista Hotel. She loved the views and enjoyed the Filipino dishes while being serenaded by the 3-man band of the hotel. My mother passed away last year and it’s her 1st death anniversary this January. Our return to Taal Vista did bring back a lot of memories.

TAAL Vista Hotel’s farm produces fresh vegetables for its kitchen

A snapshot of TAAL Vista Hotel back then

Our visit

We took the history and property tour when we arrived at the hotel and I felt just how deeply etched in Philippine history this hotel is. I became aware of the story, the culture, and how the decades of life in this part of the world had evolved. It is always good to go back, review, study and learn of the everyday things we experienced growing up. You would be surprised how things are so different yet still manage to stay the same. This is the time when I view and learn to appreciate things differently. As we walked the hallways, everything felt new. The appearance, the smell and the services

offered makes you feel like you are in a newly constructed establishment. My mind on the other hand thought about the hotel’s rich history. If only these walls could talk. Heading outside of the hotel, we were able to visit a piece of land on the property where they have a small farm. The produce of which is used for their select farm to table meals that is served in their Veranda and Tāza restaurants. After having a hearty lunch with much chit chat and laughter with Chef Jayme Natividad at the hotel’s Veranda restaurant, we had a chance to relax at our lake wing rooms. We enjoyed the beautiful views of Taal and the chilly weather that Tagaytay is known

The hotel offers an outdoor picnic with an awesome view

A rare photo of Henry Sy at his spot at Taal Vista Hotel

for at the room’s balcony.

A lovely picnic

In the afternoon, we were able to have a glam picnic overlooking the lake. We had cold cuts, a cheese platter, pizzas and chilled juice, while sitting close to Mr. Henry Sy’s spot where he used to sit and enjoy the views. The experience was like living the past while enjoying the present.

Dinner under the stars

The title says it all. The strip steak dinner included three longstemmed roses, a bottle of sparkling wine and praline chocolates. Just a perfect time as the weather cooperated and the moon and the

stars provided brilliance as we finished our meals.

Grilled food with a view

Before we called it a night, we went to have some drinks and grilled food like pork skewers, sausages, beef and chicken. A great time to unwind, talk, and reflect on what I learned today. After all these, it’s hard not to look at Taal Vista Hotel without thinking about its colorful past. We will be coming back, this time to appreciate more of the present time and what it has to offer. Taal Vista Hotel, Taal Lake and Tagaytay. The trio of the south. It is definitely time to relish the experience once more.

‘Tenet,’ ‘Friends: The Reunion,’ and live sport top the entertainment charts in the sky

ci-Fi action thriller Tenet and family favorite Cruella were among the mostwatched movies, while Friends: The Reunion topped the TV charts at 40,000 feet in 2021, according to viewing trends released today by Emirates. T he l a rgest a irl ine in t he world offers more than 4,500 channels of entertainment on ice (Information Communication Entertainment), its multi award-winning inf light enterta inment system where passengers can watch the latest mov ies and T V ser ies, listen to music and podcasts, follow their f light’s progress and see views from the aircraft’s external cameras; watch live news and sport, and stay connected through Wi-fi. Emirates continually updates its inflight content, adding hundreds of movies, TV shows, podcasts and music channels each month to its extensive entertainment library on ice.

Top movies in 2021 on ice

The most viewed movie on Emirates f lights last year stars John David Washington and Robert Pattinson and features Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh. Tenet follows a secret agent who learns to manipulate the f low of time to prevent an attack from the future that threatens to annihilate the present world. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s action and comedy Bad Boys for Life and Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard with Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek were also among the top most-watched movies on a list that trended towards action, comedy and thriller movies. World cinema is a lso ver y popular on ice and top picks in 2021 included French drama Who You Think I Am starring Juliette Binoche and the Oscar-winning film from Denmark Another Round.

Family favorites

Across all cabin classes, family

omy Class on ice.

The most popular TV in the sky

movies were also hugely popular and the top performing films in this genre in 2021 included Cruella, a big hit on board starring Emma Stone and Emma Thompson and Mulan, the story of a young Chinese maiden who disguises herself as a male warrior to save her father. Animated films Luca and Soul

were also hugely popular, as was the new Wizarding World collection on ice, where adults and children alike enjoyed watching the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films. There are more than 1,500 movies from multiple genres available in up to 45 languages for passengers in First, Business and Econ-

Emirates’ 2021 launch of TV series from HBO Max proved very popular with customers. Friends: The Reunion which was exclusively on board Emirates in the region, was among the most watched TV programmes. Other top TV selections included the award-winning drama series, Mare of Easttown starring Kate Winslet, and The Flight Attendant, a comedy, drama, mystery and thriller all-in-one, starring Kaley Cuoco. The HBO Max content on ice continues to delight passengers in 2022, with the addition of all three seasons of the hit series Succession.

