BusinessMirror July 01, 2023

‘NO REST FOR THE WEARY’

BRP

Jose Rizal goes on refit, as sister ship BRP Antonio Luna assumes WPS patrol duties

By Rex Anthony Naval

Th is, as one of its most capable surface units, the missile and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) frigate, BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150), started to undergo its first dry-docking and other related repairs at the Ulsan shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in mid-June.

“BRP Jose Rizal will undergo maintenance, repair and overhauling services to be rendered by HHI. The said services include repair or replacement of worn-out machinery parts, while fulfilling all warranty claims of the ship,” officials said in a Facebook post earlier this month.

A nd while not giving exact specifics on what these repairs are for security reasons, sources said these could include upgrades to the frigate’s sensors, electronics and weapons systems.

BRP Jose Rizal is the PN’s first warship capable of engaging air, surface and sub-surface threats and is armed with a variety of sensors and weapons tasked to neutralize these targets.

The timeframe for the completion of these engineering works was also not disclosed as of this writing.

BR P Jose Rizal ’s ongoing maintenance activity in South Korea is the ship’s first major dry-docking period since its commissioning into PN service on July 10, 2020.

Incidentally, BRP Jose Rizal was launched at the Ulsan shipyard, where she is now undergoing refit, on May 23, 2019.

Its sister ship, the BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), was launched in the same facility on November 8 of the same year.

“The deployment of these warfighting assets is a necessary step to protect the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The FF151 and AW-159 crews have also been working together to ensure maximum readiness during any eventualities.”—WESCOM

The contract for the two ships was P16 billion, along with P2 billion for weapons systems and munitions.

These two vessels are capable of conducting anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and electronic warfare operations.

‘Wildcat’ now on WPS patrol MEANWHILE , as BRP Jose Rizal is undergoing a well-deserved refit, its sister ship BRP Antonio Luna and its AgustaWestland (now Leonardo) AW-159 “Wildcat” ASW helicopter are now patrolling the WPS.

Th is as the PN deployed these two modern assets to beef up the Puerto Princesa, Palawan-headquartered Western Command (Wescom).

These two tandem ASW platforms have been deployed on the country’s western border for maritime and sovereignty patrols that

ensure effective maritime presence, particularly, in the West Philippine Sea,” it added in a Facebook post on June 27.

Wescom said the deployment of the BRP Antonio Luna and the Wildcat anti-submarine helicopter represents a “full-mission deployment” for the PN.

It added that inclusion of the AW-159 also beefed up the “warfighting package” of the country’s second missile and ASW frigate.

The tandem platforms engage in different tests and training activities while patrolling the WPS,” Wescom stressed.

It added that the presence of these modern naval and air assets in Wescom’s joint operational area ensures the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) readiness and commitment to defending the country’s maritime interests against any potential threats.

The deployment of these warfighting assets is a necessary step to protect the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The FF-151 and AW-159 crews have also been working together to ensure maximum readiness during any eventualities,” Wescom pointed out.

It also said that the deployment of these assets serves as a critical deterrent to any hostile forces in the region.

“ The combined warfighting capabilities of FF-151 and AW-159 better equip the AFP to defend the country’s sovereignty against any potential threat in its western frontier,” Wescom emphasized.

Growing PN ASW capabilities

AN AW-159 made its first successful landing on the flight deck of BRP Antonio Luna while the ship was under way 30 nautical miles off Corregidor Island on April 27.

Th is highlights the PN’s growing capability in ASW operations.

Both the JRCFs (Jose Rizalclass frigates) and the PN Wildcats were products of the 1st Horizon

Projects under the Revised AFP Modernization Program, which were delivered and commissioned into service in 2020/2021 and 2019, respectively. The JRCFs were built by Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea, while the PN Wildcats were built by Leonardo Helicopter Limited UK (LHUK),” the post further said.

The two AW-159s were acquired to increase the ASW capabilities of the JRCFs.

The AW-159s were acquired for P5.4 billion, including their munitions, mission-essential equipment and integrated logistics support.

These are capable of speeds of 291 kph (181 mph), range of 777 km (483 miles), a ferry range of 963 km (598 miles) and an endurance of one and a half hours (four hours and 30 minutes if fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks).

The AW-159s can also be armed with rockets, machine guns, missiles, torpedoes and depth charges, and fitted with modern sonar systems for tracking down submarines.

HHI eyes MRO facility in Subic THEN Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, in his exit interview in June of last year, cited the possibility that HHI will construct its maintenance depot in Subic, Zambales.

L orenzana said the facility may rise at the former Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines (HHIC-Phil) shipyard in Subic Bay, and would cater to the maintenance needs of all PN HHI-built naval vessels.

“ They are planning to construct a maintenance depot here for all [HHI-ordered] ships,” he said.

A side from building BRP Jose Rizal and BRP Antonio Luna, HHI also bagged the P28-billion contract for the two anti-submarine corvettes in December 2021 and the P30-billion offshore patrol ves-

sel (OPV) deal in 2022.

The HHI is also the contractor for the South Korean Navy’s Pohang-class corvettes, of which one is now in service with the PN, and another one is expected to be transferred soon.

A side from the OPV deal, both the DND and HHI also signed on June 27, 2022, a lifetime service support contract for the sustainment of the two Jose Rizal guidedmissile frigates.

A part of the former HHIC-Phil shipyard was also converted into Naval Operating Base (NOB) Subic, which was activated May 2022 and now houses the PN’s capital ships.

The activation followed the recent approval of the lease agreement for the PN to occupy the northern portion of the former HHIC-Phil shipyard that spans around 100 hectares of the site’s more than 280 hectares.

The PN’s acquisition of this strategic harbor was made through the collaborative efforts of the

Department of National Defense, the Office of the Executive Secretary, the Department of Finance, the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Justice, Bases Conversion and Development Authority and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

The activation and subsequent operationalization of NOB Subic are in line with the Navy’s scaledup maritime operations to support the needed base services of the deep-draft vessels such as Jose Rizal-class missile-frigates, Del Pilar-class offshore patrol ships, and Tarlac-class landing docks.

The newly activated base will house select fleet marine units, maintenance, and replenishment facilities that will enable the fleet to sustain the operational requirements of the current and future capital vessels.

The NOB Subic is a vital component in the Navy’s modernization effort toward becoming a multi-capable naval force.

THERE could be no slackening off for the Philippine Navy (PN) in its business of protecting the country’s vast maritime domains against foreign encroachments or intrusions.

BRP Jose Rizal (foreground) welcomes BRP Antonio Luna in the waters off Capones Island, Zambales, on February 9, 2021, in this photo from a Naval Forces Northern Luzon Facebook post. NAVAL FORCES NORTHERN LUZON

Billionaires and bureaucrats mobilize China for AI race with US

By Jane Zhang and Sarah Zheng Bloomberg News

Billionaire entrepreneurs, m id-level engineers and veterans of foreign firms alike now harbor a remarkably consistent ambition: to outdo China’s geopolitical rival in a technology that may determine the global power stakes.

A mong them is internet mogul Wang Xiaochuan, who entered the field after OpenAI’s ChatGPT debuted to a social media firestorm in November. He joins the ranks of Chinese scientists, programmers and financiers—including former employees of ByteDance Ltd., ecommerce platform JD.com Inc. and Google—expected to propel some $15 billion of spending on AI technology this year.

For Wang, who founded the search engine Sogou that Tencent Holdings Ltd. bought out in a $3.5-billion deal less than two years ago, the opportunity came fast. By April, the computer science graduate had already set up his own start-up and secured $50 million in seed capital. He reached out to former subordinates at Sogou, many of whom he convinced to come on board. By June, his firm had launched an open-source large language model and it’s already in use by researchers at China’s two

most prominent universities. We all heard the sound of the starter pistol in the race. Tech companies, big or small, are all on the same starting line,” Wang, who named his start-up Baichuan or “A Hundred Rivers,” told Bloomberg News. “China is still three years behind the US, but we may not need three years to catch up.”

Th e top-flight Chinese talent and financing flowing into AI mirrors a wave of activity convulsing Silicon Valley, which has deep implications for Beijing’s escalating conflict with Washington. Analysts and executives believe AI will shape the technology leaders of the future, much like the internet and smartphone created a corps of global titans. Moreover, it could propel applications from supercomputing to military prowess—potentially tilting the geopolitical balance.

C hina is a vastly different landscape—one reined in by US tech sanctions, regulators’ data and censorship demands, and Western distrust that limits the international expansion of its national champions. All that will make it harder to play catch-up with the US.

