BusinessMirror January 13, 2023

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

DESPITE the bill for its creation still pending in Congress, the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) will already be “soft launched” by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland next

week to help attract more investments in the country.

During his briefing with DFA for his Davos trip, Marcos disclosed he wanted to include the ongoing government efforts to create its own Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) in his presentation before business leaders at the WEF.

The MIF, which is patterned after the SWFs of other countries, is

aimed at allowing the government to increase investments in priority sectors, particularly in infrastructure, power; and agriculture.

Business leaders opposed the creation of the MIF since it could negatively affect the country’s credit rating, while labor groups are against it since it can take away government funds from much needed public services.

b road strokes In a press conference in Malacañang last Thursday, DFA Undersecretary Carlos D. Soretta said the President’s discussion on the MIF at the WEF will only be in “broad strokes” since the bill for its creation is still “evolving” in Congress.

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THEBangko

Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may slash the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) before the end of the first half if inflation starts to slow down.

BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said the “likelihood” of the RRR cut happening before the end of June is “quite high.”

Medalla reiterated that they did not want to slash the RRR while the BSP is raising the interest rates so as not to confuse the market with its policy signals.

“It is hard to raise interest rates and cut reserve requirements. We should be able to do that because we can offset the cut in the RRR by increasing our borrowings,” he said in a television interview on Thursday.

“But given our situation, the last thing you want to do is to confuse the signals, so therefore when we are no longer under pressure to raise policy rates, then we will cut the RRR,” he added.

Medalla pointed out that it is not “healthy” to have a 12-percent RRR. Furthermore, Medalla explained that it is even more imperative to slash the RRR since the BSP has to end the temporary relief it extended to banks in meeting the RRR soon.

“We also had temporary relief measures, the loans to MSMEs as fulfillment of RRR. That is going to end and we have to replace that with whatever permanent measure, which is a cut in the RRR,” he explained.

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) temporarily stopped the sale of P170per-kilogram onion in its Kadiwa stores after its memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) expired recently.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Kristine Y. Evangelista said the DA's MOA with FTI expired last December 31 and the department had to dispose of the remaining supplies under the old agreement in the past weeks.

Evangelista said the DA is still studying the possibility of renewing its partnership with FTI through a supplemental MOA.

The halt to the sale of cheaper onions in Kadiwa stories comes a few days after the Ombudsman

opened an investigation regarding the alleged overpriced purchase by DA and FTI of onions from a local multipurpose cooperative.

“We will work on that,” Evangelista told reporters on Thursday when asked how soon the Kadiwa onion stocks would be replenished.

“We will help our consumers as long as we do not see the onion prices hitting below our target. This will be discussed with FTI,” Evangelista added.

Evangelista explained that they expect onion prices to be cheaper in the coming weeks due to the arrival of imported stocks and upcoming local harvest.

n o netheless, Evangelista disclosed that the DA is also exhausting all possible options to restock

onion in Kadiwa stores through the “most prudent” way.

“We are exploring all options, whichever would be the best to have the stocks replenished, the soonest and the most prudent way,” she said.

The retail price of local red onion has consistently declined in recent days after the agriculture department announced that it has authorized the importation of 21,060 metric tons (MT) of onions last Monday. Based on its latest price monitoring report, the DA said the retail price of local red onion in Metro Manila wet markets is now ranging between P340 and P550 per kilogram, which used to be as much as over P700 per kilogram.

THE uptick in local retail egg prices is caused by the “unjustified” mark-up by middlemen and retailers, the Philippine Egg Board Association (PEBA) said.

“When you say that the retail price of eggs is now between P9 to P10 per piece, then it indicates the huge mark-up by middlemen and retailers,” PEBA Chairman Gregorio San Diego told a recent forum organized by the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. San Diego pointed out that the current mark-up by retailers, which is about P2 per egg, from the farm-gate price is already “too much.” The prevailing farm-gate price of medium egg is at P6.7 to P7.2 per piece.

“We think that is too much because before from the farmgate price, the mark-up is only [in]

cElEStIal bEaUt Y Miss Universe Philippines celeste cortesi dazzles in the preliminary round of the 71st Miss Universe beauty Pageant in new Orleans, Wednesday, january 11, 2023.

From left, evening gown competition; at center, she wears a national costume inspired by popular Filipina superheroine “Darna”; at right, she competes in the swimsuit session. TROI SANTOS

Thales not keen on new deal with CAAP till ‘existing claims’ settled

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

THALES Corp. is unwilling to enter into a new service contract with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) due to its P987 million claims still unpaid by the Philippine government, arising from the installation of the country’s air traffic management system.

During Thursday’s hearing on the Philippine airspace shutdown on New Year’s Day, Thales country manager Harry Nuske said, “We are not willing to en -

ter into a new contract [with the CAAP] until the existing claims are settled.” The French company was the equipment supplier of the Communications, Naviga -

tion, and Surveillance/Air Trafffic Management (CNS/ATM) in joint venture with Sumitomo Corp., under the P10-billion project funded by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

He also clarified that they were in talks with the CAAP for “support service that relate to software, not a UPS [uninterruptible power supply] support.”

In the initial hours of the system shutdown, CAAP’s engineers thought the failure was due to a blown UPS, but further investigation showed it was due to the tripping of a circuit breaker.

See related story in A16, “Senate grills CAAP on lapse, P1B owed to JV tech provider”

According to Transportation Undersecretary Robert C.O. Lim, the P987-million claims of Thales include: P477 million in suspension claims arising from the three-year suspension of the CNS/ATM project from 20102013; P387 million in prolon -

gation claims due to the prolonged suspension of the work; and P121 million in escalation claims. The suspension claims came about because of the notice of disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit on the procurement of the equipment, which was only cleared in 2013 after repeated appeals made by the then Department of Transportation and Communications.

CAAP Director General Manuel Tamayo told lawmakers, “We totally agree that [that we should get an outside maintenance provider], even while our own technicians are fully qualified [to maintain the equipment].” He added, “We tried negotiating with the supplier for services, and they sent us a quotation. In fact we had a budget in 2020 specifically for that.” But the DOTr and Thales could not settle their claims and counterclaims. The DOTr had counterclaims against Thales for the delay in supplying the equipment needed for the project.

The warranty on the CNS/ATM equipment and services expired in 2020, just two years after the system was actually operated. The project had been mulled since the early 2000s, but had been delayed until an actual contract was signed in November 2010 between

government and Sumitomo-Thales. The latter was contracted to build the air traffic management building, automation equipment, terminal radars and other components.

In his earlier testimony, former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said in Filipino, his administration didn’t pay Thales “because they didn’t submit the documents [which covered their claims].” He added his agency discussed with Thales and Sumitomo the possibility of settling the claims covered by documents, “but we will go to arbitration on the outstanding claims. Unfortunately, the discussions just hanged.”

DOTr thereafter organized a committee to look at Thales’ claims but Tugade said, “They [committee] advised me not pay the claims because the liquidated damages [owed by the French firm] because of the delay from the project were larger, so why should I pay for that? These are not debts we owe them but claims, wherein talks on their settlement should have been pursued six months ago when we left office.” He didn’t say how much DOTr was owed.

DOTr’s Lim expressed optimism the claims of both DOTr and Thales will be resolved by February this year.

Onion...

Continued from A1

The DA explained that its Kadiwa stores have been selling the P170-per-kilogram onions since the issuance of the DA Administrative Circular No. 9 dated October 7, 2022, which sets the suggested retail price of medium-

sized red onions in NCR wet markets at P170 per kilogram. The native onions currently sold at the Kadiwa outlets are supplied by farmers from Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, and Tarlac, it added. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Unjustified...

Continued from A1

centavos. But this time it is more than P2 per egg,” he said.

San Diego disclosed that he does not see the retail price of eggs further increasing because of a so-called “threshold” in the market.

“When the price reaches a certain threshold that consumers cannot afford anymore, retailers cannot in -

crease their prices,” he said. “Otherwise, their stocks would just rot since our products are perishable.”

Price monitoring report by the agriculture department showed that the retail price of medium eggs in Metro Manila wet markets as of January 12 ranged from P7 to P9 per piece. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

BSP...

Continued from A1

Meanwhile, Medalla said the BSP will buy dollars to beef up its gross international reserves when the peso hits a “certain” exchange rate against the greenback.

“We buy when there are buying opportunities. At a

certain exchange rate we will start buying,” he said.

“Our strategy is to let the markets determine the foreign exchange. If we think it is appreciating or overshooting on the appreciation side, then it is a good thing to start buying,” he added.

PBBM...

Continued from A1

“We have the fullest respect for the Congressional process, and the open hearings that they’re having, and how to work out the details but the broad strokes with the President have a very, very good grasp of what he wants to achieve, whatever form the Sovereign Wealth Fund finally takes,” Soretta explained.

The House of Representatives (HOR) has already approved House Bill No. 6608 to establish the MIF on third and final reading last month, but the Senate has yet to pass its own version of the legislation.

Aside from the MIF, Marcos is also expected to discuss other priority agenda of his administration, namely, food and energy security, digitalization, climate action, attracting investments and promoting beneficial trade addressing inequality and providing accessible social services.

Soretta noted WEF provides the “great venue” for the government to push for its economic-related initiatives including the MIF.

“Global and business leaders will be there, and they will hear directly from the President what fundamentals that we have, and that will lead us to decide that we should have a Sovereign Wealth Fund,” Soretta said.

Side meetings

M A RCOS i s also expected to hold high-level meetings with the president of South Africa, the prime minister of Belgium, and the president of the European Commission during the sidelines of the WEF.

“We’re preparing all the talking points not just with the global leaders but also heads of financial institutions that he wants to meet,” Soretta said.

Also part of the President's itinerary in Switzerland are meetings with businesses as well as the Filipino community in Europe.

“They will be coming in from other countries in Europe to meet the President.

We’re at 700 [participants] now, 700, Eric? Have registered and increased. We hope to accommodate all of them,” Soretta said.

ASEAN representation

M A RCOS S p articipation at the 2023 WEF, to be held from January 16 to 20, was first announced by House Speaker Martin G. Romualdez last month.

Soretta said the President’s attendance at the WEF is notable since he will be the only state leader from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to join the event.

“So he will be in a wonderful position to represent not only our country but how our own region, ASEAN and the East Asia Region, can be the engine of growth for the world economy,” Soretta said.

Cabinet members joining Marcos at the WEF are Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan V. Ople and Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil.

The Nation

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz  @joveemarie

THE Makabayan bloc has filed House Bill 6738, or the Magna Carta of Air Passengers rights.

H ouse Deputy Minority leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro said the bill if enacted will replace the obsolete and ineffective Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC)—Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Joint Administrative Order 01-2012, providing for the Bill of Rights of Air Passengers and Airline Obligations.

T he measure will also be useful in cases to be filed against negligent or incompetent aeronautical government agencies or a government-owned and -controlled corporation.

“ We need a law that would truly protect airline passengers and also serve as a deterrent to sloppy and inefficient work practice in the airline industry that caused the shutdown of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last New Year’s Day,” said Castro.

T he bloc said despite increasing profits from a growing air industry business, airline companies have wantonly disregarded passengers’ rights, confident that Filipino airline passengers do not generally demand for remedies against abuse due to the expensive and tedious legal processes that normally favor the rich and the powerful and not the victims.

In 2012, the Makabayan bloc said the government issued DOTC-DTI Joint Administrative Order 01-2012, providing for the Bill of Rights of Air Passengers and Airline Obligations, supposedly to address problems involving the airline industry.

However, airline passengers continue to experience the same long queues, delays, overbooking, cancellation, diversion of flights and other unnecessary inconveniences,” the bloc said.

“

Worse, legal recourse for passengers against airline companies have proved difficult and costly, practically rendering ineffective their right under the Warsaw Convention, the Mon -

treal Convention, and other international law norms that provide remedies for violation of air passengers’ rights.

T he bill asks Congress to enact a law that will provide for the Magna Carta of Air Passengers rights and for stiffer penal sanctions against airline companies with the aim of helping provide for a long-term solution to the problems plaguing airline passengers for a long time.

T he bill said advertisements of fares shall be clear, truthful, and not misleading and shall capacitate the passenger to make an informed purchase or availment of the airline ticket such that the passenger fully understands the consequences of purchasing such ticket.

T he measure also provides for the right to receive the full value of the service purchase, right to mandatory fare discount, right to refund, right to cancel flight, right to rebook a flight, right to be processed for check-in, right to board an aircraft for the purpose of flight, right to equal protection, right to be respected, right to baggage and property security, right to safety, right for redress and compensation, right of a passenger for delayed and cancel flights.

It also provides for rights of passengers denied boarding, loss, damage, and delayed baggage, compensation for death and bodily injuries.

T he bill said in case the air carrier violates the rights of air passengers, the former shall pay the latter damages amounting to at least P50,000, exclusive of other damages or injury the air passenger has suffered.

T he measure said Civil Aviation Authority, Civil Aeronautics Board and airport operators shall assure availability of check-in counters, assignment of technical personnel in airports, liability of airport operators/authorities and complaint desks.

A ny violation of this proposal shall be penalized in accordance with the pertinent provisions of Civil Aeronautics Act, Consumer Act of the Philippines, Republic 9442, Bilang Pambansa 344 and Republic Act 9994.

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Thursday said the national government has allotted P1.285 billion to sustain the “Libreng Sakay” program this year.

In a news statement, the DBM said the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Service Contracting program is well funded this year.

T he Service Contracting program, which gives way to the continuation of the Libreng Sakay, provides free bus rides for the public, including the bus commuters along Edsa, according to the DBM.

We understand the plight of our commuting public. And so President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr. gave us a directive to do our part, and to exert our best to help ease their burden. The Service Contracting program, which funds Libreng Sakay is a big help,” DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said.

Malaking tulong po ang tipidpasahe sa araw-araw na pamumuhay ng mga kababayan natin. Whatever amount they save daily, they can reallocate to equally or more important needs such as budget for food, electricity, tuition, among others,”

Pangandaman added. T he DBM explained that the Libreng Sakay is a joint program of the DOTr and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to help commuters amid rising prices of commodities and services.

As of December 27, 2022, the LTFRB recorded a total of 164,966,373 passengers who have availed of the Libreng Sakay program along Edsa in the preceding year, according to the DBM.

Budget Undersecretary Goddes Hope Libiran explained that it is up

to the DOTr to determine the scope and coverage of the service contracting program, including the Libreng Sakay. They have the option to spread or limit its coverage, based on the result of their study,” Libiran told reporters on Thursday.

Judge junks Cornejo’s petition to recall Vhong Navarro’s bail

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

THE Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Taguig City junked on Thursday the plea of model Deniece Cornejo seeking reconsideration of its order that allowed television host-comedian Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro to post bail in the rape case she filed against him.

Taguig RTC Branch 69 Presiding Judge Loralie Cruz-Datahan cited the lack of conformity of the public prosecutor in her plea as the ground for dismissing Cornejo’s motion for reconsideration.

At the outset, a perusal of the instant motion readily reveals the absence of any conformity from the Office of the City Prosecutor of Taguig. Time and again, the Supreme Court has emphasized that criminal actions shall be prosecuted under the direction and control of the prosecutor,” Judge Cruz-Datahan said.

A private party does not have

the legal personality to prosecute the criminal aspect of a case, as it is the ‘People of the Philippines’ who are the real party in interest. The criminal case must be under the direction and control of the public prosecutor,” she added.

T he court said conformity by the public prosecutor is mandated under Rule 110, Section 5 of the Rules of Court.

It can be recalled that last December, Judge Cruz-Datahan granted Navarro’s plea to post bail as the prosecution’s evidence presented during the bail hearings are too weak to justify his continued detention pending trial of the case.

R ape, under Article 266-A of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Republic Act 8353 (An Act Expanding the Definition of the Crime of Rape, Reclassifying the same as a Crime Against Persons…) is a nonbailable, offense, but the court may grant bail if the prosecution’s evidence is weak.

Navarro was ordered by the court to post a bond of P1 million for his provisional liberty.

Judge Cruz-Datahan also pointed out the consistencies in Cornejo’s complaint affidavits and testimony in granting Navarro’s bail petition.

T he Taguig RTC noted that in her three complainant-affidavits executed January 29, 2014, February 27, 2014, and October 16, 2015, Cornejo gave different versions of the incident that allegedly took place in her condominium unit in January 2014.

F urthermore, the trial court pointed out that while Cornejo claims to have been drugged by Navarro, she admitted that she was not sure about it during her testimony.

T he trial court also added that Cornejo’s conduct immediately after the alleged assault, according to the court, was inconsistent with her claim of trauma, “and outside the reasonable expectations for someone who just underwent a

painful ordeal.”

T he trial court noted Cornejo admitted sending text messages to Navarro after the alleged incident.

Judge Cruz-Datahan said that the complainant also did not find anything wrong in preening at herself and giggling while inside an elevator after supposedly having been raped.

T he court issued a warrant of arrest against Navarro following the filing of rape charges by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in compliance with the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) issued on July 21, 2022.

I n the said decision, the CA’s Fourteenth Division reversed and set aside the April 30, 2018 and July 14, 2020 resolutions of the DOJ, dismissing the complaint filed by Cornejo in 2014 against Navarro for alleged rape and attempted rape.

Instead, the appellate court directed the DOJ to file rape and acts of lasciviousness charges against the comedian-television host.

AN embattled congressmanelect on Thursday vowed to push for a law mandating a 45-day time limit on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to declare a “nuisance” election candidate.

Embattled congressman-elect Romeo Jalosjos Jr. of the first district of Zamboanga del Norte has expressed support to the Comelec plan to move the filing of certificate of candidacy (COC) to an earlier date to effectively address the recurring problem of nuisance candidates.

Jalosjos said he is planning to file a corresponding legislation at the House of Representatives if reinstated or if ever the Supreme Court (SC) would lift the status quo ante-order it issued earlier that prevented him from assuming his post.

Jalosjos emerged victorious in the May 2022 elections that pitted him against Roberto “Pinpin” Uy Jr. and one Frederico “Kuya Jun” Jalosjos Jr., who was declared by the Comelec as a nuisance candidate.

Comelec credited Jalosjos Jr. the 5,424 votes cast in favor of by nuisance candidate Federico Jalosjos. On June 23, Jalosjos Jr. was proclaimed the winner.

B ut barely a month after Jalosjos assumed his post, the Supreme Court issued a status quo ante order prior to the Comelec’s May 10 and June 7 orders, which prompted

the House secretary-general to remove him from the roster of the House of Representatives.

He said that there must be a law setting a timetable as to how many days the Comelec have to come out with a resolution whether a candidate is a nuisance or not to prevent a repeat of his unfortunate experience if and when he is permitted to return to his post in the House.

I will file the same bills that I filed [earlier],” he said. “One of the key provisions of his proposed legislation is to impose a 45-day time limit on the Comelec to determine whether a candidate is a nuisance candidate and should be disqualified, so that the name will not be included in the ballot, so that there will be no confusion during the elections,” he said.

We must be clear about how long it takes to identify a nuisance candidate. There should be a time frame. We cannot just ‘leave things be’ or ‘keep the course’ for a couple of years or longer,” Jalosjos added.

If there is confusion, he added, “The right of the people to vote is jeopardized.”

Jalosjos’ removal from the House roster has been questioned by Surigao Rep. Ace Barbers in a parliamentary inquiry, saying that it was contrary to House rules.  Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

DAVAO CITY—Policemen in the Bangsamoro region were given additional mobility with 11 more patrol vehicles given to nine municipal stations, including the farthest island province of Tawi-Tawi.

T he vehicles arrived in Cotabato City at the regional government center of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on December 27.

T he National Police Regional Office would distribute the patrol cars to Datu Paglas and Pagalungan in Maguindanao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao del Norte, Bongao, Sibutu, Simunul, Languyan, and Tandubas in Tawi-Tawi and Cotabato City police station.

C hief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, Senior Minister Abdulraof Macacua, Interior and Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo, and PRO-BAR Regional Director Brigadier General John Guyguyon led the turnover ceremony and the signing of a memorandum of agreement held

at the Bangsamoro Government Center in this city.

“ We, in the Bangsamoro government, put the safety of our people as our main priority. We believe that security plays a significant role in attaining a harmonious society,” Ebrahim said.