Unmissable live sports

For many sports fans, not being able to tune into their favorite sporting events and live games is unthinkable, but with Emirates, you never have to miss a minute of live action on the Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra channels.

Some of the top live sporting events that customers enjoyed live on board in 2021 were the UEFA Euro 2020, the rescheduled 2020 Summer Olympics, Wimbledon 2021, The British Open, NBA finals and many more. Emirates offers four live channels of sports and international news channels including CNN, BBC World News, Sport 24, and Sport 24 Extra. 2021 was another multi awardwinning year for ice, where customers voted Emirates “Best Inflight Entertainment”at the 2022 APEX Passenger Choice Awards. Emirates has won Skytrax World’s Best Inflight Entertainment accolade every year since 2005. Emirates operates a modern fleet of Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft and is currently flying to a network of more than 120 destinations across six continents, as it rebuilds its network safely and appropriately following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A10 Saturday, February 26, 2022 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

BusinessMirror

‘Inventing Anna,’ ‘Tinder Swindler’ are signs of the times

HE first time I posted about the Netflix miniseries Inventing Anna on my Instagram Stories, I was shocked to learn that there were “Inventing Anna” apologists. These apologists, some of whom were strangers, reached out to me after my post, which stated that I

couldn’t understand the need to immortalize Anna Delvey/Anna Sorokin. It wasn’t that they were defending Shonda Rhimes and the artistic freedom which she exercised in making this miniseries starring Julie Garner. I would have understood that. But what they are defending is the idea of Anna Delvey/Anna Sorokin as an heiress and a so-called Robin Hood figure. I said that I didn’t see her as a modern Robin Hood because while she was generous to those around her, she didn’t really feed the hungry or pay someone’s rent. She didn’t finance the building of an orphanage or even volunteer in soup chickens. She wasn’t even after fame, as the show implied. What I saw was someone in survival mode. She certainly wasn’t a Robin Hood type. Anna Delvey/ Anna Sorokin did what she did for money, as most of us do who clock in punishing work hours. She didn’t even swindle a large amount of money that would be worthy of a miniseries.

According to reports, Delvey/Sorokin swindled people and institutions out of about $250,000. By Western fraud standards, that’s like chump change. Yes, she got to stay at posh hotels and enjoy sumptuous meals at the expense of others, but other convicted fraudsters got away with so much more money. Delvey/Sorokin is in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for overstaying her visa. Anna Delvey/Anna Sorokin, to me, appeals to a certain segment of society, that segment that is easily impressed by material possessions. People worship a certain public figure not because of what they have done but because of what brands of bags and shoes they own. Anyway, this is not a commentary on society and its ills but a review of the Inventing Anna miniseries. It was boring, in my opinion, and the storytelling was predictable. And what’s with the role of the journalist played by Anna Chlumsky? Vivian Kent, the fictional stand-in for New York Magazine’s Jessica Pressler, was probably the most annoying character in that show. Her characterization was so bad that she made Delvey/Sorokin look good. Another Netflix show that is a sign of the times is the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler. This is the story of a man who allegedly lured women with private jets, yachts and cars. After he had their love, Simon Hayut/Simon Leviev, who allegedly pretended to be son of a billionaire jeweler, was said to have borrowed money from these women amounting to almost half a million dollars. At the risk of sounding old-fashioned, what happened to these woman and Hayut/Leviev would by and large never have occurred in the past because men and women met in the old-school way, through mutual friends or in bars. They didn’t swipe away to find the love of their lives. There were many parts of the documentary where I literally screamed, “Don’t do it!” But I was also young once so I will not judge the alleged victims. What I will judge is the way people put so much premium on what labels people are wearing. To me, one of the best parts about The Tinder Swindler was when one of the alleged victims of Hayut/ Leviev took all his designer clothes and sold them. To someone like me, an ordinary person, those clothes represent money that can be used to pay bills. To some people, designer clothing is like an armor that presents them to the world as rich, privileged and worthy of trust. In the old days, men who were after the money of women they had relationships with were called “gigolos.” These days, they are called “men who live lavish lifestyles.” ■