A I investments in the US dwarf that of China, totaling $26.6 billion in the year to mid-June versus China’s $4 billion, according to previously unreported data collated by consultancy Preqin. Yet that gap is already gradually narrowing, at least in terms of deal flow. The number of Chinese

venture deals in AI comprised more than two-thirds of the US total of about 447 in the year to mid-June, versus about 50 percent over the previous two years. China-based AI venture deals also outpaced consumer tech in 2022 and early 2023, according to Preqin.

A ll this is not lost on Beijing. Xi Jinping’s administration realizes that AI, much like semiconductors, will be critical to maintaining China’s ascendancy and is likely to mobilize the nation’s resources to drive advances. While start-up investment cratered during the years Beijing went after tech giants and “reckless expansion of capital,” the feeling is the Party encourages AI exploration.

It’s a familiar challenge for Chinese tech players.

During the mobile era, a generation of start-ups led by Tencent, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and TikTok-owner ByteDance built an industry that could genuinely rival Silicon Valley. It helped that Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp were shut out of the booming market of 1.4 billion people.

At one point in 2018, venture capital funding in China was even on track to surpass that of the US—until the trade war exacerbated an economic downturn. That situation, where local firms thrive when US rivals are absent, is likely to play out once more in an AI arena from which ChatGPT and Google’s Bard are effectively barred.

L arge AI models could eventually behave much like the smartphone operating systems Android and iOS, which provided the infrastructure or platforms on which Tencent, ByteDance and Ant Group Co. broke new ground: in social media with WeChat, video with Douyin and TikTok, and payments with Alipay. The idea is that generative AI services could speed the emergence of new platforms to host a wave of revolutionary apps for businesses and consumers.

Th at’s a potential gold mine for an industry just emerging from the trauma of Xi’s two-year internet crackdown, which starved tech companies of the heady growth of years past. No one today wants to miss out on what Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang called the “iPhone moment” of their generation.

This is an AI arms race going on both in the US and China,” said Daniel Ives, a senior analyst at Wedbush Securities. “China tech is dealing with a stricter regulatory environment around AI, which puts one hand behind the back in this ‘Game of Thrones’ battle. This is an $800-billion market opportunity globally over the next decade we estimate around AI, and we are only on the very early stages.”

The resolve to catch OpenAI is apparent in the seemingly haphaz-

ard fashion in which incumbents from Baidu Inc. and SenseTime Group Inc. to Alibaba have trotted out AI bots in the span of months.

Joining them are some of the biggest names in the industry. Their ranks include Wang Changhu, the former director of ByteDance’s AI Lab; Zhou Bowen, expresident of JD.com Inc.’s AI and cloud computing division; Meituan co-founder Wang Huiwen and current boss Wang Xing; and venture capitalist Kai-fu Lee, who made his name backing companies, including Meitu and Zhihu.

E x-Baidu President Zhang Yaqin, now dean of Tsinghua University’s Institute for AI Industry Research and overseer of a number of budding projects, told Chinese media in March that investors sought him out almost daily that month. He estimates there are as many as 50 firms working on large language models across the country.

Wang Changhu, former lead researcher at Microsoft Research before he joined Bytedance in 2017, said dozens of investors approached him on WeChat in a single day when he was preparing to set up his generative AI start-up.

This is at least a once-in-a-decade opportunity, an opportunity for start-ups to create companies comparable to the behemoths,” Wang told Bloomberg News.

Many of the fledgling firms are squarely aimed at the home crowd, given growing concern in the West about Chinese technology. Even so, there’s an open field in a consumer market ringfenced to themselves, which also happens to be the world’s largest internet arena. In the works are AI-fueled applications, from a chatbot to help manufacturers track consumption trends, to an intelligent operating system offering companionship to counter depression, and smart enterprise tools to transcribe and analyze meetings.

Still, Chinese demos so far make it clear that most have a long way to go. The skeptical point out true innovation requires the freewheeling exploration and experimentation that the US cultivates but is restrained in China. Pervasive censorship in turn means the datasets that China’s aspirants are using are inherently flawed and artificially constrained, they argue.

“Investors are chasing the concept,” said Grant Pan, chief financial officer of Noah Holdings, whose subsidiary Gopher invests in over 100 funds including Sequoia China (now HongShan) and ZhenFund in China. “However, the commercial use and impact to industry chains are not clear yet.”

Then there are Beijing’s regulations on generative AI, with its top internet overseer signaling that

the onus for training algorithms and implementing censorship will fall on platform providers.

Beijing’s censorship regime will put China’s ChatGPT-like applications at a serious disadvantage vis-à-vis their US peers,” said Xiaomeng Lu, director of the Eurasia Group’s geotechnology practice. L ast but not least, powerful chipsets from the likes of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. are crucial in training large AI models—but Washington bars the most capable from the country. The Biden administration is now considering tightening restrictions as soon as in coming months, potentially eliminating less-capable chips that Nvidia has devised for Chinese customers, people familiar with the matter said.

Nv idia said it was aware of reports about the stricter rules and they wouldn’t affect earnings—but may hurt its long-term prospects.

But these hurdles haven’t stopped the ambitious in China, from Baidu and iFlytek Co. to the slew of new start-ups, from setting their sights on matching and surpassing the US on AI. E xecutives, including from Tencent, argue models can tack on more chipsets to make up for lesser performance. Baichuan’s Wang said it got by with Nvidia’s A800 chips, and will obtain more capable H800s in June.

Others like Lan Zhenzhong, a veteran of Google’s AI Research Institute who founded Hangzhoubased Westlake Xinchen in 2021, employ a costly hybrid approach. The Baidu Ventures-backed company uses fewer than 1,000 GPUs for model training, then deploys domestic cloud services for inference, or sustaining the program. Lan said it cost about 7 to 8 yuan per hour to rent an A100 chip from cloud services: “Very expensive.”

Billionaire Baidu founder Robin Li, who in March unfurled China’s first answer to ChatGPT, has said the US and China both account for roughly a third of the world’s computing power. But that alone won’t make the difference because “innovation is not something you can buy.”

W hile tech giants from Alibaba to ByteDance can gain just by bolting generative AI on top of existing product lines, some observers argue it’s start-ups that might galvanize a revolution—in the same way that Alibaba and Tencent were bootstrapped firms before they became sector leaders.

Why aren’t people willing to invest in the longer-term and dream big?” asked Wayne Shiong, a partner at China Growth Capital. “Now that we’ve been handed this assignment by the other side, China will be able to play catch-up.”

CHINA’S tech sector has a new obsession: competing with US titans like Google and Microsoft Corp. in the breakneck global artificial intelligence (AI) race.

THE Foreign Currency Deposit Units (FCDU) of banks declined 2.1 percent as of the end of March as lenders tightened credit standards and foreign exchange volatility continued to increase borrowing costs, among other reasons, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Data showed FCDU of banks stood at $15.5 billion as of endMarch 2023, a decrease of $324 million from the end-December 2022 level of $15.8 billion as principal repayments exceeded disbursements.

Year-on-year, outstanding

FCDU loans decreased by about $507 million or by 3.2 percent from the end-March 2022 level of $16 billion.

“The decline in FCDU loans may be attributed to: [a] lender banks’ tightened credit standards because of reduced tolerance for risk and uncertainty in economic outlook; [b] reduced demand for FCDU loans of resident exporters; [c] foreign exchange volatility and rising borrowing costs; and [d] availability of other sources of funding,” BSP said.

Data also showed that as of the end of March 2023, the maturity profile of the FCDU loan portfolio remained predominantly medium to long-term.

BSP said medium to long-term loans comprised 78.4 percent of total, which is slightly higher than 78.3 percent from the previous quarter. These loans are payable over a term of more than one year.

FCDU loans granted to residents comprised 60.7 percent or

$9.4 billion of total outstanding FCDU loans, of which majority went to the following sector/industries, led by power generation companies worth $2.4 billion or 26.1 percent of the total.

Other industries were merchandise and service exporters whose FCDU loans reached $2.3 billion or 25 percent of the total; and towing, tanker, trucking, and other industries at $1.2 billion or 12.6 percent.

Meanwhile, BSP said gross disbursements in the first quarter of 2023 reached $17 billion and were 20.2 percent higher than the previous quarter’s $14.2 billion, mainly due to the increase in funding requirements of a foreign bank branch affiliate.

Further, loan repayments in the reference quarter aggregated $17.4 billion, a 23.4-percent increase from the previous quarter’s $14.1 billion. These resulted in overall net principal repayment.

