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A ‘golden age’ of friendship

PHL reaps initial benefits of proposed Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan

IN this June 28, 2019, file photo, Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter carrier JS Izumo (DDH183), second right, destroyers JS Akebono (DD-108), JS Murasame (DD-101), as well as the Philippines’ BRP Davao del Sur (LD-602) participate in a series of drills in Sulu Sea. AP/EMILY WANG

O

By Rex Anthony Naval

NCE approved, the proposed Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the Philippines and Japan is expected to enhance the security and strategic partnership between the two nations aside from boosting regional security.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend at a document exchange ceremony with Japan Coast Guard Commandant Shohei Ishii (front right) and Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Ronnie Gil Gavan at Kishida’s official residence in Tokyo, December 17, 2023, on the sidelines of the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of AseanJapan Friendship and Cooperation. FRANCK ROBICHON/POOL PHOTO VIA AP

prove the Philippines’ MDA capability, maintain regional stability, and protect the rules-based international order.

Air surveillance radar system

MITSUBISHI Electric Co. air surveillance radar system MITSUBISHIELECTRIC.COM

This was stressed by National Security Adviser Eduardo M. Año, who said that the RAA, if approved, will facilitate the procedures and guidelines for Philippine military personnel visiting Japan for training and members of the Japan SelfDefense Forces doing the same.

“We look forward to the negotiations and implementation of these agreements and initiatives, which will undoubtedly strengthen our partnership and contribute to a more secure and stable Indo-Pacific,” he said.

The RAA will provide the legal basis for the two nations to send troops to each other’s territories for exercises and other related matters.

Formal negotiations on the RAA were held in Tokyo on November 29 and 30, 2023, with the Philippine delegation being headed by the Department of National Defense, accompanied by negotiating teams from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Justice.

During a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held on the sidelines of the 50th Commemorative Sum-

mit of the Asean-Japan Friendship and Cooperation in Tokyo last December 17, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the RAA will provide the two countries with more capabilities in security and disaster preparedness, alleviation and adjustment.

Marcos and Kishida agreed to continue coordination to reach an early conclusion of the negotiations for the RAA.

1st recipient of Japan’s OSA

THE Philippines became the first recipient of Japan’s Official Security Grant (OSA) after the country was given ¥600 million. This will be used to acquire a coastal radar system for the Philippine Navy (PN) and beef up its maritime domain awareness (MDA) capability.

This was formalized during the November 3 to 4 official visit of Kishida to the Philippines last year.

Improved MDA capabilities are needed to ensure that Philippine sealanes, which serve Japan, are adequately monitored by the country’s military for safety and security reasons.

Armed Forces of the Philip-

“We look forward to the negotiations and implementation of these agreements and initiatives, which will undoubtedly strengthen our partnership and contribute to a more secure and stable Indo-Pacific.”

—National Security Adviser Eduardo M. Año

pines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. earlier said this Japanese grant would do much to beef up the PN’s capabilities in protecting its vast waters.

“The coastal radar systems, funded through the OSA program, are a vital addition to the AFP’s maritime defense capabilities and will bolster our ability to monitor and protect our extensive coastline, ensuring the safety and security of our seas,” he added.

And through this support, the AFP chief said Japan showed its commitment toward regional peace and stability.

Año, meanwhile, said that this coastal radar grant from Tokyo’s OSA highlights the Japanese commitment to beefing up the defensive capabilities of its allies in the Asia-Pacific Region.

He added that the grant is aligned with ongoing efforts to im-

AS this developed, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) now has the capability to detect intrusions coming within 300 nautical miles, with the turnover of the Mitsubishi Electric Co. (MELCO) air surveillance radar system (ASRS) last December 20.

“Aside from detecting intrusions in our air space, along with our other systems, we will have a clearer picture on what is happening in the West Philippine Sea and other parts of the country,” Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” C. Teodoro Jr. said at the turnover of the MELCO-made FPS-3ME at Wallace Air Station in San Fernando, La Union.

The ASRS, he added, would also allow the Philippines to determine what is going on in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The PAF earlier said that the ASRS deal with MELCO consists of three fixed FPS-3ME and one mobile TPS-P14ME, and is worth P5.5 billion.

These radar systems will be operated by the PAF’s 580th Aircraft Control and Warning Wing and is under the AFP Modernization Horizon Plan 2.

Procurement mode was done via government-to-government deal. The DND signed this contract on August 14, 2020.

The contract covers the radar platform with support facilities that also include radar tower and radome, command-and-control building, communications infrastructure, electric power generator building and housing for the mo-

bile radar and its vehicles.

It also includes support vehicles for the mobile radar, training, maintenance facilities and initial integrated logistics support systems (ILS).

The PAF said the ASRS is designed for early warning and land and maritime surveillance, whether for fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, or remotely piloted vehicles.

It said the ASRS acquisition will enhance the country’s ability to monitor air and maritime activities in the region.

Pre-delivery inspection of the first unit of ASRS was conducted from October 4 to 8, 2022, in Japan.

Delivery of the first ASRS unit took place on December 7, 2022; construction and installation of radar tower and C-2 building were undertaken in the succeeding months.

The MELCO radar passed the acceptance test on October 24, 2023, and has been in use since.

PHL, Japan strategic ties

MEANWHILE, Teodoro said the ASRS project between the Philippines and Japan highlights the strategic partnership between the two nations.

“Today [December 20] we witnessed one of the concrete steps and concrete actions that our strategic partner Japan has done in order to firm up our alliance,” he said at turnover ceremonies of the ASRS platform.

Also, Teodoro said the Philippines’ cooperation with Japan, along with other like-minded nations, is aimed at ensuring that the

Indo-Pacific Region remains free and open.

“That is why we are cooperating not only bilaterally with Japan, but multilaterally with other countries, [in order] to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific to establish right and proper conduct under a rules-based international order, the primacy of generally accepted principles of international law in particular and principally Unclos [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea],” he added.

Reciprocal

AS this developed, the AFP announced that it is willing to help and provide assistance to its Japanese counterparts following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that rocked Japan on January 1.

“In times of crisis, international cooperation becomes paramount, and the AFP expresses its readiness to collaborate with the JSDF [Japan Self-Defense Force] in any way deemed necessary,” Brawner said.

He added that the AFP recognizes the severity of the situation, which was further increased by the subsequent issuance of major tsunami warnings.

With this, Brawner said the AFP extends its support and sympathy to the Japanese people.

“The AFP remains committed to fostering strong bonds of friendship and cooperation with the JSDF, united in our shared dedication to safeguarding the well-being of our respective nations and contributing to global peace and security,” he added.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.6190 n JAPAN 0.3846 n UK 70.5416 n HK 7.1232 n CHINA 7.7659 n SINGAPORE 41.8502 n AUSTRALIA 37.2925 n EU 60.8861 n KOREA 0.0424 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8309 Source: BSP (January 5, 2024)

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The Supreme Court is expected to determine whether Trump can keep running for president. Here’s why

By Nicholas Riccardi

D

The Associated Press

ENVER—The US Supreme Court is expected to determine whether former President Donald Trump can keep running for the White House.

Trump on Wednesday appealed a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court that he’s ineligible for the presidency because he violated a rarely used constitutional prohibition on those who hold office having “engaged in insurrection.”

On Tuesday, he appealed a similar ruling from Maine’s Democratic secretary of state, but it’s the Colorado appeal that’s most significant.

That’s because the nation’s highest court has never before ruled on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868 to prevent Confederates from regaining their former government posts. Whatever the Supreme Court decides applies to Colorado will apply to all other 49 states, including Maine.

Trump remains on the ballot in both states until the appeals are done.

straightforward.

Section 3 reads: “No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

But Congress may by a vote of twothirds of each House, remove such disability.”

Nice and simple, right?

Not so fast, Trump’s attorneys say.

WHAT IS SECTION 3?

WHAT DOES TRUMP’S LEGAL TEAM CONTEND?

THE provision is only two sentences and seems relatively

TRUMP’S lawyers say this part of

the Constitution wasn’t meant to apply to the president. Notice how it specifically mentions electors, senators and representatives, but not the presidency, they say.

Also, it says those who take an oath to “support” the United States, but the presidential oath doesn’t use that word—instead, the Constitution requires presidents to say they will “preserve, protect and defend” the document.

And, finally, Section 3 talks about any other “officer” of the United States, but Trump’s lawyers argue that language is meant to apply to presidential appointees, not the actual president.

That was enough to convince the initial Denver judge who heard the case, who agreed it wasn’t clear that Section 3 applied to the president. But that judge’s decision was reversed by the Colorado Supreme Court.

The majority of the state’s highest court wrote: “President Trump asks us to hold that Section 3 disqualifies every oathbreaking insurrectionist except the most powerful one and that it bars oathbreakers from virtually every office, both state and federal, except the highest one in the land.”

WHAT ARE THE TRUMP TEAM’S OTHER ARGUMENTS?

HIS lawyers contend that the question of who is covered by a rarely

FORMER President Donald Trump points to supporters during December 19, 2023, rally in Waterloo, Iowa. AP/CHARLIE NEIBERGALL

used, once obscure clause is political and cannot be decided by unelected judges. They contend that January 6 wasn’t an insurrection— it wasn’t widespread, they say, and didn’t involve large amounts of firearms or other markers of sedition.

They say Trump didn’t “engage” in anything that day other than in exercising his protected free speech rights.

Their final argument is the one that convinced the dissenting three of Colorado’s seven high court justices—the ad hoc way the court went about finding that Trump violated Section 3, in turn, violated the former president’s due process rights.

They contend he was entitled to some structured, adversarial legal process rather than a court in Colorado trying to figure out if the Constitution applied to him.

That gets at the unprecedented nature of the cases. Section 3 has rarely been used after an 1872 congressional amnesty excluded most former Confederates from it. The US Supreme Court has never heard such a case.

Arguments about legal precedents go back to a sole 1869 opinion from Chief Justice Salmon Chase, who was hearing an appeal as a circuit judge rather than for the high court.

Trump’s critics have filed dozens of lawsuits seeking to disqualify him, and all failed until Colorado. But they usually failed because the judges dodged the constitutional issues or declared themselves unqualified to rule on them.

Presuming it takes the case— and every observer expects it will—the Supreme Court doesn’t have much room left to dodge.

WHAT WILL THE SUPREME COURT DO AND WHEN?

COLORADO’S Republican Party has already appealed the Colorado ruling, so the justices have had time to think about what they’ll do.

The high court has dozens of different ways it can rule.

It could uphold the Colorado ruling and say Trump is no longer qualified to be president.

The court could say Trump is qualified to be president. That would end all Section 3 challenges, including in Maine.

It could dodge by overruling Colorado on a technicality about the procedures used to get the case there and set itself up for another

A PAGE from the appeal by former President Donald Trump asking the US Supreme Court to review the Colorado Supreme Court’s finding that an insurrection clause in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment renders Trump ineligible to be on the state’s ballot over his role in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack. AP/JON ELSWICK

case in the fall.

It could say Congress makes the final decision.

When the court might rule is another mystery. In Bush v. Gore, the 2000 case that ended the Florida recount and made George W. Bush president, the court ruled in three days. The court could also go slowly and wait until the end of its term on June 30 to rule.

Obviously, that could open the door to more chaos and leave it uncertain during the primaries whether Republicans are voting for someone qualified to be president.

That’s why all the parties have sought an expedited appeal and a ruling as quickly as possible.

AREN’T REPUBLICANS JUST GOING TO RULE FOR TRUMP?

THE Colorado high court’s seven justices were all appointed by Democrats. Six of the nine US Supreme Court Justices were appointed by Republicans, three by Trump.

But the Colorado court split 4-3 on the ruling. The majority quoted a ruling from Neil Gorsuch, one of Trump’s conservative Supreme Court appointees, when he was a federal judge in Colorado.

He ruled then that the state properly kept a naturalized citizen born in Guyana off the presidential ballot because he didn’t meet the constitutional qualifications.

Democrats have already begun to suggest that Justice Clarence Thomas should recuse himself because his wife, a Republican activist, supported Trump’s effort to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.

Thomas has only recused himself from one other case related to the 2020 election and so far the people trying to disqualify Trump haven’t asked him to do so here.

Some of the strongest advocates of using Section 3 against Trump have been prominent conservative legal theorists and lawyers who argue that courts have to follow the actual words of the Constitution. They argue there’s no wiggle room here—Trump is clearly disqualified.

The question of whether Trump is qualified hasn’t broken on traditional partisan lines in the legal world, partly because this is completely new legal ground, it’s hard to predict how individual justices will rule based on their ideology.

But the reason most legal observers expect Trump to win at the high court is because courts are very hesitant to limit voters’ choices. There’s even a term for that — the “political question,” whether a legal dispute is better settled by the people the voters have selected to make the laws than by unelected judges.

If that doesn’t happen, some critics warn, and Trump’s campaign is ended by Section 3, expect it to become weaponized in political races. Imagine a world where any politician’s career can end in a moment when a court or an election official decides that person “engaged in insurrection,” they caution.

Unless the high court shuts this down, they warn, Trump might only be the start.

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

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Saturday, January 6, 2024

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eyeing nickel processing to propel Inflation eases to 3.9% in December PHL bid to grab No. 2 spot in Asean FDI race with ’23 full-year average at 6%–PSA

By Andrea E. San Juan

P

By Cai U. Ordinario

OOR households bore the brunt of the recent uptick in rice prices, accounting for a big chunk of the inflation they experienced in December 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Inflation for All Income Households slowed to 3.9 percent in D e ce mb e r 2023 a nd ave r a ge d 6 percent in 2023. (Full stor y here: htt ps:// businessmir ror. com.ph/2024/01/05/inf lationslows-to-3-9-in-december-2023/) However, inflation for the Bottom 30 percent of income households was higher at 5 percent in December 2023 and 6.7 percent in the January to December 2023 period.

“Rice explains 3.15 percentage points of the 5 percent inflation of the bottom 30 percent. So, malaki [it’s big]. More than 60 percent of the inflation of the bottom 30 percent income households basically came from the rice prices,” National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said.

Data showed that rice prices posted a 19.6 percent year-on-year increase and 3.5 percent month-onmonth increase in December 2023.

In the Consumer Price Index for all income households, rice prices have a weight of 8.9 percent, while for the Bottom 30 percent of income households, it is higher at 17.9 percent.

Mapa said the average price of regular milled rice reached P46.50 per kilo, while well-milled rice averaged P51.99 per kilo. Special rice averaged

P63.08 per kilo during the period.

Given the recent increase in rice prices, Mapa said it’s possible that the rice prices could remain elevated until August 2024.

“Based on the data, [from] January to July last year inflation in rice [was low]—at 2, just above 2 percent.

So, which means that if the price of rice continues to be at that level in December, we would expect a higher rise inflation in the coming months until August,” Mapa explained National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan also raised concerns regarding the elevated rice prices in December 2023.

The Neda chief pointed out that rice prices also contributed 1.7 percentage points (ppt) to the inflation rate for all income households.

Balisacan emphasized the importance of Executive Order No. 50, which extended the Most Favored Nation (MFN) reduced tariff rates for key agricultural commodities like pork, corn, and rice to ensure sufficient food supply for Filipinos and prevent spikes in prices of these commodities.

“A mid an uptrend in international rice prices and the expected negative impact of the El Niño phe nome non , t he I nte r a ge nc y Committee on Inf lation and Market Outlook w ill closely monitor the situation and propose further temporar y tariff adjustments if necessar y,” Balisacan said.

“We will also push for trade facilitation measures to reduce other non-

tariff barriers. While our mediumterm objective to boost agricultural productivity remains, it is important to augment domestic supply to ease inflationary pressures on consumers, particularly those in low-income households,” he added.

Balisacan also said the El Niño phenomenon, which the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) expect to continue until May 2024, has added to the threat of higher inflation.

He emphasized the need to hasten the full implementation of the El Niño National Action Plan (NAP), which seeks to increase the resilience of communities against El Niño and guide government agencies in mitigating its immediate effects.

“We must remain vigilant in monitoring the prices of our commodities and continue to implement strategies to address short-term and long-term inf lation-related challenges,” Balisacan said.

These strategies, he added, include implementing timely deployment of trade policy tools along with sustained investments in irrigation, flood control, supply chain logistics, and climate change adaptation.

On the part of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), it noted that while inflation was within target in December, risks are still tilted to the upside.

Earlier, BSP’s month-ahead inflation for December was at 3.6 percent to 4.4 percent year-on-year. (Full story here: https://businessmirro r.c o m .p h / 20 2 3/12 / 30/ b s p -

december-inf lation-may-settleat-3-6-to-4-4/) BSP said “potential pressures” would come from higher transport charges, increased electricity rates, higher oil prices, and higher food prices due to strong El Niño conditions.

“The impact of a relatively weak global recovery as well as government measures to mitigate the effects of El Niño could reduce the central forecast,” the BSP, however, said.

“The Monetary Board deems it necessary to keep monetary policy settings sufficiently tight until a sustained downtrend in inflation becomes evident,” it added.

Meanwhile, HSBC economist for Asean Aris Dacanay said given the slowdown in inflation in December, the market could now look forward to the start of the BSP’s easing cycle.

Dacanay said the BSP “has more leg room to adjust monetary policy with the inf lation outlook more benign.”

“Inflation is now less of a concern but the yield differential from the Fed still is; we expect the BSP to begin its easing cycle alongside the Fed in 2Q [second quarter] 2024,” Dacanay said.