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Netbank Virtual offers digital banking solutions to companies, fintechs in PHL BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor NETBANK, the first banking as a service platform in Southeast Asia, and Brankas, a leading Open Finance technology firm in the region, launched a web-based platform in the Philippines, which is openly accessible for anyone to freely browse, test, and integrate the former’s financial products and solutions. Called the Netbank Virtual, this channel enables fintech companies to offer a broader range of services, which will accelerate innovation and achieve the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) goals of greater financial inclusion in the country. Based on the BSP’s 2019 survey, over 71 percent of Filipinos remain unbanked and have zero access to financial services. “While some larger local banks have started to offer banking services through API [application program interface], none have built the technology and the business from scratch, as we have done at Netbank,” said Gus Poston, Netbank’s cofounder. “We use the latest technology, which means we can offer services at much lower cost. Netbank Virtual will rapidly accelerate the collaboration between fintechs and banks.” With this partnership, Netbank has engaged Brankas as its trusted technology provider to build and deliver this service. “Netbank is transforming access to banking services, with a new approach that enables any business to offer fintech solutions,” said Krizelle Lazatin, Brankas territory manager for Philippines. “Together, Brankas and Netbank are helping enable the next generation of fintech businesses, expand financial inclusion, and give customers more choice and flexibility,” Brankas chief executive officer Todd Schweitzer added. Any company in the Philippines can now seamlessly embed financial solutions into their products and services, in a much more efficient and low cost manner than through traditional channels. “By combining Brankas’ technical expertise with Netbank’s Banking-as-a-Service approach, we can provide automated account opening, payments, disbursements, cards and even loans via digital channels such as white labeled mobile apps and banking-as-a-service APIs”, explained Dave dela Paz, Netbank’s cofounder and head of Netbank Virtual. Netbank Virtual features a set of capabilities, such as multiple integration points, sandbox environment, complete set of documentation, self-service onboarding process, fullsuite dashboard, and embedded support ticketing system. As part of the launch, this platform showcases its following first batch of open financial services (along with the other products in the pipeline) that can easily be accessed through the site: Account-as-a-Service, Disburse-to-Account, virtual collection accounts, loan management, and card management. “You can visit Netbank Virtual and sign up to access the full range of products and tools that the platform has to offer,” Dave said. “The platform also has a Get Started page that details the standard end-to-end and step-by-step onboarding journey so partners can learn what to expect.”

Enhancing capabilities of govt and private sector BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES TECH companies continue to help the private sector and government thrive and survive in these challenging times. PLDT Enterprise, the B2B arm of the country’s largest fully integrated telecommunications provider PLDT, is pushing the benefits of deploying Internet of Things (IoT) technology in overcoming the impacts of the pandemic to local businesses. Jojo Gendrano, FVP and head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise, said that IoT technology is now becoming more important to enable entrepreneurs to thrive in today’s dynamic business landscape, effectively addressing the challenges in the new normal. “As we continue to feel the effects of the pandemic, businesses need to be empowered by enabling a truly connected environment where they can overcome the challenges of distance and physical restrictions. We can do that through adopting technologies such as IoT,” Gendrano said. IoT allows communication between machines through wired and wireless communication channels, enabling full control, visibility, transparency and security of Internet-enabled devices. “Internet of Things deployment is much needed especially now when businesses are struggling with mobility and physical restrictions, limited

manpower, system security issues, and reduced operations efficiency. Many organizations have been dealing with these, compromising their business productivity. This should not be the case because we can manage these difficulties through the right solutions and right technologies. We believe IoT can help solve these all at once,” he said. Major Philippine IT solutions integrator Radenta Technologies Inc. recently launched the Radenta G Series to push hyperconnectivity and promote the concept of smart office among government offices. Randall Lozano, president and CEO of Radenta, said the G Series include Government Resource Integrated Planning System (GRIPS), Government Emergency Assistance and Response System (GEARS) and Government Reconnaissance and Intelligent Defense System (GRIDS). Lozano said a smart office enables an effective and efficient remote work environment as data can be accessed at a click of a button. Information gathering and dissemination is a breeze as it can accommodate many people and locations. As an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, Lozano said Radenta GRIPS manages the functional aspects of the government. “It is a fully customizable, comprehensive and scalable resource planning system developed and integrated specifically with the setting of the Philippine government process in

mind,” Lozano told BUSINESSMIRROR. “GRIPS runs on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management, GRIPS has modules including Budget, Procurement, Inventory, Fixed Assets, Project Monitoring, Accounting, HRIS and Payroll. It can be deployed on-premise, hybrid or full cloud,” Lozano explained. To help the government promote seamlessness in their operations, Lozano said GRIPS adheres to the rules, regulations and guidelines mandated by the Department of Budget and Management, Government Procurement Policy Board or GPPB, Commission on Audit and the Civil Service Commission. GEARS is an emergency management and coordination system that functions as an emergency response for delivering professional services through 24x7 contact management and planned reactive work order management through multiple modes of communication. Lozano said GEARS has four Knowledge Intensive Units, namely, Finance and Accounting, Business Administration Service, and Financial Planning to help employees in paraplanning and administration services and practice Remote IT Network Management Services. Lozano said GRIDS establishes a compliance baseline that helps officials to develop informed decisions on compliance efforts to successfully