We continue to strengthen our men and women in uniform by providing them facilities and vehicles so that they can fulfill their duties well,” he added.

Guyguyon said the police is committed to support the full force of the security sector in the region.

“For this turnover alone, we are blessed with these units of police cars and I hope and I know that there will be more to follow,” said Guyguyon, thanking the Bangsamoro Government for the support.

T he Bangsamoro government earlier gave on October 12 five police patrol vehicles worth P12.5 million to the police. The Ministry of the Interior and Local Government said three cars were given to regional office, one to the 1404th Regional Mobile Force Company and one unit to the Cotabato City Police Office.

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) has vowed to support the modernization program of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), citing its vital role in maritime safety and security.

O n Thursday, DOTr Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said his office would push for the continued comprehensive modernization of the assets and manpower of the PCG.

The transportation department will always support the continued modernization of the Coast Guard. We will continue to help the Coast Guard in pursuing their comprehensive modernization program,” said Bautista.

A mong others, the program involves acquiring assets and equipment as well as the inclusion of its officers in world-class educational programs. “Given the inherently international nature of shipping and maritime transportation,

attendance in world-class educational programs from these prestigious institutions should not be taken for granted,” Bautista said.

T he number of Coast Guard personnel has grown from only around 7,000 several years ago to over 26,000 today.

A part from modern assets and well-trained personnel, Bautista called on the PCG’s role in the collective goal of providing accessible, affordable, comfortable and safe transportation for Filipinos.

C iting the PCG’s vital role in maritime safety and security, Bautista called for diplomacy amid the challenges in the country’s sovereign waters. He also commended the agency’s humanitarian efforts and marine environmental protection, including the prosecution of illegal poachers.

“ Please continue taking care of our precious marine life,” he added.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

EDSA Carousel Roosevelt Station PNA PHOTO BY BEN BRIONES

BusinessMirror

DTI chief: SRP for basic goods to be released in late January

By Andrea E. San Juan

DESPITE the volatility of input prices in the international market, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it is hopeful that it would still be able to finalize commodity prices by the end of January for an updated suggested retail price (SRP) bulletin.

Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said Wednesday that fluctuating prices of raw materials such as wheat in the international market are making it hard for the agency to assess the requests for price adjustments.

“Kaya nga maraming hindi inaaksyunan. Masyadong malikot ‘yung international market for inputs. Bumabagsak ‘yung petroleum, bumabagsak ‘yung wheat prices, tapos ‘yung harvest ng onion eto na, tapos mag-iimport pa ang government,” Pas-

cual told reporters on the sidelines of the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Strengthening Private Enterprise for the Digital Economy (SPEED) public launch on Wednesday in Makati City.

As for the manufactured products covered by SRP, we are still talking about it because it’s difficult. You will rely on the old high prices, and then it [prices] will fall. And another thing that’s happening, manufacturers are reviewing the products. They are the ones deciding which products to include in the SRP list,” the trade chief explained, speaking partly in Filipino.

According to Pascual, other manufacturers tend to include all of their products in the SRP list, even the products classified as “high-end.” He said, partly in Filipino, “Siyempre nafrozen din ‘yun but technically, there’s no need to include everything. We are

THE Makati Business Club

(MBC) has offered to assist the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in enhancing its daily operating procedures

through digitalization.

“

The group offered to assist in providing ERC with information and connections to help improve its operations, including digitalization,” said

interested in including products that are normally and usually consumed by the mass base of our consumers.”

With this, Pascual said the DTI is sticking to its commitment of releasing a new SRP bulletin within the month of January. He added that work is ongoing within DTI’s Consumer Protection Group (CPG).

Back to the office on the 23rd, hopefully by that time, Klaro na ‘yung outlook for commodity prices,” Pascual said.

At the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) media briefing held last December, DTI said it would “most likely” come up with an updated SRP bulletin by early January 2023.

T he DTI earlier said it is monitoring the prices of raw materials as the agency assesses the requests or notices of adjustment in its SRP

of basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs).

What we need to do is to check the increases in prices of various inputs to the cost of the product. If it’s sardines, the cost of tamban…the fish itself, then the cost of other inputs like the ingredients, tomato sauce, in-can, label, all those things,” Pascual said in December.

T he trade chief revealed last month that the agency has received requests coming from 25 percent of the 218 stock keeping units (SKUs). He said they have received requests from 55 SKUs.

A ccording to Pascual, the BNPCs which manufacturers have requested for price adjustments include canned sardines, milk, bread, instant noodles, canned meat, laundry soap, salt, soy sauce, and toilet soap.

Proposed LRT 1, 2 fare increase to go through process–Cabrera

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

THE Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) on Thursday said the proposed increase in railway fares might still have to undergo a public hearing, its administrator said.

The fare increase must be approved by the LRTA Board of Directors, and must, likewise, pass through required regulatory process which includes public consultation/hearing,” said LRTA Administrator Hernando Cabrera.

T he proposed fare hike for LRT 1 and 2 is P2.29 boarding fare and P0.21 for every kilometer (km). The current boarding fare of P11.00 and distance fare of P1.00 per km has been the current rates since 2015.

“ The LRTA would like to

MBC in a news statement released on Thursday. The statement followed a meeting with ERC Chairperson Monalisa C. Dimalanta last January 10.

MBC also expressed its support to ERC’s efforts to secure adequate and affordable electricity supply by pursuing transparent, accountable, and investment-friendly policies. The efforts include reviews of the secondary price cap mechanism, rules on open access and rules on renewable energy and storage systems.

MBC expressed support for the

constant collaboration between ERC, the Department of Energy, National Transmission Co. (Transco), and industry players to find solutions to the many challenges affecting the sector. In the near term, the group said it would support the government’s efforts to prepare the public for higher prices while improving energy efficiency.

“ The ERC under Atty. Dimalanta appears focused, determined, and on the right track,” MBC Chairman Edgar O. Chua said. “Amid all the chal-

lenges in the sector, it is a confidence booster that our energy officials are all knowledgeable and professional with a high sense of urgency.”

A side from Chua, other officials who met with Dimalanta were Shell

Philippines Chief Executive Officer Lorelei Osial; ACEN Corp. COO Miguel de Jesus; Aboitiz Power COO Liza Montelibano and Senior Vice President Sandro Aboitiz; National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) Assistant Vice Presidents Leonor Felipa Cynthia P. Alabanza

clarify that the matter of the fare increase will go through proper process. The approval of the LTFRB [Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board] on the subject fare increase is in the nature of the said agency being a member of the LRTA Board of Directors, and not in the nature of a regulatory body,” Cabrera explained.

LTFRB is just one of the nine members of the LRTA Board. The other members are the Department of Transportation, Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Public Works and Highways, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and two appointive directors that include Cabrera and Atty. Dimapuno Datu.

and Giovanni Randolfo A. Galang; Terra Renewables Chief Administrative Officer Cheryll Len V. Mendoza; and Amber Kinetics technical manager Andy Dimaandal. Also joining the meeting were MBC executive director Coco Alcuaz and policy and program officer Bettina Bautista.

T he ERC meeting followed previous meetings with DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla on October 5, 2022 and then Transco President Rowena Cristina Guevarra on October 13, 2022. Lenie Lectura

ATOTAL of 158 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Barangay Minoyan, Murcia, Negros Occidental would soon receive their individual land titles under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

T he land represents a total of 320 hectares of validated agricultural lands covered by a collective certificate of land ownership awards earlier issued by the DAR.

T he SPLIT Project is the subdivision of lands and the issuance of individual land titles to ARBs who were previously awarded

lands under the collective certificates of land ownership award (CCLOA).

The DAR is stepping up the implementation of the SPLIT Project following the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III to strengthen the property rights of ARBs nationwide.

Imelda Lazalita, Municipal Agrarian Reform ProgramOfficer,saidthelandholdingsvalidated were formerly managed by G.V. and Sons Incorporated, identified by CCLOA Numbers 7433 and 7750, covering 23.2658 and 297.6255 hectares, respectively, subject for individual titling to 39 and 119 qualified ARBs.  Jonathan L. Mayuga

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

DAVAO CITY—The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is expecting the last hurrah from the underground leftwing organizations in the eastern half of Mindanao after the government military dismantled 28 of 32 combat guerrilla formations in the area.

Lt. Gen. Greg T. Almerol, commander of AFP’s Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom), said he was anticipating “the near end” of the communist insurgency in his command’s area of jurisdiction, which was also one of the heavily guerrillainfested places in the country.

He said EastMinCom’s various military operations last year have dismantled five sub-regional committees, nine guerrilla fronts and four vertical NPA units.

Of the 32 fronts that EastMinCom has to confront since the onset of Campaign Plan “Kalinaw Sidlakang Mindanao” in 2017, 28 or 88 percent had “already crumbled, while the four remaining guerrilla fronts are already at their weakest.”

A mong the dismantled units was

the GF19 SRC Southland, North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC), which Almerol said was noted for recruiting tribal residents in the Caraga Region.

He said the EastMinCom also “neutralized” 533 armed New People’s Army regulars, with 71 killed, 48 captured and 416 surrendered from January to December last year.

S ome 198 underground mass organizations and personalities also withdrew their support to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), Almerol said.

T he EastMinCom said among the high-profile individuals who were neutralized last year were Menandro “Bok” Villanueva, the secretary of Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC)/Komisyon Mindanao (KOMMID) and the third vice chairman of the CPP; Pedro “Gonyong” Codaste, the second top-ranking New People’s Army commander in Mindanao; and 55 other guerrilla leaders.

Government soldiers also confiscated 631 firearms and 121 antipersonnel mines and discovered 91 enemy hideouts.

By October last year, the AFP declared the Davao Region “insurgency-free” which was corroborated by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

DA-11 eyes increase onion production in Davao del Sur

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

DAVAO CITY—Onion production would be increased in Davao del Sur after the regional Department of Agriculture (DA) launched an onion-planting project in the province.

A bel Monteagudo, DA Region 11 director, said he wants to confront the problem of high onion prices head on by continuing an onion production project in Davao del Sur.

My predecessor regional director of DA-11 started it in Davao del Sur, so I’d like to follow it up with a much, much bigger dreams with a bigger area,” Monteagudo said.

H e said Davao del Sur has two advantages for onion production: warmer climate and abundant sunlight.

We found out through our seed production in palay that the sun is brighter and the day is longer in Davao del Sur,” Monteagudo said.

He said onion needs sunlight and lesser rainfall, adding onion cultivation failed to prosper in his previous assignment in the Caraga Region, which has a wetter climate.

Monteagudo said there are already onion farmers in Davao del Sur and they must be supported and given intervention so they can produce more onion.

C urrently the DA High Value Crop Program has supported a group of onion farmers in Barangay Asinan, Matanao.

“Coming from the office of the regional director I expect better production of sibuyas [onion] by next year. Climate is the only enemy,” he said.

He said the DA was also looking at an onion production area nearer the market or to transportation infrastructure.

Freeze onion importation plan

MEANWHILE , the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) reiterated its call to the Marcos administration to reconsider its decision to import onions, saying the move would not address the problem brought about by the runaway prices of the cooking ingredient.

DA importing onions in the middle of the harvest season proves the agency’s epic failure to address the food inflation,” KMP chairperson emeritus Rafael Mariano said in a news release.

A former party-list lawmaker and Cabinet member under the Duterte administration, Mariano said fur-

ther importation would hurt only farmers and consumers.

Importers were given until January 27 to ship to the country some 17,100 metric tons (MT) of red onions and 3,960 MT of yellow onions by the DA.

T he farmer-leader once held the position as secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform of the previous administration.

Importing in the middle of the harvest season is the height of callousness and inutility. Walang suplay shortage sa sibuyas. Hindi importasyon ang solusyon at lalong hindi awtomatikong bababa ang presyo ng sibuyas sa mga palengke pagdating ng imports.

Ang mga importer, trader at smugglers lang ang makikinabang sa desisyon ng DA na mag-import,” Mariano said.

Davao pork restriction MEANWHILE , with regard to the increasing Monteagudo has also asked pork producers and traders to observe the restrictions on bringing pork products to Davao City.

He cited an incident at an airport here where authorities accosted travelers bringing popped pork rind or chicharon with them.

I traveled from Iloilo to Cebu, Cebu to Davao a few days ago. There was a commotion at the airport when we boarded the plane because there was somebody trying to go home to Davao bringing along chicharon from Cebu,” Monteagudo recalled.

He said the passengers resisted suggestions to surrender their bagful of chicharon coming from Cebu.

The airport authorities in Cebu were kind enough to tell them they can bring chicharon but these will be confiscated in Davao,” Monteagudo said.

He urged the public to tell their friends and relatives not to bring pork products from other regions to Davao.

“ We are in the pink zone in the battle against ASF [African swine fever]. We are nearing green so don’t mess it up by bringing prohibited goods from outside,” he said.

A pink zone means a buffer area where ASF is not present but is adjacent to an ASF contaminated area or red zone.

Monteagudo said there were areas, which were once red zones in the region that were now free from ASF.

The DA-11 launched the Integrated National Swine Production Initiative for Recovery and Expansion or INSPIRE to assist in the recovery of the hog industry. Forty-four hog farmer associations in the region have received assistance from INSPIRE.

NDRRMC reports flood remains in large parts of PHL; infra and crop damage reach P300M

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

LARGE areas in Central and Southern Luzon and in the Visayas and Mindanao are still swamped in floodwaters due to torrential rains dumped by the combination of shear line and a low pressure area (LPA), the government’s disaster body said in its monitoring report issued on Thursday.

W hile the casualty has been pegged to 10 deaths and two missing, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said at least 166 areas in Regions 3, 4B, 5, 6, 8 and 9 are still struggling with flooding as a result of the incessant rains brought by the shear line that

was whipped up by the LPA.

A big area in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao has been struck by widespread flooding and landslides before Christmas last year and this was further aggravated by the ensuing low pressure areas since January this year, bringing heavy rains in the already flood-hit provinces.

Based on the monitoring of the NDRRMC, there are at least 13 flood-hit areas in Central Luzon, 11 in the Bicol Region, 43 in Region 6, 76 in Region 8 and 22 in Region 10, although flooding in another 265 areas in the affected regions have already subsided.

T he state weather bureau warned that Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao

should expect more rains, as a result of the prevailing LPA.

T he combination of heavy rains and flooding cut communication lines and triggered power blackouts in at least nine areas, while three other areas reported water supply interruptions.

At least 25 roads and 11 bridges have remained closed to traffic as of Thursday as the government rushed to deliver emergency assistance to the affected provinces, cities and municipalities across the country.

On Wednesday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the distribution of aid in Misamis Occidental.

T he NDRRMC said the bad weather has so far affected 106,143 fami-

Tech glitches at Senate, the US and Canada, too

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

AS senators commenced their own investigation into the glitch that occurred on New Year’s Day that caused government to temporarily shut down Philippine airspace, the upper chamber too experienced its own technical glitch.

D uring Thursday’s joint hearing by the Committees on Public Services; Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation; and Finance, audio from the microphones of the lawmakers and guest panelists kept switching on and off, such that queries and responses could not be heard audibly. This prompted Senator JV Ejercito to call in the Senate’s technical staff to fix the audio system, “because we also have a glitch.” The hearing was temporarily halted for some 10 minutes.

MercuryRetrograde

THIS developed as close to 3 million passengers and some 21,500 flights were affected in the United States on January 11, due to a system failure by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). The FAA confirmed a failure in the No-

tice of Air Missions (NOTAM), which conveys flight conditions, hazards, and changes in airport operations, before planes can fly.

Similarly, Canada also suffered a system outage on the same day affecting their NOTAMs. But the system was restored three hours after. NavCanada, which controls the air-traffic control system, said it “[does] not believe it to be related to the FAA outage experienced earlier today.” About 800 flights were scheduled to have flown in and out of Canada on Wednesday but it was not clear how many flights and passengers were actually affected by the brief system shutdown.

O dd coincidence? For most astrologers, these glitches in technology and communications are caused by a retrograde Mercury, which shows the planet’s orbit around the sun appearing to go in reverse, because it is traveling shower than the Earth. Mercury went retrograde on December 29 and will end on January 18, 2023.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, “The planet Mercury rules communication in all forms—listening, writing, reading, speaking, and so one—as well as activities closely related to communication, like negotiations and con-

tracts. It also rules travel, automobile, shipping, and mail.”

DICT probing cause of breakdown

OTHER dates when Mercury goes retrograde are from April 21 to May 14, August 23 to September 14, and December 13, 2023 to January 1, 2024. #MercuryRetrograde has been one of the popular hashtags globally on Twitter, since December 29.

D uring the Senate hearing, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General Manuel Tamayo said the Department of Information and Communications Technology is currently conducting a forensic investigation to find out why its circuit breaker tripped on January 1, 2023, causing the airspace shutdown for seven hours, and affecing over 600 flights and 65,000 passengers.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday also conducted its own investigation on the airspace shutdown, where it was revealed CAAP air traffic controllers were being poached by other countries, which offer six times their current entry-level salaries. (See, “Airlines lost over P100M from airspace shutdown,” in the BusinessMirror, January 11, 2023.)

Senate grills CAAP on lapse, P1B owed to JV tech provider

Meanwhile, Sen. JV Ejercito sought confirmation of reports that the automatic voltage regulator (AVR) was damaged in August—a matter confirmed by CAAP’s chief engineer, even as he assured  Ejercito that “we bypassed” the problem and that the UPS is working even though the AVR problem has not yet been fully resolved.

A lso attending the hearing was Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, officials of CAAP and other transportation agencies. Former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade was given a chance to clear the air on the reported “ diversion” of the budget appropriated to upgrade CAAP  equipment  in favor of “beautification” projects at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

Tugade repeated earlier statements strongly denying any diversion.

continued from a16

lies or 438,998 individuals in 564 villages in Regions 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11 and in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. It also displaced at least 1,560 families or 5,730 people.

A t least P165,745,496 worth of infrastructure and another P116,717,192.73 worth of agriculture products have been damaged.

T he Philippine Coast Guard reported that its personnel also evacuated families from Barangay San Jose Guzu in Zamboanga City due to heavy flooding on Wednesday. Some of the families were trapped on the rooftops of their houses.

A similar rescue operation was also carried out in Agusan del Norte.

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

THE Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has intensified its campaign against waterborne diseases like influenza, leptospirosis and dengue, collectively known as WILD, as heavy rains continue to batter Mindanao.

I ncreased transmission risks of WILD diseases are unfolding in several provinces of Mindanao as unprecedented flooding continues, the PRC said.

L ikewise, the PRC has strengthened its implementation of its health campaign across different PRC chapters in Mindanao.

To shed light on the nature, risks, symptoms, and prevention of WILD diseases, PRC Mindanao chapters mobilized Red Cross 143 (RC143) volunteers to post and distribute brochures and flyers, disseminate information through SMS alerts and texts, and conduct health promotion sessions in Gingoog, Oroquieta, Tangub, Ozamis, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga City, Cagayan de Oro, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur, and Iligan City.

P RC Chairman and CEO Richard J. Gordon reiterated the importance of preventive measures in controlling the transmission of WILD diseases.

Hontiveros:

Worst could have happened

FOR her part, Senator Risa Hontiveros said CAAP should not lead the investigation, as Poe earlier noted.

“What if the negligence is from CAAP’s end? There’s a clear conflict of interest if they are investigating themselves. Hindi lang iyon, pero paiba-iba ang nilalabas nila sa media at ang nire-report nila sa Kongreso. Perhaps we at the Senate should consider a different aviation body that could join the investigation,” she said.

“CAAP cannot even get its facts straight. It’s been one and a half weeks since the incident, it should be clear by

now what really happened. And if they still don’t, that’s even worse. That would make thembothnegligentandincompetent.The CAAP should not, in any way, attempt to absolve itself of any faults,” she added.

Hontiveros said that cross-checking their documentation is crucial to any meaningful step forward. She said a third party should double check both the equipment log and the manual log of the system error.

Let’s identify who entered the manual log of the system error. The Senate needs their firsthand account of what they had observed to cross-check CAAP’s statements. The suppliers of the equipment should also check the logs themselves and provide that information to the Senate committee,” she added.