Dacanay said the main concern now is the differential between BSP and Fed rates. Cutting interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve may stoke inflation.

Given this, Dacanay said it expects the BSP to cut its policy rate and Reserve Requirement Ratio only when the Fed begins its easing cycle.

PBBM vows to boost agri output, food production despite lower Dec inflation

By Samuel P. Medenilla

E

VEN with inflation the easing of inflation to below 4 percent last December, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said his administration would continue to intensify its efforts to keep food prices in check amid projected droughts induced by El Niño this year.

“The government will continue its efforts to improve the state of the economy.

For the new year, we will continue to strengthen our programs for agriculture, and we will focus on steps to keep the

prices of food and other basic commodities affordable,” the Chief Executive said in Filipino in a social media post.

He made the remark after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday that the inflation rate in the previous month slowed down to 3.9 percent from 8.1 percent in the same period in 2022 as well as 4.1 percent last November.

Government economic managers attributed the trend to the easing of inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas and food.

Inflation for food and non-alcoholic

beverages remained high at 5.4 percent although it was lower compared to the 5.7 percent in November 2023.

However, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) is wary that food inflation may rise as El Niño affects local food production.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said among the said measures was the President’s issuance of Executive Order No. 50, which extended the Most Favored Nation (MFN) reduced tariff rates for key agricultural commodities like pork, corn, and rice.

He said they will be pushing for other “trade facilitation measures to reduce other non-tariff barriers” as well as boosting local food production.

The said initiatives together with sustained investments in irrigation, flood control, supply chain logistics, and climate change adaptation, he pointed out, are contained in their El Niño National Action Plan, which he wants to be swiftly implemented.

Balisacan said they would also be monitoring other international developments, which can affect inflation.

USS Carl Vinson on port call to Manila; Beijing demands US and PHL to stop ‘muscle-flexing’

By Malou Talosig-Bartolome & Rex Anthony Naval

T

HE US aircraft carrier and three other US warships that recently conducted joint patrol with the Philippine Navy in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) has entered the Philippine territory for a scheduled port visit Friday.

Meanwhile in Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called on Washington and Manila to “stop muscle-flexing” in the WPS. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), flagship of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, along with Carrier Air Wing (CVW), USS Princeton (CG 59), USS Kidd and USS Sterett arrived in Manila the day after embarking on a joint patrol with Philippine Navy ships.

Port calls are part of the US Navy’s routine operations to support operational readiness and regional partnerships, the US Navy said.

“It is a pleasure for the Carrier Strike Group to visit the Republic of Philippines.

The US and the Philippines are steadfast friends, partners in prosperity, and ironclad allies,” said Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello, commander, CSG-1.

US sailors from the carrier strike group will participate in cultural exchanges, community relations events, and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR)-sponsored tours to enhance cultural understanding and cooperation between the two countries.

“By understanding and appreciating other cultural backgrounds, we can build stronger relationships, collaborate effectively and find common ground,” said Capt. Matthew Thomas, commanding officer, USS Carl Vinson. “All of these are critical when it comes to supporting our allies and partners in the region.”

Additionally, the port call provides an opportunity for CSG-1 sailors and civilians to rejuvenate while experiencing the rich culture of the Philippines.

“Port visits like this one allow our crew time to relax and reset after the demands of daily life at sea,” said Capt.

Victor Sheldon, commanding officer, USS Princeton. “They are vital to providing mental and physical recovery needed for concentration and productivity when we return to sea.”

Stop ‘muscle-flexing’–China

THE People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theater Command in charge of the South China Sea has gone on high alert after the CVN 70 and Philippine Navy conducted joint patrol.

Two Chinese patrol boats were also seen shadowing the Philippine ships participating in the maritime exercise.

“We would like to stress that the US and the Philippines’ muscle-flexing, provocative military activities in the South China Sea are not conducive to managing the situation on the sea and handling maritime disputes,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

He added “We urge relevant countries to stop the irresponsible moves, and respect regional countries’ effort to uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea.” He reiterated that China will continue to “firmly safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and make active efforts to uphold peace and tranquility in the region.”

Nothing illegal, provocative

THERE is nothing illegal and provocative about the recently-concluded “maritime cooperative activities” (MCA) conducted by the Philippines and the United States despite Chinese claims on the matter, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said on Friday.

In a statement, Año said they have taken note of the statements from the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressing concerns about the MCA conducted by the Philippines and the United States in the WPS. “The Chinese spokesman referred to these activities as ‘provocative military activities’ and deemed them as ‘irresponsible.’ We wish to clarify that the joint maritime activities between the Philippines and the United States were clearly conducted within our exclusive economic zone [EEZ] and are consistent with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS], so how can they be deemed provocative?” he added.

Año also added the Philippines is

merely exercising its sovereign right to engage in such activities within its territory and these exercises are aimed at enhancing its maritime capabilities and interoperability with the US which is the country’s treaty partner.

The second iteration of the MCA took place last January 3 and 4 while the first was from November 21 to 23 of last year.

“The joint patrol emphasizes our ability to work seamlessly together to ensure the readiness of our joint forces to address evolving security challenges. Our joint patrols with the United States and potential future activities with other allied countries shows our mutual commitment to a rules-based international order and for promoting peace and stability of the region,” Año said.

He added that Philippine participation in the MCA demonstrates the significant improvement in the Philippine’s defense capabilities and the development of a world-class Navy and Armed Forces capable of carrying out its mandate in defending the territorial integrity of the Philippines and its maritime rights in the WPS. “The Philippines remains open to diplomatic discussions with China and reaffirms its commitment to fostering good relations with all nations. We believe that through peaceful dialogue and adherence to international law, we can achieve a resolution that serves the best interests of all parties involved in the region,” Año stressed.

T

HE Philippines is focusing on attracting investments in nickel processing, particularly those that would produce battery precursor materials, among others, in the country’s bid to secure the No. 2 spot in the Asean region in terms of foreign direct investments (FDI) by 2028, according to the Board of Investments (BOI).

BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the country is now “focusing on attracting investments in nickel processing, particularly for High Pressure Acid Leach [HPAL] that would produce battery precursor materials.”

This was what the BOI official revealed after noting that the Philippines ranked third in the Asean, next to Indonesia, which is a magnet to mineral processing investments, along with Vietnam.

“Now we’re after Vietnam. So, Indonesia, Vietnam, then Philippines, then Malaysia and Thailand. We’ve overtaken Malaysia and Thailand,” Rodolfo said.

“We have to overtake Vietnam and Indonesia. Indonesia has been getting a lot of investments particularly coming from China for its mineral processing,” the official of the investment promotion agency stressed.

He explained that the amount of foreign investments that Indonesia is getting for mineral processing would be equivalent to 80 percent of the total FDIs that the Philippines is “getting from all countries for all sectors.”

In relation to attracting investments in nickel processing, Rodolfo shared that while the Philippines “is too far behind in terms of internal combustion engine type of cars,” it could be an entirely different ballgame altogether if it’s about electric vehicles (EV). The official of the investment promotion agency laid out the four “key drivers” that may help

the Philippines entice investments in this specific area.

“No. one, we have the minerals that are very important for batteries for powering all of these—nickel, copper, and cobalt,” Rodolfo noted.

“Ever since Indonesia banned the export of nickel ore, we are now the biggest source of nickel ore globally and the biggest battery manufacturer in the world is China. It is dependent on about 80 to 90 percent of its nickel ore imports from the Philippines,” he pointed out.

Aligning the thrust of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the mother agency of BOI, to link exports and industrial capacity, Rodolfo said. “This is one focus of the DTI and of the government—to add value to the minerals that we are exporting in particular to nickel, copper and cobalt.”

Another key driver of investments into mineral processing is the Philippines’ software engineers. “Because the value of a car, of an EV, there are two costly components: 40 to 50 percent would be battery and then the next costly component would be the software that integrates all functionalities, including the battery management system.”

Rodolfo underscored that the Philippines is “very good” in terms of software development that’s why he said Dyson, a household appliance firm, put up its global software development center in the country.

Grandsun, another global company, which is into manufacturing of headphones, is also putting up a software development center in the Philippines, he noted.

Also among the key drivers for the Philippines in its pursuit of mineral processing investments is its electronics sector as this industry accounts for 60 percent of the country’s exports pie. He added that an EV is considered an electronic product.

AFP to defeat security threats with PBBM support–Brawner

A

RMED Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Thursday said the military is determined to defeat all threats to the country’s security with the strong support of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. “With the strong leadership of our Commander-in-Chief, the AFP will move as one in defeating all threats to our peace and national security,” he said.

Brawner also said all members of the AFP

stand firm in its unwavering loyalty to the Constitution and its solemn commitment to fulfill its mandate.

“The men and women of the AFP remain steadfast in their role as the guardians of our nation’s sovereignty and defender of democratic principles,” he added.

Brawner also assured all Filipinos that... members (of the AFP will) continue to exemplify the highest standards of professionalism.

Rex Anthony Naval

A4

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Saturday, January 6, 2024

Panay power outage hurting tourism, biz, services; MIC investment in NGCP eyed

A

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz & Butch Fernandez

MID the continuing blame game over the power outages that have crippled Iloilo City and various provinces in Western Visayas since January 2, 2024, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez wants the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) to consider investing in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

On Friday, Romualdez said the involvement of the Maharlika Investment Corporation is seen to help boost the goal of a reliable, efficient, and sustainable energy infrastructure.

He noted that the power disruption has raised critical concerns about the state of the region’s power infrastructure, affecting countless businesses, industries, and the daily lives of citizens. “I wish to address the significant power outage that has affected Iloilo City and several provinces in Western Visayas since January 2, 2024. This event has highlighted critical issues in our power infrastructure, impacting numerous businesses, industries, and the daily lives of our citizens,” he said.

A similar concern was raised Friday by the Senate Tourism committee chief, Sen. Nancy Binay, who cited massive losses to the still-recovering tourism sector and other businesses, as well as to key public services in the region. Other lawmakers who weighed in on the issue on Friday were Senators Bong Go and Chiz Escudero.

“Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas has expressed strong concerns over the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ [NGCP] alleged inaction on repeated blackouts. Despite earlier identified solutions, the recurrence of power outages indicates a failure in implementation. The incomplete construction of transmission lines for the Cebu, Negros, and Panay grids is particularly concerning,” Romualdez noted.

Romualdez has proposed that the MIC consider investing in the NGCP, saying such a strategic investment could provide crucial capital for infrastructure upgrades and contribute to lowering the cost of electricity for consumers.

This investment move could potentially lead to improved efficiency, economic growth, enhanced energy security, support

for renewable energy integration, and increased accountability in NGCP’s operations, he said.

“The recent power outage, attributed to an unscheduled maintenance shutdown, has seen partial restoration. However, more than half of the affected municipalities remain without power. This situation underscores the need for decisive action and effective collaboration among all relevant agencies, including the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission [ERC],” he added.

Romualdez urged the ERC and the NGCP to thoroughly investigate the cause of the outage and identify the root causes deemed essential to preventing future occurrences and ensuring a stable power supply for the region.

In Binay’s view, the massive New Year blackouts in Panay island shows the Philippines is “clearly behind in energy solutions,” as she cited the impact on the tourism industry, particularly the hospitality sector and local businesses.

“The blackout in Western Visayas is a big dent to our country’s development, and can be clearly taken as a sharp reminder that we need serious long-term solutions to our electricity problems,” the senator noted.

“So, how do you promote tourism with such as unreliable power supply?” Binay asked, partly in Filipino.

“The sad part, most of the inconveniences are usually experienced at small resorts that have not invested in any alternative power source.

Even a 30-minute power outage, is already a nightmare for business.

What more if it would take days?”

Binay pointed out.

Aside from the broken appliances and food spoilage, Binay said the constant power interruptions force tourists to cancel their bookings for the holidays.

Also on Friday, Senator Chiz Escudero joined fellow lawmakers

Four Filipinos named to PCA

A

POWERHOUSE of legal minds in the Philippines led by a former International Criminal Court judge and a senior diplomat have been appointed as arbiters that could settle disputes between states, companies and organizations around the world.

Dr. Raul Pangalangan, Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya, Prof. Sedfrey Candelaria, and Dr. Antonio Gabriel M. La Viña have been nominated to serve as arbiters of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) last December 22.

The secretariat of PCA, the International

moving to open an inquiry into the blackouts, blamed on simultaneous tripping incidents in several power plants, even as some quarters continued to pin the blame on the grid operators.

Escudero wants power firms responsible for the latest Panay Islandwide power outage penalized for their inefficiency that caused business losses and opportunities in the affected cities and municipalities in Western Visayas.

He called on the Department of Energy and the ERC to summon the officials of the Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC) and the Palm Concepcion Power Corporation (PCPC) and explain in detail the massive power disruption that hit the whole of Western Visayas.

“I want them to explain the unscheduled shutting down of their plants and why it took a longer-thanusual period to bring the power supply back. For PCPC, I cannot understand why it took them four days to resupply power instead of just four hours, which is the usual time to resupply power in cases of maintenance shutdowns,” Escudero said.

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go urged DOE and the NGCP to collaborate on a lasting solution in response to the reported extensive power outage in Western Visayas.

Go emphasized the severe impact on daily life—on health care, education, and businesses—during power outages, while highlighting the government’s role in easing citizens’ hardships during these situations.

He continued, “Also affected are our hospitals with all those critical medical equipment that potentially make the difference between life and death.”

Nearly 300 public schools in Panay Island alone have reportedly suspended their face-to-face classes.

Business establishments have suffered huge losses due to damaged goods and non-operational equipment. All of these adversely affect the whole region’s quality of life and productivity, said Go. As a member of the Senate Committee on Energy, Go said he finds these prolonged outages unacceptable. He urgently called on the DOE and the NGCP to collaborate and devise a lasting solution to prevent similar incidents in the future.

AT the House, a senior lawmaker wants to know what punitive and corrective actions energy regulators are taking against the NGCP after they themselves blamed the nation’s sole transmission opera-

tor for the 30-hour blackout that crippled Western Visayas shortly after New Year’s Day festivities, the third such widespread power outage since last summer.

Camarines Sur Rep. Lray Villafuerte also wants to find out what has happened to the comprehensive performance review of the NGCP that the DOE was supposed to have done last year following two separate power outages that struck Greater Manila and again Western Visayas last summer.

“This power outage that the NGCP has failed to prevent in the Panay provinces of Iloilo, Aklan, Capiz, Antique and Guimaras along with parts of Negros Occidental is a stark reminder of these two things: [1] the DOE needs to do something—and quick—to make sure this doesn’t happen for the fourth time or more on the watch of our national transmission operator, and [2] the 19th Congress needs to decide on whether to alter or amend the NGCP’s franchise agreement to compel it to upgrade its system and spend a sizable chunk of its earnings on interconnecting our major islands, or to revoke its franchise altogether and award it to a much better concessionaire,” he said.

Both DOE Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla and Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara have separately blamed the NGCP for failing to anticipate—and act on—the system disturbance that occurred last Tuesday and for the non-completion of the Cebu-Negros-Panay Interconnection Project.

Villafuerte said the Congress might have to amend NGCP’s franchise agreement or scrap it in favor of a more suitable transmission concessionaire “to enable the government to deliver cheaper, more stable, and more accessible electricity to consumers, in keeping with President Marcos’ goal of achieving 100-peercent household electrification by 2028.”

The NGCP said the widespread disruption started at about 2 PM last Tuesday following the noontime tripping of the PEDC Unit 1 plant, which triggered the similar tripping of two other power facilities owing to a voltage imbalance, thereby isolating the entire Panay island from the rest of the Visayas power grid.

The tripping of the three power plants and the scheduled maintenance shutdown since mid-December of another power facility affected Iloilo City-based distribution utility (DU) More Electric Power Corp., three Iloilo electric cooperatives (ECs) and Guimaras Electric Cooperative Inc.

Bureau, confirmed their appointment Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced.

The PCA, headquar tered in The Hague, Netherlands, is an international organization that provides administrative services in support of parties and arbitrators conducting arbitral proceedings ranging from territorial and maritime boundaries, sover-

eignty, human rights, international investment and trade.

It became popular when the Philippines challenged China’s historic claim over the South China Sea based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Arbiters ruled in the favor of the Philippines, but China dismissed the ad hoc tribunal ruling as “null and void.”

What happened to review?

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NGCP to critics: Don’t blame us, unplanned genco shutdowns behind Panay blackouts

T

HE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Friday reiterated that its mandate is confined to transmission of power from producers to grid-connected areas of the country, as more parties weighing in on the massive blackouts on Panay island starting January 2 kept dragging the company into the blame game.

“As the transmission service provider, NGCP can only give an overview of the current supply and demand situation and endeavor to dispatch any and all available power. It cannot intervene on matters concerning power generation,” it said in a statement sent to media outlets.

“We reiterate our earlier pronouncements that there was no transmission disturbance before the tripping of the PEDC Unit 1 (83MW) at 12:06PM. After this event, NGCP was able to recover the transmission system and normalize voltage. This normal voltage situation persisted until several power plants inexplicably tripped at 2:19PM. Data from our system shows no abnormality in voltage and system stability.

Despite this, critics insist on blaming it for what are clearly problems arising from the unplanned shutdowns of power generators,” NGCP lamented.

“It is alarming to hear policymakers

immediately make conclusions based on assumptions contrary to fact. We are firm in our position that the system prior to the 2:19PM multiple tripping was normal, and our actions were undertaken within protocols. Any contrary statement is speculative.