implement industry standards such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act or Payment Card Industry compliance, and SLA-governed deliverables ensure complete transparency and quality. Meanwhile, Oscar Visaya, country manager for Palo Alto Networks Philippines, urged the business sector to deploy cutting-edge cyber security measures to counter continuous threats from cyber criminals. “With close to 1.76 million local cyber attacks reported in the first quarter of 2021, Philippine companies need to adapt to more advanced cyber risks and perennial threats. To stay ahead of these threats, the race is now on for businesses to leverage new tools and implement a fundamentally new approach,” Visaya said. “We have brought that new approach through our ML-Powered Next-Generation Firewalls by harnessing the processing power of the cloud to enable deep learning inline. We believe that is how network security will evolve in the years to come,” Visaya added. Recently, Palo Alto launched its PAN-OS 10.2 Nebula which collects, analyzes and interprets potential zero-day threats in real time using inline deep learning—a network security first. This results in six times faster prevention and 48 percent more evasive threats detected, surpassing anything previously available.

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BusinessMirror

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Saturday, February 26, 2022 A11

Apple prefers fine to obeying antitrust order, Vestager says BY AOIFE WHITE Bloomberg News APPLE Inc. and other tech giants are opting to pay fines rather than comply with orders they don’t like, the European Union’s antitrust chief warned. “Some gatekeepers may be tempted to play for time or try to circumvent the rules,” Margrethe Vestager said in an online speech at a US awards ceremony. “Apple’s conduct in the Netherlands these days may be an example,” she said. The iPhone maker

“essentially prefers paying periodic fines rather than comply” with a Dutch antitrust order to offer alternative app payments. A new EU law imposing curbs on big tech behavior should help tackle the problem, she added in the speech, delivered Tuesday. Apple is waging a global battle over fees for downloads and content on smartphones and tablets. The EU is separately probing Apple over curbs that hamper Spotify Technology SA and other music streaming services from taking payments outside the app store. Apple has now been fined €25 million ($28

million) by Dutch antitrust regulators for not fully complying with a December order to offer payments outside the app store to dating app providers. The Cupertino-based company is challenging the Dutch decision and said earlier this month that changes it was making to set up a separate payment mechanism for dating apps in the Netherlands satisfied legal obligations in the country. The Authority for Consumers & Markets insists Apple isn’t complying with the order. It has levied a series of weekly fines and earlier this week criticized Apple’s offer as not serious and too difficult for developers.

FIBA on GigaPlay W

ITH the NBA All-Star last weekend and the ongoing FIBA World Cup qualifiers, it’s a great time to be a basketball fan and even better because you only need one app to watch all the games— GigaPlay. So for those who love the game, this is the best time to be a Smart subscriber. GigaPlay is a mobile streaming app specially developed to bring a curated suite of live sports, music events and content on demand. It is available to all Smart Prepaid, Smart Postpaid, TNT and Smart Bro subscribers, who only have to connect to their mobile data to watch the video they want on the GigaPlay app anytime and anywhere. The GigaPlay app is available on either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app is free to use and besides watching the games, it also lets you stay updated with the latest news, information, highlights and schedules on FIBA, the NBA and more as it is powered by the fastest 5G mobile network as cited by Ookla. This much-anticipated partnership between Smart and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) reaches fastbreak speeds with the coverage of the qualifying games, and though we might not be able to witness the rivalry between Gilas and Team South Korea (who withdrew due to health reasons), being the host to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 is enough to watch every game. The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 will be jointly hosted by the Philippines, along with Japan and Indonesia. Events in the World Cup’s group phase will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the Mall of Asia Arena in 2023. The final phase will also be held in the Philippines on August 2023. Our Gilas Pilipinas Men’s National Team resumes flag-on-jersey duties on February 24 to 28 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The other participating teams will be from India and New Zealand.

DIZO MAKES ITS DEBUT

THERE is no denying the impact realme has had in the local smartphone industry since it launched less than four years ago. In 2021, the company achieved its biggest milestone yet, after being recognized as the consistent No. 1 smartphone vendor in the country