However, FCDU deposit liabilities reached an all-time high of $48.7 billion as of endMarch 2023, higher by $879 million or by 1.8 percent from the end-December 2022 level of $47.8 billion.

The bulk of these deposits— at $47.5 billion or 97.4 percent of the total—continued to be owned by residents, essentially constituting an additional buffer to the country’s gross international reserves.

Year-on-year, FCDU deposit liabilities increased by $2.4 billion or by 5.2 percent from the endMarch 2022 level of $46.3 billion.

Cai U. Ordinario

BSP expects June inflation to trend lower than, or mimic May’s 6.1%

By Cai U. Ordinario

In its month-ahead forecast, the BSP said inflation could settle within the range of 5.3 to 6.1 percent. Inflation was also at 6.1 percent in June 2022.

BSP said food and oil prices are still high, and the depreciation of the peso could cause prices to rise but other commodities such as meat and vegetables could

keep inflation low or at the same rate last month. “Going forward, BSP will continue to monitor developments affecting the outlook for inflation and growth in line with its data-dependent approach to monetary policy formulation,” the BSP said in a statement issued on Friday.

Prices of key food items, such as rice, vegetables, and fish, along with the increase of domestic oil prices and electricity rates, as well as the depreciation of the peso are the primary sources of upward price pressures in June.

The lower prices of meat and fruits as well as the rollback in LPG prices could contribute to downward price pressures during the month.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the slowdown of inflation to 6.1 percent in May marked the fourth consecutive month of deceleration in headline inflation in the country.

Despite the decline, the inflation rate in May 2022 was still lower at 5.4 percent. The year-todate average inflation rate, that is from January to May 2023,

stood at 7.5 percent.

The BSP earlier said it stands ready to resume its monetary policy tightening should the country’s domestic conditions warrant such a move.

This is despite the recent decision of the United States Federal Reserve to pause its monetary policy tightening stance. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) earlier decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5 to 5.25 percent.

I n the Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) in Singapore aired live on social media, BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila Jr. said the monetary policy actions of the Federal Reserve now carry less weight on the policy actions of the Monetary Board.

SHORTER-MATURITY

Philippine bonds look increasingly favorable relative to longer-dated ones, aided by the central bank’s pivot to an easing stance, which will also boost lending in the economy.

Emerging Asia’s formerly most hawkish central bank sent the two-to-10-year curve into inversion in May for the first time since June 2019. Yields have stayed around those levels since.

But Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP) decision to cut the reserve requirement ratio—by 250 basis points versus an expected 200 basis points—should ease pressure on shorter yields, which will help the sovereign curve steepen.

“The reserve requirement ratio [RRR] cut increases demand for short-term government securities” as institutions would optimize returns on excess peso funds effectively infused into the financial system, said Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. in Manila.

The spread between twoand 10-year bonds dipped below zero in May, following a cumulative 425 basis points of rate hikes from the BSP since 2022. That was the largest tightening cycle among emerging Asia economies as the central bank sought to tame surging price pressures. But inflation is now slowing, with the consumer-price index dropping to 6.1 percent in May from a 15-year high of 8.7 percent in January. June inflation figures are due

Wednesday, and are expected to decelerate further to 5.5 percent, according to economist estimates.

Philippine authorities signaled the central bank would consider cutting rates in the first quarter of 2024, or if inflation comes in below 4 percent for two months. Rate cuts are expected to begin in that period, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Some money managers though speculate easing may begin as early as the fourth quarter as gross domestic product may undershoot government estimates of above 6-percent growth.

Leading the way

Among the core Asia markets, the Philippines has “led the way in monetary easing, after having delivered the most aggressive tightening in the region,” HSBC strategists Pin Ru Tan and Himanshu Malik wrote in a note last week.

Shorter-maturity yields, which are more sensitive to rate expectations, may move in advance of the actual rate cut if history is a guide. Peso two-year yields started declining around five months ahead of eventual rate cuts in May 2016 and May 2019, as shorter yields fell by around 100 basis points on both occasions before the rate cut. Declining two-year yields would support a steepening in the sovereign yield curve.

“We expect the bond curve to steepen” as the RRR cut adds net liquidity into the system, the HSBC strategists said. Bloomberg News

48-hour

notice necessary before power service disconnection, SC tells Meralco

By Joel R. San Juan

APRIOR notice of at least 48 hours is required before the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) could implement a service disconnection order of a consumer.

This was declared by the Supreme Court (SC) as it denied the petition of Meralco assailing the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) issued on November 26, 2020 which held that the electric firm violated RA 7832, or the Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of

1994, for cutting off the electricity supply of a consumer without prior notice.

The CA decision upheld the decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Valenzuela City, Branch 172, which ruled in favor of respondent Lucy Lu. Lu’s family owns the New Supersonic Industrial Corporation (NSIC) in Valenzuela City.

In her complaint, Lu claimed that on December 9, 1999, representatives from Meralco forcibly entered the premises of NSIC.

After an inspection, the Meralco representatives issued a notice

of disconnection and immediately disconnected the electricity supply of NSIC’s factory and their residence.

It was not mentioned, however, the reason for the disconnection of Lu’s electricity service.

In denying Meralco’s petition for review of the CA’s decision, the Court ruled that before Meralco can disconnect the electric service of a consumer on grounds cited under Section 4(a) of RA 7832, there must be prior written notice to the consumer to disconnect.

The notice, according to the SC, must be given at least 48 hours

prior to the disconnection, pursuant to due process requirements.

Thus, it held that Meralco violated the due process requirements in this case.

Likewise, the SC affirmed the award of damages in favor of Lu in the amount of P150,000.

The court has yet to release a copy of its decision.

Sought for reaction on the SC ruling, Meralco, in a news statement said, “We have not officially received a copy of the SC decision. In any case, we will respect and abide by the said decision.” “We note that the incident in question happened in 1999. It has been Meralco’s policy to serve 48-hour prior notice before disconnecting any service to comply with the due process requirements,” the statement added. With Lenie Lectura

DAVAO CITY—The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) extended anew the deadline for amnesty applications for late and nonfiling of annual financial statements (AFS), general information sheets (GIS), and official contact details.

The deadline was moved to September 30.

The SEC also announced it has streamlined the amnesty applications “by adapting a Unified Amnesty Application Form, a webbased form available on the Electronic Filing and Submission Tool that will allow eligible companies to express their concurrence and/or consent to certain conditions of the amnesty process.”

The Unified Amnesty Application Form replaces the notarized Expression of Interest Form and Amnesty Application Form previously required by the Commission, it said.

Companies whose only violation is non-compliance with SEC Memorandum Circular No. 28, Series of 2020 should submit Annex D of the circular using the MC 28 Submission Portal, the SEC said. The applicant then has to accomplish the web-based form to signify intent to avail of the amnesty.

The SEC also announced it has removed the option “to file an undertaking to submit the latest due AFS within 90 days from amnesty application, as it is understood the AFS should be ready by September 30, consistent with the SEC and Bureau of Internal Revenue’s prescribed deadlines.”

It said that corporations that were able to submit the correct reportorial requirements, including those reverted for compliance, within the submission period or until September 30 “will be considered to have undergone the complete process and are entitled to receive a Confirmation of Payment [COP]. Otherwise, the payment of amnesty fees will be forfeited.”

The COP will be released within 15 working days from the date of complete submission of reportorial requirements. Manuel T. Cayon

SEC extends amnesty deadline for AFS, GIS

Experts: Bond dynamics poised for a shakeup due to policy pivot

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects June inflation to record the same rate or even lower than May’s 6.1 percent.

FCDU loans inch down as of end-March on tighter credit norms, forex volatility

WB okays $.6-B loan to PHL rural devt scaling-up of DA

By Cai U. Ordinario

THE World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors this week approved a new multimillion-dollar loan to expand the country’s Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).

In a statement, the World Bank said the Philippines will receive a $600-million loan for the Philippines to finance Philippine Rural Development Project Scale-Up (PRDP Scale-Up) of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The Washington-based lender said the expansion aims to stimulate further growth in these critical sectors and strengthen the nation’s rural economy through rural infrastructure and enhancing connectivity.

“Almost 60 percent of the poor work in agriculture in the Philippines, so accelerating the growth of agriculture

and fishery is vital for the country’s development overall and for poverty reduction,” said World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand Ndiamé Diop.

“Improving access to markets will help farmers and fisherfolk in rural areas raise their incomes, provide for their families, and elevate their standards of living,” he added.

World Bank said the financing will come from a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

The Scale-Up will prioritize fewer but larger programs, increasing support for investments that will yield benefits beyond the immediate project area, including research and development, infrastructure, market connectivity, and biosecurity.