“We firmly refute allegations suggesting that NGCP failed in its obligation to stabilize the transmission system. We also take exception to the allegations that we were less than transparent in providing information to the public. We provide regular updates to all stakeholders, including the media and government units (LGUs), through print, radio, broadcast, social media, and text blasts.”

Instead of using NGCP as a scapegoat, policymakers should be “objective in their search for facts and not coddle certain sectors. This is not a time to push personal or political agendas, but a time for honest-to-goodness solution finding. We again reiterate our push for a comprehensive industry-wide approach to resolve the persistent power supply issues on Panay Island and elsewhere in the country.”

Lastly, NGCP assured “our stakeholders that we will continue to work closely with concerned government agencies and LGUs to expedite the resolution of this issue.”

‘Kalinisan’: PBBM says cleanliness now part of LGU ‘performance guarantees’

T

O promote tidiness in local communities, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday ordered concerned government agencies to include cleanliness among the “performance guarantees” for local government units (LGU).

In his video message for the start of the Kalinga at Inisyatiba Para sa Malinis na Bayan (Kalinisan) this weekend, the Chief Executive stressed the importance of the role of LGUs in mobilizing their constituents in the success of their cleanliness initiatives.

“We cannot spend tens of billions a year collecting garbage whose volume could have been reduced through individual daily reuse and recycling,” Marcos pointed out.

“At the end of the day, it is not only modern equipment that will win the war against waste. It will be won by citizens equipped with the habit not to litter and whose allegiance to a clean and green community has become second nature to them,” he added.

The President said LGUs should also strive to expand their community development projects to go beyond cleanliness drive and include children’s welfare, crime prevention, climate change adaptation, capacitance institutions to

resolve local disputes, community health and nutrition, as well as commerce and trade.

“Those [government employees] from the barangay are the frontliners of the government. They are the forward detachments of government service. They are the first responders to people in distress,” Marcos said.

“Let our barangays be the laboratory of workable ideas, a showcase of what we can achieve together, and proof that the basic government unit, the barangay, teems with best practices,” he added.

LGUs, which will be able to come up with the best practices for such community development endeavors should get high prizes and incentives, according to the President.

Marcos made the remark as he also called on the public to join the celebration of the National Community Development Day on January 6, 2024.

He hopes the activity will help in transforming local communities for the better.

“Filipinos do not deserve dirty, dingy, or dark communities. So let’s act to make our environment comfortable and clean. There should be no place, no space, for dirt, dust, and darkness in our community,” Marcos said. Samuel P. Medenilla

Each country party to the Hague Convention to settle disputes through arbitration can nominate four arbiters.

PCA Specialized Panel of Arbitrators and Experts (Environmental Disputes) (20162022) and currently Associate Director for Climate Policy and International Relations of the Manila Observatory.

The term of PCA arbitrators is six years.

The four arbiters have privilege to nominate candidates for the ICJ and propose candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize, in collaboration with the ICJ judges.

Prior to their appointment, other Filipino lawyers who were previously appointed in PCA were Chief Justice (ret.)

Artemio Panganiban, Chief Justice (ret.)

Reynato Puno, Justice (ret.) Jose Vitug and Dr. Pangalangan.

The 4 Filipino arbiters

THE four new Filipino arbiters are considered one of the best legal minds in international law in the country.

Dr. Pangalangan is an expert on international criminal laws, having served as former judge of the International Criminal Court in 2015 till 2021 and member of the Philippine delegation that negotiated for the Rome Statute. He was also former dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law, and former publisher of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Ambassador Malaya is one of the few international law expert in the foreign service. He is currently the Philippine Ambassador to The Netherlands and the Acting President of the PCA Administrative Council for term 2023-2024. He also served as DFA Undersecretary as well as Assistant Secretary for Legal and Treaties.

Prof. Candelaria, a Professor of Law at the Ateneo de Manila University, is Chief of Office of the Research, Publications and Linkages Office of the Philippine Judicial Academy.

Dr. La Vina is a former Member of the

Congress of PCA court members

A CONGRESS of the Members of the Court will convene in June 2024 as part of the activities for the PCA’s 125th anniversary this year.

The Congress will only be the third time in history when the members of the Court of the PCA from the different Member States will gather and chart the future of the organization. The first was during the first Hague Peace Conference in 1899 and the second during the centennial of the PCA in 1999. Malou Talosig-Bartolome

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Chatty robot helps senior citizens fight loneliness through AI companionship

By Terry Spencer | The Associated Press

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ORAL SPRINGS, Fla.—Joyce Loaiza lives alone, but when she returns to her apartment at a Florida senior community, the retired office worker often has a chat with a friendly female voice that asks about her day.

A few miles away, the same voice comforted 83-year-old Deanna Dezern when her friend died.

In central New York, it plays games and music for 92-year-old Marie Broadbent, who is blind and in hospice, and in Washington state, it helps 83-yearold Jan Worrell make new friends.

The women are some of the first in the country to receive the robot ElliQ, whose creators, Intuition Robotics, and senior assistance officials say is the only device using artificial intelligence specifically designed to alleviate the loneliness and isolation experienced by many older Americans.

“It’s entertaining. You can actually talk to her,” said Loaiza, 81, whose ElliQ in suburban Fort Lauderdale nicknamed her “Jellybean” for no particular reason.

“She’ll make comments like, ‘I would go outside if I had hands, but I can’t hold an umbrella.’”

The device, which looks like a small table lamp, has an eyeless, mouthless head that lights up and swivels. It remembers each user’s interests and their conversations, helping tailor future chats, which can be as deep as the meaning of life or as light as the horoscope.

ElliQ tells jokes, plays music and provides inspirational quotes. On an accompanying video screen, it provides tours of cities and museums. The device leads exercises, asks about the owner’s health and gives reminders to take medications and drink water. It can also host video calls and contact relatives, friends or doctors in an emergency.

Intuition Robotics says none of the conversations are heard by the company, with the information staying on each owner’s device.

Intuition Robotics CEO Dor Skuler said the idea for ElliQ came before he launched his Israeli company eight years ago. His widowed grandfather needed an aide, but the first didn’t work out. The replacement, though, understood his grandfather’s love of classical music and his “quirky sense of humor.”

Skuler realized a robot could fill that companionship gap by adapting to each senior’s personality and interests.

“It’s not just about [ElliQ’s] utility. It’s about friendship, companionship and empathy,” Skuler said. “That just did not exist anywhere.”

The average user interacts with ElliQ more than 30 times daily, even six months after receiving it, and more than 90 percent report lower levels of loneliness, he said.

The robots are mostly distributed by assistance agencies in New York, Florida, Michigan, Nevada and Washington State, but can also be purchased individually for $600 a year and a $250 installation fee. Skuler wouldn’t say how many ElliQs have been distributed so far, but the goal is to have more than 100,000 out within five years.

That worries Brigham Young University psychology professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad, who studies the detrimental effects loneliness has on health and mortality.

Although a device like ElliQ might have shortterm benefits, it could make people less likely to seek human contact. Like hunger makes people seek food and thirst makes them seek water, she said “that unpleasant feeling of loneliness should motivate us to reconnect socially.”

Satiating that with AI “makes you feel like you’ve fulfilled it, but in reality you haven’t,” Holt-Lunstad said. “It is not clear whether AI is actually fulfilling any kind of need or just dampening the signal.”

Skuler and agency heads distributing ElliQ agreed it isn’t a substitute for human contact, but not all seniors have social networks. Some are housebound, and even seniors with strong ties are often alone.

“I wish I could just snap my fingers to make a person show up at the home of one of the many, many older adults that don’t have any family or friends, but it’s a little bit more complicated,” said Greg Olsen, director of the New York State Office for the Aging. His office has distributed 750 of the 900 ElliQs it acquired.

Charlotte Mather-Taylor, director of the Broward County, Florida, Area Agency on Aging, said the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath left many seniors more isolated. Her agency has distributed 300 ElliQs, which she believes breaks them out of their shells.

“She’s proactive and she really engages the seniors, so it gives them that extra kind of interaction,” she said. “We’ve seen very positive results with it.

People generally like her and she makes them smile and brings joy.”

Skuler said ElliQ was purposely designed without eyes and a mouth so it wouldn’t fully imitate humans.

While “Elli” is the Norse goddess of old age, he said the “Q” reminds users that the device is a machine.

He said his company wants “to make sure that ElliQ always genuinely presents herself as an AI and doesn’t pretend to be human.”

“I don’t understand why technologists are trying to make AI pretend to be human,” he said. “We have in our capacity the ability to create a relationship with an AI, just like we have relationships with a pet.”

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Saturday, January 6, 2024

A5

Elderly living in Taguig-acquired villages lose more Makati benefits

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By Wilnard Bacelonia

esidents of 10 former Makati City villages now under Taguig City’s jurisdiction received another bad news on Tuesday.

The Blu Card, which gives Makati’s senior citizens access to various benefits and services, has also been terminated.

On Monday, the local government announced that the Yellow Card for health care benefits will be retained only for city hall employees.

“In accordance with the Supreme Court decision, we are sad to notify our senior citizens from 10 EMBO

barangays who are Blu cardholders that starting January 1, 2024, your Blu cards will no longer be valid,” the announcement read. Blu Card holders regularly receive cash benefits ranging from P3,000 to P10,000 depending on their age. They also receive medicines, grocery items and cakes on their birthday, among other incentives. The local government, however, said that senior citizens from the 10 EMBO baran-

Free medical services for Makati City residents Photo courtesy of My Makati Facebook

gays can still use their Makatizen card as a valid identification and debit card.

The 10 EMBO villages are Cembo, Comembo, East Rembo, Pembo,

Pitogo, Post Proper Northside, Post Proper South Side, Rizal, South Cembo and West Rembo.

In April, the Supreme Court affirmed its 2021 decision that the

729-hectare Bonifacio Global City complex and several barangays in Makati City should be under Taguig, based on historical, documentary, and testimonial evidence.

Yellow Cards provide medicines, vitamins, free hospitalization in Ospital ng Makati for bills amounting to P5,000 or less, and services from 26 health centers within the city.

It was also announced that health centers and birthing facilities formerly operated by the Makati City government in these villages will close down.

“Even if Makati wants the health centers and lying-in in 10 EMBO barangays to remain open, their licenses to operate already expired, that is why they have to be closed down,” the announcement said. PNA

For young Filipino creatives, the future points to Cebu

By Nick Tayag

my sixty-zen’S WORTH

I

n the seemingly portentous silence that followed after the last ear-splitting firecracker had been exploded and the night’s raucous revelry had died down, as the food leftovers were put into plastic wares and slid into refrigerators to be recycled as meals for another day, I was reminded by the dawning of the New Year that the sands of time are fast dwindling for our Boomer generation. As our members begin to fade away one after the other, the need to pass the baton to bright young Filipinos who will come after us has become more and more urgent.

Let’s make sure we are passing it on and leaving it in good hands.

My greatest worry is that we might miss the Creative Economy Express Train and fail to take our rightful place on the international stage. This concern started to nag me since 2021 at the height of the pandemic when the UN declared that said year as the “International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development.”

In the words of then UNCTAD’s International Trade and Commodities Director, Pamela Coke-Hamilton: “The creative economy and its industries are strategic sectors that if nurtured can boost competitiveness, productivity, sustainable growth, employment and exports potential.”

I’ve always believed that our nation’s bright future lies not in tapping our natural oil or gas or in industrialization and manufacturing. The key is in harnessing and allowing the full

emergence of our latent, sleeping “soft power.”

That power comes from our vast native young creative talent, our visual thinking, our “malikot na kaisipan,” our natural penchant for storytelling, all of which are second to none in this part of the world. Best of all, they are precisely the essential factors needed to build a First World Class Creative Economy.

Many of us don’t realize the awesomeness of it, but our natural creative assets, embedded in the Filipino DNA, are what it takes to catapult the next generation of Filipinos to the field of glory that is within our people’s grasp.

If it only takes a single spark to ignite a fire, one vision-driven, focused, and united LGU to kindle this Great Filipino Creative Economy revolution.

Forget the clueless national leaders. I have been putting my hopes in one or two enlightened LGUs who would see the light and provide special nurturing spaces for home-grown creative minds and pioneering entrepreneurs in the promising fields of entertainment media such as animation, digital content creation, video game development, graphic novels and manga comics and other frontiers of creative entertainment.

These are all promising creative industries that can be potentially profitable if managed well. By promoting these creative industries as a priority economic sector, any far-seeing LGU will be able to generate

high-value jobs, contribute to GDP growth, increase international exports of Filipino creative products and services, and develop our nation’s intellectual property capital.

Why am I so gung-ho on these creative industries? Consider the numbers. A 2015 study published by Ernst & Young revealed that globally, creative industries have an estimated value of $2.25 trillion and employ about 30 million people per year. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development also estimated the global trade in creative goods and services to be at $509 billion in 2015. Mind you, those are old numbers. The global migration to the digital realm during and after the pandemic must have boosted the numbers to stratospheric levels by now.

But it turns out I need not worry too much. I’ve had a glimpse of our country’s creative future. And it’s called Cebu.

I say this after talking to Lawrence Panganiban, a passionate young Cebuano creative talent cum entrepreneur who is one of the sparkplugs of Cebu’s creative economy engine that is now off and running.

As we talked some more, it became more and more apparent that Lawrence, my senior partner, and I share the same vision of a rising Filipino Creative tide that would lift all boats for homegrown talents involved in the creation and production of world-class quality creative media entertainment. We even agree on the wedge that will open the way, which is Animation and Game Development.

Animation and Game Development are part of a sunrise industry in the digital galaxy whose rays we Filipinos need to catch fast or will be forever gone.

In the Creative Entertainment Summit held last year in Cebu, Juan Miguel Del Rosario, the president of the Animation Council of the Philippines Inc. (ACPI), disclosed that the global value of animation is $270 billion. Yet the Philippines only accounts for only around $30 million in revenues as of 2020.

The thing is Filipinos can do animation superbly well. Del Rosario revealed that the Philippines is now servicing Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, United States and Canada. Filipino anime lovers will probably be surprised to know

that the popular anime “One Piece” from Toie Animation of Japan was outsourced in the Philippines, and was drawn by Filipino animators. This major Japanese animation company has been collaborating with Filipino animators for some time now.

He added: “Our hope is ultimately that by 2030 the Philippines will be a premier destination of animation in Southeast Asia.” Guess which city he is eyeing to be the major provider of animation in the Philippines?

Right, Cebu is it!

In the same Summit, James Lo, president of Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP), revealed that Philippine game companies have been involved in the creation of high-quality games. He said that a lot of our game companies actually provide all of top quality games being played on various consoles like Playstation or the Xbox or the Nintendo Switch. He said that “art assets, the environment, maps, the characters, the animations, effects are actually done here in the Philippines.”

In 2020, the global games market reached $86.3 billion for Mobile Devices and P37.4 billion for personal computers, Lo said. Our game developers should strive to stake a greater claim on this ever-expanding territory.

The best thing I learned from Lawrence is that the Cebuanos are taking a whole of city approach to this path to the Creative Economy future. In short, all hands are on deck! I was glad to learn from Lawrence that the national and local governments, creative sector, and business sector have already banded together and taken several initial steps down the road. Also on board the “Cebu Creative Express” are the industry’s major stakeholders: Animation Council of the Philippines Inc. (ACPI), Cebu Creative Hub, Creative Content Creators Association of the Philippines (SIKAP), and the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP).

It seems Cebu has thought of everything. Local and international experts have been brought in to give insights on how to raise Cebu to the next level on the stage of world entertainment. Now part of the Cebu Business Month activities of the city’s Chamber of Commerce and Industries is the Creative Entertainment Week,

which aims to inspire, educate, and uplift the local creative talent. Lawrence is the Chairman of the Cebu Business Monthly Creative Entertainment Committee that will ensure that the efforts are not only sustained but concerted.

Last October Cebu City opened a Creative Hub that provides a business friendly environment for creative enterprises. There’s even now a guide called “Investors Primer: The Business of Entertainment” to help creative artists develop an acumen for business as well as to entice young entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, Lawrence’s Committee has visited foreign anime production companies to establish connections and explore collaborations. More trips are being scheduled. This is all part of the big plan to transform the island into a creative entertainment ecosystem that is directly connected with the global pipeline.

Global companies are also coming to Cebu. The Gamigo group, one of the largest German companies in the gaming industry with more than 30 online games, is opening an office in Cebu City’s Creative Hub. Lawrence also mentioned something about Toei Animation of Japan being interested in locating an office in Cebu.

What’s in it for Cebu, bottomline wise? Mario Panganiban, Lawrence’s Dad and a trustee of Cebu’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, sees annual revenue of at least P500 million from the creative sector.

If all things go as planned and envisioned, Cebu City will definitely become a magnet that will pull the best Filipino creatives from everywhere. It will be the cynosure, the beacon, and the convergence point towards which young Filipino creatives will gravitate. If California has an enclave for high tech companies dubbed Silicon Valley, and Mumbai its Bollywood, the world will soon see the rise of Cee-Mation City. A sort of revival of “Ceboom” but in a more awesome re-incarnation.

Whether the spark that has been lit is going to be a slow burn or a sudden explosion, only time will tell.

At least I can say the country’s drive to become a competitive creative economic power is assuredly in young passionate dedicated hands deep in the heart of an island called Cebu.