by global research firm Canalys. On the global level, it also also became the youngest smartphone brand in the world to reach 100 million accumulative shipments joining the Top 5 smartphone brands worldwide. Capitalizing on that momentum, realme held its first Brand Summit last February 11, saying it plans to bring more cutting-edge 5G-enabled devices to the Philippines and continue to expand its ecosystem by growing its AIoT portfolio—by introducing its first TechLife partner brand DIZO. With its philosophy of empowering its consumers to “Be Different,” DIZO offers various tech products ranging from Smart Entertainment, Smart Care, Smart Home, and Smart Accessories to complement every consumer’s unique personalities and lifestyles. For its initial product lineup, the brand announced five audio products: the DIZO GoPods, DIZO GoPods D, DIZO GoPods Neo, DIZO Buds Z, and DIZO Wireless with prices starting at P999. Under the Smart Care category, there’s the DIZO Watch 2 while for its Smart Accessories, they have a 2-in-1 Cable, Type-C Cable, Micro-USB Cable, and 5W Charger. Lastly, DIZO also has two classic feature phones, the DIZO Star 500 and the DIZO Star 300 for those who only need a phone for text and calls. I’ve been using a few of their devices like their wireless earbuds and the DIZO Watch 2, and so far they have been surprisingly good. With a price tag of P1,999, I wasn’t expecting a lot from the DIZO Watch 2 smart watch, but it honestly looked even more attractive than some pricier smart watches. Its rectangular zinc-alloy frame has smooth, curved edges and a matte rear panel houses its sensors. It’s not flashy, but it also doesn’t look cheap. I have the Classic Black color with a matching silicone strap featuring the DIZO branding on the loop. The strap feels durable, easy to wear and with just enough holes for that snug fit making it comfortable to wear throughout the day. There’s a single button on the right that works as the power and Home button. The watch is 5ATM water resistant so you can wear it even when washing your hands or take it for a swim in up to 50 meters deep water. For the display, it has a 1.69-inch TFT LDC touchscreen color display that remains clear and protected with 2.5D glass. The quality of the screen is good enough for its price. There’s five levels of brightness, with level three pushing enough nits when indoors. But you do have to max it out when outdoors. I did like the touch response which is quite smooth, although there is bit of lag with the raise to wake gesture. The watch UI is pretty straightforward and pretty similar to other smart watches. Swipe down for notifications, swipe up for apps library, swipe right for access to quick settings and swipe left to view widgets

IVANA’S NEWFOUND PARTNER DOES IT ALL FOR HER

like heart rate, sleep info, weather updates, music playback, etc. The DIZO Watch 2 can monitor 15 different fitness modes, including walking, running, cycling, swimming, and sports like basketball, badminton, football. Other built-in features include heart rate tracking, its SPO2 monitor, reminders to drink water, as well as sleep tracking. You could use the watch as a remote camera shutter, control your music and notifications. Make sure to install the DIZO app on your smartphone to set it up easily and access the features. As for the battery, the company claims that the DIZO Watch 2 can last for 10 days on a full charge, again quite impressive for its price. If you are looking for a good entry-level fitness watch packed with all the basic features, you can’t go wrong with the DIZO Watch 2. ■

Alibaba halts talks to raise $1 billion before Lazada IPO ALIBABA Group Holding Ltd. discussed raising at least $1 billion for Lazada before calling off negotiations with potential investors when talks bogged down over the Southeast Asian online mall’s valuation. The Chinese e-commerce giant had aimed to secure financing for Lazada as a precursor to a spinoff of the Singapore-based company and a potential initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said. Alibaba had hoped to snag at least $1 billion but backed off after failing to secure its envisioned valuation, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations. Alibaba has mothballed the fundraising for

now because it doesn’t need funds and markets remain volatile, given shrinking valuations for tech companies from New York to Hong Kong, the people said. Investors again punished Chinese tech stocks this week after speculation grew that regulators are amping up scrutiny of the industry. Alibaba remains intent on eventually spinning off Lazada as a separate company, the people said, as competition heats up with fast-moving rivals like Sea Ltd.’s Shopee and Indonesia’s GoTo. Sea raised about $6 billion in a sale of US shares and convertible bonds last year, while GoTo is raising capital to grab a larger slice of online retail in the region. BLOOMBERG NEWS