Biz groups push back anew on PPA order on container registry

They pointed out that PPA did not “sufficientlyexplainhowthesystemcould effectively prevent port congestion.”

PPA AO 04-2021 is a tedious, redundant and expensive system. This redundancy generates additional undue costs to businesses and consumers who are already laden by the skyrocketing inflation rate and delays in the movement of containers that further worsen congestion in the ports,” the groups added.

T he groups said they were also met with “similar suspicion” that the policy will reduce the transport cost of goods, adding that the container monitoring by PPA will rather “further inflate costs.”

Other than the container insurance

cost of P980 plus value-added tax (VAT), there will also be a service fee of P3,520 plus VAT per container for use of the staging facility beyond the first three days. This, the groups said, is on top of accreditation fees that shipping lines, trucks and insurance companies must pay.

T he staging facility is the designated site where the tracking device will be detached prior to re-exportation of the empty container.

T he trade groups said “these costs will be passed on to the end consumer.”

T he groups also noted that the order “directly encroaches” on the function of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which under Customs Administrative Order No. 08-2019 is given the task to monitor the movement of containers

continued from a16

inside and outside the port.

The groups have recommended that for information gathering purposes, “PPA should make sure its systems are interoperable with those of the BOC, trade department and other stakeholders.”

T hey reminded PPA of the EODB Law requirement to conduct a Regulatory Impact Assessment prior to the issuance of any proposed regulation to ensure that it does not add undue burden and cost to stakeholders.

In the interest of public good and consistent with the President’s thrust of ‘reducing transport logistics cost to sustain the country’s economic recovery,’ we strongly call for the rescission of PPA AO 04-2021 [TOP-CRMS] and its IOG,” they stressed.

“Mataas ang infections risk ng ganitong mga sakit [WILD diseases] sa mga komunidad na may baha dahil ginagawa itong breeding ground ng mga daga at lamok,” Gordon said.

I n addition to health campaigns, the PRC Health Services sent Doxycycline, a prophylactic agent used for the treatment of leptospirosis, to Mindanao.

A ccording to the PRC, an individual with open wounds or skin lesions can become infected through direct contact with water, soil, and mud contaminated with infected animal urine.

Without any immediate and proper treatment, leptospirosis can damage kidneys and cause liver failure. Children and pregnant women, however, cannot take the medication.

A s of January 9, the PRC has also provided the following humanitarian aid to communities affected by floods caused by the shear line over the Christmas weekend: 191,650 liters of clean and safe water through its water tankers and bladders

psychological first aid to 2,714 adults and children hygiene education to 1,574 people hygiene kits to 446 families, jerry cans to 355 families water search and rescue to 201 individuals, including children sleeping kits to 360 families, nonstandard food ration and bread to 138 families

first aid services to 134 persons health education and medicines to 87 people.

AFP sees end of communist foothold in east Mindanao

PRC intensifies drive to fight WILD diseases in Mindanao

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CHINA still needs to share more information about the transmission of Covid-19 and the strains that are circulating, World Health Organization officials said.

While the country deserves credit for increasing the availability of hospital beds, Covid treatments and vaccines, it needs to offer the world a better picture of how the wave of infections is playing out, the WHO experts said. Among other things, they’re seeking details on whether cases are rising or falling in certain cities and rural areas.

“We still do not have adequate information to make a full, comprehensive risk assessment,” said Mike Ryan, executive director of the agency’s health emergencies program, in a press conference Wednesday.

Covid deaths in China are still being “heavily underreported,” and officials should be encouraged to report all infections, Ryan said. While that’s happening more regularly now, he said, some officials previously were reporting only instances of Covid-related pneumonia.

WHO officials also want more information on the genetics of the virus strains circulating. Until now, Chinese officials have told the WHO that these strains are mainly from the BA.5 sublineage of Omicron, which is common throughout the world. Nonetheless, China should publicly share these sequences so scientists can analyze them “mutation by mutation,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19, said.

Given the insufficient data from China, it’s understandable that countries are bringing back measures targeting travelers from China, the WHO officials said. For some destinations, negative Covid tests are required before passengers are allowed to board flights. Tim

Loh/Bloomberg

China stops reporting Covid tally; lack of information fuels concerns

By Jinshan Hong

CHINA hasn’t updated its daily Covid reports for three days, adding to global concerns that the information vacuum is masking the true impact of the world’s biggest outbreak.

The last time the country published its daily Covid situation update, including cases—though they’d already been rendered meaningless by the roll back of frequent testing—and the number of severely ill patients and deaths, was on Monday. While there hasn’t been an official notification about the cessation, health officials said last month that China would switch to monthly reports as part of its

downgrade of virus management, without providing a specific date for the change.

Calls by Bloomberg News to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the disease control unit affiliated with the National Health Commission weren’t answered.

The lack of information on the impact of China’s abrupt pandemic pivot last month is fueling concerns around the world that

the unmitigated spread of the virus could seed mutations, and has prompted a slew of countries to introduce measures targeting travelers from the country. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization renewed its call for more Covid data from China and emphasized the need to share information about the strains circulating, as well as whether cases are rising or falling in certain cities and rural areas.

The apparent end of the daily report in the middle of a record wave of infections stands at odds with other countries that continue to release information publicly even after shifting to live with the virus. Major regional hubs in Asia including Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and South Korea report daily figures. New Zealand continued to report Covid cases daily for months after their reopening before switching to weekly releases.

After the initial Wuhan out -

break that overwhelmed the health system in early 2020, China’s daily updates became the gold standard for information on every infection in the country due to the extensive testing and tracing efforts that underpinned Covid Zero.

But the case numbers became unreliable over the last month after China dropped mass testing and other control measures. And its fatalities figures have drawn criticism due to officials’ narrow definition of what they consider a Covid death.  China has reported fewer than 40 deaths since the major pivot away from Covid Zero in early December. But the tally contrasts with on-the-ground reports of overwhelmed funeral parlors and crematoriums across the country.

In Monday’s report, officials said there were 7,557 severe cases nationwide, an increase of more than 1,100 from a day earlier. There were about 14,000 new confirmed cases on Sunday.

Computer breakdown at FAA sows chaos across US air travel system

By David Koenig & Michelle Chapman AP Business Writer

NEW YORK—Thousands of flights across the US were canceled or delayed Wednesday after a system that offers safety information to pilots failed, and the government launched an investigation into the breakdown, which grounded some planes for hours.

The Federal Aviation Administration said preliminary indications “traced the outage to a damaged database file.”

The agency said it would take steps to avoid another similar disruption.

The breakdown showed how much American air travel depends on the computer system that generates alerts called NOTAMs—or Notice to Air Missions.

Before a plane takes off, pilots and airline dispatchers must review the notices, which include details about bad weather, runway closures or other temporary factors that could affect the flight. The system was once telephone-based but moved online years ago.

The system broke down late Tuesday and was not fixed until midmorning Wednesday. The FAA took the rare step of preventing any planes from taking off for a time, and the cascading chaos led to more than 1,300 flight cancellations and 9,000 delays by early evening on the East Coast, according to flight-tracking web site FlightAware.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told a news conference that the problems “led to a ground stop because of the way safety information was moving through the system.”

After the failures were fixed, he warned that travelers could continue to see some effects “rippling through the system.”

Buttigieg said his agency would now try to learn why the system went down.

Longtime aviation insiders could not recall an outage of such magnitude caused by a technology failure. Some compared it in scope to the nationwide shutdown of airspace after

the 2001 terrorist attacks.

“Periodically there have been local issues here or there, but this is pretty significant historically,” said Tim Campbell, a former senior vice president of air operations at American Airlines and now a consultant in Minneapolis.

Campbell said there has long been concern about the FAA’s technology, and not just the NOTAM system.

Many of those systems “are old mainframe systems that are generally reliable, but they are out of date,” he said.

John Cox, a former airline pilot and aviation safety expert, said the aviation industry has talked for years about trying to modernize the NOTAM system, but he did not know the age of the servers that the FAA uses.

“I’ve been flying 53 years. I’ve never heard the system go down like this,” Cox said. “So something unusual happened.”

According to FAA advisories, the NOTAM system failed at 8:28 p.m. Tuesday, preventing new or amended notices from being distributed to pilots. The FAA resorted to a telephone hotline to keep departures flying overnight, but as air traffic picked up in the morning, the phone system was overwhelmed.

The FAA ordered all departing flights grounded early Wednesday, affecting all passenger and cargo flights. Some medical flights could get clearance, and the outage did not affect military operations.

President Joe Biden said that Buttigieg briefed him.

Buttigieg said the ground stop showed that “safety is going to be our North Star, as it always is.”

“We are now pivoting to focus on understanding the causes of the issue,” he said.

Pilots and safety officials have complained about NOTAMs for years, saying there are too many of them and that some are unnecessary and written in cryptic abbreviations.

The National Transportation Safety Board highlighted the large number of notices in its investigation of a near-disaster in 2017 in San Francisco. An Air Canada jet whose pilots had

overlooked a NOTAM about a closed runway nearly landed by mistake on a parallel taxiway. They skimmed just over the tops of four other airliners waiting to take off.

The safety board’s chairman at the time, Robert Sumwalt, noted that the closed runway was mentioned on the eighth of 27 pages of notices for the San Francisco airport, and the entry was written in an arcane fashion.

“That’s what NOTAMs are. They are a bunch of garbage that no one pays any attention to,” he said.

The FAA said in a 2020 report that it modernized the distribution of the notices through a standardized digital format that was to be completed in July of that year.

As the extent of Wednesday’s breakdown became clear and airlines delayed more flights, passengers scrambled to rearrange trips. Many said they had trouble finding out how long the delays would last.

“There is just a lot of frustration, a lot of confusion,” said Ryan Ososki, who was trying to fly from Washington, D.C., to California for a conference.

Julia Macpherson was on a United flight from Sydney to Los Angeles when she learned of possible delays.

“As I was up in the air, I got news from my friend who was also traveling overseas that there was a power outage,” said Macpherson, who was returning to Jacksonville, Florida, from Tasmania.

Passengers at airports in Chicago, Atlanta and elsewhere reported similar experiences.

European flights into the US appeared to be largely unaffected.

It was the latest headache for travelers in the US, who faced an even larger number of daily flight cancellations over the Christmas holiday due to a severe winter storm and a breakdown in crew-scheduling technology at Southwest Airlines.

Koenig reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Tara Copp in Washington, Kelvin Chan in London, Tom Krisher in Detroit and Freida Frisaro in Miami contributed to this report.

WHO renews call for Covid data from China to assess risk

UK and Japan sign defense deal amid rising concern about China

By Jill Lawless The Associated Press

LONDON—The leaders of Britain and Japan signed a defense agreement Wednesday that could see troops deployed to each other’s country.

The two countries are strengthening military ties amid growing concern about China’s increasing military assertiveness and designs toward Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida formally signed the agreement in the symbolic setting of the Tower of London fortress. The British government said it “cements our commitment to the Indo-Pacific” region.

“The relationship between our two countries is stronger than ever, not just across trade and security, but also our values,” Sunak told his Japanese counterpart.

Kishida, referring to the importance of security and cooperation between Japan and the UK, said he hoped he and Sunak would have a “strategic discussion.”

The Reciprocal Access Agreement, Japan’s first defense agreement with a European nation, allows the two Group of Seven countries to hold joint military exercises. The deal had been in the works for years and was discussed when Kishida visited then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London in May.

The British government said it will allow the armed forces of the UK and Japan “to plan and deliver larger and more complex military exercises and deployments.”

The agreement reflects a new “Indo-Pacific tilt” in Britain’s foreign policy following the country’s departure from the European Union in 2020. Britain sees Japan as its key East Asian ally.

“In this increasingly competitive world, it is more important than ever that democratic societies continue to stand shoulder to shoulder as we navigate the unprecedented global challenges of our time,” Sunak said.

During their meeting at the Tower of London, a 1,000-year-old former palace and prison that houses the Crown Jewels, the leaders viewed Japanese armor presented to King James in 1613 by Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada of Japan to mark the first-ever trade agreement between England and Japan.

Japan has joined Western nations in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and imposing sanctions against Moscow. Japan also has supplied Ukraine with helmets and other non-lethal military aid.

Japan is concerned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have an impact in East Asia, where China’s military has grown increasingly assertive and threatened to unite with Taiwan by force if necessary.

Concerned about rapid weapons advancement in China and North Korea, Japan in December adopted key security and defense reforms, including a counterstrike capability that makes a break from the self-defense-only principle it has maintained since its defeat in World War II.

Japan holds the presidency of the G-7 this year, and Kishida is on a weeklong trip to visit allies including Italy, France, Canada and the United States, where he is due to meet President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday.

Battle rages in Ukraine town; Russia shakes up its military

By Andrew Meldrum The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine—The fate of a devastated salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine hung in the balance Wednesday in one of the bloodiest battles of Russia’s invasion, while Ukraine’s unflagging resistance and other challenges prompted Moscow to shake up its military leadership again.

Russian forces used jets, mortars and rockets to bombard Soledar in an unrelenting assault.

Soledar’s fall, while unlikely a turning point in the nearly 11-month war, would be a prize for a Kremlin starved of good battlefield news in recent months. It would also offer Russian troops a springboard to conquer other areas of Donetsk province that remain under Ukrainian control, such as the nearby strategic city of Bakhmut. Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk province, which together make up the Donbas region bordering Russia, were Moscow’s main stated territorial targets in invading Ukraine, but the fighting has settled mostly into a stalemate.

In an apparent recognition of battlefield setbacks, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced the demotion of the head of Russian forces in Ukraine after only three months on the job. Russia’s top military officer—the chief of the military’s General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov—was named as the replacement for Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who was demoted to deputy.

During his short time overseeing the troops in Ukraine, Surovikin was credited with strengthening coordination, reinforcing control and introducing a campaign to knock out Ukraine’s public utilities as a pressure tactic. But he also announced a humiliating withdrawal in November from Kherson, the only regional center Russian forces had captured just weeks after the Kremlin illegally annexed the area. His demotion signaled that Russian President Vladimir Putin wasn’t fully satisfied with his performance.

Gerasimov, meanwhile, was seen as the top architect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and critics have blamed him for Moscow’s military setbacks.

Britain’s Defense Ministry said putting Gerasimov in charge is “an indicator of the increasing seriousness of the situation Russia is facing, and a clear acknowledgement that the campaign is falling short of Russia’s strategic goals.” It added in a tweet that Russian ultra-nationalists and military bloggers critical of Gerasimov are likely to greet the news with “extreme displeasure.”

The Russian Defense Ministry’s formal explanation was that expanded military tasks and the need for “closer interaction between branches of the military as well as increasing the quality of supplies and the efficiency of directing groups of forces” prompted the leadership changes.

On the battlefield, a Ukrainian officer, near Soledar, told The Associated Press the pattern is that first the Russians send one or two waves of soldiers, many from the private Russian military contractor Wagner Group, who take heavy casualties as they probe the Ukrainian defenses. When Ukrainian troops suffer casualties and are exhausted, the Russians send a fresh wave of highly trained soldiers, paratroopers or Special Forces, said the Ukrainian officer, who insisted on anonymity for security reasons.

Ukrainian officials denied Russian claims that Soledar had fallen but the Wagner Group’s owner repeated the assertion of a breakthrough late Wednesday.

“Once again I want to confirm the complete liberation and cleansing of the territory of Soledar from units of the Ukrainian army,” Yevgeny Prigozhin wrote on his Russian social media platform. “Civilians were withdrawn. Ukrainian units that did not want to surrender were destroyed.” He claimed about 500 people were killed and that “the whole city is littered with the corpses of Ukrainian soldiers.”

Ukraine’s military said late Wednesday Russian forces had suffered “huge losses” in the Soledar fighting.

MonikaScislowskainWarsaw,Poland,andYurasKarmanauinTallinn,Estonia, contributedtothisstory.

Philippines can avoid headwinds weighing on global growth

InternatIonal Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned on new Year’s Day that 2023 will be a difficult year for global economic development. “For the global economy, 2023 will be a tough year, tougher than the year we leave behind. We expect one-third of the world economy to be in recession,” Georgieva told CBS’s “Face the nation” in an interview aired on January 1. the warning came amid the Ukraine war, soaring prices, and higher interest rates that have affected rich and poor countries alike.

From the Associated Press: “The global economy will come “perilously close” to a recession this year, led by weaker growth in all the world’s top economies— the United States, Europe and China—the World Bank warned on Tuesday.”

“In an annual report, the World Bank said it had slashed its forecast for global growth this year by nearly half, to just 1.7 percent, from its previous projection of 3 percent. If that forecast proves accurate, it would be the thirdweakest annual expansion in three decades, behind only the deep recessions that resulted from the 2008 global financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.”

The World Bank report said that rising interest rates in developed economies like the US and Europe will attract investment capital from poorer countries, thereby depriving them of crucial domestic investment. It said those high interest rates will slow growth in developed countries at a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has kept world food prices high.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has added major new costs,” World Bank President David Malpass said. “The outlook is particularly devastating for many of the poorest economies where poverty reduction is already ground to a halt and access to electricity, fertilizer, food and capital is likely to remain limited for a prolonged period.”

The impact of a global downturn is seen falling particularly hard on poor countries. It can be recalled that during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, there was significant reductions in household consumption across the affected countries. Fortunately, growth in household expenditure remained relatively stable in the Philippines due to OFW remittances and the depreciation of the peso.

A report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in December— Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022 said the Philippine economy will grow 7.4 percent in 2022, up from the bank’s September forecast of 6.5 percent. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2023 is expected to slow to 6.0 percent from the previous forecast of 6.3 percent.

“The Philippine economy has shown strong underlying growth momentum and resilience in 2022 and this is expected to continue in 2023, with GDP growth converging towards its longer term growth rate of about 6 percent,” said ADB Philippines Country Director Kelly Bird. “There are downside risks to growth in 2023, including inflation stickiness, further increases in interest rates, and a sharper than expected slowdown in GDP growth in advanced countries.”

The 2022 growth forecast for the region was raised to 5.5 percent from the previous 5.1 percent despite the overall dimmed outlook for Asia and the Pacific, according to the ADB report. GDP growth in Southeast Asia is expected to slow to 4.7 percent in 2023.

A global economic slowdown this year will certainly affect developing countries, including the Philippines. Avoiding setbacks will be an important strategy amid strong headwinds. The government has said that it expects to continue to invest on its flagship infrastructure projects to spur employment and lay the foundations for a more vibrant and resilient economy. Now is the best time for the Marcos administration to roll out the big-ticket infrastructure projects to boost the economy and create more jobs for the people.

A proper response to Covid-19 in the New Year

sonny M. angara

Better Days

In terms of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippines welcomed 2023 from a much better position than the year before.

In January 2022, the presence of the then new omicron variant—coupled with the increased risk of transmission due to the holidays—resulted in an unprecedented surge of Covid-19 cases. at the time, the weekly positivity rate rose from 0.9 percent in mid-December to 47 percent in the early days of January. In fact, the highest number of reported cases ever at 200,208 was recorded from January 6 to January 12, 2022.

This year, in stark contrast, Department of Health (DOH) data showed that the weekly positivity rate from January 2 to January 8

was at 4.2 percent; slightly lower than the 5.5 percent recorded from December 26, 2022 to January 1, 2023 and well below the five-percent benchmark set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Amid these positive developments on our shores, the exponential surge of Covid-19 cases in China has begun to alarm many countries.

Since the country’s decision to move away from its controversial zeroCovid policy, increased Covid-19 cases have been observed within its borders. The media has even reported alleged overcrowding in crematoriums and funeral homes due to Covid-19. Consequently, countries began to impose travel restrictions against those coming from China. For instance, countries including the United States, France, UK, Japan,

Italy are now requiring negative tests either pre-flight or upon arrival. Morocco has even gone to the extreme of banning travelers from China.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that “it is understandable that some countries are taking steps they believe will protect their own citizens.” Meanwhile the DOH sees “no need” yet to reimpose travel restrictions for those coming from China, though the department made it clear that the Philippines has intensified its monitoring and health protocols. For instance, DOH noted that it has coordinated with the country’s ports for a thorough review of submitted health declaration forms as well as proper procedures for symptomatic and positive passengers.