In addition, it will provide enterprise

grants to support farmers’ and fisherfolk cooperatives, associations, and local government units.

“The Rural Development Project concentrated on spurring growth among farming and fishing enterprises,” said World Bank Senior Agriculture Economist Mio Takada. “The Scale-Up takes this further, emphasizing support throughout the value chain, from production through to marketing, ultimately increasing the competitiveness and profitability of these businesses.”

The Rural Development Project is active in 80 provinces, including 640 municipalities and 32 cities. It has reached almost 633,000 farmers, raised incomes, and improved connectivity to markets through construction of roads, bridges and post-harvest facilities, among other interventions.

T he Scale-Up will support access for

Senate to tackle pending pay hike bills despite NCR wage hike–Sen. Jinggoy

By Butch Fernandez

and costs of living; hence, the need to leave that discretion to localized tripartite boards.

micro- to medium-scale agricultural and fishery enterprises to resources, knowledge, and income-generating activities. Funding will support inputs, production, marketing, and enterprise management, among others. The project also aims to increase participation of women in these activities.

It will also str engthen rural infrastructure and connectivity, as this scaling up of rural development support will fund climate-proof infrastructure, including more roads, bridges, irrigation systems, and post-harvest storage facilities such as warehouses, drying, and cold storage.

The project aims to provide improved technology to reduce postharvest losses and put in place more efficient logistics. This will help ensure a stable supply of food and agricultural products in markets.

BILLS proposing adjustments in workers’ wage rates that are currently pending before the Senate Committee on Labor will not be put on the back burner, even as the regional wage board in Metro Manila has already granted a P40 increase in daily minimum wage in the region, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada vowed on Friday.

“As soon as Congress resumes its Second Regular Session, we will take up the matter anew, as mentioned in a recent news forum in the Senate,” Estrada said in a statement.

The National Capital Region’s Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) on Thursday announced the wage hike effective J uly 16, amid mounting clamor for pay adjustments nationwide since the country started feeling the impact of high inflation.

The inflation rate has started easing, but most sectors agree that the prices of most basic goods stay relatively high compared to wages.

The bills pending in both houses of Congress mostly push for a legislated wage hike, which the country has abandoned as a matter of policy since the law creating RTWPBs was enacted two decades ago, leaving the discretion of setting pay adjustments to regional bodies. Supposedly, the law’s wisdom says regions have varying degrees of economic growth

The one in the Senate has the full backing of no less than Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.

For his part, Estrada said that while the wage-hike bills await action in the legislature, “We hope that other RTWPBs across the country will follow suit, either by addressing filed petitions or initiating action on their own accord.”

Estrada added, “Amid calls for an across-the-board pay increase being sought by the labor sector, the P40 grant in the daily minimum wage by the NCR wage board is a welcome development.”

The move demonstrates, he said, that the NCR RTWPB recognizes the need to adjust the current wage structure and has acted promptly on the pending petitions filed by labor groups. “Indeed, our workers need and deserve wage hikes to cope with the ongoing rise in the prices of basic goods and commodities,” he said. Nonetheless, the senator acknowledged, “that the P40 increase or 7 percent raise in the daily minimum wage may not be sufficient to achieve a living wage in the NCR.”

However, he added, “as a product of a tripartite body where employers, workers and the government are all represented, we are confident that this amount serves and protects the interests of all stakeholders.”

GDP growth in Q2 not seen as robust as Q1–think tank

EPR Act implementor, author push timely compliance with law

By Butch Fernandez

BOTH the author and the main implementor of a 2022 law mandating large enterprises to take responsibility for the proper and effective recovery, recycling and disposal of plastic packaging used for their products—after these are sold and used by consumers—agree that the law is a work in progress, but ensuring strict compliance is crucial given the environmental crisis facing the country.

Sen. Cynthia Villar, author of Republic Act 11898, or the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022, also stressed the need to encourage micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) “to participate as well” even though only large enterprises are mandated to comply with the law enacted in July 2022. “In my view, the cooperation of MSMEs is crucial for the EPR compliance of obliged large enterprises (OEs), as MSMEs often service as conduits for the distribution of products from large enterprises to the consuming public,” Villar said in her speech at the B usiness M irror Coffee Club Forum at Bellevue Manila in Alabang.

The Coffee Club returned to its face-to-face format for the first time since the pandemic, but with option for virtual participation as it was livestreamed on BM’s Facebook.

Speaking after Villar, Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Gonzaga of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources thanked Villar for trusting the DENR to be the Main implementor of the landmark law, but added that its success hinges on a “whole-of-society, whole-of-government approach,” additng that this is a job that

requires “all hands on deck.”

The DENR issued the implementing rules and regulations for RA 11898 in January this year, and the so-called “obliged enterprises” have until the end of this year to meet the first milestone of a phased compliance, show proof they have recovered a minimum of 20 percent of the plastic packaging waste they distributed in 2022.

This target, as detailed by Villar in her speech, “rises to 40 percent in 2024, 50 percent in 2025, 60 percent in 2026, 70 percent in 2027 and 80 percent in 2028 and every year after.”

It is important, stressed Villar, that the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) educates the public on the benefits of the EPR.

Both Villar and Yulo Gonzaga urged the media to help bring up the number of obliged enterprises who have registered under the EPR law. The number currently stands only at 642, just a fraction of the estimated 4,000 enterprises that must be covered. It was during Villar’s stint as chair of the Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change in the 18th Congress that she authored the EPR Act of 2022. The goal, she told attendees at BM’s Coffee Club on Friday, “is to cut down on non-environmentally friendly packaging, boost recycling and promote effective waste recovery to mitigate environmental pollution.”

At the time she pushed enactment of the law, the country was facing alarming levels of marine pollution from plastic waste and a dismal failure to properly enforce the twodecade old solid waste disposal act.

PGMPI, BEP sign MOA on critical minerals venture

OFFICIALS of the Philippine General Minerals Project, Inc. (PGMPI) concluded a successful week-long business trip to Seoul last June 23.

Retired Lt. Gen. Antonio G. Parlade Jr., PGMPI president, met with senior officials at the Department of National Defense to brief them on the progress of PGMPI’s Strategic Mineral Project, which started in 2019 under the auspices of the then Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenzana.

During the meeting with Undersecretary for Capability Assessment and Development Angelito De Leon and three other Assistant Secretaries, Parlade confirmed the continuous development in the initiative of PGMPI to help the government, particularly the defense sector, in seeking ways to generate revenues for the requirements of defense and national security. He reported the successful MOA signing of PGMPI and Busan Equity Partners (BEP) with IM Co. Ltd as potential JV partners in the first project last June 20, 2023. All parties will collaborate and partner in the strategic and critical mineral ventures in the Philippines.

The executives of both companies presented their credentials to the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, where they were welcomed by Ambassador Maria Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center Counsellor Jose Ma. Dinsay.

Under the MOA, PGMPI will set up a full refinery to process critical minerals in Davao, to be followed by nine other setups in other areas nationwide. Currently, PGMPI is using Turkish technology, but talks and deeper collaboration are underway with Lynas Rare Earth of Australia, the UK’s John Wood Group, and a Korean technical partner.

The signing of the agreement aligns with the agenda of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to develop a value chain for the mining industry in the country—a remarkable upgrade from just being an exporter of ores at present.

The Korean government has been stepping up strategies in securing critical minerals to stabilize the supply chain for its telecom, semiconductor,

transport, and defense industries. This includes a pivot from its reliance on imports from a select few countries.

With homegrown industry giants like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and POSCO in dire need of critical metals, Korea is pushing for investments in the mining and refinery sector.

One strategy is to actively establish high-level diplomacy with resource-rich nations like Mongolia, Vietnam, and the Philippines and pursue bilateral cooperation in critical minerals.

Both the Philippine and Korean governments back the collaboration on critical minerals, with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) coordinating with Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy on the matter.

With Presisdent Marcos recently reiterating his policy on strengthening the credibility of the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) program and projects among the private sector in his issuance of Executive Order No. 30, the PGMPI-BEP collaboration came at an opportune time.

PGMPI’s initiative to rehabilitate and restore areas affected by mining waste can generate significant revenues for the country and create more jobs while addressing environmental concerns.

In an earlier briefing, National Security Adviser Secretary Eduardo Año expressed his intention to sustain the effort, which he has supported while he was Secretary of the Interior, cognizant of the fact that the PGMPI Project was orchestrated during the term of former NSA Secretary Hermogenes C. Esperon, Jr.