Education BusinessMirror

A6 Saturday, January 6, 2024

Editor: Mike Policarpio

Bong Go aids Cabanatuan’s Tesda grads, Filipina delegate recognized at Beirut Model United Nations cites significance of tech-voc learning

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UEVA ECIJA—Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go assisted 600 beneficiaries of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) program in Cabanatuan City.

An adopted son of the province, Go expressed late in December his support to the efforts of the local government in boosting economic opportunities throughout their communities in a graduation ceremony held at Padre Gregorio Crisostomo Integrated School. There, his “Malasakit Team” provided graduates with

shirts, basketballs, volleyballs, shoes and mobile phones to select recipients.

In a video message, the senator highlighted the significant role of technical and vocational education and training in the country’s progress. He explained that TVET is designed to close the skills gap and guarantee that Filipinos from

all economic backgrounds can acquire pertinent and soughtafter skills.

This, in turn, will enable them to find meaningful employment and play a part in boosting the country’s economic development.

The lawmaker also filed Senate Bill 2115 to institutionalize TVET and livelihood programs for rehabilitated drug dependents. The bill seeks to provide skills training and enhance the employability of former drug users, allowing them to rebuild their lives and contribute to their communities.

Go, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, urged residents to prioritize their well-being, as he encouraged them to seek the ser-

vices of the “Malasakit Centers” in Nueva Ecija for any medicalrelated assistance.

The “Malasakit Centers Act,” which he principally authored and sponsored, simplifies access to medical assistance programs from various government agencies, including the Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. or PhilHealth, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

The centers in the province are located at Eduardo L. Joson Memorial Hospital and Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research and Medical Center both in Cabanatuan City; and in Talavera General Hospital in the town of the same name.

SM Foundation presents recent scholar-graduates

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FTER two years of presenting its scholar graduates virtually, SM Foundation finally held an onsite presentation at the SMX Convention Center.

Presented to the Sy family were 397 graduates, with 161 of them having honors. This batch had eight summa cum laude, 55 magna cum laude, 72 cum laude, and 26 recipients of academic distinction awards.

The atmosphere was festive with the presence of the Sy family: Hans Sy, Harley Sy, and Chico Sy; SM Foundation executive director Debbie Sy; as well as officers of SM Foundation led by its president-chairperson Jose T. Sio, Lydia Echauz, Engr. Chito Macapagal, Linda Atayde, Connie Angeles, Cristie Angeles and Eleonor Lansang, among others. Also present were representatives from BDO Foundation, National University and Asia Pacific College.

At the program, the graduates rendered a song, as they approached the Sy family and SM Foundation officers, then handed them flowers.

It was also an inspiring event as Sio spoke before the graduates and shared life lessons that would guide them as they begin another

chapter in their lives in the pursuit of their dreams.

Inspiration was also provided by guest speaker Engr. Albert Maquiñana. A 2003 SM scholar, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer Engineering from the FEU East Asia College as a magna cum laude. In his speech, he shared his journey and challenges as an SM scholar, and how he was able to reach where he is now: a global information technology director for Manufacturing Services and Solutions of Procter&Gamble.

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AMONG them is Marjorie Perez, a cum laude finisher from Ateneo de Zamboanga University. A graduate of BS Accountancy, Perez wanted to be a pilot or engineer early on.

But she had to forego her aspirations and instead enrolled in Accountancy.

During that time also, engineering was still not offered in the school of her choice. According to Perez, with accountancy, one can be versatile in choosing jobs with wider opportunities. In her senior year, she was given by Ateneo De Manila University an academic scholarship.

For college, the most challenging part was financial in nature, considering the tuition fees for an accounting student in a private university. But when Perez became an SM scholar, the burden was lifted. She admitted there were times when she wanted to give up and asked herself if her course was really what she wanted. One of her professors encouraged her to continue and finish her degree, as she was doing good in her studies. It was a struggle, but reminded herself that she must continue her studies as she was blessed with a scholarship.

“Many kids could not attend school. And here [I am]—a scholar,” she said and shared that it was not only for herself, but also for her family. “I’m still glad I listened to the advice of my professor. If I did not continue, I wouldn’t be a certified public accountant [CPA] now.”

Hav ing passed the Professional Regulatory Commission’s licensure exams, she is presently reviewing to take another board exam early next year, this time to be a Certified Management Accountant, after which she will start working with a local public accounting firm.

Meanwhile, Cher ily n Acop graduated as a magna cum laude from Saint Louis University with a degree in BS Civil Engineering.

Born in Kalinga but raised in Baguio City, she initially wanted to be a teacher, but instead took up Engineering, which she believes will give her wider opportunities.

Acop admitted it was a struggle for her during the pandemic years.

It was also the time when she was taking her major subjects that were prerequisites for subjects in her higher years.

“Materials were limited,” she said and added that the situation was further aggravated by poor Internet connectivity. There were times when she had to go up the roof just to get stable signals.

Acop hopes to get a job as a civil engineer in Baguio City. Since she is still incapable of helping others financially, she plans to disseminate information about available scholarships, the existence of an Alternative Learning System and the technical-vocational courses being offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or Tesda, as these are not well-known to out-of-school youth in their community, to help them improve their lives.

DITO Home gives free 5G access to 30K-plus students in Taguig

H

ELPING alleviate the digital divide in the publicschool areas and enabling students to leverage on the benefits of the latest data technology, the country’s fastest-growing telco provider DITO Telecommunity is powering Taguig City’s public schools with its fastest broadband Internet yet with DITO Home UNLI 5G Wi-Fi. Initially, DITO provided free ultra-fast Internet connection to six public schools: Cipriano P. Sta. Teresa Elementary School (CPSTES), Silangan Elementary School (SES), Taguig Integrated School (TIS), Napindan Integrated School (NIS), South Daang Hari Elementary School (SDHES), and Taguig National High School (TNHS). DITO Home UNLI 5G WI-FI was installed in key areas of learning, teaching, and convergence, which is currently benefiting more than 30,000 students.

The project was made possible through the “Adopt-A-School Program of Hands on Manila,” which is a non-profit private organization championing volunteerism that contributes to nation-building.

According to Joyce Capacillo, who heads the Home Business

LEADERS and representatives from DITO Telecommunity, the participating public schools, as well as several student-beneficiaries

Unit of DITO Telecommunity, this initiative is more than just a technical solution to the students’ struggles with limited Internet access; it became a source of hope for them to continue pursuing their dreams and aspirations.

“We aim to support the education sector by helping provide equitable access to the Internet,” Capacillo said. “We recognize that lack of connectivity not only limits students’ access to educational resources, but also hinders their

ability to navigate and fully engage in a digital environment—a [vital skill] for their future.”

“We’ve heard stories of students having a hard time securing their own mobile data just to complete their school requirements and online exams. Such stories opened our eyes to the daily hardships that young minds face every day,” she added. “At DITO, our hope is to somehow alleviate this burden, and that no student gets left behind.”

Joining DITO in celebrating the program launch were representatives and leaders from the participating public schools and Taguig City local government, including principals Dr. Flordelyn Umagat (SES), Annette Cristobal (CPSTES), Dr. Francia Patron (NIS), Kathryn Raymundo who is a school coordinator of TNHS, Dr. Joselito Mataac (TIS), and Marieta Junio (SDHES).

According to TIS Teacher 1 Joselito Mataac, “DITO’s 5G technology will surely empower our students to level up their skills and talents.”

Initially started with Taguig City, DITO Home said it will expand to other cities, with high hopes of providing an inclusive and empowering Internet experience for all.

“We are happy to collaborate with education and community stakeholders to power up public schools. We want to send [our message out that] ‘Welcome Lahat DITO.’ There is much value in joining efforts to strengthen connectivity in public schools, because that also means connecting students to a brighter and more promising future,” Capacillo concluded.

Y

OUNG Filipina student Angela Joyce Castillo was recently honored for her exemplary discussions at the recent Beirut Model United Nations (BEIMUN).

Last year’s BEIMUN was the first annual online model United Nations (UN) conference organized

by Lebanese high school students.

It aimed to provide a platform for the next generation of leaders to develop their leadership, thinking, and communication skills.

More t h a n 50 pa r t ic ipa nts played the roles of representatives from several countries. Having participated in debates, engaged in global and pressing relevant issues, and proposed plans for world problems, they were distributed in various sections such as the European Union Committee, Joint Crisis Committee, UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), United NationsEconomic and Social Council, and UN Security Council.

Castillo, a General Academic Strand student from the De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Senior High School (SHS), spoke on behalf of Cuba and won the Honorable Mention award in the UNHRC. Part of the council with the agenda of mitigating the role of online platforms in human trafficking and exploitation, she likewise addressed the rise of gun violence, and the implementation of general measures against mass shootings.

Castillo also underscored the importance of awareness campaigns on these matters for the public’s safety and understanding.

The DLS-CSB student also en-

CASTILLO

couraged member-states to investigate and punish perpetrators with due diligence. She sought to strengthen the collaboration with nongovernment organizations and relevant groups to identify and refer victims to authorities, and provide necessary services.

As the main proponent of both, Castillo tackled possible solutions, including developing an extensive anti-criminal trading law that prohibits all forms of recruitment, transportation, harboring individuals through force, and fraud or deception to exploit them for profit.

“This conference made me realize the essence of diplomacy,” she recounted. “The gravity of the different issues to the respective nations and to find common ground with the other people to resolve [challenges can be daunting].”

Aside from Castillo, the Benilde SHS delegation consisted of Victoria Seatiel Vito Cruz, Journey Fernando, Andrei Pena, Bea Villaflor, and Amanda Villaluz. Educator Eduardo Lim Jr. accompanied and provided them with guidance.

ALPHA offers professional training sessions for less

F

ELIX VEROYA knew that having a college diploma is not enough to enable him to become a wellequipped individual in the corporate world. He realized common folks like him can ill afford to enroll in training programs, because their earning capacities are not enough.

In 2016, Veroya founded Ask Lex Phils. (ALPHA), as he wanted to address the pain points he experienced after graduating from college: that getting professional training and certifications are really expensive for the common graduate.

“I started ALPHA to make lifelong learning accessible and sustainable for the Filipinos and the rest of the world,” Veroya narrated. “After initially running a successful training and certification for a group of Industrial Engineering students in Batangas, I was able to validate the model and have spent time improving the program and scaling afterwards.”

He pointed out that ALPHA’s competency development and certification programs are aligned with the industry requirements customized for the needs of graduating students and young professionals. The competencies are based on studies and mandates published by the United Nations and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or Unesco.

Duration for the programs vary from 16 hours up to 80 hours, depending on the levels of the training and certification.

ALPHA also believes in partnerships, as it can offer discounts to professionals and encourage lifelong learning into its partners’ respective communities: “We also co-create programs with our partners to satisfy their community’s particular competency development requirements,” Veroya said.

Some of the schools that ALPHA has served are Mapua University, Batangas State University, University of Batangas, PATTS College of Aeronautics, Eastern Visayas State University, De La Salle-Lipa, De La Salle-Dasmarinas, Lyceum of the Philippines UniversityCavite, FAITH Colleges, University of Perpetual Help System, Southern Luzon State University, Saint Louis University,

La Consolacion University Philippines, and Tarlac State University.

Some of the 50-plus projects ALPHA has completed include reduction of process lead time, optimization of sampling plans, improvement of machine utilization, reduction of direct and indirect material consumption, headcount optimization, customer satisfaction improvement, and reduction of operational costs, to name a few.

Veroya said they have mainly invested on its social entrepreneurship side of the business; that is, providing free programs for the community.

Here are some:

ALPHA Roadshow: Free learning sessions staging masterclasses on skills of the future, where companies are invited to send their leaders and key employees.

“ALAB (ALPHA Leadership Acceleration Bootcamp):” A free leadership camp that equips young leaders with necessary skills: leading one’s self, leading others, and leading organizations.

“BINHI (Building Innovative Network and Honing Individuals):” A virtual career fair and set of learning sessions featuring thought and action leaders helping fresh graduates and young pros to learn best practices as they enter the labor force.

Project “EskwelaJuan:” Providing platforms for Filipino mentors to share their experience and expertise via a free e-learning course with free e-certificates. Said Verayo, “We devised a fund where mentors who have hosted courses will get an incentive based on the number of completers of the courses they have hosted.”

ALPHA COINS: A reward and gamification element, course completers can use the coins to buy premium courses on the platform, and in the Philippines Lifelong Learning Conference—an annual event that features speakers on lifelong learning updates in the Philippines, and stages various learning components from keynotes, plenaries, and awards, among others. Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Tourism Editor: Edwin P. Sallan

Saturday, January 6, 2024 A7

BEYOND PRAGUE

Exploring Czechia outside the capital

Cesky Krumlov

Overlooking view of Cesky Krumlov

Church of St. Barbara

P

Painting of Jose Rizal inside the Grand Hotel in Brno

Colorful houses in Telc

Story and photos by Joshua Berida

rague is a beautiful city. It has a bit of everything visitors are looking for; fetching architecture that dates to centuries ago, plenty of international and local cuisine, museums, art galleries, and theaters, and a nightlife for different interests. However, Czechia has other noteworthy destinations you can add to your itinerary when you visit the country.

I’ve been to a few places outside the bustling capital. These are some of my recommendations.

Cesky Krumlov This destination in the South Bohemian Region of the country is a popular day or multi-day trip from Prague. Its historic center has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List

for years. I got to explore it during one of my trips. Cesky Krumlov oozes with old world charm. It has an eclectic mix of Renaissance, Gothic, and Baroque architecture. Bohemian nobles had the castle built some time in the 13th century. During the succeeding centuries, the town and the castle complex grew as a sign of the region’s accumulated wealth. I walked

Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Brno

Market Colonnade in Karlovy Vary

around the historic center feeling like I walked into a time warp that brought me to the country’s ancient past. The castle provides visitors with fetching overlooking views of the town.

town’s most prosperous period. From the outside, it resembles a crown and inside you’ll find frescoes that depict daily life.

Kutna Hora

Karlovy Vary is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List under the great spa towns of Europe. Its alkaline sulfur springs has attracted notable characters from rulers to ecclesiastics over the centuries. Its springs were known to treat various ailments. Two of the spa town’s most notable patrons include Ludwig van Beethoven and Tsar Peter I the Great.

Many of the town’s visitors still go to the many spas to experience its sulfur springs. If you’ve seen and loved the James Bond movie “Casino Royale”, you’d want to visit some of its shooting locations in Karlovy Vary. The Grandhotel Pupp was the Hotel Splendide in the movie. Walk along the street and enter the hotel where Daniel Craig AKA James Bond went to during your visit. You’d also want to visit the Market, Mill, Park, Castle, and Hot Spring Colonnade in

Kutna Hor a grew in prosperity when silver ore was discovered and exploited in the 13th century. The Thirty Years’ War, Hussite Wars, and bickering among the local mining communities led to the eventual downfall of the city over the centuries. Fast forward to today, this quaint destination has become a popular tourist spot. Its main attractions being the Church of St. Barbara and the Church of Our Lady and St. John the Baptist in Sedlec.

Many visitors make their way to the Sedlec Ossuary to see the bone church. Thousands of bones were artistically arranged to take the shape of decorations and furnishings such as a chandelier, monstrance, coat of arms, and others. The Church of St. Barbara is Kutna Hora’s architectural gem and was built during the

Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Vary

Brno

various parts of the town.

Telc Telc’s historic center is another UNESCO World Heritage Site you can visit while in Czechia. This centuries old town’s quaintness is characterized by the Renaissance and Baroque burgher houses located in the market square. These colorful homes line the street and make for an idyllic backdrop. I spent most of my time in this quaint destination hanging out in a café and letting my thoughts linger in a town seemingly stuck in time. It’s different from the hustle and bustle and the crowds that Prague attracts.

It might’ve been the season I visited, but it was a respite from the busyness of the capital.

Brno Brno is the country’s second largest city after Prague and the former capital of Moravia. Like many other European cities, wars have shaped its history throughout the centuries. Hussites, Bohemians, Swedes, Austrians, and the French among

others have sieged and/or took control of the city or the territories just outside of it.

Today, you’ll see vestiges of its storied past. The Spilberk Castle that looms over the city withstood multiple sieges over the centuries and is now a museum. Along with the castle, the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul are integral parts of the city’s beautiful skyline. It has a Neo-Gothic façade with Baroque interiors. The Brno Ossuary beneath the Church of St. James contains more than 50,000 remains dating to the 17th century.

The geneticist and monk Gregor Mendel called the city his home and developed the theory of heredity in a Brno monastery. For Filipinos, another reason to visit this Czech city is that Jose Rizal stayed here briefly while traveling around Europe.

Czechia has other noteworthy, cultural, and historic destinations you can add to your itinerary whenever you visit the country. Brno, Telc, Cesky Krumlov, Kutna Hora, and Karlovy Vary are just some of the few you can add to your list.

PHL’s tastiest travel destinations T

he Philippines solidifies its status as an up-and coming foodie destination with the recent recognition of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, naming Iloilo City as a Creative City for Gastronomy. This acknowledgement only confirms what world-renowned chefs like Andrew Zimmern and the late Anthony Bourdain have been saying over the last decade: There is so much to discover from Filipino cuisine.

Iloilo City is a great place to start any food journey, but it’s also just one of the destinations in the country that can make foodies hop on the next flight out or take a long drive to sample flavors that are uniquely Pinoy.