Homeowners’ associations and their importance

Dr. ser Percival K. Peña-reyes

eaGLe WatCH

Dr Cielito F. Habito, Professor of economics at ateneo de Manila University, gives three reasons why the housing sector is important to the Philippine economy. First, housing is beneficial because it entails large numbers of construction workers. It creates many more jobs than a capital-intensive investment would. Money would circulate more among lower-income and lower-saving individuals and keep more money moving around in the spendingincome cycle to boost the textbook multiplier effect.

Second, housing has much lower import content than other government expenditures, so it keeps money circulating in the domestic economy.

Third, housing links to numerous domestic economic activities: home furnishings, utilities, household supplies, and many more. Public spending on housing would permeate much more widely and quickly across various industries and sectors within the Philippines.

Dr. Habito asserts that it is high time for housing to be put at the forefront of the national agenda for infrastructure development. There is a massive housing backlog of about 6.6 million units, and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported about 26.4 million households in 2020. This means that one in every four Filipino households is inadequately sheltered.

Nevertheless, despite this huge backlog, housing communities that are fortunate enough to be organized also have an important role to play in economic development. As explained by resource speakers from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Develop-

ment (DHSUD), homeowners’ associations are typically incorporated, nonprofit associations of homeowners that create and enforce bylaws in accordance with Republic Act 9904 (“An Act Providing for a Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners’ Associations, and for Other Purposes”). The accompanying table shows that there are 27,620 registered HOAs across the country. If there are 19.8 million households living in adequate and safe dwellings, then, on average nationwide, each HOA would host about 717 households.

Why are HOAs important? From an economic standpoint, HOAs help to ensure orderly and harmonious enjoyment of communities by regulating externalities (neighborhood or spillover effects, such as noise and home improvements) and providing basic services such as security and sanitation. These services are sustained by association dues collected from HOA members. HOAs help to protect against the depreciation of home values resulting from the deterioration of communities.

HOAs may also propose incomegenerating activities through livelihood projects. They may partner with government agencies for such projects through HOA federations. HOAs are meant to complement the local government units. Zoning ordinances, for instance, are typically implemented by HOAs among their members.

In the recent lockdown experience due to the spread of Covid-19, HOAs also played a crucial role in implementing quarantine rules and coordinating with government agencies for testing, tracing, and treatment efforts. The government should, indeed, consider building the capacities of HOAs in disaster risk reduction and management, as well as social protection.

As a microcosm of government,

each HOA is also prone to nepotism and corruption. That is why it is important for HOAs to be familiarized with Republic Act No. 9904 and its implementing rules and regulations in order to promote good governance among them. HOAs can represent themselves in city councils through HOA federations, so if good governance can be taught at the HOA level, then, perhaps, positive changes in society could be triggered upwards. In biology, healthy cells contribute to a healthy body. In like manner, strong HOAs contribute to a strong nation.

Region IV-A (Calabarzon) 16,195,042 16,139,770 4,062,720 4.0 6,077

Region IV-B (MIMAROPA) 3,228,558 3,212,287 792,875 4.1 353

Region V (Bicol Region) 6,082,165 6,067,290 1,365,044 4.4 574

Region VI (Western Visayas) 7,954,723 7,935,531 1,939,989 4.1 1,164

Region VII (Central Visayas) 8,081,988 8,046,285 1,966,588 4.1 1,624

Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) 4,547,150 4,531,512 1,082,106 4.2 343

Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) 3,875,576 3,862,588 895,899 4.3 292

Region X (Northern Mindanao) 5,022,768 5,007,798 1,197,736 4.2 791

Region XI (Davao Region) 5,243,536 5,223,802 1,337,781 3.9 1,088

Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN) 4,360,974 4,351,773 1,065,453 4.1 511

Region XIII (Caraga) 2,804,788 2,795,340 661,773 4.2 268

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region 4,944,800 4,938,539 832,908 5.9 NA

Philippines 109,035,343 108,667,043 26,393,906 4.1 27,620

Note: NA = not available. Data from the PSA are for 2020. Data from the DHSUD are for 2022.

Source: PSA and DHSUD web sites.

See “Angara,” A15

817-2807. (Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134

Missing: Rights and jobs for the landless rural poor

Dr. Rene E. ofreneo

LaBoREM EXERCEns

Per study by the UP School of Labor and industrial relations, more than 80 percent of the employed are informal workers. As pointed out in an earlier column, there are informals in the huge informal sector or informal economy (iS/ie). And there are also informals in the formal sector, referred to as the precariat or paid workers with non-regular or short-term tenures in the formal sector.

The informals are clearly a multitude. One cannot miss them. They can be found everywhere in the archipelago, especially in the swelling urban and rural slum colonies in all 17 regions of the country.

The informals are also the most vulnerable in the labor market. They are workers with no regular or stable jobs, and as such, have no regular or stable decent wages and conditions of work.

They do not get any protection from the Labor Code because the Code covers mainly workers belonging to the formal or organized (legally registered) sector of the economy.

To be able to enjoy the protective provisions of the Code related to labor standards (e.g., minimum wage and hours of work) and labor relations (e.g., rights to form unions and bargain collectively), workers must show proof that a formal employeremployee relationship exists in a given enterprise.

The problem is that the Philippine Statistics Authority is unable to provide data on the number and socio-economic situation of the different categories of informals in both sectors of the economy. As a result, formulating appropriate policy interventions and socio-economic assistance to help these different categories becomes a bit complicated.

However, the proposed Magna Carta for Workers in the Informal Economy (MCWIE) seeks to institutionalize at least two major policy reforms: the recognition of the right of all informal workers to form and register their own unions or associations to enable them to protect and advance their collective interests, and the recognition of the right of all informals to full and integrated social protection, including membership in the social security system (facilitated by a government subsidy program on premiums).

Per proponents of MCWIE, the following are some of the major worker groups or segments in the informal sector of the economy:

n Home-based workers who are independent producers of goods or services;

n Industrial home-workers doing subcontracting work;

n Self-employed engaged by other contractors to do subcontracting work;

n Ambulant vendors or peddlers who ply their trades in search of buyers;

n Street vendors who sell their merchandise on streets and sidewalks;

n Micro store owners or micro stall holders in public and private markets;

n Transport drivers, including “barkers,” fare collectors and dispatchers;

n Small transport operators (jeepneys, pedicabs, tricycles, taxis, etc.);

n Unregistered and unprotected household domestic workers;

n Informal construction workers hired informally;

n Workers of Barangay Micro Business Enterprises;

n Non-corporate cargo handlers and allied workers;

n Waste pickers and recyclers;

n Workers engaged in producing seasonal products;

n Own-account workers doing repair and maintenance of equipment, etc.;

n Beauticians, barbers, and masseuses in non-registered firms;

n “On-call” workers in the entertainment, movie, and media;

n Volunteer workers in government, e.g., barangay health workers;

n Unpaid family members, workers receiving allowances;

n Seasonal workers in micro enterprises and unincorporated household enterprises.

In the formal sector, the informals are the non-regular workers such as the “endos” and the project hires, contractuals, fixed-term workers and so on.

Now a major, major segment in the informal economy consists of the “landless rural poor”. They are rural workers who have no lands of their own nor have leasehold/tenancy rights in the cultivation of the lands of the propertied class. They easily outnumber the small farm owners/cultivators and agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) throughout Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The International Rice Research Institute observed as early as the 1970s that the landless rural poor are the fastest-growing segment of the agricultural labor force.

Today, the landless rural poor are clearly the most numerous. “Lumiliit ang sakahan at hindi dumarami ang trabaho” (arable land is shrinking and jobs are not multiplying), a farmer leader observed. The country’s agricultural land has been shrinking due to continuous conversions of farms into subdivisions, commercial zones and “reserve areas” under the “land banking” program of the big realtors and land speculators. On the other hand, good quality jobs in the countryside are scarce because of the country’s failure to achieve industrial transformation and agricultural modernization.

One outcome of the above phenomena is the rise of a large “floating population” of informal workers, who travel from place to place, seeking jobs wherever they can be found, no matter how marginal or seasonal these jobs are. So a landless rural poor can one day be a member of a “cabecilla,” which has a harvesting contract with a sugar or rice farm owner. Another day, he can join a gang of “camote miners” or gold panners. Still another day, he can try landing an informal job in construction projects in far-away cities or urban areas. Remember, the travails of some informal construction workers during the Covid pandemic in 2020-2021 because of travel restrictions and their non-coverage in the government’s “ayuda” program because they are not registered as members of the barangays (where they are renting sleeping/lodging spaces in the homes of urban poor families).

Many of the landless rural poor are children and grandchildren of small farmers and ARBs who have difficulty dividing a one-hectare farm or less among his working-age children and grandchildren. In short, they are not qualified to become beneficiaries of the long-running agrarian reform program of the country.

And yet, the comprehensive agrarian reform program is supposed to benefit them eventually. How? According to the declared CARP policy, the goals of CARP is to help develop rural communities into progressive ones and transform them as platforms for agro-industrial development and job creation. This, unfortunately, is not happening. More in the next issue.

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo is a Professor Emeritus of the University of the Philippines.

For comments, please write to reneofreneo@ gmail.com.

Vlogging selves

Tito Genova Valiente annoTaTions

Something is happening online. they are still called “vlogs” or video blogs but the contents have become intensely personal. they follow long threads of tales that lead to epic narratives as the vlogger does not remain alone but is linked with other vloggers. it is as if the story of one is pushed by a similar story from another. or, they take turns in sharing episodes in their lives until their vlogs assume the excitement of a melodramatic tV series or drag as some series do.

Immersive and participatory, these vlogs are supported by social media apparatuses and applications. You can watch and remain the anonymous viewer or you can be a ringmaster, sending “stars” or even monetary support or contributing to the “convo” or conversation. Or, you could critique or lambast the vlogger and his content. “Bash” is the term used for that. While “bashing” may sound derogatory, it does not diminish the power of a vlog; in fact, any form of bashing is bound to make the post “viral” and, by the implication of that word, spread immensely, in this case, online.

How does one become part of a vlog? Like any online image or presentation, it begins with how an image or actions attract a viewer. With millions of posts online, one or two can bring you to follow their characters, or track the development of a picture or a person. The old adage about ads being intriguing work for vlogs. The political incorrectness of a statement or slogan can even be the beginning of one’s affair with a vlog.

Everything starts with surfing online. Triggered by a narrative, the algorithm of social media takes over and manages the flow of things.

During the height of the pandemic, streaming movies and music and those short and sweet vlogs provided the comfort zone for a population grappling not only with the lock-

down but also with the steady news about daily deaths from the virus. In my case, at breakfast, I would search for travel vlogs. One particular vlog was about an English couple that had chosen to navigate the many rivers of England with their locks, which allowed flat boats to reach woodlands and remote sites. I wrote about this vlogging couple. The husband being a TV and theater actor provided most of the narrations, which were wittily wicked.

Not all vlogs benefit from succinct and swift subtitling and narrating. The nature of the vlog itself—private made public, the confessional turned into a social act—does not demand fluidity in performance nor does it require any acting skill. If there is a common element in these implosive vlogs from the Filipinos, it is the candor and naiveté, unfiltered, warts and all, coming straight into your senses.

There is this transgender from one of the island provinces of Bicol. S/he lives in a small house, impoverished. S/he dresses plainly, eats dried fish with her bare hands. Constantly eating, she talks with morsels of food showing from her mouth. Lately, she has developed a narrative—that of a woman looking for her male partner. She walks barefoot in her neighborhood, the surroundings dank and dirty, the overflow of the seawater flooding

the streets around them. But, in one of the previous episodes, s/he raises funds for an old man, abandoned and living alone in a tiny hut. An impossibly poor person coming to the aid of a hopelessly poor soul.

Composite vlogs portray a new if not disturbing profile of migrant women. These women seem to share an origin given their accent and inflection. It is not clear if they are all married to American white males but they look well preserved even as they retain that simple unmadeup physicality of rural women. In an episode, they show us what seems to be the latest in the US of A: “Pamamasura” (dumpster diving). These women walk the streets at night in search of disposed household items, a practice common in Japan years ago among migrant workers. But in another episode, we see the women proud of their finds: fruits and other food items. From their conversation, we hear how they are going to dispose of what had been disposed of —they will sort out these food items (there are chocolate candies and bars sometimes) and check their expiry dates and send them to any of their deserving followers. Behind therefore a deviant behavior, we glean a positive act. How rational is this narrative?

Is there ever a chance for these narrators to step back a bit, ask themselves if what they are doing makes sense?

In the book Autoethnograpy. Understanding Qualitative Research, by Tony E. Adams, Stacy Holman Jones and Carolyn Ellis, the concept of narrative rationality, following Walter Fisher, is defined: “Humans are storytellers in search of narrative rationality—stories that are plausible, trustworthy, reliable, and ‘true’ to experience.”

Are these women coming from homes of such abject poverty that migration and the consequent marriage into households situated in developed, wealthy communities cannot banish memories of deprivation? That, at each turn, they always feel the need to look for surpluses and funnel them back to their subsisting human groups?

The glory days of fake news are over. Welcome to the brave, new world where everyone does not only have a 15-minute share of fame but brief moments of acceptability that they can sustain so long as their number of viewers escalates by seconds and they can share their bounty with virtual constituents.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

In Washington, ‘classified’ is synonymous with ‘controversy’

By Chris Megerian The Associated Press

WASHINGTON—Hillary Clinton’s presidential dreams were undermined by her use of a private e-mail server that included classified information.

Donald Trump has risked criminal charges by refusing to return top-secret records to the government after leaving the White House.

And now misplaced files with classified markings could cause a political headache for President Joe Biden.

The three situations are far from equivalent. But taken together, they represent a remarkable stretch in which document management has been a recurring source of controversy at the highest levels of American politics.

For some, it’s a warning about clumsiness or hubris when it comes to handling official secrets. For others, it’s a reminder that the federal government has built an unwieldy—and perhaps unmanageable—system for storing and protecting classified information.

“Mistakes happen, and it’s so easy to grab a stack of documents from your desk as you’re leaving your office, and you don’t realize there’s a classified docu-

Angara

. . .

continued from A14

The current surge being reported in China should not be taken lightly especially since most restrictions aimed at curbing transmission, including the wearing of face masks, have already been relaxed. Lest we risk sharing the same fate as our neighbor, the DOH and the wholeof-government should take advantage of the country’s relatively low positivity rate to implement preparatory measures so that—in the event of another surge—Filipinos infected by the virus will be given

ment among those files,” said Mark Zaid, a lawyer who works on national security issues. “You just didn’t hear about it, for whatever reason.”

Now Americans are hearing about it all the time. Political talk shows have been clogged with conversations about which papers were stashed in which box in which closet. Voters are getting schooled in intelligence jargon like TS/SCI, HUMINT and damage assessments.

Clinton’s e-mail server was a dominant storyline of her presidential campaign, and the criminal investigation into Trump has clouded his hopes of returning to the White House. Republicans who recently took control of the House are now poised to examine Biden’s own document practices as well, especially after a second batch of classified material was found.

“The American people are very well aware of issues involving classified documents in part because we’ve been talking about them for almost eight years,” said Alex Conant, a Republican political consultant.

That’s when a House Republican committee investigating the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, discovered that Clinton had used a private

the proper care and attention and economic activity will not be hampered. Such measures include ensuring that we have enough stocks of vaccines (including bivalent booster doses), medicines, medical peripherals, and other equipment necessary for our health systems; and, formulating strategies for affected Filipinos in case lockdowns are reimposed.

In short, a complacent approach to the still present pandemic will not do especially since a considerable number of Filipinos has yet to avail themselves of booster vaccines. DOH data as of January 10, 2023 shows that around 73 million

e-mail account while serving as secretary of state. The revelation led to a federal investigation that didn’t result in any charges, but 110 e-mails out of 30,000 that were turned over to the government were determined to have had classified information.

Trump, who pummeled Clinton over her handling of the e-mails, won the election and swiftly demonstrated carelessness with secrets. He memorably discussed sensitive intelligence with the Russian ambassador to the United States, leading to concerns that he may have jeopardized a source that helped foil terrorist plots.

After disputing the results of his election defeat, Trump left office in haphazard fashion, and he brought boxes of government documents with him to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort. Some of them were turned over to the National Archives, which is responsible for presidential records, but he refused to provide others.

Eventually the Justice Department, fearing that national security secrets were at risk, obtained a search warrant and found more top secret documents at the resort.

A special counsel was appointed to determine whether any criminal charges

Filipinos have already completed the first series of Covid-19 vaccination; however, only a little over 21 million have availed themselves of booster doses. Moreover, of the 6.9 million senior citizens who have been administered with the first and second doses, only 2.7 million were able to get booster shots. Low booster availment could potentially have a significant impact amid the new Omicron XBB.1.5 strain dubbed “Kraken”, which the WHO noted is the “most transmissible sub-variant that has been detected yet.”

With constant developments on Covid-19 and the quick emergence of new strains, it should already be

should be filed in the case or a separate investigation into Trump’s attempts to cling to power on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters attacked the US Capitol.

Larry Pfeiffer, a former intelligence official, said the situation with Trump’s documents is far different than ones he encountered while working in government.

During the time that Pfeiffer was CIA chief of staff, classified files turned up in the wrong place in presidential libraries a handful of times, he said.

“It just happens,” said Pfeiffer, now director of the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy and International Security at George Mason University. “Mistakes get made, and stuff gets found.”

He said that seems more likely to be the case regarding the documents with classified markings that were found at an office used by Biden at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement after his term as vice president ended.

Biden’s personal lawyers discovered the documents and contacted the White House counsel’s office, and the National Archives picked up the records the next day.

evident that the world will have to live with this virus for a very long time. And while recent variants no longer cause as much harm as its predecessors, the government and its people should look into availing of all possible options to ensure that outbreaks such as those in the past would not happen again.

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

E-mail: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara

CJG,

REMULLA, ABALOS TACKLE WAYS TO BETTER PHL JUSTICE SYSTEM

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

CHIEF Justice Alexander Gesmundo on Wednesday met with Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. in Baguio City to discuss various programs that can be implemented to improve the country’s justice system.

D uring their meeting, the three affirmed their commitment as  the principals of the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC), to work together as they lead the fourth leg of the Justice Zone Dialogue Series held last January 11, 2023 at the Baguio Country Club Convention Center.

B oth Gesmundo and Abalos agreed on the use of technological advancements for a more efficient and speedy investigation, prosecution and resolution of criminal cases.

O n the other hand, Remulla is pushing for a higher threshold for filing cases or the reasonable certainty of conviction, and not just because of probable cause.

“ We all know that there is a need to narrow the greater divide between the current degree of proof needed for the filing of a criminal information, probable cause, and that of conviction, which is proof beyond reasonable doubt,” Remulla said.

T he Justice Secretary stressed that such measure will benefit the courts as it will help decongest court dockets, and give judges more time to only hear cases where the evidence is complete. He added that this will also help decongest the country’s jails, as only those against whom the evi -

dence of guilt is strong would be charged and convicted.

R emulla said the DOJ has also embarked on various training programs intended to capacitate and equip its prosecutors and other stakeholders with the skills needed to ensure the successful prosecution of criminal cases.

He earlier promised to release more than 5, 000 inmates by June this year.

A balos noted that just like the judiciary, the DILG is now using  technology in crime detection and policing.

T he first three Justice Zone Dialogue Series were held in Cebu City, Davao City and Naga City, but it was the Baguio City leg that the three JSCC principals were present.    There are a total of nine Justice Zones nationwide: Quezon City, Cebu City, Davao City, Angeles City, Bacolod City, Naga City, Calamba City, Balanga City, and Baguio City.

T he Justice Zone was launched in Quezon City, with the High Court saying then it was chosen as the pilot area because it has the biggest residential population in the country at 2.9 million, and it makes up more than 5 percent of the total caseloads handled by courts.

T he program involves coordinative reforms in a given area such as the Katarungang Pambarangay, Alternative Dispute Resolution, the Mediation and Conciliation Office with the Public Attorney’s Office, DOJ, police, paralegals, and inmate monitoring system, among others.

It also features a system where case records are preserved and stored digitally for easy monitoring and retrieval.