By Cai U. Ordinario

In its latest Market Call report, First Metro Investment Corp.University of Asia and the Pacific (FMIC-UA&P) Capital Market Research said GDP growth in the April to June period may be slightly below 6 percent.

Govt,

The think tank noted that the large increase in the percentage of workers rendering less than 40 hours—by 9.7 percent to 44.2 percent—led to the rise in underemployment rate.

“The real economy looks poised

By Andrea E. San Juan

GOVERNMENT and food and beverage company officials in the country

underscored the importance of having a “unified” understanding among all sectors in complying with the requirements under the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Act.

We all know the deliverables under the EPR law, but the key here should be a clear understanding, a unified understanding by all sectors because if we interpret the law differently, then we cannot reach our objectives,” Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Jonas R. Leones said at the forum “The EPR Law: What Goes Around, Comes Around” on Friday organized by the BusinessMirror.

T he DENR official stressed that the challenge lies in making all sectors in the country aware of the deliverables under the law, particularly what will be the support and resources given by the private sector.

F or instance, he said, while there are only 642 that have registered thus far, out of the 4,000 enterprises obliged to practice EPR, Leones said “We cannot blame those who have not registered, maybe they do not know the requirements of the law.”

T hrough another government agency’s lens, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said it is important to raise awareness of the local government units (LGUs) on the system and processes and how to “go about the partnership with the EPR law implementation.”

“ The DILG is committed to partner closely with the DENR as well as partnerbusiness organizations in localizing this law as well as raising the awareness of LGUs and probably this will help out

LGU in probably improving their solid waste management plan, especially on plastics,” DILG Bureau of Local Government Supervision Director Debie T. Torres said at the same forum.

Mean while, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) cited the challenges in implementing the law on the side of manufacturers and consumers.

F or one, DTI-Consumer Protection Group (CPG) Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo said for the manufacturers, “It’s first finding the alternative on what material are they going to use; that is an issue that we have been discussing in the National Solid Waste Management Commission in declaring plastic straws and plastic coffee stirrers as nonenvironmentally acceptable products.”

A ccording to Castelo, industries question what alternative solutions they can provide. In the same way, she said, “I’m sure that the manufacturers find it difficult to find alternatives for plastic.”

F or consumers, the challenge to DTI is making everyone understand. “Number one, why we have the EPR law, why we need to be sustainable consumers, why we need to preserve the planet...These are all connected ideas that we need people to understand.”

C astelo stressed that the DTI, being an advocate of the EPR law and as an agency that advocates for sustainable consumption and production, cannot do it alone.

Food manufacturers

MEANWHILE , businesses engaged in food also raised the challenges they are experiencing in complying with the law.

For US-based multinational snacks company Mondelez International, Corporate and Government Affairs Lead Caitlin Nina Punzalan said, “...the challenge

for another robust uptick in Q2 (the second quarter), albeit slightly slower than Q1 (the first quarter), as employment flattened,” FMIC-UA&P Capital Market Research said.

“While exports remain in the doldrums, imports have plunged as well and so the trade deficit for Q2-2023 (second quarter of 2023) will likely slip from the same quarter in 2022 and may positively contribute to GDP growth,” the think tank, however, said.

The think tank added that the growth of Manufacturing based on the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), now on its 16th consecutive month of expansion, bodes well for GDP growth.

Further, the double-digit in -

is really...starting from the beginning, is to find out what is our output because it’s not a straightforward matter, it involves cross-functional research, understanding how much do we really produce, what is the weight of what we produce.”

P unzalan said these are the factors to consider as the company needs to make sure it complies with the EPR law. But, the Mondelez official stressed, they are slowly overcoming this challenge with the help of experts.

We really target a certain number. It was a challenge at the beginning. But we are fortunate that we have expert partners in helping us. Because we are a snacks company, we know how to make cheese, make chocolates, but we don’t know how to account for all of our waste yet,” Punzalan said.

F or major food and beverage firm Nestlé Philippines, Head of Corporate Affairs Jose Uy said the most difficult part is the packaging material.

“ While we have solutions for now as an interim action to address EPR and plastic neutrality...it’s actually coming up with the right packaging that is food grade, food safe, and the material can accommodate recycle and post-consumer recycled content which is very critical, because we want to cut the use of virgin plastics and hopefully used packaging can be recycled and used again in developing new packaging,” Uy said.

In coming up with packaging material solutions, Uy said, “That is technology work underway.” Moving forward, he said, “We are very open and committed to work with the international community, researchers, and other companies and government sectors to ensure that we develop that packaging material to address this circularity and issue on sustainability.”

Mayor lays groundwork for prosperous Malabon

UNDER Mayor Jeannie Sandoval’s administration, the local government of Malabon has been laying the groundwork for prosperity. Major w orks to rehabilitate its roads and drainage have just been completed. The work covers pothole patching, resealing of paved roads, re-gravelling, and construction of a proper drainage system outlet.

Following the rehabilitation of its roads, both Gabriel and Florante Street at Hulong Duhat as well as Mangostan Road at Potrero are now open to motorists. The upgrade and rehabilitation projects will help ease traffic congestion and address flooding in the communities.

Malabueños will also see the lighting of hybrid solar streetlights on Friday, June 30, 2023. Thirty of the 378 smart solar streetlights will be initially installed under the Street Lighting Project designed to ensure that no street in Malabon is “left in the dark,” supporting Mayor Jeannie’s vision of having a safe, walkable, and vibrant Malabon.

The innovations that the administration of Mayor Jeannie initiated will surely benefit

both residents and businesses. Delivery of service is expected to be far more efficient with the renovation of its Business One Stop Shop (BOSS) designed to prevent unnecessary delays when transacting and securing permits and licenses.

The technology we are putting in place is critical to improve efficiencies that will benefit the entire city,” said Mayor Jeannie during the inauguration.

crease in national government spending in April is expected to boost aggregate demand in the Philippines. Consumption spending is expected to improve as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas lowered its inflation projection for 2023 to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent a month earlier.

Nonetheless, FMIC-UA&P Capital Market Research noted that BSP still recognized that upside risks are still present, which could prompt inflation to increase anew. These upside risks include those coming from food supply bottlenecks, crude oil and commodity prices with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and other geopolitical conflicts.

By Samuel P. Medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand

R. Marcos, Jr. is eyeing to boost the country’s coconut exports by accelerating the modernization efforts of the coconut industry.

“There is no reason why the Philippines should not be the biggest producer of export in terms of coconut products,” the President said during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) last Thursday.

He instructed the PCA to intensify its implementation of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan, which aims to boost the competitiveness of the country’s coconut industry by improving the capacity of farmers and the use of new technology and facilities.

Efforts to boost the productivity of the local coconut industry includes replanting old and unproductive coconut trees and planting of coconut seedlings as well as the establishment of mills and other post-production facilities to process coconut by products.

Currently, Marcos said the Philippines is a major exporter of coconut oil and other products, such as copra meal and desiccated coconut.

“We will no longer export the raw material, which will then be processed in other countries. Then later on we will buy the end product,” Marcos said.

“We cannot allow this very, very grand opportunity for our farmers to slip by. And we have now come to the point where we have been looking at the coconut industry as an industry. And it is now time to revitalize that economy,” he added.

The efforts, he said, will also help make the coconut industry resilient to emerging threats such as effects of climate change, pests, and diseases.

“So, let us double our efforts to tackle these issues and invest in technologies and initiatives that will not only safeguard but also ensure the resilience of the coconut sector of our agriculture,” Marcos said.

She also r aised the bar in Malabon’s capacity to prevent and respond to emergencies with its newly inaugurated 24/7 Central Command and Communication Center. Equipped with PTZ, Bullet, Traffic, Dome, and speaker tracking cameras, as well as high-level radios and monitoring systems, the Command Center will greatly increase Malabon’s capacity to protect the lives and property of its residents.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported coconut production increased to 3.26 million metric tons (MMT) during the first quarter of the year, from 3.20 MMT in the same period in 2022.

However, government data showed the country’s coconut exports still declined by more than half from $1.04 billion in January to April 2022 to $490.16 million in the same period in 2023.

THE country’s economic performance in the second quarter of the year may not be as robust as the first quarter “as employment flattened,” according to a local think tank.