As the holiday season looms, what better way to celebrate than taking a literal food trip? Digital travel platform Agoda spotlights three destinations for a cuisine-centric journey that, like Iloilo City, let travelers experience not just the best of Pinoy food, but also the wonderful sights the country has to offer.

Roxas City, Capiz Roxas City, Capiz presents an eclectic abundance for travelers. Dubbed as the country’s seafood capital, visitors can have their pick from the freshest

squid and oysters down to a whole menu of dried fish items. With heritage structures sprawled all over the city, Roxas City continues to keep the old colonial architecture alive. Places like the Immaculate Conception Metropolitan Cathedral and the Provincial Capitol are great spots to learn more about local history.

Foodie travelers can also immerse themselves in local sustainable practices in Roxas that help preserve food sources. A visit to the Palina Greenbelt Ecopark offers a number of activities that foodies can avail themselves of.

A tour of the Ecopark lets visitors take a closer look at seafood farming, interacting directly with fisherfolk responsible for the protection and cultivation of provincial seas. There is also a chance to dig into the freshest seafood catch of the day inside a floating cottage which allows tourists take in nature views along with their delicious meal.

Roxas also showcases Pinoy street food at the Maragtas Street Food Market that enlivens the city every Friday afternoon with around 30 stalls serving various skewers and sweet delicacies. Must tries would be the flavored balut, chicken, and pork barbecue, and unique takes on empanada, turon, and

lumpia. Waiting on the side are dipping sauces that conquer the tastebud spectrum–whether it’s sour, sweet and saucy, or a spicy kick one is looking for.

A fun and food-filled trip in Roxas City is within reach—travelers can check out available f lights to the Seafood Capital of the Philippines on Agoda, with additional value for their money if they packaged their flight with an accommodation (for those planning a longer stay).

Davao City It may be known for its mix of hilly terrains, expansive forests, and its proximity to rivers and beaches, but Davao City also has culinary experiences waiting to be discovered.

A visit to the King City of the South will not be complete without a sampling of kinilaw, raw fish steeped in vinegar. A crowd favorite among Davaoeños is Luz Kinilaw and Inihaw Place, where their version of kinilaw consists of raw tuna, marinated in coconut vinegar and their mix of spices.

Davao is also known for its exportquality native fruits. Durian may seem intimidating for its scent, but it is incredibly delicious and sweet with its custardy texture. Davao boasts the sweetest and juiciest selection of

pomelo in the country, so good, visitors often take home a box.

Sampling Davao City’s food offerings aside, there are plenty of activities to keep visitors active. A can’t-miss is a visit to the Philippine Eagle Center, a conservatory for the magnificent, endangered bird the place was named after. The famous Malagos Chocolate Factory & Museum also offers tours and even chocolate-making sessions, giving travelers a peek at how their world-class product is made.

These activities and tours can easily be booked through Agoda, offering any foodie a holistic travel experience that’s also budget friendly.

CAPIZ - Seafood

Angeles City, Pampanga An hour’s drive from Manila, no foodie can skip a trip to Pampanga. Often referred to as the culinary capital of the country, Pampanga has been attracting visitors with their native dishes since the mid-19th Century.

Within the province, a stop at Angeles City, the birthplace of sisig, is a must.

When in search of sisig, two places come to mind. First is Aling Lucing Sisig, where their version boasts more of a grilled flavor. For those who like their sisig crispy, Mila’s Tokwa’t Baboy is a great spot to go to.

ANGELES - Sisig

DAVAO - Pomelo

Beyond food, Angeles City features historical sites where visitors can walk around and learn more about the city.

The picturesque Holy Rosary Parish Church boasts of Spanish Colonial architecture, every side of which warrants a closer look. Meanwhile, the city’s museum, Museo Ning Angeles, gives travelers a glimpse of the journey that makes Angeles the vibrant

locale it is today.

For those who live in Metro Manila or nearby provinces, Angeles City presents a great alternative to a staycation. With a few simple clicks on Agoda, travelers get a wide range of hotel options along with the accessibility of city sights and different must-eat spots for wandering foodies.

A8

Saturday, January 6, 2024 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

BusinessMirror

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Organizations must first understand the value of AI

K-POP girl group New Jeans at the Asia Artist Awards in Philippine Arena last month.

PHOTO BY DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES

Lessons in empathy

I

MEAN no offense to any individual or group of people but whoever is trying to normalize holding concerts and big events in areas that are literally in the middle of nowhere needs a lesson in empathy.

It is bad enough that people need to spend nights sleeping outside malls just to get concert tickets. Now, they have to contend with getting to out-of-town venues, using decrepit and unclean restrooms, buying expensive but sub par food, dealing with no mobile signal, having to walk kilometers just to get to parking areas, and other inconveniences that shouldn’t happen because they already paid thousands for their tickets. They are concert promoters’ customers, for heaven’s sake. Shouldn’t customers be always right, or at least treated better?

I was talking to a friend who watched Seventeen’s Follow Tour in Bangkok and she said her experience there was so good. She compared that experience to the ones she had here in the Philippines, which she described as “degrading.”

I agree with my friend. I get to watch concerts because of complimentary tickets and/or media passes so I don’t normally fall in line. But during the

times that I do, it’s really so degrading. Most Filipino fans are orderly and they follow instructions. I was once in line with politician Chiz Escudero at a Seventeen concert and he was asked by the guards to cut the line and go ahead but he refused (I know this is the bare minimum but kudos to him for refusing).

The regular concertgoers, however, were screamed at by security and treated like criminals. And I thought at that moment: “This isn’t right. No one who paid money to watch their favorites should be treated this way.” I understand that fans can be noisy, which probably annoys security and other concert venue personnel, but these concerts are very important to them.

They paid for their tickets with money they or their parents earned or even money they borrowed.

For many of them, this is the first time they are watching a concert. I know that concerts are not necessities or basic needs but it wouldn’t hurt anyone to treat people better, right? To be fair, most of those who don’t treat concertgoers well are staff of the venues or security hired for the event. The latter are most probably trained to be defensive so to them, a 98-pound female fan is a threat to national security.

This is just a suggestion but since concerts are now a big part of the entertainment industry, perhaps these security personnel can be retrained to be more people-friendly and less harsh to these fans.

Filipino fans are usually rule-abiding people.

When you tell them to fall in line, they will. No one will storm a barricade or gate. But perhaps there’s no need to make them fall in line from 12 to 2 pm outdoors when the sun is at its hottest.

Maybe they can be made to fall in line indoors, like fans are made to do so in countries, like Singapore.

To be fair, the concert promoters and their staff are

doing their best to make things more pleasant for concertgoers but maybe a little more effort beyond the bare minimum in areas like security and customer service is required, especially among the venue personnel.

The experiences I have had are so traumatizing that I never want to go back. Remember that these fans are the customers who help keep your business running. I know that promoters get more cash from sponsorships than ticket sales but without fans hyping the events, sponsors would not come in.

To those watching concerts in remote locations in the days and weeks ahead, here are some tips that could make your experience more bearable: ■ Bring tissue and wet wipes for restroom and sanitizing purposes.

■ You need a powerful portable fan. I use a brand called Jisu, which lasts the whole day.

■ If you’re going to Philippine Arena, leave early so you can get good parking spots. During the Bruno Mars concert, so many people were late. That’s because they left Quezon City at 4 pm and Nlex traffic was horrible. Take it from K-pop fans, they’re at the venue early (around 9 am and just sleep in their cars).

■ Make sure you have two SIM cards from different networks because signal is very spotty in these areas.

■ Wear your most comfortable shoes. There will be a lot of walking. I cannot imagine how those who wear heels survive.

■ Bring an extra shirt and deodorant. It’s very hot, even when it rains, and you want to always smell your best.

■ Enjoy and always stay safe. Watch your belongings, especially your mobile phones and wallets. ■

SOCIAL-MEDIA COMPANIES MADE $11 BILLION IN U.S. AD REVENUE FROM MINORS, HARVARD STUDY FINDS

BY BARBARA O�TUTAY AND HALELUYA HADERO The Associated Press SOCIAL-MEDIA companies collectively made over $11 billion in US advertising revenue from minors last year, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published on Wednesday.

The researchers say the findings show a need for government regulation of social media since the companies that stand to make money from children who use their platforms have failed to meaningfully self-regulate. They note such regulations, as well as greater transparency from tech companies, could help alleviate harms to youth mental health and curtail potentially harmful advertising practices that target children and adolescents.

To come up with the revenue figure, the researchers estimated the number of users under 18 on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube in 2022 based on population data from the US Census and survey data from Common Sense Media and Pew Research. They then used data from research firm eMarketer, now called Insider Intelligence, and Qustodio, a parental control app, to estimate each platform’s US ad revenue

in 2022 and the time children spent per day on each platform. After that, the researchers said they built a simulation model using the data to estimate how much ad revenue the platforms earned from minors in the US. Researchers and lawmakers have long focused on the negative effects stemming from social media platforms, whose personally-tailored algorithms can drive children towards excessive use. This year, lawmakers in states like New York and Utah introduced or passed legislation that would curb social media use among kids, citing harms to youth mental health and other concerns.

Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, is also being sued by dozens of states for allegedly contributing to the mental health crisis.

“Although social media platforms may claim that they can self-regulate their practices to reduce the harms to young people, they have yet to do so, and our study suggests they have overwhelming financial incentives to continue to delay taking meaningful steps to protect children,” said Bryn Austin, a professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard and a senior author on the study.

The platforms themselves don’t make public how

much money they earn from minors.

Social-media platforms are not the first to advertise to children, and parents and experts have long expressed concerns about marketing to kids online, on television and even in schools. But online ads can be especially insidious because they can be targeted to children and because the line between ads and the content kids seek out is often blurry.

In a 2020 policy paper, the American Academy of Pediatrics said children are “uniquely vulnerable to the persuasive effects of advertising because of immature critical thinking skills and impulse inhibition.”

“School-aged children and teenagers may be able to recognize advertising but often are not able to resist it when it is embedded within trusted social networks, encouraged by celebrity influencers, or delivered next to personalized content,” the paper noted.

As concerns about social media and children’s mental health grow, the Federal Trade Commission earlier this month proposed sweeping changes to a decades-old law that regulates how online companies can track and advertise to children. The proposed changes include turning off targeted ads to kids under 13 by default and limiting push notifications.

BEFORE deploying artificial intelligence (AI) both in business and governance, one must first assess the starting point and assess if there’s enough talent to run the process.

Kalyan Madala, chief technology officer, IBM Technology Business Unit, IBM ASEAN ZK, told journalists in an interview that organizations should not jump into the AI bandwagon unless they fully understand the value and responsibilities on the use of AI. “It would be more sufficient if one understands the value and the responsible use of AI, and the learning curve is an important element too,” Mandala said in an interview on the sidelines of the launching of its watsonx.governance solution in Makati City.

Jong Soterbo, technical service director, IBM Philippines, also stressed in the interview that organizations need to understand the dynamics of AI. He added that fear of the unknown is another factor that prevents people from exploring the potential of AI. For IBM, Soterbo said his team would immediately set up a meeting with potential clients so they could get familiarized with AI to explain its benefits. He said there are times when organizations are overwhelmed by the scope of AI and get intimidated. “They should not get into AI for the sake of using AI,” he said.

“Understanding and developing the mechanisms is important before deploying AI,” Madala added.

Soterbo said the education sector will have an important role to play in spreading awareness on the value of AI and the next generation of workers who will be in the forefront of AI and other new technologies. He added IBM is developing the procedures and laws to ensure people will use AI the right way.

Madala pointed out that IBM is also training people on how to create systems and put the guardrails in place. “Ethics, morality and the whole nine yards are the big things we need to do,” Madala pointed out.

Although machines can help people find information and data, he said the decision and articulation of values are best left to human beings.

“That is important for our company. Machines will get better. Algorithms will get better but humans will have to harness them for their benefit,” he said.

Madala stressed it is also vital to evaluate the risk and manage the impact of AI and get more comfortable with risk assessment and risk management. “Good governance goes hand-in-hand with good AI,” he said.

According to IBM, watsonx.governance provides organizations with the toolkit they need to manage risk, embrace transparency, and anticipate compliance with future AI-focused regulation. As businesses today are looking to innovate with AI, deploying a mix of LLMs from tech providers and open source communities, watsonx enables them to manage, monitor and govern models from wherever they choose.

Google settles $5 billion privacy lawsuit over tracking people using ‘incognito mode’ SAN FRANCISCO—Google has agreed to settle a $5 billion privacy lawsuit alleging that it spied on people who used the “incognito” mode in its Chrome browser—along with similar “private” modes in other browsers—to track their internet use.

The class-action lawsuit filed in 2020 said Google misled users into believing that it wouldn’t track their internet activities while using incognito mode. It argued that Google’s advertising technologies and other techniques continued to catalog details of users’ site visits and activities despite their use of supposedly “private” browsing.

Plaintiffs also charged that Google’s activities yielded an “unaccountable trove of information” about users who thought they’d taken steps to protect their privacy.

The settlement, reached on Thursday, must still be approved by a federal judge. Terms weren’t disclosed, but the suit originally sought $5 billion on behalf of users; lawyers for the plaintiffs said they expect to present the court with a final settlement agreement by February 24.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the settlement. AP

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • Saturday, January 6, 2024

25 years of googling T

WENTY-FIVE years ago, the world started to “google” everything and every search result became part of history.

It’s remarkable to think that Google has existed for a quarter of a century, but for those who have grown up and built careers in the internet age, the thought of navigating school and professional life without the world’s most trusted search engine seems almost unimaginable.

This year, Google’s annual Year in Search platform took a nostalgic turn, reflecting on the evolution of our queries and the trends that have shaped our digital journey. Google released a nearly fourminute video through its Google Brand Studio. The film was a montage of some of the most iconic and internet-breaking moments from the past 25 years, underscoring Google’s significant role in the history of search.

Key trends included global sports enthusiasm, with soccer and Cristiano Ronaldo at the forefront, and cultural icons like Taylor Swift and BTS dominating music searches. Art and science also featured prominently with Leonardo Da Vinci and Albert Einstein being the most searched in their fields. In entertainment, characters from Pikachu to Spider-Man, and diverse interests from pancakes to the Eiffel Tower, reflected the eclectic nature of global curiosity.

LOOKING BACK

MEANWHILE, for its 2023 Year in Search, the top global searches spanned significant news events like the war in Israel and Gaza, major natural disasters, and a wide array of entertainment choices, from popular movies, like Barbie, Oppenheimer and John Wick: Chapter 4, to varied musical tastes and TV shows, like The Last of Us and Wednesday. Notable personalities and athletes, like Damar Hamlin, Jeremy Renner and Kylian Mbappé garnered significant interest, while farewells to figures like Matthew Perry, Sinéad O’Connor, Ken Block, Jerry Springer and Tina Turner resonated deeply.

In the Philippines, the focus was on SIM registration due to new legislation, precinct finder, persona non grata, Nipah virus and the annoyingly popular toy lato-lato. Major international events, like the Israel-Hamas conflict, also captured attention.

Among male personalities, Ahn Bo-hyun, Mackenyu, and Marco Gumabao were highly searched, along with international stars, like Taylor Lautner, Travis Kelce and Liam Hemsworth. Filipino actors David Licauco and Juan Karlos, Kyle Kuzma and Chen Zhe Yuan, also made the list, reflecting a diverse range of interests in celebrities. For female personalities, Katy Louise Saunders, Cristine Reyes and Millie Bobby Brown were among the top searches. They were joined by Lee Da-in, Issa Pressman and Janna Dominguez, as well as Bada Lee,

Jenna Ortega, Emily Rudd and Isabel Santos.

The influence of streaming services is evident, with many TV shows and movies from these platforms appearing in the year’s top searches.

Surprisingly, the breakup of the loveteam “KathNiel” failed to make the list despite leaving their legions of fans depressed for the remainder of the holiday season. The Philippines proved that it is still a basketball country as Pinoys typed Lakers vs.

Warriors, Lakers vs. Nuggets and the FIBA World Cup repeatedly in their search bars. In music, songs like “Say You Won’t Let Go” and “ERE” topped the list.

The year also saw farewells to beloved local personalities, with searches for Mike Enriquez, Joey Paras, Patrick Guzman, Mario Dumaual and John Regala, reflecting a year of notable passings.

Korean series continued to be a significant trend, with Duty After School, Moving and The Glory topping the list. Other popular series included Twinkling Watermelon, King the Land and My Lovely Liar, Strong Girl Nam-soon, Alchemy of Souls, Island and A Time Called You also featured prominently, proving our devotion to K-dramas.

LOOKING FORWARD

TWENTY-TWENTY three was a very busy year for smartphone brands and it looks like it’s going to be even busier, with more affordable phones, fresh flagships and folding phones, there’s no shortage of exciting upcoming phones on the horizon.

There are already several confirmed launches happening in the next few weeks. The OnePlus 12 is expected to launch this month and based on its China debut, it’s a true-blooded flagship, with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU, as much as 24GB of memory and 1TB storage. The 6.82in AMOLED screen will also have a ridiculous peak brightness of 4500 nits, and the huge 5400mAh battery can manage 100W wired charging or 50W wireless top-ups.

HONOR is also expected to launch its ultra-durable HONOR X9b 5G next week and social media has been erupting with all sorts of smash and drop tests.