Biz groups push back anew on PPA order on container registry

By Andrea E. San Juan

TRADE groups including the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) have renewed their objection to a Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) order prescribing the registration and monitoring of containers, noting that such pads the “undue cost burdens” of business and consumers amid runaway inflation and container delays.

I n a statement issued on Thursday by the umbrella organization of Philippine exporters, the organizations—PCCI and Philexport, along with Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines (SCMAP), and four networking committees of the Export Development Council (EDC)—sought the scrapping of PPA Administrative Order 04-2021 and its Implementing Operational Guidelines (IOG).

I n a January 10, 2023 joint position letter to PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago, the trade groups expressed their “vehement opposition to the implementation and strongly recommends the immediate rescission of PPA Administrative Order 04-2021 and its Implementing Operational Guidelines (IOG) on the Trusted Operator Program-Container Registry and Monitoring System (TOP-CRMS).”

T he groups said the order will only bring a “regulatory burden” to all affected stakeholders while violating the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) law.

T he groups said that their objection, along with brokers, truckers,

shipping lines and other affected stakeholders that they expressed in meetings and through position papers last year “seemed to have fallen on deaf ears” when the PPA proceeded with the latest IOG.

Since May 2022, some 14 trade, industry and transport and logistics groups had issued a solidary statement seeking the “immediate revocation” of the policy, as it “threatens to cripple the transport and logistics industries and the national economy as a whole.”

PPA AO-2021 sets the policy for the registration and monitoring of containers entering and leaving PPA ports, including the scheduling, loading, unloading, release and movement of all containers.

T he order aims to generate a record of accountability to “enable PPA to monitor the movement of containers from the time of entry, discharge, return and storage, and re-export,” with the objective of preventing smuggling.

Further, it “shall apply to all containers originating from foreign ports that will be unloaded at government and/or private ports under the administrative jurisdiction of the PPA.”  In their letter to the PPA general manager, the trade groups listed issues against the PPA administrative order and its implementing operational guidelines.

A mong the objectives of PPA AO 04-2021 that the groups oppose is how the Authority will supposedly simplify procedures and remedy port congestion through an electronic monitoring system for container movement.

Senate grills CAAP on lapse, ₧1B owed to JV tech provider

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

THE uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has not been examined the past three years by a third-party provider, an exercise that might have helped raise red flags in the CAAP’s system and averted the New Year’s Day fiasco that transformed Philippine air space into a no-fly zone, disrupting nearly 300 flights, stranding 65,000 people, and costing airlines and passengers billions.

T his matter was raised Thursday at the start of the Senate Public Services Committee inquiry into the January 1 incident, initially traced to a UPS problem but which subsequently involved problems with a circuit breaker, among others.

T he equipment of the CAAP’s air traffic management center in Pasay City was not checked by a thirdparty provider after the warranty of the existing contractor lapsed,

Senate probers found out. S enators were also dismayed to learn that negotiations had dragged nearly three years between the government and the joint venture of contractors Thales and Sumitomo, for claims both sides made against each other, with contractors seeking P986 million they estimated were owed to them.

Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the Public Services committee, subse -

quently zeroed in—along with Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri— on the estimated P1 billion in claims from the technology provider.

C AAP Director General Manuel Tamayo assured senators, however, that the CAAP technicians who have been in charge of maintenance since the JV’s warranty expired are competent, having been trained by the joint venture as part of the technology transfer agreement.

Atty. Lloyd Chadwick Lim, Sumitomo representative, validated Tamayo’s assertion that the CAAP technicians who took over are qualified, but he agreed with Sen. Poe that having a third-party provider to help maintain the equipment would be a better setup. She had noted that “we cannot play with people’s lives” because of the security and safety issues.

CAAP funds

AT some point, Poe also pointed out that CAAP has ample funds for its modernization, recalling that “the only reason we gave them money—

P1.4B in 2021 and P2B in 2022— was because they depleted their savings to give to the national government for the Bayanihan” laws.

She noted that in fact, the average savings of CAAP is P2-billion a year because of their revenue from regulatory activities. As of September 2022, they were already at prepandemic levels, income-wise, Poe added.

They can’t themselvesinvestigate

AT the start of the hearing, Sen. Poe questioned the propriety of having the DOTr and CAAP investigate the technical glitch in the January 1 air traffic management system because their people are themselves involved in what transpired.

Poe said the investigation must be thorough and credible in order to ensure there is no repeat and to guide policy and lawmakers in determining what measures are needed to strengthen Philippine aviation.

PHL ’22 rice imports breach USDA projection

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE Philippines imported a record high of 3.826 million metric tons (MMT) of rice last year, latest Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) data showed.

BPI data showed the Philippines overshot the projected 3.8 MMT import volume cited by the United States Department of AgricultureForeign Agricultural Service in Manila (USDA-FAS Manila).

I nternational market watchers and local experts have pointed out that the country imported a lot of rice this year to compensate for the reduction in domestic palay output due to reduced fertilizer application.

T he high-ranking officials of the agriculture department have described the higher than usual import volume this year as a “blessing in disguise” to ensure the country’s

staple supply and avert increase in prices of the commodity.

T he country’s total rice imports last year was 38.07 percent higher than the 2.771 MMT it imported in 2021, based on BPI data.

BPI data showed a total of 152 eligible rice importers brought in the volume after using 4,302 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs).

V ietnam remained as the country’s top supplier and accounted for 83 percent of total rice imports or about 3.178 MMT. It was followed by Myanmar at 244,738 MT and Pakistan at 198,912 MT.

T hailand exported 183,230 MT of rice to the Philippines last year while India shipped 10,094 MT, based on BPI data.

Both Pakistan and India benefited from the lowering to 35 percent of the most favored nation tariff rates on rice imports.

L ast year, the Philippines also

imported rice from China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Spain.

T he country’s top rice importer last year was NAN STU Agri Traders with a total volume of 203,180.35 MT followed by Lucky Buy and Sell at 175,303 MT, BPI data showed.

Earlier, ranking agriculture officials revealed that the national government will continue its practice of “managing” the entry of rice imports by slowing down the issuance of pertinent import documents during harvest seasons as authorities “balance” local production and foreign supplies. (Related story: https:// businessmirror com.ph/2022/12/20/slowdownin-issuance-of-spsics-stays-astool-to-manage-rice-imports/)

T hey also hinted that they may issue fewer SPSICs to cover import arrivals in the first half should official figures indicate abundant supply.

Since the rice trade liberalization

law took effect in 2019, authorities have been looking for ways to manage the arrival of rice imports to avert an oversupply that would depress farm-gate prices of local palay.

O ne of the ways the government limits the entry of rice imports especially during harvest seasons is by slowing down on the issuance of SPSICs.

T he last time the BPI issued SPSICs for rice imports was June 6, with a corresponding volume of a little over 625,000 MT.

T he BPI, an attached agency of the DA, is mandated under Republic Act 11203 or the RTL law to oversee rice importation through issuance of SPSIC. The SPSIC is a required import document that certifies an imported good or product is safe for human consumption and health, and does not bring in any threats to the local agriculture sector such as plants and animals.

CAPT. Manuel Antonio Tamayo, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), replies to a query from Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, at a joint hearing with the Senate Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation on Thursday, January 12, 2023, on the Naia New Year’s Day fiasco. Also in photo are Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista and former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade. ROY DOMINGO

Silverlion loses registration due to Ponzi-like scheme

By VG Cabuag @villygc

S e C Zamboanga e x tension o ff ice revealed that Silverlion had been offering and selling investment packages to the public with guaranteed returns of 35 percent within just 15 days. With this, investments ranging from P1,000 to P100,000 could yield returns worth P1,300 to P130,000, respectively.

In an order dated January 5, the Se C ’s e n forcement and Investor Protection Department ( e I PD) has revoked the certificate of incorporation of Silverlion for violation of the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines.

The Se C said Silverlion’s activities constituted serious misrepresentation as to what it can do, to

the great prejudice of or damage to the general public, a ground for the revocation of a corporation’s certificate of registration under Presidential Decree no. 902-A.

Silverlion also does not have the required secondary license from the Se C to offer or sell securities to the public, the Se C said.

Investigations by the e I PD and

Silverlion’s scheme involves securities, particularly an investment contract, whereby a person invests his money in a common enterprise and is led to expect profits primarily from the efforts of others, according to the e I PD.

As a form of security, investment contracts must be registered with the Se C before they can be sold or offered within the Philippines.

“The scheme being offered by Silverlion Livestock Trading Corp.…promising a return of 2.3 percent per day or 35 percent after 15 days has the characteristics

of a Ponzi scheme,” according to the order.

“The investment scheme of [Silverlion] also operates to defraud investors as it deceives the investing public by making it appear that they have the authority to deal in securities.”

The revocation of Silverlion’s corporation registration followed the successful implementation of a search warrant against Silverlion by the combined forces of Se C and the national Bureau of Investigation last year. They were able to seize bundles of cash, vouchers, and other devices that were allegedly supposed to be used for the upcoming payout of profits to its existing investors.

While charges have been filed against Silverlion Livestock Trading Corp. and its officers and agents, its incorporators Ryan Cagod Ladoing and Renan Lara Ladoing remain at large.

Wilcon, Converge strengthen tie-up

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

WILCon Depot has tapped Converge ICT Solutions Inc. for a dedicated and secured internet service.

Converge ICT will supply the construction supplies and home improvement retailer a Direct Internet Access (DIA) to assure Wilcon Depot of smooth flow of operations.

The DIA will also provide a wellorchestrated operational process of virtual video conferences between various departments, comprehen-

sive data sharing, and coordinated logistical communication to ensure continuous business productivity.

“The IT infrastructure is very important to any growing company. especially for us as a retailer, we need data very quickly. We need the data to be consolidated back at our head office. And we need data to be consistent and available to our teams so we can make proper decisions. o perationally, we cannot run our costs, we cannot run our systems without connectivity,” said Lorraine Belo-Cincochan, president and Ceo of Wilcon Depot.

For the majority of their branches, Wilcon Depot is currently subscribed to the Converge iBiz product, a pure fiber internet plan created to provide businesses with quality connections at an affordable cost. As the company evolves and expands with an increasing need for more bandwidth, it transitioned from iBiz to flexiBIZ—a business-grade connectivity solution designed for maximum efficiency during daytime business peak hours.

“We’re happy to be Wilcon Depot’s longtime partner in connectivity. Helping them maintain their status as a pioneer in construction

TAIWA n Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) predicted sales below analysts’ estimates and said it will reduce spending as the chip industry braces for a potential recession and tighter United States trade controls.

TH e chronic labor shortage in the United States and e u ropean consumergoods industry is likely over, according to a Deloitte survey.

More than half of executives polled by the consulting firm say that the labor shortages of recent years will end in six months—or have already resolved. Almost 70 percent of respondents said they won’t increase their rate of hiring and might even curb it. o n e in four plan layoffs, the survey found.

Companies across the spectrum struggled to find enough workers to fill a demand surge for their products early in the pandemic. But inflation has eroded shoppers’ ability to keep spending, sparking declines in sales for many firms. At the same time, the easing of pandemic restrictions has consumers spending once again on experiences such as travel and eating out.

e x pectations of deteriorating economic conditions are also forcing companies to rethink their headcount. Layoffs have already hit tech and finance, while McDonald’s also recently announced it would be cutting jobs.

First-quarter sales will be $16.7 billion to $17.5 billion, TSMC said Thursday. Analysts predicted $17.9 billion on average. The chip giant said capital expenditure is set to decrease to $32 billion to $36 billion this year from $36.3 billion in 2022.

The first quarter could mark TSMC’s first revenue decline in four years, underscoring the depth of the global slowdown in technology demand. First-half sales will fall by mid- to high single-digit percentage, TSMC said, predicting a recovery in the second half that will mean slight growth for the whole of 2023.

The company is betting on its technology and scale advantages to weather the worst of the slump. The US has tightened China chip trade controls, while rising interest rates, soaring inflation and concerns of a potential global recession are causing consumers to curb spending.

The world’s biggest contract manufacturer of chips, which is the exclusive supplier of Apple Inc.’s Silicon chips for iPhones and Macs, may also have been affected by problems at the US tech giant’s assembly operations in China. Apple was forced to trim output estimates after Covidrelated chaos at a plant in Zhengzhou exposed vulnerabilities in the company’s supply chain.

Some of the biggest Wall Street banks have turned cautious on TSMC. Last week, goldman Sachs group Inc. and UBS group Ag said they expect its sales to be little changed in 2023, with the latter cutting its price target on the stock. Analysts have cut their average target by 39 percent over the past 10 months to the lowest in two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“The market is quite pessimistic about TSMC’s outlook,” Venson Tsai, an analyst at Cathay Securities and Futures, said ahead of the results.

“It’s key to see when inventory will return to normal level, which will affect market sentiment. Another key thing to watch is its 2023 capex. If its capex grows at least 10% from last year, investors will see it as a positive signal.”

The company and its customers

supply and home improvement retail in the Philippines despite the challenges of the pandemic is in line with our guiding belief in accessibility, innovation, and growth,” said Converge Chief o p erating o ff icer Jesus C. Romero.

“We are proud to be their continued partner in providing solutions for every Filipino home as they continue to expand nationwide. Converge remains committed to supporting businesses as they adapt to new operating models to improve efficiency and increase productivity.”

Bulacan households to get clean drinking water by

SA n Miguel Corp. (SMC), through its Luzon Clean Water Development Corp. (LCWDC), will make available potable and affordable water from the Angat reservoir to more than 350,000 households in Bulacan by early 2025 as it starts implementation of Stage 3A of the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project (BBWSP).

BBWSP covers the water districts of Baliwag, norzagaray, Hagonoy, Pandi, San Ildefonso, San Miguel and San Rafael.

LCWDC currently supplies treated bulk water to 13 water districts of Bulacan that, in turn, distribute to 220,000 households in cities and municipalities that include Balagtas, Bocaue, Marilao, City of Meycauayan, obando, City of San Jose Del Monte, Bulakan, Calumpit, guiginto, City of Malolos, Paombong, Plaridel and Sta. Maria.

“Worth noting is the fact that LCWDC has been providing Bulacan water districts the lowest bulk water charge in the country at P9.66 per cubic meter or less than 1 centavo per liter,” SMC said.

Full completion of Stage 3 of the BBWSP will bring the total coverage of LCWDC to 24 areas in Bulacan.

“With the growing population in the province, we expect a greater demand for water in the coming years. As such, our BBWSP teams are working double time to further expand our coverage areas to allow more households to benefit from reliable, affordable, clean, and potable supply of water,” SMC Presi-

dent Ramon S. Ang said.

“We still have a long way to go given the delays brought about by the pandemic, but with the support of local government units, water districts, and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), we are confident we can meet our targets on time.”

Ang added that SMC is committed to fulfilling the objectives of the project which is to meet the increasing demand for water that’s potable, affordable, and reliable without the adverse environmental impact brought about by excessive groundwater extraction.

The Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project produces an average volume of 190 million liters per day, and has a maximum capacity of 388 million liters per day.

The BBWSP is only one of SMC’s several water-related initiatives in recent years.

In 2017, SMC discontinued its bottled water business as part of efforts to reduce the company’s impact on the environment. The company also initiated a program to reduce its group-wide water use by 50 percent by 2025.

SMC also completed its P1-billion Tullahan River cleanup last September with 1.12 million tons of wastes removed in just two years from the river. The company is also currently undertaking the P2-billion cleanup of the Pasig River to boost flood mitigation efforts in Metro Manila cities that are located near the water tributary.

still expect the long-term trend in electronics demand to keep going up. Last month, TSMC kicked off mass production of next generation chips and increased its investment in the US state of Arizona to $40 billion.

net income climbed 78 percent to nT$295.9 billion ($9.7 billion) for the quarter through December, TSMC said. Analysts estimated n T$287.8 billion on average. Revenue advanced 43 percent to n T$625.5 billion as previously reported—the first miss in two years.

TSMC’s technology leadership gives it an advantage in pricing even as the broader industry languishes. Its gross margin—a measure of profitability—expanded to a record 62.2 percent last quarter from 52.7 percent a year earlier, also helped by favorable foreign exchange rates and efforts to curb costs.

Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. said it expects to return to 75 percent of pre-pandemic capacity by the end of this year and 100 percent by mid-2024, after increasing operations to 30 percent this month.

The carrier, which had a HK$49 billion ($6.3 billion) debt restructuring plan approved by courts in December, is also raising basic pay by 8 percent and lifting flying hourly rates for crew by up to 10 percent, according to a statement Thursday. ground staff will receive a 5 percent basic salary pay rise.

Workers have been brought back from long pay leave and Hong Kong Airlines plans to hire 1,000 new employees by the end of 2023—120 pilots, 500 cabin crew and 380 ground staff, it said. That

will bring the workforce back to 60 percent to 70 percent of preCovid levels.

“We have leveraged every travel recovery opportunity over the past few months amidst unprecedented pent-up demand, and we continue to see positive business growth, particularly from the Japanese markets,” Chairman Hou Wei said in the statement.

“Mainland China will definitely be the next market to contribute significantly to our travel recovery efforts,” he said, adding that flights there have now doubled to 35 sectors a week.

The carrier is flying to 15 destinations such as Tokyo, osaka, Seoul, Bangkok, Manila, Beijing and Shanghai. Prior to the pandemic, it flew to 34 places. Bloomberg

The Securities and exchange Commission (SeC) has canceled the corporate registration of Silverlion Livestock Trading Corp. for soliciting investments from the public without the requisite license from the agency.

Contributed photo

Banking&Finance

Gap widens for Asia banking ESG players

BSP adopts sustainable CB strategy

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas announced last Thursday it has launched its “Sustainable Central Banking (SCB) Strategy, which embodies the BSP’s commitment to championing the sustainability agenda in the Philippine financial system.”

A statement from the central bank quoted BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla as saying that “climate change and other environmental hazards impact the prices of goods and change the risk profile of financial institutions.”

“We are doing what we have to do in line with our mandates of promoting price and financial stability,” Medalla said.

The BSP said that under the SCB Strategy, it will foster a policy environment conducive to the adoption and growth of sustainable finance. It also commits to adhere to the same standards set for supervised financial institutions in managing risks and in making environmentally and socially responsible investment decisions.

“The BSP is an enabler, a mobilizer, and a doer in championing sustainable finance. But we also recognize that climate action is a whole-of-society undertaking. We are in this together,” Medalla said. “We will be working together and we must take a long-term view that the things that are consistent with a better planet are also good for everyday life.”

The BSP said that the SCB Strategy provides 11 action points integrating sustainability principles in its key operations and functions.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided technical assistance in developing the strategy. The BSP also worked closely with sustainable finance expert Professor Ulrich Volz, Director, Centre for Sustainable Finance, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, in crafting the strategy.

The event was attended by different stakeholders who supported the BSP in implementing various initiatives to promote the sustainability agenda.

The SCB webpage, a dedicated section on the BSP web site to communicate the various partnerships and accomplishments as well as ongoing and forthcoming initiatives of the BSP in line with its sustainability agenda, can be accessed through https://www.bsp.gov.ph/SitePages/ StrategicPrograms/SustainableCentral-Banking.aspx.

ASIA’S major banks are seeing a widening gap between ESG leaders and laggards, as regulators in the region ramp up scrutiny of sustainable finance, according to WWF-Singapore.

While leading banks in Singapore and Malaysia made headway on implementing their environmental and social risk policies in 2022, over half

of the 46 regional lenders surveyed made “little to no progress,” the organization said in its annual sustainable banking report published

Of horses, eagles and other tales

LAST Christmas, our good neighbor Bo Sanchez, a wellknown author, podcaster, entrepreneur and missionary, gifted us with his latest inspirational book, “This and That: Tiny Choices to Uncomplicate Your Life.”

The 200-page, 31-chapter book is full of stories on making life’s simple choices plus reflection points and actionable tips. I have adapted four tales from it which I thought I’d share with associations:

1. The Horse and the Donkey —Selfishness or Selflessness. A horse and a donkey were best of friends. One day, a group of bandits kidnapped them to carry their stolen loot. The gang put all the load onto the donkey to carry while put nothing on the horse.