IVANA ALAWI is one of the most popular vloggers in the country who has gained a loyal following because of her fun content, which shows how she expresses her love for the people around her—family, friends, fans and beyond. As packed as her schedule is, she always makes the time to give back to her community, holding several donation drives and sharing her experiences on her YouTube channel. Now, Ivana unveils a new way to send love with her new partner that does it all for her: GCash. The No. 1 e-wallet in the country recently launched the online sensation as the newest member of its barkada, the perfect face to show that GCash is the easiest and safest way to send your love to the people in your life. “I’m really happy to be the newest face of GCash. Dati pa akong gumagamit ng app na ito, and I’m really glad na ini-endorse ko na siya ngayon,” says Ivana. “I’ve been using GCash Send Money throughout the pandemic to send love and money to my friends and family, and it never fails me. Also, nung pandemic gustong-gusto ko tumulong, gustonggusto ko mag-pamigay, at ang naging way talaga para sa akin ay GCash.” Ivana hopes to highlight the many features of GCash Send Money, such as Express Send, Padala, and Send with a Clip, and how these can help users send money and love to the people in their lives in real time, hassle-free. GCash chief customer officer Winsley Bangit says, “We’re so excited to welcome Ivana to the GCash barkada. She exudes the spirit of [the platform], which is to uplift the lives of fellow Filipinos. With her help, we hope to reach as many people to show them how easy and safe it is to [use the app].” Consumers can download the app and get verified, then cash-in and start sending money to loved ones with just a few taps. Express Send makes money transfers a breeze. Also, GCash Padala allows one to send money to non-GCash users in real-time, as its network of over 40,000 partner outlets (and growing) allows receivers to claim cash transfers sent from GCash accounts, with just 1 percent fee for P500 transfers and no other hidden fees. “With over 51 million registered users, and over 170,000 outlets nationwide, GCash is definitely everyone’s favorite and No. 1 e-wallet in the Philippines,” adds Bangit.

Sports

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BusinessMirror

Djokovic loses in Dubai, yields No. 1 ranking to Medvedev

UBAI, United Arab Emirates—Novak Djokovic will fall from No. 1 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings and be replaced by Daniil Medvedev after losing, 6-4, 7-6 (4), to Czech qualifier Jiri Vesely in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships on Thursday. Djokovic’s latest stay atop the rankings began on February 3, 2020, and his total of 361 weeks there are the most for any man since the tour’s computerized rankings began in 1973. On Monday, Medvedev will move up from No. 2 for the first time and become the 27th man to reach No. 1. He won the US Open last September and was the Australian Open runner-up each of the past two years. Djokovic congratulated Medvedev on Twitter, saying the Russian was “very deserving” of the No. 1 spot. Medvedev is the first man other than Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray to be No. 1 since February 1, 2004. “It’s great for tennis, I think, to have somebody new at world No. 1 again,” Vesely said in his on-court interview. “Tennis needs, of course, new No. 1s. A new generation is

coming up. I think it’s just great.” It was the 34-year-old Djokovic’s first tournament since being deported from Australia last month for not being vaccinated against the coronavirus, preventing him from being able to defend his Australian Open title. After beating Pablo Andujar at the Mexican Open, Medvedev said of getting to No. 1: “If I do it it’s going to mean a lot.” Vesely, who is ranked No. 123, completed a second career victory over Djokovic in just under two hours to end the Serb’s hopes of winning the Dubai title for a sixth time. He beat Djokovic in 2016 in Monte Carlo the only other time they faced each other. “I never expected to win again,” Vesely said. “He’s such a champion.” Vesely served for the match at 5-4 in the second set but was broken by Djokovic, who was always chasing in the tiebreaker. Vesely clinched the win on his first match point. AP

UNIVERSITY Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 84 President Emmanuel Calanog (second from left) of host De La Salle announces the league’s return with (from left) league Executive Director Atty. Rebo Saguisag, Smart Sports head Jude Turcuato and Cignal TV EVP Channels and Content head Sienna Olaso.

UAAP RETURNS IN ‘BUBBLE’

By Josef Ramos

FTER two years, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) finally returns on March 26 with the men’s basketball competition to usher in Season 84. It will be a compact basketball action with the traditional double-round eliminations, Final Four and best-ofthree Finals format still to be enforced but on a four games a day and thrice a week (Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday) schedule for the preliminaries. The league has yet to select a venue. As in all leagues and tournaments, Season 84 will be in a bubble, according to UAAP President Emmanuel Calanog of host De La Salle. Shuttered for two years by the pandemic, the UAAP—which dropped Season 83 that will, in league history bear an asterisk with a footnote that it was scrapped as during World War II—will feature six other events during the odd season. “Two years? I think it’s worth the wait because we really considered the health and safety of our student athletes,” Calanog told a news conference on Friday in a restaurant in Pasig City. “The UAAP is back and we’re hoping that by next season [Season 85], we go full blast.” Calanog announced that there will be an opening ceremony to kick off the return. But the affair will

be pre-taped. He also said that the league is choosing among the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Mall of Asia Arena, Ynares Arena in Pasig City or the San Juan Arena as potential venue for the games. The men’s basketball season is expected to end on May 12,—if the Final Four and Finals go the distance—and Calanog said the league could start holding the women’s volleyball competition immediately. Also on tap, he said, are cheer dance, men’s and women’s 3X3, men’s beach volleyball, taekwondo’s poomsae and men’s and women’s virtual chess. Calanog was joined in the press conference by UAAP board members Edwin Reyes of De La Salle and Mark Molina of Far Eastern University, Smart Sports head Jude Turcuato and Cignal FVP and Head of Channels and Content Management Sienna Olaso. And because the basketball tournament will be played in a bubble, Calanog said all team members of the eight schools will be strictly confined to their respective quarters and will follow a closed circuit in sanitized buses to and from the venue. “Everyone involved in the league is fully vaccinated,” Calanog said. The fans and media—except for the staff of the league’s broadcast partner TV 5—will not be allowed in the venue.