Besides its All-Angle Ultra Tough feature, the HONOR

X9b 5G also boasts of a “Rolex-inspired” design and vegan leather finish. The Sunrise Orange hero color adds vibrancy to its aesthetic, complementing the SGS Five-star Overall Drop Resistance Certification of the Ultra-Bounce Anti-Drop Display. The upcoming phone also has a 108MP camera, an enhanced storage capacity of 12GB + 256GB, and a 4nm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor. The launch is set for January 12, 2024.

Xiaomi fans also have something to look forward to as the brand released a teaser for its Redmi Note 13 series. The launch is scheduled for January 15, 2024 with the hashtag #EveryShotIconic teasing its 200MP cameras. Though we have yet to confirm the official variants which will land in the Philippines, it’s likely that we can expect the Redmi Note 13, Redmi Note 13 Pro and Redmi Note 13 Pro+.

The top-tier Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G is rumored to have a 200MP main camera, 16GB RAM and up to 512GB storage and a 5000mAh battery that supports 120W fast charging. As for the display, it is expected to have a curved 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED with a 1.5k resolution and 1800 nits peak brightness, Dolby Vision and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection. It will be powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Ultra processor with 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

want a more appealing keyboard than those dull black ones issued by their office. It’s also made with more than 45 percent recycled plastic.

The combo includes two products: the Pebble Keys 2 K380s keyboard and the Pebble Mouse 2 M350s. The Pebble Keys 2 K380s is designed to enhance the typing experience with its rounded keys that feature gentle indentations, offering a typing sensation similar to that of a laptop. This, combined with the keyboard’s slim profile, makes for an ergonomic and comfortable typing experience. Additionally, Logitech has incorporated its exclusive Silent Touch Technology in the Pebble Keys 2, significantly reducing the sound of keystrokes. While this might not appeal to those who prefer the audible feedback of gaming keyboards, it’s an ideal feature for those in quieter environments like offices or libraries.

The keyboard is further enhanced with a set of Fn shortcut keys at the top, which provide expedited access to various functions such as search engines, screen capture tools, and an emoji menu. These keys can be customized for different functions or applications using the Logi Options Plus app, allowing for quick launching of frequently used programs.

The Pebble Mouse 2 shares several features, including the Silent Touch Technology. This technology effectively reduces clicking noise by 90 percent compared to the Logitech M186 Wireless Mouse, and the mouse also offers customization through the Logi Options Plus app, particularly for the middle button, enabling users to set shortcuts for favorite apps or common actions like minimizing all windows.

Both the keyboard and the mouse are designed for compatibility with a variety of operating systems, including Windows, macOS, iPadOS, iOS, and Android, and connect via Bluetooth. The Easy-Switch buttons on each device allow for seamless transition between connected devices. The Pebble Keys 2 boasts an impressive battery life of up to 36 months, 50 percent longer than its predecessor, while the Pebble Mouse 2 offers up to 24 months of usage on a single charge.

If you are looking for a new mouse and keyboard that looks quite stylish yet affordable, and you love the typing sensation of working on a laptop, the Logitech Pebble Combo 2 is something you should look into. ■

LOGITECH PEBBLE 2 COMBO QUICK REVIEW

I GOT myself a new keyboard and mouse combo just before the holidays because several keys on my laptop have already faded. I decided to get the Logitech Pebble 2 Combo because of its color options, slim minimalist design, and reasonable price, which also makes it a great option for students and those who

‘The New York Times’ sues OpenAI and Microsoft for using its stories to train chatbots

BY HALELUYA HADERO AND DAVID BAUDE� The Associated Press NEW YORK—The New York Times is striking back against the threat that artificial intelligence poses to the news industry, filing a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against OpenAI and Microsoft seeking to end the practice of using its stories to train chatbots.

The Times says the companies are threatening its livelihood by effectively stealing billions of dollars worth of work by its journalists, in some cases spitting out Times’ material verbatim to people who seek answers from generative artificial intelligence like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The newspaper’s lawsuit was filed in federal court in Manhattan and follows what appears to be a breakdown in talks between the newspaper and the two companies, which began in April.

The media has already been pummeled by a migration of readers to online platforms. While many publications—most notably the Times—have

successfully carved out a digital space, the rapid development of AI threatens to significantly upend the publishing industry.

Web traffic is an important component of the paper’s advertising revenue and helps drive subscriptions to its online site. But the outputs from AI chatbots divert that traffic away from the paper and other copyright holders, the Times says, making it less likely that users will visit the original source for the information.

“These bots compete with the content they are trained on,” said Ian B. Crosby, partner and lead counsel at Susman Godfrey, which is representing the Times.

An OpenAI spokesman said in a prepared statement that the company respects the rights of content creators and is “committed” to working with them to help them benefit from the technology and new revenue models. “Our ongoing conversations with the New York Times have been productive and moving forward constructively, so we are surprised

and disappointed with this development,” the spokesperson said. “We’re hopeful that we will find a mutually beneficial way to work together, as we are doing with many other publishers.”

Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment.

Artificial intelligence companies scrape information available online, including articles published by news organizations, to train generative AI chatbots. The large language models are also trained on a huge trove of other human-written materials, which helps them to build a strong command of language and grammar and to answer questions correctly.

But the technology is still under development and gets many things wrong. In its lawsuit, for example, the Times said OpenAI’s GPT-4 falsely attributed product recommendations to Wirecutter, the paper’s product reviews site, endangering its reputation.

OpenAI and other AI companies, including rival Anthropic, have attracted billions of dollars in

investments very rapidly since public and business interest in the technology exploded, particularly this year.

Microsoft has a partnership with OpenAI that allows it to capitalize on the company’s AI technology.

The Redmond, Washington, tech giant is also OpenAI’s biggest backer and has invested at least $13 billion into the company since the two began their partnership in 2019, according to the lawsuit. As part of the agreement, Microsoft’s supercomputers help power OpenAI’s AI research and the tech giant integrates the startup’s technology into its products.

The paper’s complaint comes as the number of lawsuits filed against OpenAI for copyright infringement is growing. The company has been sued by several writers—including comedian Sarah Silverman—who say their books were ingested to train OpenAI’s AI models without their permission.

In June, more than 4,000 writers signed a letter to the CEOs of OpenAI and other tech companies accusing them of exploitative practices in building chatbots.

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Sports BusinessMirror

A10 Saturday, January 6, 2024

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | Editor: Jun Lomibao

PSA honors Filipinas as ‘Golden Lady Booters’ T HE national women’s football team turned a long-cherished dream into reality in 2023.

The Filipinas made history by qualifying for the first time for the FIFA Women’s World Cup—the grandest stage for the women’s version of the “beautiful game.”

The team made the stint more memorable with an epic 1-0 upset of co-host New Zealand in the group stage.

While the Filipinas fell short of advancing to the knockout stage, the sheer pride and joy their glorious campaign brought to the country will forever be remembered for many generations to come.

In recognition of their remarkable

effort, the Filipinas will be honored with the “Golden Lady Booters” Special Award during the San Miguel Corp.-Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards Night at the grand ballroom of the Diamond Hotel on January 29.

The annual tradition of honoring the cream of the crop of local sports is presented by ArenaPlus, your 24/7 sports app in the country, while the major sponsors are Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, PLDT/Smart and Milo.

Also backing the event mounted by the country’s oldest media organization led by its president Nelson Beltran, sports editor of The Philippine Star, are Philippine Basketball Association, Premier

Volleyball League, Rain or Shine and 1-Pacman Partylist of Rep. Mikee Romero.

As early as 2022, the Filipinas already trekked the road to history when they earned a spot in the FIFA Women’s World Cup after reaching the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Asian Cup. They were not satisfied though just by reaching football’s biggest tournament as they later proved that they, too, are among the world’s best.

Initially losing their debut match against 20th-ranked Sweden, 2-0, the Filipinas, managed by Jefferson Cheng and coached by Allen Stajcic, were not about to be disappointed.

The team bounced back the best way possible in its next match against

New Zealand played before a roaring crowd of 32,357 fans at the Wellington Regional Stadium.

Sarina Bolden proved to be the thorn to the Football Ferns as she etched her name in Philippine football history by scoring the breakthrough goal in the 24th minute off a header which Kiwi goalie Victoria Esson failed to deflect.

Unfortunately, the celebration ended there as the Filipinas absorbed a 6-0 beating at the hands of Norway in Auckland and bowed out of contention for a place in the knockout stage.

THE Filipinas during their historic stint at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.

Malixi looks back to ‘near misses,’ eyes better 2024

GAP taps ‘Mune’ for men’s nat’l artistic squad

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IANNE MALIXI considers her performance in a year marked by “near-misses” as “solid” while expressing determination to elevate her game further and aiming for greater achievements abroad in the new season.

While contemplating a future with Duke University for her college endeavors, Malixi isn’t dismissing the possibility of venturing into the professional ranks sooner than planned.

Recapping her 2023 season, the International Container Terminal Services Inc.-backed shotmaker describes it as a year of “almosts,” acknowledging fewer victories compared to the previous year but highlighting consistent top 10 finishes in 14 global ranking tournaments.

“I’d say I had a pretty solid campaign in 2023. I’d summarize it as a year of ‘almosts,’” said Malixi.

“Even if I didn’t win as many events compared to 2022, I performed well, finishing inside the Top 10 in most events I played in.”

Though still without a major victory, Malixi has won two American Junior Golf Association tournaments, placed fourth in last year’s Junior World in San Diego and has racked up four victories on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

She also shared being tantalizingly close to clinching certain events, notably her runnerup effort in the US Girls’ Junior Championship.

“There were events that I was so close to winning them,” added the 16-year-old rising star, referring to her second-place finish in the US Girls’ in Colorado.

Concluding the season at No. 62 in the world’s women’s amateur ranking, Malixi recognizes the roller coaster nature of her international performances but emphasizes delivering her best showing in the US.

By Josef Ramos

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POWER OR NO POWER: BASKETBALL NEVER STOPS (AND SO DO TRADITIONAL CHILDREN’S GAMES)

PLDT nabs Fajardo to complement Dimaculangan

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LDT added decorated setter Kim Fajardo to complement Rhea Dimaculangan, the team announced on Friday.

Fajardo, a six-time best setter, guided F2 Logistics to multiple championships in the now-defunct league.

After seven years with the team,

the former De La Salle ace is embarking on a new chapter following the disbandment of the Cargo Movers but is eagerly looking forward.

“I am challenged by a new system, I still want to learn,” the 30-yearold playmaker out of Calatagan in Batangas said.

The past few years have been

Pistorius due to be released from jail

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APE TOWN, South Africa— Oscar Pistorius is due to be released from prison Friday to live under strict conditions at a family home having served nearly nine years of a murder sentence for the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The double-amputee Olympic runner from South Africa is set to leave the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria after being approved for parole in November, the second time he had applied.

It will give the world a chance at its first glimpse in nearly a decade of the one-time sporting superstar who stunningly fell from grace after shooting Steenkamp multiple times through a closed toilet door at his home in the predawn hours of Valentine’s Day 2013.

South Africa’s Department of Corrections declined to give any detail of when and how Pistorius would

be released, saying “inmates and parolees are never paraded.” Pistorius’ public profile “does not make him different from other inmates nor warrant inconsistent treatment,” the Department of Corrections said in a statement Wednesday.

Pistorius, 37, is expected to initially reside at his uncle’s luxurious mansion in the upscale Pretoria suburb of Waterkloof, where he lived during his dramatic murder trial and was held under house arrest for a period from 2015-2016. On Thursday, bright yellow traffic barriers had been placed across a road leading to his uncle’s house, possibly in preparation for Pistorius’ arrival.

The multiple Paralympic champion will live under correctional supervision until the remainder of his murder sentence of 13 years and five months expires in December 2029, the Department of Corrections said.

Serious offenders in South Africa

challenging for Fajardo, who suffered numerous injuries.

With PLDT, she aims not only to regain her health but also to lead the franchise to its first professional title.

“I want to bring myself back to what I used to be, with proper mindset and the guidance of my new coaches and teammates,” she said.

THE power outage on Panay Island won’t stop the men from shooting hoops and children playing traditional games on the shoreline of Barangay Calaparan in Iloilo City. COURTESY OF ARNOLD ALMACEN/ILOILO CITY MAYOR’S OFFICE Former F2 players also found their new homes—Dawn Macandili and Jov Fernandez (Cignal), Ivy Lacsina (Nxled), Ara Galang and Aby Marano (Chery Tiggo) and Joy Dacoron (Petro Gazz).

Tapales catches up with family, expects to return to ring in May

M OSCAR PISTORIUS gets his request for parole approved last November. AP are eligible for parole after serving at least half of their sentence, which Pistorius has done.

Pistorius has maintained that he shot Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law graduate, by mistake. He testified that he believed Steenkamp was a dangerous intruder hiding in his bathroom and shot through the door multiple times with his licensed 9 mm pistol in self-defense. AP

ARLON “THE NIGHTMARE” TAPALES returned home on Friday from Tokyo where he lost his two world titles to Japanese “Monster” Naoya Inoue just last week.

He’s potentially lined up for a bounce back fight in May. “We want him [Tapales] to fight here in Manila for his comeback fight maybe in a casino or hotel,” promoter JC Mananquil told BusinessMirror.

“He [Tapales] will stay here in the Philippines for now and return to training next month,” Mananquil said. “He’s focusing now on his family after many months of fight preparation.”

Tapales lost via 10th-round knockout to Inoue last December

26 in Tokyo and in the process lost the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association super bantamweight belts he took from former champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev in San Antonio, Texas, last April.

Tapales (37-4 win-loss record with 19 knockouts) became the first Filipino unified world champion before surrendering the belts to the undefeated Inoue (26-0 record with 23 knockouts).

Inoue also holds the World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Council super bantamweight championships.

Tapales, 31, is expected to resume training at the Sanman Gym in General Santos City.

UNEHIRO KUGIYAMA’S no longer world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo’s personal coach but he’s not saying goodbye to the country for good.

Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) tapped Kugiyama, who’s credited for Yulo’s rise as an elite gymnast, as trainer and coach of the national men’s artistic team.

GAP president Cynthia Carrion told BusinessMirror on Friday that Kugiyama agreed to train Yulo’s younger brother Karl Eldrew Yulo and Cambodia Southeast Asian Games gold winners Juan Miguel Besana and John Ivan Cruz.

“Coach Mune will be coaching and train Eldrew, Miguel and Ivan, except for Caloy,” Carrion-Norton said. “He will prepare them for the SEA Games, Asian Games and other competitions.

She added: “Coach Mune said it’s possible, and doable.”

Yulo, a two-time world and six-time Asian champion, will be trained by another Japanese coach, Tomoharu Sano, for his Olympics stint in Paris later this year.

Carrion said she would ask the Philippine Sports Commission to renew Kugiyama’s contracts.

“We have to give our gymnasts a chance and we’re happy that Coach Mune agreed,” Carrrion-Norton said.

“I also want our other gymnasts to qualify for the Olympics, not only Carlos and Aleah [Finnegan]. It’s better that they have companions.”

Finnegan, the 2021 Vietnam Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in vault, is also Paris-bound like Carlos Yulo, who qualified for Paris during in the world championships in Antwerp, Belgium, last October.

She said Besana and Cruz, and female gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar will also try to qualify for Paris in the World Cups set February to April in Cottbus in Germany, Baku in Azerbaijan and Doha in Qatar.

Kugiyama, who steered Yulo two 15 other gold medals overseas including his Olympic qualification in Tokyo two years ago, spent the holidays conducting clinics in Manila before flying to Tokyo on Thursday.

Eldrew Yulo, who swept the gold medals in Palarong Pambansa in Marikina City last July and Batang Pinoy in Manila, said Kugiyama motivates them to excel.

“I’ll focus on investing the money I earned for the future of my family,” said Tapales, as he reunited with wife Jaycee Sheen and twoyear-old daughter Kaya Valerie in Lanao del Norte after almost a year of training abroad.

He won’t say how much he earned in Tokyo but hinted it was his biggest paycheck since turning professional in 2008.

“I will just wait for the instructions of my promoter, but I will be back in my conditioning next month,” he said. “For now, it’s all about family.” Josef Ramos

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

TheWorld BusinessMirror

Saturday, January 6, 2024 A11

Houthis launch sea drone to attack ships hours after US, allies issue final warning

By Tara Copp

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The Associated Press

ASHINGTON—An armed unmanned surface vessel launched from Houthicontrolled Yemen got within a “couple of miles” of US Navy and commercial vessels in the Red Sea before detonating on Thursday, just hours after the White House and a host of partner nations issued a final warning to the Iran-backed militia group to cease the attacks or face potential military action.

Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Navy operations in the Middle East, said it was the first time the Houthis had used an unmanned surface vessel, or USV, since their harassment of commercial ships in the Red Sea began after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. They have, however, used them in years past.

Fabian Hinz, a missile expert and research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic

Studies, said the USV’s are a key part of the Houthi maritime arsenal and were used during previous battles against the Saudi coalition forces that intervened in Yemen’s war. They have regularly been used as suicide drone boats that explode upon impact.

Most of the Houthis’ USVs are likely assembled in Yemen but often fitted with components made in Iran, such as computerized guidance systems, Hinz said.

US Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who heads the Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, speaks at an event at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 21, 2023. The top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East says Yemen’s Houthi rebels are showing no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. But Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said in an Associated Press interview on Saturday that more nations are joining the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway and trade traffic is beginning to pick up. AP/JON GAMBRELL

At the United Nations, US deputy ambassador Christopher Lu said at a emergency Security Council meeting on Wednesday that Iran has supplied the Houthis with money and advanced weapons systems, including drones, land attack cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. He said Iran also has been deeply involved in planning the Houthis’ attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. He said the United States isn’t seeking a confrontation with Iran, but Tehran has a choice.