PBBM outlines plan to boost devt of PHL coconut industry

food and beverage firms say all must be on same page on EPR

RETIRED Lt. Gen. Antonio G. Parlade Jr., PGMPI president. PHOTO FROM LINKEDIN

DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga and Sen. Cynthia Villar address the BusinessMirror Coffee Club forum on the EPR law. ROY DOMINGO

₧100K cash gift each for 2 IP centenarians

By Edwin Fernandez

Pfizer and GSK vaccines for RSV get govt backing for use in older adults

By Matthew Griffin & Suzi Ring

The recipients were Luheng Aloy Cayok, a 103-year-old Tboli elder from Barangay San Jose, General Santos City, and 101-year-old Blaan matriarch Rebecca Latimbon Sambog of Tupi, South Cotabato. Both were teary-eyed when they received their cash gifts from the Department of Social Welfare and Development—Soccsksargen (DSWD12) and the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) Regional Cluster 7.

“I am so happy. Salamat, salamat [thank you, thank you],” Cayok was quoted as saying in his native Tboli in a joint statement by DSWD-12 and NCSC.

Cayok had just celebrated his 103rd birthday last February 28 in General Santos City.

On the other hand, Sambog also received her P100,000 cash gift on Thursday afternoon at her residence in Barangay Kablon, Tupi town.

Aside from the P100,000 cash gift from the DSWD, both centenarians also received an additional P10,000 each as cash gift from the NCSC through Commissioner Edwin G. Espejo. Both centenarians also received a letter of felicitation from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

The centenarian cash grant is mandated under Republic Act 10868

or the Centenarian Act of 2016, which seeks to honor and grant additional benefits and privileges to Filipino centenarians.

“This is in recognition of their invaluable contributions to our society and in nation-building,” said Espejo, whose NCSC Cluster 7 area includes Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), Region 12 (Soccsksargen) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Labinia Bañes, DSWD-12 focal person for senior citizens, said they endorsed the release of the centenarian gifts following a meticulous assessment of documents submitted by the families of the beneficiaries in coordination with their respective local government units (LGUs).

“We matched their documents with other existing records and conducted proper validation to ensure that the grants are given to the deserving recipients,” she said.

To date, Bañes said some 30 verified centenarians in Region 12 have received their P100,000 cash gift, with some LGUs granting additional incentives to the beneficiaries.

This week alone, DSWD approved the release of the centenarian cash gifts of nine centenarians in the region, including Cayok and Sambog.

In General Santos City, centenarians get an additional P100,000 cash gift from the LGU and those still living receive a monthly medical stipend of P5,000. Similarly, the South Cotabato provincial government grants qualified centenarians a one-time cash gift of P20,000 each.

Bañes said other LGUs in the region grant additional one-time incentives ranging from P10,000 to P100,000, food packs and other goods.

The Soccsksargen Region comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and North Cotabato, and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong and Kidapawan. PNA

Why some friendships shouldn’t last

we outgrow. The connection is often based on the past, and the past is sometimes best left alone. Friendships can end because we’ve evolved and don’t connect over the same thing.

By Nick Tayag

my sixty-zen’s WORtH

SHOTS from Pfizer Inc. and GSK Plc that prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) received backing from a panel of US public health advisers for use in older adults, paving the way for the preventives to be used in a vulnerable population.

In two separate votes Wednesday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the shots in people aged 60 and older after consultation with their doctors. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will decide whether to finalize the recommendations.

GSK stock fell slightly in early trading in London on Thursday. Pfizer shares were little changed in trading after US markets closed Wednesday.

The annual cause of an estimated 64 million infections and 160,000 deaths worldwide, RSV is emerging as an attractive market for drugmakers. Yearly sales of RSV shots for older adults could total as much as $10 billion by 2032, according to an analysis in March. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the vaccines have been awaiting use recommendations from the CDC.

The shots reduce the risk of contracting RSV, trial data show. Yet some panel members raised concerns, including over pricing that has not been finalized and the possibility of rare side effects. Older people who get the shots should do so “using shared clinical decision-making”, the panel said. The panel first voted 9-5 for its recommendation for adults 65 and older, then 13-0 with one abstention for adults aged 60-64.

Side effects

R ESEARCHERS identified neurological disorders in a handful of people who received the vaccines, as well as a slightly higher rate of a heart condition called atrial fibrillation, though trials did not determine what caused the conditions. The companies will monitor people who receive the shot for side effects.

“No intervention is completely safe,” said Michael Melgar, co-leader of a working group that studied the vaccines, noting that other common vaccinations can cause rare side effects.

GSK’s shot was first to win US approval last month, after scientists spent decades searching for an effective RSV vaccine. Called Arexvy, it has been touted by the company as

a potential blockbuster.

Supply available

PFI zER gained US regulatory approval for its vaccine, called Abrysvo, in older adults less than a month after GSK. The companies will now go head-to-head to convince doctors and insurers to use their shots.

The recommendations came as

GSK also released more data showing its shot provides protection against the virus across two seasons. The results found the vaccine could be given every other year rather than annually with the same impact, providing a potential market advantage for GSK.

Pfizer was first to win a nod from an FDA advisory committee for a shot for pregnant mothers to protect their newborns, and it produced positive top-line results from a late-stage study to administer Abrysvo alongside flu vaccines in adults 65 and older.

The drug giant is starting clinical trials for its RSV shot in young, healthy children and in high-risk children and adults.

Both Pfizer and GSK have said they expect to have supply available ahead of the next RSV season this fall. With assistance from Deirdre Hipwell / Bloomberg

Six couples celebrating their 50th anniversary get ₧50,000 cash gifts

MOST people believe friendships should last a lifetime. They think that ending a friendship is always a bad thing. Best Friends Forever or BFF is an overused acronym they love to tout on chatrooms and other platforms.

Take it from me, a seasoned collector of friends. “Friendship is forever” is not necessarily true. Over the years, I have found myself drifting away from friends, some

of whom were once my close pals. And vice versa. In life, there are friendships that naturally end as our values, interests, and perspectives shift. Has a friend drifted away and you feel like you must have done something to offend him? Don’t feel guilty too fast. Truth is, there are friends we need to cut off from our lives. Not every person is meant to stay in our lives forever.

There are friendships that

I have a former friend, a former friend who acts as if he hasn’t met me when we find ourselves invited by a mutual acquaintance to a party. He avoids bumping into me, so I avoid getting near him, as if we’re in a kind of silent “iwas-iwas” rigodon dance. Is it because he’s now upwardly mobile, and socially well established after marrying into a wealthy family? Is he avoiding me because he doesn’t want his current friends to know his financially destitute past? Does he want to delete the fact that we both once used to frequent cheap beer garden joints after office hours?

I also have cut off ties with a friend who now has political leanings that are abhorrent to me. I could have agreed to disagree or to refrain from talking about politics when we’re together, but I just can’t stand his values and his beliefs. Not to mention his air of arrogance. I guess being associated with the politically powerful has rubbed off on him.

I also remember sitting with another friend I knew since college. From our conversation, he was still keen about fast cars and other luxurious obsessions. He even brought me to the parking lot to show off his latest love, his hybrid car. I had to pretend to be impressed throughout. He never got to ask me about my

present life and my family.

It can be a painful experience to try to keep maintaining a friendship when you feel drained, exhausted, or like you’re the one putting in all of the effort.

I no longer feel guilty about deliberately losing friends. Sometimes the kindest thing you can do to yourself is to cut the cord and release that friend, especially people who didn’t show up in your times of trouble.

Consider it as a positive sign that our attitude towards some friends is changing because that means we too have changed. We’re becoming more clear and selective on the kind of friends we want to spend our precious time with. Let’s face it. At 60 or 70, our time is limited.

As we release “friends” from our lives, and find ourselves released from their lives, we create space; space where more aligned people can enter our lives. Just like an overgrown tree, we need to cut off dead or unproductive branches to make room for new growths. This is a good time for us to review who are our true friends. Some friendships have stood the test of time and can still be considered sources of mutual enjoyment and growth.

But it can be hard to determine whether or not a friend is “toxic” especially when you know people are rarely entirely bad; most have positive sides as well. So, how do we decide if a friend is actually an enemy in disguise? What are the signs of a “toxic” friend?

The first characteristic is he/she is a taker. A good friendship, like a good marriage, must be a give-andtake relationship. But if he is continuously looking for something to get and uses friends as a means for that, then he is definitely a taker.

I have a friend who calls me from time to time to get me involved in some of the projects he is pursuing. But my wife viscerally hates him. When he calls me at home and my wife answers the phone, I will never get the end of it later. I try to mention the good opportunities he brings, but she doesn’t buy it. She says, “He is only interested in you, not me, not us. He’s friendly with you because, your skill is valuable to him. You’re not demanding when it comes to payment. He is just exploiting you.” Now I realize she was right all this time.