RUSSIA’S Daniil Medvedev replaces Serbian Novak Djokovic as world No. 1. AP

EWLY-MINTED men’s tennis world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev felt uneasy, stranded Brazilian soccer players appealed for help and St. Petersburg looked doomed in hosting the Champions’ League final. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it “strongly condemns the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government,” and Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel won’t be racing the Russian Grand Prix. The logo of Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom is being removed from the jerseys of German soccer team Schalke, which said that the logo will be replaced by lettering reading “Schalke 04” instead following what it called “recent developments.” These and many more as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cascaded a negative and horrifying effect to the sporting world just 48 hours into the crisis.

ROLLER-COASTER DAY FOR NEW NO. 1 MEDVEDEV

AS much as Daniil Medvedev cared about taking over the No. 1 ranking in men’s tennis, he knew there were more serious matters happening Thursday involving his home nation of Russia. A loss by Novak Djokovic at the Dubai Championships meant that the Serbian player would move down to No. 2 and Medvedev was assured of becoming the 27th man to hold the top spot in the Association of Tennis Professionals—even before Medvedev reached the semifinals by winning his match at the Mexico Open in Acapulco. It all happened on the same day that Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began with air and missile strikes on military facilities

NATIONAL team head coach Amat Canlas (red shirt) with his Canlas Fencing students (from left) Kirsten Shanelle Catantan, Yohann Malik Roldan, Yuna Samuelle Canlas, Victoria Ebdane, Jodie Danielle Tan, Willa Liana Galvez, Christine Morales and Lucas Palafox.

before troops and tanks rolled across borders from the north, east and south. “Watching the news from home, waking up here in Mexico, was not easy,” Medvedev said after beating Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-2, 6-3. “By being a tennis player, I want to promote peace all over the world. We play in so many different countries; I’ve been in so many countries as a junior and as a pro. It’s just not easy to hear all this news.... I’m all for peace.” Medvedev noted that the pair that won the doubles title at the Marseille Open last week included one Russian (Andrey Rublev) and one Ukrainian (Denys Molchanov), saying: “This was amazing, because people need to stay together.” In these moments, you understand that tennis sometimes is not that important.... It was not easy to play and I’m happy that I managed to win the match, but it was bit of a rollercoaster day for me,” he said.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TO BE PLAYED ELSEWHERE

UEFA will no longer host the Champions League final in St. Petersburg after Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine, The Associated Press has learned. An extraordinary meeting of the UEFA executive committee will be held Friday to discuss the geopolitical crisis and when officials are set to confirm taking the May 28 showpiece game out of Russia, a person with knowledge of the process said on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks. UEFA did publicly rebuke Russia and said it was dealing with the “situation with the utmost seriousness and urgency” while confirming the meeting for 0900 GMT on Friday.

“UEFA shares the international community’s significant concern for the security situation developing in Europe and strongly condemns the ongoing Russian military invasion in Ukraine,” the governing body said in a statement.

IOC, IPC SLAM RUSSIA FOR BREACHING TRUCE

THE International Olympic Committee said it “strongly condemns the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government,” days after the end of the closing of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The truce is intended to secure safe passage for athletes during the Games and, in the long term, promote the idea of working toward world peace. It runs until the end of the Paralympics, which are due to open in Beijing on March 4. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) also condemned Russia and said it held talks with sports officials in Ukraine, which still plans to compete in Beijing and requires safe passage for its athletes. “This is a truly horrible situation, and we are greatly concerned about our National Paralympic Committee and Para athletes from Ukraine,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said. “Our top priority right now is the safety and wellbeing of the Ukrainian delegation, with whom we are in regular dialogue.”