“It can continue its current course,” Lu said, “or it can withhold its support without which the Houthis would struggle to effectively track and strike commercial vessels navigating shipping lanes through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.”

This raises questions as to whether any action against the Houthis would also address Iran’s role in any way, which could risk widening the conflict.

A statement Wednesday signed by the United States, Australia,

Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom gave the Houthis what a senior Biden administration official described as a final warning.

“Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews,” the countries said in the statement. “The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways.”

Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder would not say whether any military action would follow Thursday’s launch of the sea drone.

“I’ll let the statement speak for itself, which, again, represented many nations around the world and highlighted that if these strikes don’t stop, there will be consequences,” Ryder said.

Since late October, the Houthis have launched scores of one-way attack drones and missiles at commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea. US Navy warships have also intercepted ballistic missiles the Pentagon says were headed toward Israel. Cooper said a total of 61 missiles and drones have been shot down by US warships.

In response to the Houthi attacks, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in December announced Operation Prosperity Guardian, with the United States and other countries sending additional ships to the southern Red Sea to provide protection for commercial vessels passing through the critical Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Cooper said 1,500 commercial ships have been able to transit safely since the operation was launched on December 18.

However, the Houthis have continued to launch missiles and attack drones, prompting the White House and 12 allies to issue what amounted to a final warning Wednesday to cease their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea or face potential targeted military action.

Cooper said Operation Prosperity Guardian was solely defensive in nature and separate from any military action the US might take if the Houthi attacks continue.

The US, United Kingdom and France are providing most of the warships now, and Greece and Denmark will also be providing vessels, he said.

The Associated Press writer Jack Jeffery in London and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Israel defense head lays out vision for next steps of Gaza war ahead of Blinken visit

By Najib Jobain, Julia Frankel & Jack Jeffery

The Associated Press

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AFAH, Gaza Strip—Israel’s defense minister on Thursday laid out his vision for the next phase of the war in Gaza, describing how Israeli forces would shift to an apparently scaled-down “ new combat approach” in northern Gaza, while continuing to fight Hamas in the south of the territory “for as long as necessary.”

Ahead of a visit by the US secretary of state, Yoav Gallant also outlined a proposal for how Gaza would be run once Hamas is defeated, with Israel keeping security control while an undefined, Israeli-guided Palestinian body runs day-to-day administration, and the US and other countries oversee rebuilding.

Israel has come under heavy international pressure to spell out a post-war vision but so far has not done so. The issue is likely to be on the agenda in Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s talks this weekend in Israel and other countries in the region. The United States has pressed Israel to shift to lower-intensity military operations in Gaza that more precisely

target Hamas, after nearly three devastating months of bombardment and ground assaults.

The vagueness of many of Gallant’s provisions made it difficult to assess how much they mesh with the US calls.

The document issued by Gallant was titled a “vision for Phase 3” of the war, and Gallant’s office said the phase had not yet begun. It also said the ideas were Gallant’s and not official policy, which would have to be set by Israel’s war and security cabinets.

Gallant, who is a member of both cabinets, may be aiming to put his personal plan before the Americans ahead of others in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, which includes hard-right members likely to want a tougher approach.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 22,400 people, more than two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamasrun territory. The ministry’s count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after its October 7 attack, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted around 240 others.

Much of northern Gaza, which

troops invaded two months ago, has been flattened beyond recognition. Associated Press footage from Gaza City showed people wandering through a shattered landscape with large fields of broken concrete and splintered wood and streets lined with toppled buildings.

With the focus now in the south, Israeli forces are battling Hamas militants in the city of Khan Younis and in urban refugee camps in the center of the territory.

Some 85 percent of Gaza’s 2.3

million people have been driven from their homes and squeezed into smaller slivers of the territory.

Israel’s siege of the territory has caused a humanitarian crisis, with a quarter of the population starving because not enough supplies are entering, according to the UN. At the same time, airstrikes and shelling across Gaza continue to destroy houses, burying families taking shelter inside.

An Israeli strike Thursday flattened a home in Muwasi, a small rural strip on Gaza’s southern

coastline that Israel’s military had declared a safe zone. The blast killed at least 12 people, Palestinian hospital officials said. The dead included a man and his wife, seven of their children and three other children ranging in age from 5 to 14, according to a list of the dead who arrived at Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis.

There was no immediate response from Israel’s military.

Gallant’s vision

GALLANT’S statement underlined

that the war would go on until Hamas’ military and government capabilities are eliminated and the more than 100 hostages still in captivity are returned.

In the north, the statement said, forces will shift to a new approach that includes raids, destruction of tunnels, “air and ground activities and special operations.” The aim would be “the erosion” of the remaining Hamas presence.

Continued on A12

TheWorld BusinessMirror

A12 Saturday, January 6, 2024

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Court records bring new, unwanted attention to rich and famous in Epstein’s social circle

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By The Associated Press

THE records also contain fleeting references to Leslie Wexner, the retail titan behind Victoria’s Secret, The Limited and other store chains. Epstein had managed Wexner’s money for years, but their relationship soured following Epstein’s 2006 arrest in Florida and jail term for paying an underage girl for a sexual act.

After Epstein was indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges and killed himself in jail, Wexner said he had been embarrassed by his ties to Epstein. He also publicly accused Epstein of misappropriating “vast sums” of his fortune but didn’t offer details.

clude mentions of Giuffre’s allegations and a transcript of a deposition in which she was questioned

by Maxwell ’s attorneys about whether she made up some of her stories about powerful men to impress reporters.

Giuffre insisted she was telling the truth, and that inaccuracies in some of her published interviews were the fault of reporters.

The unsealed court papers also included a more detailed version of a well-known story by one of Epstein’s victims, Johanna Sjoberg, who described an evening at his New York home involving Giuffre, Maxwell and Prince Andrew.

At one point, she testified, they pulled out a puppet of Prince Andrew that had been made for a British television program.

“And they decided to take a picture with it, in which Virginia and Andrew sat on a couch,” Sjoberg said. They put the puppet on Virginia’s lap, and I sat on Andrew’s lap, and they put the puppet’s hand on Virginia’s breast, and Andrew put his hand on my breast, and they took a photo.”

Alan Dershowitz

Bill Clinton

EW YORK—Before and after he was exposed as a pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein loved to mingle with the world’s elite.

The millionaire invited politicians and academics to his private island and luxury homes. He offered celebrities rides on his private jet. He and his girlfriend, the socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, hung out with princes and supermodels.

They made donations that brought them into contact with leading philanthropists.

After Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in 2019, many of those people have apologized for associating with him and said they were unaware he was habitually abusing underage girls.

Newly released court records have revved up interest again in the big names who associated with Epstein and Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison term for helping recruit and abuse Epstein’s victims.

Many of those people have never been accused of any wrongdoing, but have nonetheless become the subject of a whirlwind of conspiracy theories. Others have, for years, been denying claims made by one of Epstein’s victims—Virginia Giuffre—that they participated in illicit sex.

Here is a look at some of the people who have been getting renewed attention because of the release of the documents, which included deposition testimony by Epstein’s victims, people who worked for him, Giuffre and Maxwell.

Jean-Luc Brunel

THE court records contain repeated references to Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and close friend of Epstein who killed himself in a Paris jail in 2022 while awaiting trial on charges that he raped underage girls. Brunel was accused by Giuffre and others of using promises of modeling work to induce people, including minors, into sexual encounters.

Brunel’s estate was sued this week in California by a woman who alleges that he and others sexually assaulted her while she was working as a model in New York. She says that on one occasion, she was driven to a home in Canada and kept there for several days while men abused her.

Brunel’s attorneys have maintained his innocence, saying his suicide “was not guided by guilt but by a deep sentiment of injustice.”

Leslie Wexner

AMONG the more familiar names in the records is Alan Dershowitz, a former Epstein attorney and retired Harvard University law professor. Giuffre had long accused Dershowitz of sexually abusing her a half-dozen times in Florida, New York, New Mexico and the US Virgin Islands.

But Giuffre withdrew her claim against Dershowitz in 2022, saying she “ may have made a mistake “ in identifying him as one of the men she had sex with at the request of Epstein or Maxwell. “I was very young at the time,” she said, and “it was a very stressful and traumatic environment.” Dershowitz said at the time that she deserved credit for acknowledging her error.

Prince Andrew

SOME of the most sensational allegations have involved Britain’s Prince Andrew, who was a longtime friend of Maxwell’s and continued visiting Epstein even after his imprisonment in Florida for a sex crime.

Giuffre sued the prince in 2021, claiming that when she was 17 she had sex with him multiple times at Maxwell’s request.

Andrew denied her claims, saying he didn’t remember ever meeting her. The allegations damaged his public standing and led Andrew to withdraw from some royal duties.

Giuffre and Andrew settled the lawsuit in 2022 without it ever going to trial.

The newly released records in-

THE former president flew several times on Epstein’s private jet, and once publicly praised the financier’s intellect and philanthropic efforts.

Sjoberg testified in her deposition that, while she never met Clinton, Epstein once remarked to her that “Clinton likes them young.” She took the remark as a reference to young women or girls.

Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing, though, by any of Epstein’s victims. He has previously said through a spokesperson that while he traveled on Epstein’s jet he never visited his homes, had no knowledge of his crimes and hasn’t spoken to Epstein since his Florida conviction.

Ot her documents released included legal arguments over whether Clinton should be deposed. Giuffre’s attorneys argued the former president was a “key person who can provide information about his close relationship” with Epstein.

Donald Trump

THE records briefly mention former President Donald Trump, who socialized with Epstein but also is not accused of misconduct. Video footage unearthed by NBC News following Epstein’s federal indictment in 2019 showed the two chatting at a party at Trump’s Mar-aLago estate in 1992.

The video had been recorded as part of a profile of Trump, who was newly divorced at the time. It shows the future president surrounded by young women, whom

NBC identified as cheerleaders for the Buffalo Bills.

Later in the video, Epstein arrives at Trump’s Florida estate, and the two men are seen talking and gesturing at the women on the dance floor.

“I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” Trump said when the video emerged. “He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years.”

Stephen Hawking

THE new records include a single reference to the late theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. His name appears, misspelled, in an email Epstein sent proposing a reward be paid to anyone who could debunk a baseless claim that Hawking had participated in “an underage orgy.”

Hawking, who died in 2018, had attended one of Epstein’s academic gatherings in 2006.

Glenn Dubin

THE records include a claim from Giuffre that she was pressured to have sex with billionaire Glenn Dubin, a claim he denies. Giuffre said in a deposition that Maxwell “told me to go to Glenn Dubin and give him a massage, which means sex.”

Dubin has said he has flight records and other evidence proving Giuffre’s allegations against him are false.

Epstein dated Eva AnderssonDubin, a former Miss Sweden, off and on in the mid-1980s, and the two remained friends after breaking up. Andersson-Dubin later married Dubin with whom she had three children. Andersson-Dubin testified in Maxwell’s federal trial, saying she trusted Epstein with her young daughters and denying taking part in a group sexual encounter with a key accuser.

Bill Richardson

GIUFFRE also claims she was pressured to have sex with former US ambassador and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. The new documents include a few mentions of Richardson, including a deposition in which Giuffre says she had been ordered to give him a massage.

Richardson, who died last year, previously said that Giuffre’s claims were fabricated. A spokesperson in 2019 denied that he had ever met Giuffre.

George Mitchell

FOR MER US Senator George Mitchell was also among the men Giuffre claims abused her. Like Richardson, Mitchell also denied ever meeting her. The new records contain little mention of Mitchell.

Vatican says no heresy in allowing blessings for same-sex couples after bishops’ pushback

By Frances D’emilio The Associated Press

R

OME—After pushback by some bishops in Africa, Poland and elsewhere, the Vatican on Thursday defended the recent move by Pope Francis to allow blessings for same-sex couples, insisting there is nothing “heretical” involved.

In a five-page statement, the Holy See’s office to safeguard doctrinal orthodoxy expressed understanding that some bishops’ conferences need more time for “pastoral reflection” on the pontiff ’s formal approval for such blessings.

But “there is no room to distance ourselves doctrinally” from the Declaration about the blessings “or to consider it heretical, contrary to the Tradition of the Church or blasphemous,’’ said the statement by the office, formally called the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The new rule of blessings came last month in the form of a declaration, an important Catholic Church document.

Some bishops immediately said they wouldn’t implement the new policy.

“Prudence and attention to the ecclesial context and to the local culture could allow for different methods of application” of the new blessings rule, “but not a total or definitive denial of this path that it proposed to priests,” Thursday’s statement said.

Still, the orthodoxy watchdog office on Thursday acknowledged that in situations where “there are laws that condemn the mere act of declaring oneself as a homosexual with prison and in some cases with torture and even death, it goes without saying that a blessing would be imprudent.” It added: “It is clear that the Bishops do not wish to expose homosexual persons to violence.”

However, the statement called it “vital” that these bishops’ conferences “do not support a doctrine different from that of the Declaration signed by the pope.”

Thursday’s statement took pains to stress the Vatican’s position that “remains firm on the traditional doctrine of the Church about marriage, not allowing any type of liturgical rite or blessing similar to a liturgical rite that can create confusion.”

The pontiff ’s approval reversed a 2021 policy by the

Vatican’s doctrine office, which barred such blessings on the grounds that God “does not and cannot bless sin.”

The Vatican holds that gay people must be treated with dignity and respect, but that gay sex is “intrinsically disordered.”

Catholic teaching says that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and woman, is part of God’s plan and is intended for the sake of creating new life.

Zambia’s bishops’ conference said same-sex couple blessings were “not for implementation in Zambia.” The bishops’ conference of Malawi said “ blessings of any kind ” for “same-sex unions of any kind ” would not be permitted.

In Zambia, gay sex is punishable by between 15 years and life in prison and the law puts it in the same section as bestiality. Malawi’s laws call for up to 14 years in prison for homosexual sex, with the option of corporal punishment for those convicted.

Zambian bishops said there should be “further reflection” on the blessings and cited the country’s laws against homosexuality and its “cultural heritage” that rejects same-sex relationships as reasons for its decision.

Francis in his papacy has made a decade-long effort to make the church a more welcoming place for the LGBTQ+ community. But his approach continues to spark resistance among traditionalist and conservative Catholic leaders.

Thursday’s statement stressed that the Vatican was allowing “short and simple pastoral blessings.” “ T his non-ritualized form of blessing, w ith the simplicit y and brev it y of its for m, d o e s not i nt e nd t o j u s t i f y any thing that is not morally accept able,’’ t he d ic a ster y ’s statement said.

The statement was signed off by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, an Argentine prelate who is a theological adviser to Francis.

It concluded by saying that in some places, some “catechesis will be necessary that can help everyone to understand that these types of blessings are not an endorsement of the life led by those who request them” nor an “absolution, as these gestures are far from being a sacrament or a rite.”

Israel defense head lays out vision for next steps of Gaza war ahead of Blinken visit Continued from A11

There was no word whether northern Gaza’s population, which has almost entirely been driven south, would be allowed to return.

The statement did not clarify how the new approach would differ from current operations, but Gallant has previously said it would be a lower scale. Israel began last week to withdraw some troops from northern Gaza, where the military says it has largely gained operational control after weeks of heavy fighting with Hamas. Still, Gallant has said several thousand Hamas fighters remain there.

In the south, he said, fighting would continue “as long as

is deemed necessary.”

After the war, the statement said, Israel will keep security control, taking military action in Gaza when necessary to ensure there are no threats and maintaining inspections of all goods entering the territory.

Gallant said there would be no Israeli civilians in Gaza, ruling out calls by some in Israel’s far-right for a return of Jewish settlers to the territory.

Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year presence.

Palestinian entities—apparently local civil servants or communal leaders— would run the territory, with Israel providing “information to guide

civilian operations,” the statement said without elaborating.

A multinational task force, led by the US, would be in charge of rebuilding.

The apparent picture of an Israeli-dominated Palestinian administration for Gaza differs starkly from US calls for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to take control of the territory and a start to new negotiations toward creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have rejected that idea.

Fears of wider war

AN apparent Israeli strike that killed a top Hamas leader in Beirut has stirred fresh fears that

the conflict could expand into other parts of the Middle East— a prospect that is also likely to be high on Blinken’s agenda.

The killing of Saleh Arouri prompted warnings of retaliation from Hamas’ ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.

But t here was no immed iate esca lation in the dai ly exchanges of rocket fire and shells between Hezbollah and the Israeli military over the two countries’ border. Regional tensions climbed as a US airstrike killed an Iranian-backed militia leader in Iraq and as Yemen’s Houthi rebels continued attacks on ships in key Red Sea shipping lanes.

At the same time, Israel has

stepped up warnings of tougher military action against Hezbollah unless it pulls its fighters out of the border region, as called for under a UN-brokered 2006 cease-fire. Israel says that is the only way tens of thousands of Israelis who evacuated from communities in the north can return.

Gallant said Thursday that there was a “short window of time” for diplomacy with Hezbollah. But he said Israel was determined to bring about “a new reality in the northern arena, which will enable the secure return of our citizens.”

Frankel reported from Jerusalem, Jeffery from Cairo.

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

7 PRIME TECH, INC. 10/f Ewestpod, Eton Westend Square, Yakal St. Cor. Don Chino Roces Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati 12.