The taker, as a friend, isn’t much interested in the friendship itself but in what he can get out of it. As he is only out to receive, he rarely thinks about giving, so this is not a give and take friendship but consists of a parasite and a host, the former sucking the latter dry.

A variation of the taker is the “emotional drainer.” After talking to him, it feels like the air has been sucked out of the room. One friend who is a likely candidate to be cut off by me calls me from time to time only to pour out his feelings about the dismal state of his business, always saying he wants to give up because things aren’t going his way, in a tone of doom that makes

me recall a line from a Beatle song:

“He’s so heavy.” Essentially he’s driven by wanting and grasping for comforting words, cheer-up words he expects to hear: go on and persevere and never lose hope, and so on.

Most of all, a red flag is a friend who has a “silver tongue.” He uses words as a tool to manipulate and get his way. If your friend has a mouthful of promises and excuses but shows very little action, this individual is ripe for pruning. When you call him for a little financial help, he would mouth empty words of kind concern, and then veer towards talking about his personal misfortune at the moment.

Glib and charming “friends” who offer us little more can be fun at times, but we shouldn’t consider them as friends of true value. Someone who always praises is simply feeding into your vanity, knowing that you’ll keep him around and trust him, as long as he tells you what you want to hear.

Who are the friends we should keep and new friends to cultivate?

The helper, the friend who stays true in good and bad times, the mentor, and the compassionate friend. These people are more likely to be calm, happy, helpful and wholesome individuals themselves. They help enrich our lives in many little ways and add something to the conversation, so to speak.

These are the kind of friendships that are for keeps. Forever, like a diamond.

KORONADAL CITY—Two Indigenous People (IP) centenarians from General Santos City and South Cotabato province received their respective P100,000 centenarian cash gifts from the government on Thursday afternoon.

Tboli elder luheng Aloy Cayok (right), 103, and blaan matriarch Rebecca latimbon Sambog (left), 101, separately received their centenarian cash gifts in General Santos City and Tupi town in South Cotabato, respectively, on June 22, 2023. The Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Soccsksargen Region and the National Commission of Senior Citizens Regional Cluster 7 facilitated the release of the cash gifts. Photo courtesy of Allen V. estAbillo–ncsc cluster 7

SAN Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora poses with the six couples that celebrated their 50th anniversary at the mass wedding ceremonies held at San Juan City Hall on Monday. ruDy esPerAs

MAyoR Francis Zamora and other San Juan City officials watch as six couples kiss in celebration of their golden anniversary. The city government awarded each couple P50,000 cash gift after the mass wedding held at San Juan City Hall, led by Mayor Francis Zamora. ruDy esPerAs

Editor: Mike Policarpio

Japan commits ₧127M for Phil. govt workers’ scholarship project

The program was formalized by Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo on June 23.

The grant amounting to ¥313 million (approximately P127 million) will fund the 22nd batch of JDS Fellows from the Philippines. This will grant a total of 20 young Filipino government employees to

earn their Master’s degree at premier universities in Japan starting Academic Year 2024-2025.

The JDS Program is part of Japan’s assistance to the humanresource development initiatives of its recipient-countries. It aims to enhance the JDS Fellows’ expertise in their respective fields, thus enabling them to contribute

to their countries’ development. Since 2002 Japan has supported a total of 439 JDS Fellows from the Philippines. Applications to the JDS Program are yet to open, but aspir -

ing scholars are encouraged to visit the JDS Philippines web page for future announcements and more information: https:// jds-scholarship.org/country/philippines/index.html

Youth group condemns solon’s jingoistic remarks

WITH the recent addition of University of Santo Tomas (UST) and the United States’ Duke University, Canvas—the learning management system of by global educational-technology firm Instructure—has emerged as the preferred learning-platform solution of four of the Philippines’s top-rated universities, and all 10 top-rated US universities.

Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), De La Salle University (DLSU), University of the Philippines (UP) and UST which recently landed in the Top 10 places in the 2023 Times Higher Education Impact ranking, use Canvas LMS to boost their students’ dynamic learning experiences of by providing a secure, interactive cloudbased platform that facilitates online, blended and face-to-face education.

This adoption reflects a substantial milestone in powering up the teaching and learning systems at the universities with the use of the Instructure Learning Platform that includes Canvas LMS, Impact, Canvas Studio, and Canvas Credentials.

“At Instructure, we firmly believe that education is for all, and are proud to power the best classrooms in the world,” said Instructure CEO Steve Daly. “Through close customer partnerships, we intentionally design each of our products to elevate student success and amplify the power of teaching. We are working for the advancement of education worldwide by enabling more institutions to adopt technology that facilitates equal access to education and fosters lifelong learning.”

UST was the most recent of the country’s top universities to adopt Canvas, extending its benefits to other Dominican-network schools: Colegio de San Juan de Letran-Calamba, Colegio de San Juan de Letran-Manaoag and Angelicum Iloilo.

In the US, Duke University selected Canvas LMS to power innovative instruction and learning experiences across its educational institution. The decision represents a significant investment in the entire Instructure Learning Platform, with implementations of Canvas LMS, Impact, Canvas Studio and Canvas Credentials aimed at transforming teaching and learning at the university. With this deeper partnership with Duke, all of the Top 10 universities in the US now use Canvas LMS.

AYOUTH and students’ organization has blasted Sen. Ronald dela Rosa for his latest jingoistic rhetoric, following the release of a study that revealed majority of students rejecting the return of mandatory Reserve Officers Training Course (MROTC).

The Catholic Education Association of the Philippines recently disclosed the results of its survey that showed 53 percent of the more than 20,000 students from over 1,500 Catholic schools nationwide rejecting the comeback of MROTC.

The lawmaker earlier told reporters that “defending this country is not a matter of choice: It is a constitutional duty of every citizen of this republic. Therefore, there is no need of convincing these unpatriotic Filipinos.”

An organization that hardly campaigns against the reinstatement of MROTC, Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK) argued that Dela Rosa’s support for the bill pushes for a patriotism that jeopardizes peace and security in the country, as tensions between the United States and China continue to escalate.

“Dela Rosa demands that Filipino students undergo mandatory military training in the name of patriotism,” SPARK National Coordinator John Lazaro said. “This kind of patriotism endangers national security by militarizing our youth and providing cannon fodder to…US forces that he himself has been critical of.”

The group claimed that the “unabashed subservience of the Marcos Jr. administration to the White House, exhibited by the expansion

of Enhanced Defense Coordination Agreement [EDCA] and the strengthening of the longstanding Mutual Defense Treaty [MDT] with the US, exacerbates regional and global tensions with China and places the country’s security at risk.”

“Senator Dela Rosa should be reminded of his constitutional duty as an elected official to serve the interests of the people, instead of steering the Philippines toward war and forcing [M]ROTC on the youth,” he noted.

Contrary to the stand of both Malacañang and Dela Rosa, SPARK has made a call to abolish EDCA, as well as the Visiting Forces Agreement and the MDT. It rather appeals for an independent foreign policy defined by cooperation and dialogue, as well as nonalignment, especially among developing nations. Roderick L. Abad

MOTIVATED by a mutual pursuit to hone future world leaders, the Université International de Rabat (UIR) in Morocco and the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde have agreed to provide a more valuable learning experience for students.

Facilitated by the Rabat-based Embassy of the Philippines in the Kingdom of Morocco, the initial meeting between the institutions was initiated to foster people-topeople exchanges between the two countries.

The alliance was formalized through a memorandum of agreement signed by UIR’s president Noureddine Mouaddib, Benilde’s vice chancellor for Academics Angelo Marco Lacson and Benilde’s School of Arts, Culture, and Performance dean Ma. Magdalena De

Leon. It proposes the development of academic programs and courses as well as double or joint diplomas in fields covering engineering, computer science, management and business, political science and economics.

Mobility programs for summer periods and full semesters will be made available to undergraduate and graduate students.

Faculty members may engage in exchanges for the purpose of teaching and research. Networking, joint scholarly activities and an active interchange of a range of academic publications are also among the various benefits of the collaboration. Reciprocal assistance for visiting students, faculty and staff are likewise covered. For more details about the two institutions, visit benilde.edu.ph and uir.ac.ma.

AN 11th grader from Ilagan, Isabela, Gilbert Bulan used to go to school without a proper meal—at times eating only patis or fish sauce with rice for breakfast. On some days, there was nothing to eat at all.

DATA has become a most prized commodity of modern civilization. Established enterprises employ data to develop business strategies, create or improve products, understand customers, finalize transactions and ultimately, gain a profit.