When the donkey asked his horse friend for help, the selfish horse reasoned that he can only carry people. Long story short, the donkey died of exhaustion before reaching the destination. So the bandits put all the stuff onto the horse which also died in the end. In his dying moment, the horse thought that if he had only been selfless and had shared the load with his donkey friend, both of them could have survived the ordeal.

Reflection for an association: “What selfless deed have you done lately for your members, colleagues, others?”

2. The Chicken and the Eagle—Fly or Soar. A chicken and an eagle reacted differently before an impending storm. The chicken flapped its wings and looked for a place to hide for fear of death due to strong winds while the eagle stood at the edge of the cliff where its nest was and waited for the wind to come.

The eagle then stretched its wings and waited for the wind to propel it upward and forward. No, the eagle did not fly; it floated with the wind and soared!

Reflection for an association: “What storm are you currently facing and how can you soar through it like an eagle?”

3. Marbles and Candies Exchange—Partial or 100 Percent. Two little kids, a boy and a girl, were playing. The boy had a collection of marbles; the girl, candies. The boy offered to swap all his marbles for all her candies. The girl agreed.

The boy gave the girl all his marbles except the biggest and best one which he secretly did not tell the girl. The girl was so happy but the boy could not sleep at night and kept thinking that the girl probably also kept her biggest and best candy from him.

Reflection for an association: “What is your commitment to your members and how do you fulfill this commitment?”

4. The King and the Felon —Certainty or Fear of the Unknown. A person who committed a felony got caught and was brought to the king. The king gave him two options: death by hanging or be put through a dark, scary, mysterious iron door. Instantly, the felon chose death by hanging. Before the execution, he asked the king what was behind the mysterious door. The king told him it was freedom!

Reflection for an association: “What fear prevents you from doing what’s best for your organization or its members?”

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

LandBank caps off ’22 with 4 agri-hubs

THE Land Bank of the Philippines Inc. (LandBank) announced last Thursday it wrapped-up 2022 with the opening of four new “agri-hubs” located in the provinces of Oriental Mindoro, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental, expanding its physical touchpoints to better serve farmers and fishers in the country.

The state-run bank said it established the agri-hubs in the last week of December. The lender said these hubs will provide combined services of banking, lending and agrarian services to the country’s top rice-producing provinces, including unbanked and underserved rice farming areas.

“Our continued expansion of LandBank agri-hubs across the country forms part of our commitment to deliver responsive and timely financial services to the agriculture sector, especially

to small farmers and fishers,” LandBank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo was quoted in a statement as saying. “We strive to make our banking products and services more accessible especially in underserved areas to help boost agricultural production and build stronger local communities.”

LandBank said that last December 26, opened its 13th agrihub in Plaridel, Misamis Occidental. This hub aims to primarily serve over 23,000 farmers and fishers within the municipality and its neighboring town of Lopez Jaena.

LandBank said it established another agri-hub in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, to cater to the banking requirements of more than 13,000 farmers and fishers in the municipality.

Meanwhile, the agri-hub in San Fernando, Bukidnon was in-

augurated last December 29 to service the municipality’s 24 barangays, including 11,000 farmers and fishers.

On the same day, a LandBank agri-hub in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro, was opened to provide accessible financial services mainly to the 12,233 farmers and fishers in Bongabong.

LandBank said its agri-hubs offer banking services such as account opening, withdrawals and check encashments; lending services such as the processing of loan applications; and agrarian services such as processing of Agrarian Reform bonds and handling of agrarian-related concerns from landowners, bondholders and agrarian reform beneficiaries.

The opening of LandBank’s new agri-hubs raises the total number of its agri-hubs in the country to 16.

Thursday. Vietnamese and Filipino banks lagged the most.

This gap is “largely driven by regulation,” Kristina Anguelova, head of Asia sustainable finance at WWF-Singapore, said in an interview. Central banks in Singapore and Malaysia have set out climate risk management guidelines, with climate stress tests planned or underway. Such green policies are prompting lenders to “restructure internally to meet the regulators’ demands,” she said.

The report also found 39 percent of the banks had committed

to net zero financed emissions by 2050, up from 15 percent in 2021.

Most banks in Singapore, Japan and South Korea, including DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., have set net zero targets. Few in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines have done so.

Regulators need to act to ensure there are no “loopholes,” Anguelova said. “We want to avoid capital going from a more regulated country to a country that has the least amount of barriers to continue with unsustainable activities.”

More from the report, which covers banks in Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, though not China: n 24 percent of the banks disclosed palm oil policies in 2022, up from 7 percent in 2021; n 49 percent of banks disclosed specific energy sector policies, up from 29 percent; n 23 percent of banks disclosed financed greenhouse gas emissions, up from 5 percent; and, n 70 percent of banks offered sustainability-related financial products and services, up from 54 percent.

Bloomberg News

Maya Bank rolls out QR-platform in CV

By

PAYMAYA Philippines Inc. announced it has rolled out last Tuesday its person-to-merchant payments (P2M) platform using Quick Response (QR) codes in Central Visayas, starting with Bohol province.

“Small merchants and Filipino consumers are not only enjoying a hassle-free payment experience for their everyday transactions with [the] QR [platform] but also creating a financial footprint that allows them to access more advanced banking services offered by [the company],” Paymaya Enterprise Business Unit Head Mario M. Lazaro was quoted in a statement as saying.

The subsidiary of Voyager Innovations Inc. said the Tagbilaran

City Public Market was the recipient of the program in ceremonies led by the officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the local government.

According to Lazaro, the P2M platform dubbed “Paleng-QR Ph” initiative is spearheaded by the BSP and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). He added it aims to “empower the City Government of Tagbilaran to help public market vendors and tricycle drivers accept cashless payments from any customer via the QR Ph, the country’s standard for QR payments.”

Since QR Ph’s launch in 2019 for person-to-person (P2P) payments and in 2021 for P2M payments, Lazaro claims his firm has spearheaded financial institutions in the rollout of the national standard. He said the firm now counts over 800,000 merchant touchpoints powered by

the “Maya QR.”

“Basta QR Ph, pwede kami,” Lazaro said. [If it’s QR Ph, we’re okay.]

He said that “building ‘digi-palengkes’ nationwide” is part of the firm’s “LGUs Embracing and Accelerating Digitalization,” or “Lead,” program. Lazaro said that local government units (LGUs) encourage local merchants and constituents to digitalize their transactions with the firm’s “business-in-a-box” payment solutions and disbursement tools.

He also claims that the firm has been the “go-to partner” of Philippine businesses.

Paymaya Philippines is a subsidiary of Voyager Innovations, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT Communications and Energy Ventures Inc. The latter is a 99.9-percent owned subsidiary of Smart Communications Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PLDT Inc.

Globe Fintech, BSP, DILG join hands to launch ‘PalengQR-PH’ in Bohol

GC A SH mobile wallet-operator Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (GFII) announced it has partnered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the local government of Tagbilaran City for the rollout of the “Paleng-QR Ph” program in the Bohol capital.

The Paleng-QR Ph program, jointly developed by BSP and DILG, aims to build the digital payments ecosystem in the country by promoting cashless QR payments in public markets and local transportation, particularly tricycles.

“Under this partnership, our merchants at the Dao Public Market and the rest of the micro, small and medium enterprises [MSMEs] in Tagbilaran City are enjoined to display their GCash QR code at their stores with the statement ‘We accept GCash here,’” GFII CEO Martha M. Sazon was quoted in a statement as saying. “This way, we are empowering our small vendors to adopt cashless transactions in our efforts to boost digitalization in how they do business.”

The launch last January 10 gathered key officials from GCash, BSP, DILG, Tagbilaran local government unit (LGU) and market stakeholders, GFII said.

Capitalizing on the QR Ph ini-

tiative, the program, which was launched in June 2022, seeks the policy championship and enjoins LGUs to push for the acceptance of digital payments among market vendors, community shopkeepers and tricycle operators and drivers (TODA) in all cities and municipalities in the country, the firm added.

Onboarding of vendors, MSMEs

WITH the program’s entry to Bohol, Sazon noted that they have so far onboarded a total of five public markets, 133 market vendors in Dao and 155 TODAs to allow payment through GCash.

Currently, there are about 138 active GCash outlets where users can cash in and cash out.

GCash QR codes deployed as of last Tuesday are all operational and widely used by locals and tourists. GCash-to-GCash transactions continue to remain free of charge ensuring convenience to its patrons.

“We fully support the Paleng-QR initiative of the government because we believe that in order for Filipinos to really adopt cashless transactions, the natural place to introduce this is where they usually spend their money—the wet markets or ‘palengkes’ [markets],” Sazon said. “We aim to enable more Filipinos to thrive in this digital era.”

Expressing her optimism on the

program’s rollout in Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Censoria

pointed out that this is an important breakthrough in the city’s financial inclusion efforts.

“We welcome this milestone partnership with GCash, especially since we, at the City Government, have been supporting the city’s efforts towards digitalization,” Yap was quoted in GFII’s statement as saying. “This is an important step to achieving that goal. With this collaboration, we are optimistic of the economic benefits that it will bring especially to our Boholano vendors.”

By using the GCash app, merchants can easily receive and transfer money securely and conveniently with just a few taps on their smartphone, saving them time and effort.

In the same way, it is also convenient for customers who use digital and cashless payment.

“We have definitely made progress in this program. We are on the right track in making financial services easier to access and understand through our GCash app,” Sazon said.

“With this long-term partnership, we aim to create a brighter, more financially-inclusive future for Filipinos.”

Currently, GCash has over 71 million users nationwide, giving Filipinos easy access to savings, loans, investments and insurance.

Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio & Roderick Abad @rodrik_28

Cajes-Yap

Octavio Peralta

Association World

This undated photo courtesy of Paymaya Philippines inc. shows a woman using her mobile phone at a store in Tagbilaran, Bohol. The company announced the roll out in Central Visayas this week of its person-tomerchant payments platform using Quick Response code. Photo courtesy of Paymaya PhiliPP nes inc.

This is us

IFINALLY finished watching This is Us, that phenomenal soap opera/drama anthology that features the American middle class Pearson family, and how parents Jack and Rebecca (played by Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore) raise their multi-racial children—twins Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Kate (Chrissy Metz) and adopted son, Randall (Sterling K. Brown)—all three of whom share the same birthday.

Aside from tackling the difficult relationships all of us have or have had—from family dynamics, sibling rivalries, friendships, marriage/divorce, and the like—the series, which began in 2016, captured the imagination of TV audiences because of the clever way each episode crosses over from the present lives of the siblings to their past, as remembered by each character. The flashbacks juxtapose similar, relevant situations experienced by either one of the family members that are peculiar to his or her present life, or how each one may have learned from his or her own childhood challenges and blunders.

Each episode is exceptionally written, making the crossovers from present to past and back again quite seamless. Instead of being jarring instances, the flashbacks often provide the push forward for many of the characters’ present selves. As author BJ Neblett said in his short story, George: “We are the sum total of our experiences. Those experiences—be they positive or negative—make us the person that we are, at any given point in our lives.”

Kevin is an actor who has starred in just one successful comedy series, The Manny, and falls in love with women as quickly as he beds them. Kate is still battling with food issues, but is now married and has kids. And Randall, married to his college sweetheart with whom he has two kids and an adopted child, is now a councilman but suffers from anxiety and mental health issues, traceable perhaps to the fact that he is Black and grew up in a white family.

(I began watching the series at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 through a Hulu subscription. But each episode was an emotional rollercoaster, I had to stop, afraid this would lower my immunity system, as I also dealt with pandemic isolation woes, and make me more susceptible to Covid.)

In the last few seasons of the series, we finally see my favorite character Kevin, the eldest of the siblings, developing into a more responsible individual who is able to focus on the things most important to him—

on his children and the one woman who has had his heart since childhood, and on a charitable foundation. He has built the house his father Jack had dreamt for his family, and taken in his mother Rebecca now suffering from Alzheimer’s. In the beginning until the middle seasons, this was not so apparent, because Jack has always been a mess—getting into scrapes, usually at odds with the smart Randall, not ever knowing how his film career would pan out, even as his other siblings had finally gotten their own lives together.

It was easy to relate to this character because Kevin reflected the unfocused life of my own brother, who flitted from one job to another not really knowing what to do. But after he was forced to live in the provinces—and independently of my parents—he finally came around and got his life on track. He buckled down to work, and provided for his spouse and children. For some families, the paths to be taken by their children are already laid out, even before they pop out of their mom’s belly. For others, it is a struggle to find what it is we are good at, or good for. But when we do find the way and become the best persons we are meant to be, it is joyful and palpable to many. As they say, all in God’s perfect timing.

■■■

SPEAKING of timing, or the lack of it, government has finally decided to import red onions in a bid to bring down prices, which shot up to as high as P600 to P700 a kilo in December. So the question of our kababayan is: Why only now? Netizens had alerted the government to the problem as early as November, when the price surged to P300 a kilo. Prior to that, the alarm had already been sounded on a white onion shortage. But instead of doing something about it, the government bided its time. There was even one lawmaker who doubted there was a red onion

shortage because in his province, there was a surplus daw. Hooray for that! But did the Department of Agriculture (DA)—which has a marketing group precisely to help farmers sell their produce—move those surplus onions to other locations, where the prices were high? No.

Prior to the onion problem, shortfalls of refined white sugar had been reported as well, causing its price to rise above P100 a kilo. While officials at the DA and the Sugar Regulatory Administration decided to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar last August, this was foiled by a powerful group of sugarcane planters who lobbied Malacañang to drop the idea. At the same time, the ensuing controversy caused the resignation of several of these officials. (Their names were recently cleared after an investigation conducted by the Executive Secretary’s office.) Eventually, Malacañang did decide to allow sugar imports, but on a piecemeal basis—first 150,000 MT, then 65,000 MT—which did very little to temper the rise in the commodity’s prices. In both cases, were some unscrupulous business cronies allowed to make hay during the Christmas season to the detriment of the public? Just asking.

The long term goal of government should be the adequate supply of agriculture commodities to ensure all families have affordable meals on their dining tables all the time. Imports are a stop-gap measure to keep food prices stable. It should only be resorted to when there is a shortfall and prices surge beyond the public’s reach. Right now, onion farmers have already expressed fears that the imports announced by DA will drive their prices down, just as when they are about to harvest their produce. Yet again, another example of perfect timing by the government. I guess, this is us. ■

CDC donates medical supplies, medicines to air base group

THE Clark Development Corp. (CDC) recently donated various medical supplies and medicines to the Philippine Air Force (PAF) 600th Air Base Group in this Freeport.

During the monthly flag-raising ceremony of the state-owned firm, CDC president and CEO Atty. Agnes VST Devanadera turned oved the donations to PAF 600th Air Base Group commander col. Gilberto Esteban. They were joined by CDC External Affairs Department (EAD)corporate social responsibility and placement division manager Sarah Lerum and CDC Health and Sanitation Division (HSD) manager Dr. Clemencita Dobles.

Some of the donated materials include four cardiac monitors, one defibrillator, 15 green foam, five hospital beds with mattress covers, five medicine cabinets, five

nebulizers, five oxygen regulators and tanks, 10,000 pieces of surgical gowns, and 500 pieces of washable cover-all. Aside from these, medicines, such as amoxicillin, ORS, and paracetamol were also provided.

According to CDC, the initiative is part of the agency’s CSR program and forms part of its strengthened partnership with the PAF Air Base Group. The ceremonial turnover of the donation also coincided with the commemoration of signing of the revised military base agreement on January 7, 1979.

Shown in photo during the turnover are Dr. Clemencita Dobles (from left), Sarah Lerum, CDC president and CEO Atty. Agnes VST Devanadera and PAF 600th Air Base Group commander col. Gilberto Esteban.

TODAY’S HOROSCOPE

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Liam Hemsworth, 33; Orlando Bloom, 46; Patrick Dempsey, 57; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 62.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Control will ease stress. If inconsistency takes over, replace your plans with something that offers stability. Situations change. You’ll fall behind if you don’t adjust to fit in with the times. Being organized will help you meet the demands you face. Good things are within reach, but being in the right place mentally, physically and financially to take advantage of the opportunities is essential. Your numbers are 4, 8, 21, 29, 32, 36, 43.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Create a peaceful environment. Don’t let chaos infiltrate your life. Strive for simplicity, honest conversations and flawless work. Know when to walk away from situations that are based on misinformation, exaggeration or overindulgence. ★★★

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Have confidence in yourself and your ability to figure things out. Don’t let someone talk you into something that isn’t right for you. Ulterior motives are present; be clear regarding what you expect and are willing to give in return. ★★★

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A positive shift will require you to have everything in place and ready to go. Things are starting to look good. Opportunities combined with your creative ideas will lead to positive results. ★★★★★

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You’ll face opposition while trying to resolve an emotional issue. Be conscious of what others want and how they feel before you pitch what you have to offer. Understanding what’s important to others will help you get what you want in return. ★★

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A perfect display of what you can offer will win favors. Attend an event geared toward what’s important to you. Establish yourself in a community of people heading down a similar path; success will be yours. ★★★★

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): If you don’t like what you see, reinvent yourself. The more detail, the better the impression. Someone you respect will stand by you, even if those closest to you don’t. ★★★

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Play to win, but not at the expense of hurting someone you love. Put friends and family first, but make calculated moves when it comes to business. Don’t mix business with pleasure. ★★★

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Stop procrastinating. Shape your future with what you have to offer. Don’t be shy; embrace the unknown and face challenges head-on. Talk to organizations or institutions that can make your plans more accessible. ★★★

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your ability to captivate your audience will boost your ego, but don’t let that push you to stretch the truth or promise more than you can deliver. Stick to the truth and map out a plan that’s helpful and easy to understand. ★★★★

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Do everything according to plan, and don’t leave yourself open to criticism. A joint venture or shared expense will escalate a situation that needs a face-lift. Offer positive solutions and incentives to avoid a stalemate. ★★

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take a greater interest in investing in yourself, and you will find a window of opportunity coming your way. An energetic approach to home improvements, making money and loving the one you are with will pay off. Make health and romance your priorities. ★★★★★

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Don’t share too much information. Being a good listener will give you the advantage when it comes to getting your way. Offering your services to a collective group will give you a place to grow your ideas and execute your plans. ★★★

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are engaging, confident and persuasive. You are informative and welcoming.

★: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. ★★: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others. ★★★: Focus and you’ll reach your goals. ★★★★: Aim high; start new projects. ★★★★★: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

Honoring Asian cinema

Golden Globes telecast draws near record-low audience

NEW YORK—NBC’s telecast for the 80th Golden Globes on Tuesday averaged a near-record low of 6.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen, the second-smallest audience for the annual ceremony and only slightly better than the viewership garnered by the Globes press conference held during the 2008 writers’ strike.

Five Asian films are competing to be the Best Film in this year’s Asian Film Awards, according to the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA). The lineup of nominees is led by Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave from South Korea, with 10 nominations including the one for Best Film. Other films in the running are Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s Drive My Car (Japan); Darezhan Omirbaev’s Poet (Kazakhstan), which won the Best Director award in the 34th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF); Manni Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan: I (India); and Lav Diaz’s Kapag Wala nang mga Alon (When the Waves are Gone).

Lav Diaz’s film, which I reviewed in this paper (BusinessMirror, November 22, 2022, “Forcing Destinies in Lav Diaz’s ‘When the Waves are Gone’”), was shown in the 35th TIFF under its World Focus section. It will also compete for Best Screenplay in the Asian Film Awards.

While the South Korean auteur’s film had the most number of nominations, Japanese cinema is well represented. Outside of Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car, the other Japanese films are: Matsunaga Daishi’s Egoist, which was part of the 35th TIFF Official Selection; Hayakawa Chie’s Plan 75, Japan’s entry to the international feature film category for the Oscars; Ishikawa Kei’s A Man; and Higuchi Shinji’s Shin Ultraman.

Based on Haruki Murakami’s short story, Drive My Car competed for the Palme d’Or and won the Best Screenplay award. The film was nominated for four awards at the 94th Academy Awards and won the Best International Feature Film honor. Plan 75 is Japan’s present entry to the Best International Feature Film (formerly known as the Best Foreign Language Film) category of the 95th Academy Awards.