ANISAH YUNIKA Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer 1.

Brief Job Description: Manage large amount of calls, and handle customer concerns.

FAUZIAH HANUM Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer 2.

Brief Job Description: Manage large amount of calls, and handle customer concerns.

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in foreign language.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

TANG, MIAO Customer Service Representative (Chinese Speaking)

Basic Qualification: Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese language fluently. Detailoriented and has the ability to multi-task. Preferably 6 months to 1-year customer service experience.

Brief Job Description: Provide customer service to clients.

No.

13.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

YONG KET JI Customer Service Representative (Chinese Speaking) Brief Job Description: Provide customer service to clients.

Basic Qualification: Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese language fluently.

Preferably 6 months to 1-year customer service experience. Detail-oriented and has the ability to multitask.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION JIANG, XIAN Advisor, HR Customer Care

21.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in foreign language.

Saturday, January 6, 2024

Brief Job Description: Ensure proper understanding of employee’s needs or concerns. Managing end-to-end employee cases.

Communicate with professionalism while building a trusted relationship to become the first and main point of contact for employees.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s Degree holder.

Experience in a customer service environment as well as practical experience in HR. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

DEXIN INTERNATIONAL IMPORT AND EXPORT CORP. 534, Tomas Mapua St., Barangay 298, Santa Cruz, City Of Manila

22.

DUAN, BINGFEI Chinese Cargo Office Agent Brief Job Description: Prepare airline and custom documentation.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in Chinese documentation.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 HANSHEN MARCELLEO Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer 3.

Brief Job Description: Manage large amount of calls, and handle customer concerns.

DYN EDGE PHILS. INC. Unit 508-a 5/f Itc Bldg., 337 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in foreign language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 14.

JOHAN Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer 4.

Brief Job Description: Manage large amount of calls, and handle customer concerns.

LEONARD ANDREW RAFFERTY Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer 5.

Brief Job Description: Manage large amount of calls, and handle customer concerns.

RINA EVANA Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer 6.

Brief Job Description: Manage large amount of calls, and handle customer concerns.

ROMI RIO SAPUTRA Indonesian Speaking Customer Service Officer 7.

Brief Job Description: Manage large amount of calls, and handle customer concerns.

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in foreign language.

8.

Brief Job Description: Manage and direct the company to achieve goals and objectives. Oversee the overall operation of the company and make major decisions.

Brief Job Description: Provide customer service to clients.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in foreign language.

15.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ZHAO, GANGBO Customer Service Representative (Chinese Speaking) Brief Job Description: Provide customer service to clients.

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in foreign language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

16.

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in foreign language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree holder.

Elected by the Board of Directors.

ZHAO, YONGJIAN Customer Service Representative (Chinese Speaking) Brief Job Description: Provide customer service to clients.

9.

FANNY FRANCISCA CHUNG CHIA YEANT Customer Service Representative (Chinese Speaking) Brief Job Description: Provide customer service to clients.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

10.

JIANG, HUI Customer Service Representative (Chinese Speaking) Brief Job Description: Provide customer service to clients.

Basic Qualification: Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese language fluently. Detailoriented and has the ability to multi-task. Preferably 6 months to 1-year customer service experience.

LEE CHUNG SHEN Agent, Casino Services 17.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for telemarketing efforts to liaise with guest, request and assists with casino operations function.

18.

Brief Job Description: Provide excellent VIP service and gaming experience to our targeted customers.

11.

KUAN SHEAN LIN Customer Service Representative (Chinese Speaking) Brief Job Description: Provide customer service to clients.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Setting up processes and systems to make working data more efficient.

Basic Qualification: Excellent in Mandarin language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

EASYTECH SUPPORT INC. 9-11/f, 14/f Capella Bldg., Asean Drive Filinvest, Alabang, City Of Muntinlupa

LIANG, TONGRUI Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative 24.

Brief Job Description: Recommends potential products or services to management by collecting information and analyzing customer needs.

LIAO, YUJIE Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative 25.

Basic Qualification: Proven professional experience.

26.

27.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

19.

Brief Job Description: Provides assistance to customers during emergency calls and informational service.

Basic Qualification: At least 6 months customer service associate experience, and basic to advance MS application skills.

20.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for oversighting and organizational leadership for specified district reclamation site.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

XU, HAO Bilingual Back Office Manager Brief Job Description: Contribute operations information and recommendations to strategic plans.

LONG, YI Foreign UI Designer 29.

Brief Job Description: Design the aesthetics to be implemented within a website or product.

Basic Qualification: Excellent in bilingual languages.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent in foreign languages.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

CHINA FIRST HIGHWAY ENGINEERING CO., LTD. (CFHEC PHILIPPINE BRANCH COMPANY) 500-508 Ermita Center, Roxas Boulevard, Barangay 668, Ermita, City Of Manila

XIONG, YUJUN Mandarin Reclamation Equipment Operation Chief Specialist

Brief Job Description: Recommends potential products or services to management by collecting information and analyzing customer needs.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin language.

ECHOTECH SERVICES INC. 18/f Philamlife Tower, 8767 Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati

BOSCH SERVICE SOLUTIONS, INC. 23rd Flr W Fifth Ave. Cor., 32nd St. Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

YUN, YUHYUN Associate

Brief Job Description: Recommends potential products or services to management by collecting information and analyzing customer needs.

YANG, LUNWANG Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proven professional experience in the related field.

Brief Job Description: Recommends potential products or services to management by collecting information and analyzing customer needs.

SHI, LUKE Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative

28.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese language fluently. Detailoriented and has the ability to multi-task. Preferably 6 months to 1-year customer service experience.

23.

BLOOMBERRY RESORTS AND HOTELS INC. Solaire Resort And Casino, 1 Asean Avenue, Entertainment City, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

HAYNES, GREGORY JEFFREY Director, Analytics

Basic Qualification: Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese language fluently. Detailoriented and has the ability to multi-task. Preferably 6 months to 1-year customer service experience.

Basic Qualification: Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese language fluently, preferably 6 months to 1-year customer service experience and detailoriented and has the ability to multi-task.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

ALTERA KARNA BUSINESS CORP. 5th, 6th, 7th Flrs. Eighty-one Newport Blvd., Newport City St., Barangay 183, Pasay City

Basic Qualification: Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese language fluently. Detailoriented and has the ability to multi-task. Preferably 6 months to 1-year customer service experience.

LIM YEAN SHEN Mandarin Speaking Data Analyst

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ABA GLOBAL PHILIPPINES INC. (COEX STAR) Unit 903 & 904 One Global Place, 5th Avenue Corner 25th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

YOO, HWAKANG Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

ZHANG, XIWANG Customer Service Representative (Chinese Speaking)

Basic Qualification: Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese language fluently.

Preferably 6 months to 1-year customer service experience. Detail-oriented and has the ability to multitask.

Basic Qualification: Expertise in variety of advance technical designs for reclamation and maintaining the natural resources in reclamation site.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

COCA-COLA FAR EAST LIMITED 27th Floof Six/neo Building, 5th Avenue Corner 26th St., Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

EMERALD WIRELESS TECH INC. 28th/f Arthaland Century Pacific Tower, E-square Information Technology Park, 25th St. Cor 5th Ave., Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

ZENG, TAO Chinese HR And Admin. Supervisor 30.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the output and improvement of personnel administrative systems and processes.

Responsible for the daily management of the national personnel module.

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree or above in human resources or related majors, priority will be given to those with relevant certificates.

More than 5 years of working experience in human resources and administrative supervisor or above.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

A13

BusinessMirror

A14 A6 Saturday, January 6, 2024

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

LONG, LINGXIANG Chinese Retail Sales Merchandising Manager 31.

Brief Job Description: Overall responsible for new product launch/promotion and other display guidelines and material development, ensure material production, transportation to meet the product/event time to market.

ZHU, ZHONGZHENG Chinese Supply Chain Manager

32.

Brief Job Description: Communicate with the factory, confirm the delivery information by month and week, determine the delivery method, quantity and pace of the factory according to actual needs, and synchronize the information to the operation, finance, channel and GTM related personnel.

YU, JIE Finance Manager 33.

Brief Job Description: After-sales operating expense supervision. Write off and report after-sales operating expenses (with the factory headquarters). After-sales operating expense budget management, statistics and profit and loss analysis of operating conditions.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Fluent in English and Chinese (Mandarin) languages. Background or work experience in design/ visual, marketing/interior, and design/display design/ Industrial design.

No.

41.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Under 30 years old, and with more than 1 year of relevant work experience in the sales field, with good performance.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

34.

35.

Brief Job Description: Prepares work to be processed by gathering, sorting, organizing and recording data, information and documents.

HU, HONGLIANG Sales Manager 42.

BAQIR, MUHAMMAD Marketing Manager 43.

Basic Qualification: Foreign language speaking.

Brief Job Description: Maintaining hardware and software installations.

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Brief Job Description: Gather and analyze information to identify new markets and customers.

YIN, HUANHUAN Marketing Manager 44.

NUR SUMIATI Indonesian IT Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: Building and leading a team of sales person to help drive revenue.

Basic Qualification: Comply with the orders and instructions given from time to time by the company through its authorized representative.

PATHER, ASHENDRAN KOVILAN Business Applications Director 51.

Brief Job Description: You will be responsible for the effective functioning of the staff or employees, if any, under your supervision.

52.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Gather and analyze information to identify new markets and customers.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, Indian, and English languages.

53.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

INFOSYS BPM LIMITED - PHILIPPINE BRANCH 19th-23rd Flr., Bgc Corporate Center, 11th Ave. Corner 30th Sts., City Of Taguig

PFEIFFER, DOMINIK Customer Service Process Specialist 37.

Brief Job Description: Works on post contractual legal agreements relating to MSA and allied agreements and undergo client training to review and validate executed legal agreement like NDA, MSA, PSA and related amendments such as SLA, DPA or specific German account.

45.

CATHERINE Senior Indonesian-language Customer Service Support Staff Brief Job Description: Analyzes and maintains customer satisfaction reports.

AMSILI, NOAM Cyber Security Specialist - PCYSYS Platform 46.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: A native speaker of Bahasa Indonesia and fluent in English language (spoken and written).

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Conduct training, orientation, or awareness sessions for the learning and development of employees.

PAUL, DEBAPRATEEM President And Managing Director

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Brief Job Description: Directs the overall operation of the hotel.

WANG, SHUMIN Sale And Marketing Manager 40.

Brief Job Description: Manages and coordinates sales and marketing activities for a company.

Basic Qualification: College graduate. With at least 2 years of relevant work experience in a similar field.

55.

RICKY LIM Multilingual Administration Manager Brief Job Description: Plan and coordinate administrative procedures and systems and devise ways to streamline processes.

SONG, CHUNMIN Site Manager 49.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in trading and marketing.

Brief Job Description: Analyzing blueprints to ensure that projects meet design, safety, and budget specifications.

Recommending changes to project operations or procedures to increase efficiency.

WEI, XIAOGE Site Manager

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 50.

Brief Job Description: Analyzing blueprints to ensure that projects meet design, safety, and budget specifications.

Recommending changes to project operations or procedures to increase efficiency.

Brief Job Description: Administration, operation, inter-departmental relations, communications, cost control, hygiene and quality standards.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for administration, operation and interdepartmental relations communications.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic Qualification: Must have at least 10 years of experience in an international class hotel.

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the management and successful achievement of all aspects of the food & beverage division in accordance with prescribed service standards and financial targets that have been agreed upon.

Basic Qualification: Proven professional experience in the related field.

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TOTAL CREST BUSINESS SUPPORT, INC. 26/f & 27/f Alphaland Corporate Tower, Ayala Ave. Extn. Cor. Malugay St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: With at least 15 years of experience in hospitality and institutional facilities management, 10 years in leadership role managing businesses in diverse geographies, able to achieve profitable and sustainable growth in developing markets and able to leverage innovation and global business practices to drive productivity.

56.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English languages both in written and verbal. With working knowledge in the field of production of luxury tiles.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English languages both in written and verbal. With working knowledge in the field of production of luxury tiles.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin and English languages both in written and verbal. With working knowledge in the field of production of luxury tiles.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

KAO, FAN-YAO Foreign Operations Team Leader Brief Job Description: Monitor team performance and report on metrics.

Basic Qualification: Excellent in foreign languages.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

VICCI BUSINESS CONSULTANCY CORP. 10/f Liberty Plaza, 102 H.v. Dela Costa St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

STONE ASIA AND SPECIALTY PRODUCTS, INC. 350, J.p. Rizal, Namayan, City Of Mandaluyong

Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above

PAY ASIA HR SERVICES LIMITED, INC. 6th Floor Cyber One, Eastwood Ave., District 3, Bagumbayan, Quezon City

Basic Qualification: Must have at least 10 years of experience in an international class hotel.

SURESTE PROPERTIES INC. The Executive Offices, Solaire Resort & Casino, 1 Asean Avenue, Entertainment City, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

57.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience in managing international hotels.

PARANAQUE ONLINE PALENGKE INC. 305 Mtf Building, Dr. A Santos Ave., San Isidro, City Of Parañaque

Basic Qualification: Must have at least 10 years of experience in an international class hotel.

TAN EWE JIN Director, F&B (Western Casino)

BUSER, ANDRE Western Executive Chef

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

48.

39.

Brief Job Description: In charge of the company’s total operations which includes financial performance, resource management and brand/service management, plan and execute 3 to 5 years business strategy for Philippine operations, provide governance on all contractual obligations engaged by the company, and provide regular updates on the financial standing of the company to all stakeholders on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.

Basic Qualification: Can facilitate and deliver internal learning solutions and develops in house training programs.

NEW WORLD INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PHILIPPINES, INC. (NEW WORLD MAKATI HOTEL) Cor. Arnaiz, Makati Ave., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

NANTHA KUMAR NARAYANAMOORTHY General Manager

Brief Job Description: Safeguard information system assets by identifying and solving potential and actual security problems. Protect system by defining access privileges, control structures and resources.

Basic Qualification: College graduate. Effective communication skill in English language.

JFE TECHNO MANILA, INC. 23/f Robinsons Cyberscape Alpha, Sapphire & Garnet Roads, Ortigas Center, City Of Pasig

38.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

LI, WANG CHUN Director, Food & Beverage

SODEXO ON-SITE SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. 11/f Ba Lepanto Bldg., 8747 Paseo De Roxas, Bel-air, City Of Makati

47.

NAGAI, AOI Japanese Trainer

Basic Qualification: Proven experience in managing business application teams and project management.

Brief Job Description: Achievement of budgeted food sales, beverage sales, labor costs and profitability.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, Indian, and English languages.

RUNNINGMAN CORPORATION 8/f Techzone Bldg., 213 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: With relative work experience.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Collaborate with various departments to ensure technology solutions align with business objectives.

LAI KEAN FEE Director, F&B (Asian Chinese)

SMARTPETRO INC. G/f & 2/f, 3890 Araro St., Palanan, City Of Makati

36.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

SUNTRUST RESORT HOLDINGS, INC. 26th Floor Alliance Global Tower, 36th Street Corner 11th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

54.

IGT TECHNOLOGIES PHILIPPINES INC. 6th Floor, 18/20 Upper Mckinley Road, Mckinley Hill Cyberpark, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

SAINI, RAJESH Head Of Finance

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

R.R.H. FOOD GROUP INC. (QUEENS BOLLYWOOD FUEGO CAFE HOLEY MOLEY) Level 3 Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Foreign language speaking.

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Basic Qualification: Holder of a Technical Diploma in Baking and Pastry making. With previous consultancy experience in the baking industry. Good communication skills.

Fluent in English and French languages.

No.

PHILIPPINE XIAMEN C&D LOGISTICS CORPORATION Unit 3108 & 3109 High Street South Corporate Plaza Tower 2, 26th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

GIGA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT INC. 2/f Lipam’s Building, 40 Presidents Avenue, B. F. Homes, City Of Parañaque

WILLY WIJAYA Indonesian Account Specialist

Brief Job Description: Conduct training and workshops for bakers, distributors and Lesaffre employees. Identify customer needs and competitors’ positioning. Provide technical data and info from market to run analyses.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Applicants with financerelated majors or financial work experience will be given priority, with more than 2 years of experience in the financial field. Be able to communicate proficiently in both Chinese and English languages, have good data analysis skills, and be proficient in using office tools.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

BALLOT, JEAN-BAPTISTE MARIE XAVIER Project Consultant

www.businessmirror.com.ph

JIANG, HAISEN Customer Relation Representative (Mandarin Translation) Brief Job Description: Handles service support calls, emails and chats related to client’s inquiry.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in English, Mandarin and any language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WENSHA SPA CENTER COMPANY, INC. 77 G/f Pasda Mansion, 77 Panay Ave. Cor. Timog Ave, Paligsahan, Quezon City

58.

WANG, ZHIKUN Operations Manager Brief Job Description: Monitor all operational processes and procedures.

Basic Qualification: Marketing graduate. Can effectively communicate in Chinese-Mandarin language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

*Date Generated: Jan 5, 2024 In the ad material of Notice of Filing of Application for Alien Employment Permits published on January 5, 2024, the address of OUYANG, WEICHENG under the company INFOVINE INC., should have been read as 9/F Y TOWER, MOA COMPLEX, CORAL WAY DRIVE COR. MACAPAGAL, BARANGAY 76, PASAY CITY and not as published.

Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE National Capital Region located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this publication.

Please inform DOLE National Capital Region if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.