STRANDED BRAZILIAN FOOTBALLERS SEEK HELP

BRAZILIAN soccer players at Ukraine’s two biggest clubs issued an appeal to the Brazilian government on Thursday, saying they are trapped by the Russian military attack on Ukraine. A group of players from Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv posted

Olympian is definitely one of his major assets,” Ancajas (33-1-2 win-loss-draw record with 22 knockouts) said. “So I have to wisely deal with Martinez.” Martinez, also 30, sports a 13-0 record highlighted by eight knockouts— his last a technical knockout victory over Mexican Gonzalo Garcia Duran in August 2021 in Dubai. The Argentine is fighting for a world title since he turned professional in 2017. “Ancajas and I have similar styles. We’re going to see who’s the best once the bell rings,” Martinez told fight’s’ news conference in Las Vegas

ANCAJAS on Friday. “I want to give the fans a great show and leave it all in the ring for Argentina.” “I have plenty of experience of my own. I’ve fought everywhere at every level,” Martinez said. “This isn’t my first rodeo. I’m going to take everything I’ve learned to try to become

Tan, Ebdane lead winners’ list in Mayor Gomez Fencing Cup ODIE DANIELLE TAN ruled the girls’ 12-under foil event while Victoria Ebdane powered her team to a gold medal in the 12-under team mixed foil in the Mayor Richard Gomez Fencing Cup recently at the Ormoc City Superdome in Ormoc City. Tan, competing out of Canlas Fencing (CF)/St. Jude Catholic School, bounced back in the gold medal bout of a tightly contested defensive match she won 2-1 against Ebdane. Ebdane swept the opening pool round that included a similar 2-1 tri-

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

UKRAINE CRISIS ROCKS SPORTS

Ancajas defends title vs Rio Olympian Martinez ERWIN “THE PRETTY BOY” ANCAJAS defends his International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight title for the 10th time against Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez on Sunday at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 30-year-old pride of Panabo City in Davao del Norte told BusinessMirror that he can’t be complacent against the Rio 2016 Olympian Martinez. “I expect a different and hungry opponent on Saturday [Sunday in Manila]. His amateur style as a former

| Saturday, February 26, 2022

umph over Tan, but had to settle with the silver medal. Tan and Ebdane of CF/Home School-Roces arranged a final round rematch by beating their semifinal foes, fellow CF fencers Willa Liana Galvez and Kirsten Shanelle Catantan, who both earned the bronze medal. Lucas Palafox defeated Yohann Malik Roldan for the gold medal in the 12-under boys foil, which also featured competitions in the Junior and Cadet levels, as well as the seniors for the Southeast Asian Games

and Asian Games qualifiers. Ebdane, however, came back with vengeance as she led Team B with Galvez and Yuna Samuelle Canlas to a 26-15 victory against top seed Team A of Tan, Catantan and Roldan to capture the gold medal in the 12-under team mixed foil category. Team B booked a spot in the final round with a 24-15 decision over Team C. In the 10-under girls foil, Yuna Canlas bagged the gold medal while Willa Galvez earned a silver medal as the former scored a 10-6 win against

a video together with their families from a hotel where they called for support from the Brazilian authorities, joined by Uruguayan player Carlos de Pena of Dynamo. They said the borders were closed and fuel supplies had run out. “We are really desperate. We are going through chaos,” Shakhtar defender Marlon Santos wrote on Instagram. “We have the support from our club. But the desperation is agonizing. We wait for the support from our country. We speak in the name of all the Brazilians in Ukraine.”

F1’S VETTEL WON’T RACE IN RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX

SEBASTIAN VETTEL said Thursday he will not race in the Russian Grand Prix following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and the Haas F1 team removed the logos of its Russian sponsor from its cars. Formula One is in Barcelona this week for preseason testing and Vettel, the four time champion, said he woke up “shocked” by the news that President Vladimir Putin had launched a military operation against neighboring Ukraine. “Obviously if you look at the calendar we have a race scheduled in Russia. My own opinion is I should not go, I will not go,” Vettel said. “I think it’s wrong to race in the country. I’m sorry for the innocent people that are losing their lives, that are getting killed [for] stupid reasons and a very strange and mad leadership.” The Russian Grand Prix is scheduled for September 25, and F1 said Thursday it is “closely watching the very fluid developments.” F1 team principals planned to meet Thursday night to discuss the situation. AP the new champion. My experience is going to show.” “This is my first fight in Las Vegas, but you will all be witnesses of how my experience in this sport will help me win this title,” Martinez added. Ancajas beat Mexican slugger Jonathan Javier Rodriguez via unanimous decision last April in Connecticut, but saw months of training for a December 31, 2021, unification bout against Japanese World Boxing Organization flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka in Japan go to naught. “When I defend this title, I want the unification fight next,” Ancajas said. “And I’m definitely not overlooking Martinez. I know that he’s going to do his best and that excites me.” Josef Ramos the latter in the finals. Roldan and Christine Morales settled with the bronze medal. “It’s very important to start our kids early, and it’s also very important for them to be joining competitions because when they join competitions, especially when they win, it really gives them the interest and it inspires them,” said Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez, who is also the president of the Philippine Fencing Association. In the 10-under mixed epee division, Francis Gabriel Batican won the gold, Praizer Igot took silver medal, while Princess Amara dela Cruz and Rex Carl dela Cruz went home with the bronze.