Drive My Car has eight nominations in the AFA, which include Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor for Nishijima Hidetoshi and Best Supporting Actor for Okada Masaki. Plan 75 garnered four nominations: Best New Director for Hayakawa, Best Actress for Baisho Chieko, Best Supporting Actress for Kawai Yumi, and Best Cinematography for Urata Hideho.

It must be noted that Kore-eda Hirokazu is nominated this time for Best Director for the South Korean film Broker. The filmmaker won the AFA in 2009 for Still Walking, the same year Brillante Mendoza’s Serbis was also nominated for Best Picture. Mendoza would be nominated again the next year for directing Lola, a film that saw the late Anita Linda and Rustica Carpio in a tie for Best Actress during the Gawad Urian. Lola was the first Filipino film nominated for Best Film in the AFAA, making Diaz’s When the Waves are Gone the second film nominated in the said category.

No Filipino actor is nominated in any acting category in this year’s edition of the Asian Film Awards. In 2013, however, Eddie Garcia and Nora Aunor won Best Actor and Best Actress for Jun Robles Lana’s Bwakaw and Brillante Mendoza’s Thy Womb, respectively. Garcia won the People’s Choice award that year. Earlier, in 2012, Eugene Domingo won the People’s Choice for actress in Marlon Rivera’s Ang Babae sa Septic Tank. That same year, Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino won Best Supporting Actress for Loy Arcenas’s Niño. Much earlier, in 2009, Gina Pareño won Best Supporting Actress for Mendoza’s Serbis

According to the AFAA, a total of 30 films from 22 regions and countries are the recipients of 81 nominations. They will be vying for 16 awards.

SANTA BARBARA, California—

Tatjana Patitz, one of an elite group of famed supermodels who graced magazine covers in the 1980s and ‘90s and appeared in George Michael’s “Freedom! ‘90” music video, has died at age 56.

Patitz’s death in the Santa Barbara, California, area was confirmed by her New York agent, Corinne Nicolas, at the Model CoOp agency. Nicolas said the cause was illness, but did not have further details.

Patitz, who was born in Germany, raised in Sweden and later made her life in California, was known as part of an elite handful of “original” supermodels, appearing in the Michael

The AFAA shared the news of Zhang Yimou having been appointed as president of this year’s jury. The director, who burst into the international scene with his multiawarded Raise the Red Lantern, won the Asian Film Awards’ Best Director prize in 2021. He has won the top three film festival awards: twice the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, the Golden Bear at Berlin, and the Grand Prix du Jury from Cannes.

Zhang Yimou will chair the panel to be composed of seven judges selected from around the world.

The Asian Film Awards was initiated in 2007 by the Asian Film Awards Academy whose members were drawn from past nominees and winners.

The Asian Film Academy is a non-profit organization founded by the Busan, Hong Kong and Tokyo International Film Festivals, all leading film festivals in Asia. Other than celebrating excellence in Asian cinema, the AFAA has the goal to promote Asian films and the creative human resources that produce them. The awards given each year are one of the instruments aimed at developing the Asian film industry. Members not only vote for the awards but also engage themselves in various AFAA activities with professionals and audiences worldwide.

For the past two years, the AFA was in Busan,

South

In a separate development, the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino is requesting screeners for Filipino films shown or released in 2022 for consideration in the 46th Gawad Urian. Film categories include full-length feature, documentary, experimental, animation and short film. The film should have been aired publicly within January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022, whether in a commercial theater or via online video platform (e.g., Netflix, Amazon Prime).

For submission, send the video link (e.g., Vimeo) to Gary Devilles, chair of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, at manunuripelikula@gmail.com, copyfurnished to gdevilles@ateneo.edu.

Indicate in the submission where or which web platform the film has been streamed and relevant information about cast and crew. For films currently streaming via popular platforms such as YouTube or Netflix, provide information of the streaming site. For inquiries, e-mail manunuripelikula@gmail.com. n

After a diversity and ethics scandal caused NBC to take the Globes off the air last year, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s attempted comeback didn’t gain back viewers and instead may have lost them. The 2021 edition, held bicoastally during the pandemic, was watched by 6.9 million. The pre-pandemic 2020 Globes drew an audience of 18.4 million. There were several differences in the broadcast this year. NBC moved the show from its traditional Sunday slot to Tuesday. That meant no competition from the NFL but also no football lead-in. The awards were also live streamed on Peacock for the first time. (Digital viewership wasn’t released Wednesday.)

Awards show ratings have steeply fallen in recent years. But Tuesday’s Golden Globes, hosted by Jerrod Carmichael, was a pivotal moment for the embattled HFPA, which puts them on. After a 2021 report revealed the press association had no Black members, stars and studios boycotted the Globes. Last year’s awards were unceremoniously held in a Beverly Hilton ballroom without any stars in attendance. Over the last year and a half, the HFPA has enacted reforms and revamped its membership to now number 96 people, including six Black voting members.

In the interim, NBC reworked its contract with the Globes and was broadcasting this year’s Globes on a one-year basis. The HFPA sold the Globes last year to Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries, which is turning it from a nonprofit to a for-profit venture. The firm also owns Dick Clark Productions, which produces the Globes, and the award show’s longtime home, the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.

Tuesday’s Globes featured wins for Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, the indie sci-fi hit Everything Everywhere All at Once, the Irish dark comedy The Banshees of Inisherin, the HBO series White Lotus and the public school sitcom Abbott Elementary AP

video along with Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford.

She was a favorite of fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh, who highlighted her natural beauty in his famous 1988 photo “White Shirts: Six Supermodels, Malibu,” and for British Vogue’s 1990 cover—leading Michael to cast the group in his lip-syncing video, according to Vogue

The magazine quoted its global editorial director, Anna Wintour, as saying Patitz was “always the European symbol of chic, like Romy Schneider-meets-Monica Vitti. She was far less visible than her peers— more mysterious, more grown-up,

more unattainable—and that had its own appeal.”

In a 2006 interview, Patitz opined that the golden age of supermodels was over.

“There was a real era, and the reason that happened was because glamour was brought into it,” she was quoted as saying in Prestige Hong Kong magazine. “Now the celebrities and actresses have taken over, and the models are in the backseat completely.”

She also noted that models from her era had healthier physiques.

“Women were healthy, not these scrawny little models that nobody knows their names anymore,” Patitz said. AP

THE most-watched TV show of 2022 in the Philippines, Lolong is set to make history again as it airs in Indonesia this January.

Through the network’s content distribution arm GMA Worldwide, the hit series bannered by Ruru Madrid will be seen on Indonesia’s freeto-air TV network ANTV as Dakila.

Lolong is the first Filipino title acquired by ANTV, one of Indonesia’s major TV networks. It reaches 130 million people through its 37 relay stations covering 155 cities across the said country.

According to ANTV, the GMA Public Affairs-produced series perfectly fits the Indonesian TV audience’s taste for the fantasy genre as viewers enjoy shows featuring special animal characters or mythical creatures.

Lolong tells the exciting tale of a man’s extraordinary friendship with a giant crocodile named Dakila.

The series became a force to be reckoned with in Philippine primetime viewing. During its successful run, Lolong consistently dominated TV ratings, posting double-digit numbers every night. It was hailed as Best Primetime Serye at the Gawad Pilipino Icon of the Year 2022, and was the Philippines’s National Winner for Best Visual/Special Effects at the 2022 Asian Academy Creative Awards.

From a fictional character, Lolong has become a household name, with Filipinos being able to relate to Ruru’s character. Viewers praised the show for promoting values on family, friendship, and the environment.

The show and the cast drew crowds wherever they went. Even its popular crocodile character, Dakila, visited key cities in Mega Manila and select provinces in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The 22-feet long animatronic crocodile even made headlines prior to the show’s airing— with international news outlets reporting on the supposed ‘sighting’ of a giant crocodile ‘roaming’ around Marikina and Antipolo during the show’s promo.

Lolong’s powerhouse cast includes Shaira Diaz, Arra San Agustin, Christopher de Leon, Jean Garcia, Bembol Roco, Malou de Guzman, Rochelle Pangilinan, Paul Salas, Marco Alcaraz, Mikoy Morales, and Maui Taylor.

Directed by Rommel Penesa and Conrado Peru, the series stemmed from the idea of award-winning broadcast journalist and GMA News pillar Jessica Soho and assistant vice president for GMA Public Affairs LJ Castel.

Korea. This year, it returns to Hong Kong. With the support of CreateHK and the Film Development Fund, the ceremony will be held for the first time at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Auditorium in the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

SuPERmODEL Tatjana Patitz

Google‘s

Iloilo City gets GIS workstation

Online Chismosas, Investigative Journalists Face Off In GIGIL’s Newest Campaign for Netflix Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

THROUGH the power of social media, sleuthing has become very easy— some even do it just to pass the time. This is why your local Marites has been able to migrate online, piecing together clues about people’s relationships by analyzing cryptic posts and blurred photos. But what if they are put to the test to solve a murder mystery?

Together with the online premiere of the newest whodunnit film on Netflix, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” GIGIL has created a film that captured the face-off between Detectives (or investigative journalists) Ces Drilon, Chiara Zambrano, and Jing Catañeda against Chismosas (or showbiz reporters and content creators) Jobert Sucaldito, IC Mendoza, and Claro the Third in a murder mystery challenge.

“Putting these well-known personalities out of their comfort zone was definitely intriguing and refreshing,” says Patrise Calumpag, the concept writer of this campaign. “It is nothing short of entertaining to watch the two teams solve puzzles, uncover clues, and decode the mystery behind a tech billionaire’s murder played by comedian James Caraan, just like what happened in the film Netflix Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.”

Bringing out their usual reporter traits

such as attention to detail, persistence, and discipline, the Detectives were a sight to behold as they brought out their competitiveness in solving the puzzles prepared for them in record time. On the other hand, the Chismosas will make you laugh with their antics as they try to make sense of the clues they discover along the way.

Ynna Milambiling, the senior art director of this film, remarked: “We were very happy to see both Team Detectives and Team Chismosas bust out their mystery-solving skills a la Benoit Blanc,

the greatest detective in the world. Surely, those online chismosas who like to snoop on social platforms would enjoy watching the players compete in finding hidden clues and connect the dots to solve the mystery.”

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is now streaming only on Netflix. The mystery & comedy film by Netflix is currently rated Certified Fresh at 93 percent by Rotten Tomatoes. Watch the film here: https://www.netflix.com/phen/title/81458416

Winford kicks off 2023 with live performances, car raffle

Fans of Geneva Cruz will be delighted to know that the multi-platinum singer will continue her string of successful shows at WMRC in the coming months starting with her first performance of the year in the luxury hotel on January 18, with more slated for February 15 and March 15, 2023. Famous for hit songs like Anak ng Pasig and Kailan, Cruz was discovered and mentored by National Artist of the Philippines for Music, Ryan Cayabyab, who formed the now defunct iconic music group Smokey Mountain of which she was lead singer.

For both shows, doors open at 8 pm and admission is free of charge, with VIP seating available for P500nett or 80 points a day per person, inclusive of food and drink.

On January 17, 24, & 31, watch Jimmy Bondoc and The Phoenix Band live as they perform hits like Hanggang Dito Nalang, The Man I Was with You, Akin Ka Nalang, I Believe, and Yaya. Also known to fans as “Mr. Musikero”, Bondoc rose to fame in the early 2000s after he penned Let Me Be the One which soared to number one in the charts and remained there for six weeks. He also formed two bands, Sabado Boys and The Phoenix Band, both of which are active in the local music circuit today.

More big time prizes await as WMRC offers members a chance to win P300,000 cash and drive home a brandnew Toyota Vios XLE CVT with Wheels for the Win. To join, members must simply earn 30 points a day to get one raffle ticket. Draw dates are on January 14, 2023 and January 28, 2023 from 8 pm to 10 pm, respectively, at the Hippodrome Bar & Lounge.

Hippodrome Bar & Lounge is located on the second floor of the 22-story resort and welcomes all fully-vaccinated guests aged 21 years and above. Visit www.winfordmanila.com for more information or follow Winford Manila Resort & Casino on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest updates on special events and promotions.

new Android

features,

products and

milestones take center stage at CES 2023 in US

GOOGLE unveiled a host of connectivity features, products, and milestones for Android in the recently concluded CES 2023.

CES is one of the biggest technology events in the world that showcases manufacturers, developers, and suppliers of consumer technology hardware, content, technology delivery systems, and more. This year’s CES ran from January 5 to 8, 2023, at Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

This year, Google is rolling out Android Auto–with a new design that brings easier viewing and access to your favorite Android phone experiences (navigation, media, and communication) on your car display.

Meanwhile, cars with Google built-in have Google Assistant, Google Maps and more apps from Google Play integrated directly into the car, so you can control the car temperature with just your voice and even turn on house lights from your car before you get home. There are currently seven brands that offer cars with Google built-in: Honda, Polestar, Volvo, Chevrolet, GMC, Renault, and Cadillac.

From cars to portable devices, Google is expanding its connectivity features to enable seamless switching between devices. In particular, Phone Hub in ChromeOS makes it easy to view and respond to your Android phone’s notifications from messaging apps directly from your laptop. Chromebooks are also packed with productivity features that help you get more done with your Android phone like grabbing the latest photos from your phone's camera roll, sending files with Nearby Share or sharing and connecting to saved Wi-Fi networks.

These features are available on the new Chromebooks announced at CES including the ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX34 Flip and HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook.

Connectivity milestones

ASIDE from new products and features, Google also highlighted various connectivity milestones at the CES. These include Fast Pair, a feature that allows users to instantly find and connect nearby accessories to your

devices. This speeds up the setup process for pairing your favorite devices including 300 headphone models from brands like Beats, JBL, OnePlus, and Sony. The feature also works with Matter, so you can connect smart home devices to Google Home and other apps, right from your mobile devices.

In 2022, over 320 million Fast Pair pairings were made to instantly find and connect nearby accessories to your devices.

Nearby Share, which allows Android devices to share content easily, has seen three billion devices using the feature since its launch in 2020.

Chromecast, the dongle that brings online entertainment to regular TVs, smart speakers, and soundbars, now has more than 3,000 supported audio and video apps, perfect for any type of entertainment for every kind of user. In the same vein, Google TV–an app that allows Android devices to be turned into a remote control and cast shows and movies from apps directly to compatible TVs with a single tap–has reached 150 million monthly active devices.

More Google TV devices are also set to launch within the year including the TCL Q-Series TV and the Hisense ULED TVs, Laser TVs and Laser Cinema lineups.

The wearable ecosystem has also seen quite a growth as Google reported that the active Wear OS devices has tripled since May 2021. Wear OS is an operating system specifically designed for smartwatches and other wearable devices. With its latest version, Wear OS 3, you can use the Camera app to level up your selfies and remotely control the camera shutter on Pixel phones or use the Google Home app to control compatible smart home devices like your thermostat and lights. Pixel Watches, Samsung Galaxy Watch5 series, and Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition are only some of the devices that use the OS.

THE Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has announced an upward rate adjustment of P0.6232 per kWh, bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P10.9001 per kWh this January from the previous month’s P10.2769 per kWh.

For residential customers consuming 200 kWh, the adjustment is equivalent to an increase of around P125 in their total electricity bill. The generation charge went up by P0.3316 to P7.1291 from P6.7975 per kWh the previous month.

Charges from the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) were higher by P0.4070 per kWh mainly due to the increased use of more expensive alternative fuel by First Gas Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo as a result of insufficient supply of Malampaya natural gas. The Peso’s appreciation, which affected 97 percent of IPP costs that are dollar denominated, mitigated a further increase in power rates. IPPs provided 46 percent of Meralco’s energy requirement for the December supply month.

Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges also increased by P0.6808 per kWh as the increase in average generation capacity on outage more than offset the decrease in power demand in the Luzon grid. Due to the tight supply conditions, the grid was placed under Yellow Alert for three days during the December supply month and persistently high spot prices triggered the imposition of the secondary price cap 61 percent of the time, compared to 21 percent in November.

WESM energy share inched up to nine percent this month from seven percent the previous month. The suspension of the Power Supply Agreement (PSA) with South Premiere Power Corporation (SPPC) starting December 7, 2022 for 670-MW baseload supply following the implementation of a Court of Appeals Temporary Restraining Order prompted Meralco to partially source replacement power from WESM.

To shield customers from exposure to volatile WESM prices, Meralco on Dec. 15, 2022 executed an Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA) with GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Effective until January 25, 2023, the EPSA covers 300-MW baseload capacity and partially replaced the capacity under the suspended PSA with SPPC. Meralco was constrained to source the remaining 370-MW from WESM following the lack or withdrawal of offers for emergency supply from other power generation companies. Charges from PSAs, meanwhile, went down by P0.2710 per kWh due to higher share of excess energy deliveries, which are priced at

a discount, and the appreciation of the Peso against the dollar. Around 36 percent of PSA costs are dollar-denominated. PSAs provided 45 percent Meralco’s total energy requirement for the period.

Further contributing to this month’s overall rate increase is the completion of a distributionrelated refund equivalent to P0.2761 per kWh for residential customers.

Two ongoing refunds totaling P1.0579 per kWh for residential customers are still being implemented by Meralco and continue to temper customers’ monthly bills. These refunds are expected to be completed by January 2023 and May 2023, and the impact will be felt in the succeeding billing periods—February 2023 and June 2023 respectively.

Meralco’s distribution charge, on the other hand, has not moved since the P0.0360 per kWh reduction for a typical residential customer starting August 2022.

Transmission charge for residential customers decreased by P0.0314 per kWh due to lower Ancillary Service charges. Taxes and other charges registered an upward adjustment of P0.0469 per kWh.

Collection of the Feed-In Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) remains suspended following the issuance of the Energy Regulatory Commission’s Resolution halting the collection of P0.0364 per kWh FIT-All rate for three (3) months from December 2022 to February 2023.

Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively, while taxes, universal charges, and Feed-In Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) are all remitted to the government.

To better manage electricity consumption, Meralco advised its customers to continue practicing energy efficiency and observe electrical safety.

Some power saving tips customers can practice are unplugging appliances when not in use, refraining from overfilling refrigerators, regular cleaning of air conditioner filters, and using LED bulbs for cost-saving lighting.

Meralco customers can also have better control of their monthly electricity bills with the help of the Meralco Mobile App Appliance Calculator that provides information on the energy consumption of appliances and gadgets.

Customers can report power outages and other concerns to Meralco through its official social media accounts on Facebook (www. facebook.com/meralco) and Twitter (@meralco). They may also text their concerns to 09209716211 or 0917-5516211 or contact the Meralco Hotline at 16211 and 8631-1111.

THE Iloilo City Government received a Geographic Information System (GIS) workstation from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and CRS Philippines’ Climate Resilient Cities Project last January 10, 2023. “Climate change has altered a lot of our priorities in the city and we will continue to train our people to be more prepared," stressed

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas.

Led by the Philippine Disaster Relief Foundation, USAID and CRS Philippines support the data-driven disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation (DRR-CCA) planning in the metro. This is coupled with a series of upcoming CRC training-workshops on enhancing climate data which will contribute to accelerating data-driven DRR-CCA planning.

A commitment signing on the Climate Change Competency Assessment Framework (3CAF) by the Iloilo City Technical Working Group (CTWG) followed the turnover ceremony. The signing demonstrated the city government’s strong commitment to drive the Climate Resilient Cities project forward and to build the resilience of its citizens to climate impacts.

Higher generation charge, completion of refund trigger January rate increase, says Meralco

WINFORD Manila Resort & Casino (WMRC) kicks off the New Year with a slew of not-to-be-missed live performances by big name OPM acts ready to take the stage of WMRC’s Hippodrome Bar & Lounge this month, plus major prizes up for grabs.

FROM left to right: Jimmy Bondoc, Geneva Cruz, Wheels for the Win Car ‘N Cash raffle

Clock winds down on Cambodia SEAG–POC

THE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has stamped as urgent the need to meet with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) as the clock winds down to the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May.

“ Hopefully, we’ll be officially meeting with the PSC not later than Wednesday next week to get the task rolling,” said baseball association head Chito Loyzaga, Team Philippines’s chef de mission to the May 5 to 17 SEA Games.

POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino assigned deputy secretary general Bones Floro to make arrangements with the PSC, specifically with the office of chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann.

L oyzaga’s staff is in the process of finalizing Team Philippines’s entry by numbers to the Cambodia SEA Games organizers, which set a deadline this Saturday.

B ut on top of complying with the deadline, Loyzaga echoed Tolentino’s goal of Team Philippines participating in “all events possible”

in the Cambodia program.

The POC objective is to participate in all events possible, there’s no issue there,” said Loyzaga, a Philippine Basketball Association Legend, after the POC Executive Board meeting at the Knights Templar Ridge Hotel in Tagaytay City on Thursday. “That’s our mindset, the CDM staff and the entire organization.”

C ambodia programmed 608 events in 49 sports, far bigger than the 530 events in 56 sports in the 2019 edition the Philippines hosted and the 526 events in 40 sports in Vietnam last year.

“ With that goal, we’re looking at a more than 800-athlete delegation and a total delegation of 1,200— counting the coaches, medical and administrative staff,” Loyzaga said.

B ased on national budget appropriations for this year, P250 million was allocated for the SEA Games preparation and participation.

That’s one of our main concerns with the PSC. After we have finalized the entry by numbers, we’ll be ready for some pencil-pushing and

MVP Sports Foundation extends full support to national badminton open

THE MVP Sports Founda-

tion (MVPSF) and Smart has extended its support to the Philippine Badminton Association (PBAD) through its sponsorship of the Philippine Badminton Open at the Dragonsmash Badminton Center along Chino Roces Avenue in Makati City from February 20 to 26.

T he MVPSF support to PBAD is inspired by PLDT and (PBAD) Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan’s love for the sport which he highlighted with the establishment of the MVP Center for Sports Excellence in Antipolo City in 2021.

The center houses eight courts where national athletes train—specifically this year for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May.

“Aside from contributing to the training of our national team, we are also maximizing opportunities to support the development of badminton in our country—from grassroots to our national team,” said Christopher

“Epok” Quimpo, AVP at Smart and Secretary General of PBAD.

Our love for badminton stems from the belief that sports promote values like discipline, mental resilience, and sportsmanship, which could help us all become better people,” Quimpo added.

More than 500 players in five categories—men’s and women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles are expected at the Super 500 tournament that offers a total price pot of P1 million.

PBAD will also introduce the country’s first official ranking system for badminton this year at the open.

I nterested athletes can register through the tournament’s official portal https://tinyurl.com/PHIBadmintonOpen on or before February 5.

PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) also lauded the performance of Filipino athletes in their campaign for 2022.

“ We’re very proud of our Philippine national badminton team. We’ve

calculation and come up with an actual cost,” he said.

L oyzaga said that with the PSC board already constituted with a quorum of a chairman and three commissioners, he is confident that discussions on the Cambodia SEA Games could be done swiftly.

POC officials have yet to sit down with their PSC counterparts with Tolentino and the newly-appointed Bachmann meeting in a courtesy dinner over the weekend.

L oyzaga said projections on Team Philippines’ performance in Cambodia are still bleak but stressed the fourth-place finish in Vietnam last year is the benchmark.

“As a former athlete, I aim to win, always go for the win. But you can’t win all the time,” he said. “It will be a tough challenge in Cambodia.”

A ssisting Loyzaga are his deputy chiefs of mission Leonora Escollante of canoe-kayak and Paolo Tancontian of sambo. Baseball, canoe-kayak and sambo aren’t included in the Cambodia SEA Games.

DRAGONS BRACE FOR GAME 7

By Josef Ramos

COACH Brian Goorjian and the Hong Kong Bay Area Dragons worked hard in beating the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings on Wednesday night to stay alive in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

They’ll have to work doubly hard, or even more, as they found themselves in a territory so unfamiliar to them—a Game 7.

What’s coming up next on Sunday is going to be incredible,” Goorjian told the post-game press conference in Game 6 that they won, 87-84, sending the best-of-seven series to the limit.

“ I have never been in a sevengame series, I told them [Dragons] this,” added Goorjian, whose credentials is topped by coaching Australia to the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal.

Best-of-three? We’re losers and we’re out, we lost 2-1. Best-of-five? 3-2, we’re losers and we’re out,” he said.

Goorjian added: “Now, we’re playing with the bank’s money. There are 50,000 or whatever it is, I hope every seat in that place [Philippine Arena] will be sold out.”

It’s something nobody forgets, it’s another special game of basketball, and let the cards fall where they may,” he said.

Myles Powell was reactivated from injury and didn’t disappoint in Game 6 where he was a dominant force all

game long and finished with 29 points—12 he made in the decisive fourth quarter.

But he, too, would be playing in his first Game 7.

This is my first time, too,” Powell told the same post-game press conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. “When I was with the [Philadelphia] Sixers in Game 6 against the [Toronto] Raptors, I didn’t play but I was a part of it. I’m now looking forward to experiencing Game 7 in front of 50,000 people... and we’ll be ready.”

C all the Dragons lucky after league commissioner Willie Marcial announced at the end of Game 6 that the no-tomorrow Game 7 will be played Sunday—no longer Friday—at the Philippine Arena where attendance is expected to breach the 50,000 seating capacity of the Bocaue (Bulacan) facility.

Powell sat out the first five games of the series but played the equalizer’s role for the Dragons in Game 6 that dominated the predominantly pro-Ginebra fans—22,361—that packed the Big Dome.

He dazzled in offense throughout and secured what turned out as the insurance rebound from his own miss

Ex-Knight Yu lifts Kings vs Oragons

always seen their potential and we are glad to see them reaping the fruits of their labor,” said Jude Turcuato, Head of Sports at PLDT and Smart. “We still have a long way to go, but with the right support and right team to back our players, we know that

FORMER Letran star Fran Yu made an impact as San Juan beat Bicol, 103-100, Wednesday night to extend its unbeaten run to four games and gain solo third place in the Manila Bankers Life-Pilipinas Super League Pro Division Second Conference Dumper Cup at the Rizal Technological University Gym in Mandaluyong City.

T he 5-foot-10 Yu scattered 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and issued six assists in a gutsy debut for the Kings, while Marwin Taywan added 14 points, two rebounds and two assists.

R ence Nocum, AC Soberano and Paolo Javillonar also had 13, 12, and 11 points, respectively, for the Randy Alcantaracoached Kings, who went into the match on a high after they

thumped San Pedro Laguna-ARS last week and raised their record to 4-0 won-lost.

Playing for the first time since absorbing a numbing 90-95 loss to Manila last December 8, the Oragons fell to their third straight defeat for a 2-4 card in the league presented by Winzir and co-presented by SCD Cosmetics and Dumper party-list and supported by NET 25, Adcon, Wcube Solutions Inc., MDC, Unisol, Don Benitos and Finn Cotton, with former Philippine Basketball Association and Gilas Pilipinas star Marc Pingris as commissioner.

Sta. Rosa Laguna repulsed 1Munti, 84-72, in the other game for its third straight triumph.

Don Reverente shone for the Lions with a double-double of 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Nat Cosejo and JBoy Solis added eight points each.

T he win came on the heels of Sta. Rosa’s 73-64 victory over Quezon City last December 22 and hiked its card to 5-1 in a tie with Batang KankalooCaloocan at fifth place.

R eeling from a 67-82 whipping at the hands of the Pampanga G Lanterns last week, their fifth straight that sank the Emeralds to 1-5.

Fuel Masters wrap up hoops camp for kids

THE

wrapped up another successful edition of the Phoenix Pinoy Hoops Basketball Camp in November and December at the Philippine Basketball Association team’s home court at The Upper Deck in Pasig City.

D ubbed The Phoenix Pinoy Hoops Basketball Camp-Family and Friends Edition, kids aged six to 16 participated in the program hosted by some of the team members.

“ We’re ecstatic with the results. Despite this specific edition being exclusive to kids of Phoenix employees, business partners and friends, we welcomed many attendees through kids who were eager to participate,” said Phoenix Senior Vice President and Fuel Masters team governor Atty. Raymond Zorrilla.

The four-day camp attracted more than 40 boys and girls with Isaiah Lanot (13 and

up), Juan Augusto Barreto (intermediate) and Joaquin Antonio Alvarez (kids) being named Most Valuable Players.

Fuel Masters head coach Topex Robinson, players Sean Anthony, Tyler Tio, Jason Perkins, JV Mocon and Kaleb Wesson along with team manager Paolo Bugia and assistant coach Willie Wilson trained the campers.

The kids were grouped according to their age range—6-8, 9-11, 12-14 and 15-16—and skill level and difficulty with various drills.

T hey were taught lessons on skill development and controlled competitive exercises for short scrimmages and tournament-style competition.

The basketball camp’s first three days featured skills development lessons, such as dribbling, passing, shooting and defense.

T he participants’ skills were further honed

through short scrimmages and controlled competitive exercises to apply their learning and prepare them for the tournament-style competition and other activities held on the fourth and last day of training.

N otable games included team relay and a

from the foul line in the waning seconds.

The Gin Kings erased the Dragons’ 58-46 lead in the third quarter but Powell was there to will his team in the game.

The Dragons’ victory put to naught Ginebra import Justin Brownlee’s triple double of 37 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

Milby reelected PRFU president

ADA MILBY was reelected to a fresh two-year term— her third consecutive—as president of Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU).

I’m honored for the opportunity to continue serving our Philippine Rugby members, stakeholders and communities,” Milby said. “It’s a critical time for us as we reflect on our successes of the past decade and identify areas we need to adapt and improve to future-proof our organization.”

Philippine Rugby also welcomed three newly-elected trustees to the governing board for the next two years—Gareth Holgate of Eagles RFC, Steve Mommaerts of Manila Nomads and Philip Campbell of Cebu Dragons.

S ecretary General Rick Santos, meanwhile, has been assigned to an ex-officio role alongside Jaime Urquijo.

Santos and Urquijo have played influential roles for the union for more than a decade and will continue to advise the national sports association as an additional governing support network throughout the transition.

T he appointed members are joined by Max Stewart, Rose Lanticse and Ric Bellen for the next 12 months to serve as the Union’s Board of Trustees for 2023.

H olgate is well known around the rugby community having played for the national program for more than a decade. He is the current CEO of SDW Realty.

It has been a great privilege and honour to have been selected to play for the Volcanoes during the last 12 years, and I have enjoyed the participation and the camaraderie this offered immensely,” Holgate said.

C ampbell is the second representative for the Visayas and Mindanao regions. He played a significant role with the Cebu Dragons for the last seven years and was also a national coach for Hong Kong in the 1990s.

I look forward to growing the game, growing local talent in wider regions outside Luzon and having an impact at a national level,” Campbell said.

THE Philippine Olympic Committee Executive Board led by President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino meets for the first time this year at the Knights Templar Ridge Hotel in Tagaytay City on Thursday.

COACH Brian Goorjian and his Dragons are in unfamiliar territory.

MEMBERS of the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters—led by team governor Atty. Raymond Zorrilla, team manager Paolo Bugia and Head Coach Topex Robinson—pose for a group photo with the young campers.

Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters

parent-and-kid shooting challenge to develop quality time between kids and their families.

There’s talent in every kid, and the team is beyond grateful to be given the opportunity to help them unleash their strength through sports,” team captain Anthony said.

NAOMI’S ON THE WAY Naomi Osaka announces on Wednesday that she’s pregnant and plans to return to competition in 2024. The former world No. 1 posts what she calls “a little life update for 2023” on social media, including a picture of an ultrasound. The 25-yearold Osaka has been dating Cordae, a rapper, for years. AP

QUIMPO

Motoring

SUVform,mPV fUnction

DURING its preview at the 8th Philippine International Motor Show last year, the all-new Honda BR-V received a positive market response. Mainly, the strong approval was attributed to its fresh look with exuding SUV appeal and bigger dimensions.

To date, HCPI claims it has sold over a thousand units just over a month since its launch. Now that the latest generation BR-V is officially out, HCPI thought it was time for us to experience it in the real-world drive. We get to test this legitimate seven-seater in the long stretches of expressways, all the way up to the winding roads leading to Baguio.

All-new look

DESIgN-W ISE the all-new BR-V finally embraced its proper SUV form flaunting a larger frame with compelling character body lines. The new front end’s matte black grille now comes standard, except for the range-topping VX CVT Honda SENSINg variant’s gloss black finish. Moreover, there are the newly designed full-LED headlights and Daytime Running Lights. The LED fog lights are also available on the VX CVT with Honda SENSINg V CVT, and S CVT variants. The auto on-off lighting function is exclusive to the top-of-the-line variant.

One of the main highlights of this latest version is the higher ground clearance to complement the new SUV form. The new 17-inch aluminum wheels are complemented and available to all CVT grades, while the S MT variant comes with 16-inch rims. g o ing over the rear, the BR-V is treated with newly designed LED taillights that elegantly illuminate the night. These new rollers match well with the matte black body claddings.

Still roomy, and more enhancements

OF course, what comes with a bigger frame are taller headroom, increased legroom,

and lateral space for both second and thirdrow occupants. While that is not always the case in pickup-based SUVs, Honda already proved in the previous generation BR-V that seven seating is possible even in a smaller frame. What is more, the flatfolding seats provide flexible cargo loading. Honda claims that the all-new BR-V continues to focus on its three (3) core values, particularly in terms of SUV and MPV values. A 60:40 split second row with One-Touch Tumble and a 50:50 split third row with Dive Down Mechanism serve a wide range of needs.

There are numerous enhancements like the newly-designed dashboard and console highlight a seven-inch detached-like touchscreen display audio, paired with multiplespeaker system. The infotainment system supports various functions, including Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and USB connection. We like the leather material exclusive to the VX CVT Honda SENSINg and V CVT variants, while the S CVT and S MT are treated with highgrade fabric. Steering wheel-mounted audio controls, One Push Start System, rear air ventilation, and Power Adjustable Door Mirrors are standard across all variants, while the Power Folding Door Mirrors with Integrated LED Side Turn Signal Lights are solely for both VX CVT with Honda SENSINg and V CVT variants.

Still a smooth operator on freeways MOTIVATION comes from a new 1.5-liter DOHC i-VTEC engine capable of generating 119 hp and 145 N-m maximum torque. This

new and improved engine is paired with a new CVT transmission and fitted in the AllNew HR-V non-turbo variant.

The route HCPI designed this time for the drive event was a combination of freeway stretches and tight winding roads. Traversing through the stretches of every freeway leading up to the north was the perfect venue to determine comfort level. As expected, the All-New BR-V did not disappoint. We even felt an improvement thanks to the bigger frame. Still, the noise level inside the cabin is acceptable for the vehicle’s size. Acceleration is smoother and quicker in reaching cruising and high-speed limits. Long highway runs are where the CVT shines in most cases providing seamless shifting and low rpm on high gears.

Still present was that familiar, comfortable driving position ideal for long drives. The new seats provide that snug seating posture once settled and are even better now that it has a level adjuster. Either leather or fabric wrapped, the snug seat design is what matters. Plus, ample cup holders are everywhere, and gadget charging ports are in the center console. Even with the third-row seats situated, we still managed to fit our luggage with some at the cargo bay.

Overall, the level of comfort was even more extant, as expected. The reclining and sliding 60:40 split-second row benches are

suitable for comfort and rear legroom. Even the ceiling-mounted air-con vents were more than enough to distribute cold air inside the cabin. These made the initial long drive so seamless that we managed to relax for the succeeding stages.

Agile in tough climbs

HCPI chose the tougher route of climbing up to Baguio—via Asin Road in Benguet. There, the BR-V’s new engine was subjected to high engine speeds to squeeze every bit of its available torque. It was when the paddle shifters of VX/V CVT variants and the Sport mode of the S CVT version became handy. Throughout the climbs and extreme turns, there was a need to constantly push the mill to its peak rpm range to squeeze out more power.

Considering to haul a bigger frame with several adult occupants and sizable suitcases, not to mention the punishing road terrain, we still find the power delivery fairly apt for the vehicle’s purpose, mainly when played right. Well, the BR-V may not have that potency from turbocharged and bigger displacement motors, but it does the job convincingly.

Meanwhile, handling is undoubtedly one of the BR-V’s strong points, thanks to its relatively long wheelbase for its frame. Since body rolls were minimal, we only needed

Toyota’s Mobility platform explained

MY guest today will educate us on what Toyota Motor Philippines’ (TMP) Mobility platform is all about. As the founding head of TMP’s newly-minted project, Cristina “Tini” Arevalo is perfect for the lecture, navigating for us the road map to Mobility’s thrust towards a new era in motorization. Here:

“IT’S 2023! Are you up for a change?

“New Year. New mindset. New way of doing things.

“A lot has been said about the horrendous traffic in Metro Manila. Some blame it on too many cars on the road. However, car owners say the lack of efficient and comfortable mass transport system forces people to rely on their own means to be mobile.

“Every day, we face many challenges in moving people and goods. The pain-points could not be single-handedly solved by government. Easing mobility in the country requires the combined effort of both the private and public sectors, for the way out of our daily grind will not be limited to just the improvement in road infrastructures and land transportation networks. We need to

employ smarter ways of movement.

“Toyota, the largest player in the Philippine auto industry, puts its foot forward to contribute to the government’s direction to improve land transportation in the country, by establishing a new company: Toyota Mobility Solutions Philippines, Inc. (TMSPH).

“Back in 2020, while everyone was busy coping, struggling to survive the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Toyota started laying the groundwork. Silently but surely, it prepared modular systems and applications which we can later integrate into a larger, multi-modal transport scheme.

“Today, TMSPH offers a range of technology-driven solutions that can help address dayto-day mobility challenges, and bring forth a new lifestyle of convenience in business, eventually advancing the future of mobility in the Philippines.

“In a nutshell, TMP provides the hardware, while Toyota Mobility Solutions Philippines provides the software.

“TMSPH is a one-stop mobility solutions provider, championing vehicle usership plat-

to focus on steering correctly and tackling every tough curve. Nevertheless, steering feedback was also excellent and easy to play with. While pushing the motor, constantly braking and turning, the All-New BR-V was up to the task and delivered impressively, considering its limits. It is an ideal travel buddy where one can throw anything at it and still performs. This model only proved that we do not need bigger SUVs to fit more passengers nor a more powerful engine to go to nice places like Baguio.

Big on safety

W HETHER with Honda SENSINg or not, the All-New BR-V is reassuring. The Honda SENSINg safety features include Lead Car Departure Notification System (LCDN), Collision Mitigation Brake System (CMBS), Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), Road Departure Mitigation System with Lane Departure Warning (RDM with LDW), and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). Standard features are Speed Sensing Auto Door Locks, Dual and Side Airbags, Reverse Camera with g u idelines, Driver and Front Passenger Seat Belt Reminder, Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Hill Start Assist, Security Alarm, Immobilizer, Emergency Stop Signal, and ISO Fix Child Seat Anchor.

forms, beneficial for both individuals and companies requiring short or long-term use of vehicles, but want to be asset-light, and hassle-free of vehicle ownership.

“Asset use maximization underscores TMSPH’s digitalization projects, promoting resource efficiency, higher productivity, and improved business profitability.

“If you own a business or if your Company is looking for better and efficient ways to move employees or goods, push for improved employee motivation, or simply rationalize your vehicle assets, then TMSPH may be your able partner to help address your needs.

“Explore the benefits of TMSPH’s range of services through 1) Car Share/Rental (for individual and/or company use); 2) Booking app for employee shuttles or land transport networks; 3) Full-service vehicle operating lease (Kinto One Business); 4) Fleet Connected Service; 5) Fleet Management Service; and, 6) Logistics Matching Service.

“Step out of your comfort zone and use technologies that create opportunities to get the jobs done faster and better. Think of it this way: Happy employees make happy customers. Happy customers make better business.

“You can find us at https://www.toyota-mobilitysolutions.ph or contact us at fleetsales@toyota-mobilitysolutions.ph or +639275236992.”

What are you waiting for?

PEE STOP Happy birthday (January 14) to San Miguel Corp. humble and affable chieftain Ramon S. Ang, the main architect of BMW’s bristling renaissance in the Philippines. Cheers!

Story and photo by Randy S. Peregrino

ThE all-new honda BR-V V CVT and VX CVT (with honda SENSING) variants