Since data is practically used everywhere, Data Science has become one of the fastest-growing fields, which is why it is considered by many as the “Sexiest Job of the 21st Century.”

Dr. Mylen Aala-Capuno, chairperson of Mapúa University’s Department of Mathematics, explained that Data Science enables organizations to gain relevant insights in formulating accurate decisions and corresponding business actions. This wealth of information allows companies to optimize their operations and services.

“Data Science is an interdisciplinary field for the study of data to extract meaningful insights that will lead to effective decisions. It combines principles and techniques of mathematics, statistics and computer science,” said Dr. Aala-Capuno.

Unknown to some, Data Science is widely used across various industries, and is not exclusive to tech and finance giants alone. In fact, ordinary Filipinos experience its application and conveniences in everyday life.

Whether content-browsing on video- or audio-streaming sites, searching for new business connections on professional networks, buying items on online marketplaces, or looking up lost long friends on social media, the breadth and potential of Data Science are limitless. This is also the reason it is such a promising (and futureproof) career.

“With data growing at an astro -

nomical rate, the demand for data scientists is also growing…Forecasts show that this demand will grow to 36 percent in the next 10 to 15 years,” added Dr. Aala-Capuno. “Being a data scientist is a highly lucrative job, and is usually in the Top 3 highest-paying jobs today.”

Prof. Edgar Adina further explained that the career options of Data Science graduates are much like the data they explore and analyze: boundless.

“Data Science graduates have endless opportunities, as long as data abounds in the digital universe,” explained Prof. Adina. “[They could work as] data managers, data architects, data engineers, business analysts, machine-learning scientists and engineers, statisticians, data modelers, marketing analysts, fraud investigators, business-intelligence developers, or assume a] position in the academe.”

Although the field seems highly technical, Dr. Aala-Capuno assured that anyone passionate about learning could pursue Data Science, since the analytical skills highly valued in the specialization could be learned and developed. Of course, having basic knowledge of mathematics, statistics and programming is also a good foundation for aspiring data-science professionals. While superior mathematical skills could be an advantage, they are not a requirement since the

needed competencies will be taught and honed during the program. One such school that has been raising Filipino youth to become proficient in the field is Mapúa University. Its Data Science program is known for its highly personalized mentorship that empowers students to learn beyond theories. The three-year program exposes students to numerous training sessions with real-life data using industry-standard programming languages like Python, R, and software Power BI and MatLab. All courses are technology-integrated so that students can have multiple learning platforms and modalities.

Adina stated that students will master essential skills like data management, data visualization, data mining and modeling, machine learning and deep learning, including artificial intelligence and naturallanguage processing. They will also undergo apprenticeship programs with Mapúa’s industry partners and job-placement opportunities after graduation.

In today’s fast-changing world, a career like Data Science is not only lucrative; it is future-ready. The field’s unlimited opportunities and relevance to everyday life assure graduates of professional growth and stability decades after they receive their degrees. For more information on Mapúa’s Data Science program, visit www.mapua.edu.ph.

The youngest of three kids, Bulan comes from a family who’s unfortunately had limited opportunities in life. Given the members’ financial situation, he works part-time as a sound operator at events to support his family and studies.

With the help of Caritas Phils.’ “Alay Kapwa” Program on Alay para sa Kalusugan (PaMEALYA Program), Bulan and other families with similar situations are able to enjoy nourishing meals before the students come to their classes while they focus on learning.

PaMEALYA was launched by the Diocesan Social Action Center (DSAC)-Ilagan Inc., in partnership with the Hapag Movement—a program led by Globe Telecom and implemented by partners such as the Catholic humanitarian, development and advocacy organization Caritas Phils. It aims to address the issue of food insecurity among 430 DSAC-Ilagan scholars from low-income families.

Through thorough evaluation and needs assessment, DSAC-Ilagan found that many of their scholars face food insecurity due to poverty. Hunger is a major obstacle to students’ ability to comprehend and retain lessons, and PaMEALYA hopes to address this by providing supplemental feeding to scholars and their families to improve their overall well-being and support their education.

The PaMEALYA program’s roll-out in Ilagan last December was attended by about 1,000 community members, including the scholars and their parents, parish social action team members, volunteers, clergy, recipients of the Hapag-Asa Feeding Program, seminarians and DSAC’s self-help group members.

Meanwhile, 10th grader Daren Dave Aquilana who is another beneficiary of the program, shared how PaMEALYA is helping him realize his goal of completing his studies: “As a

scholar, I wish to finish my education. Seeing the reality of our life, my parents are challenged to provide for all my needs. It is with a grateful heart to know that the feeding program will become part of the program I am engaged in.”

Caritas Phils., as implementing partner of the Hapag Movement, focuses on programs that render services to local communities, allowing people to effectively participate in fighting hunger through livelihood initiatives and social enterprise.

“At Globe, we are committed to m aking a positive impact on the lives of our communities. This program shows how collaboration and technology can help address pressing social issues such as hunger and food insecurity,” said Globe Group chief sustainability and corporate communications officer Yoly Crisanto. “We look forward to continuing to work together with Caritas Phils. and the DSAC-Ilagan Inc. [in addressing] involuntary hunger in the country.”

“We’re honored to serve our communities through the PaMEALYA program,” said Caritas Phils. Alay Kapwa Program national coordinator Sweet Cruz-Racho. “We are grateful for the appreciation and support of our beneficiaries, and we will continue to work toward providing for their basic needs and improving their lives.”

Help change the lives of underprivileged Filipinos by supporting the Hapag Movement. Visit https:// www.globe.com.ph/about-us/sustainability/globe-of-good.html#gref for info.

THE Japanese and Philippine governments have inked the Exchange of Notes on “The Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship by Japanese Grant Aid (JDS).”

AMBASSADOR Kazuhiko Koshikawa

SECRETARY Enrique A. Manalo

THE three-year program exposes students to training sessions with real-life data.

Canvas is preferred learning-mgt system by leading PHL, US universities

Philippines, Morocco tie-up for double degrees devt, student-faculty mobility

AMBASSADOR Leslie Baja of the Philippine Embassy in Rabat, Morocco (from left); Professor Carlito Camahalan Amalla of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Design Foundation; Université International de Rabat president Abdelhafid Debbarh; Chairperson Alain Zedrick Camiling of Benilde’s Arts Management Program; as well as Third Secretary and Vice Consul Bea Antonio.

Caritas Phils.’ ‘PaMEALYA’ program brings relief to struggling scholars

GILBERT BULAN is among beneficiaries of Caritas Phils.’ program which supports scholars who face food insecurity.

BusinessMirror

Energy company makes solar energy panels accessible to more Filipinos

PHOTO BY CLÉMENT HÉLARDOT ON UNSPLASH

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES

THE Philippines being a tropical country means that it gets a large amount of sunshine, so there is huge potential for solar energy. According to the Department of Energy, the country can harness the sun’s power as its radiation across the country has a power generation potential of 4.5 to 5.5 kWh per square meters per day.

If you’re a homeowner or a small to medium entrepreneur, what does this mean to you?

You can utilize the power of the sun by installing solar panels on your own roof. Eduardo Sahagun, president and CEO of PHINMA Solar Energy Corp. and director and executive vice president for construction materials, PHINMA Corp., said you will save around 21 percent of your total cost of power when you have solar panels in your home, office building, or business establishment.

“But when you go to net metering, it goes up to 40 percent savings. So if you’re typically paying P10,000, your power bill will come out to P6000 pesos,” said Sahagun, who is also the president and CEO of Union Galvasteel Corp. (UGC), PHINMA Solar Energy Corp. (PHINMA Solar), and PhilCement Corp. (PhilCement).

Net metering is the first step in the shift from the traditional generation-transmission-distribution scheme toward individual and community based distributed on-site power generation. Net metering is a scheme which allows individuals or companies with their own renewable energy facilities, such as solar panels, to use electricity whenever needed while contributing their production to the grid.

PHINMA Solar, formerly known as Trans-Asia Wind Power Corp., is now 100 percent owned by Union Galvasteel Corp.

The company’s primary focus is to construct, develop, own, operate, manage, repair and maintain solar power generation plants, to generate electricity from such power plants, and to market and sell the electricity produced thereby.

“The company’s founders—ambassador Ramon Del Rosario Sr., Ernesto Escaler, and Don Felimon Rodriguez—were the country’s original industrialists. They also put up the Asian Institute of Management. They founded PHINMA at a time when people thought only foreigners can manage big companies. They have proven otherwise,” said Sahagun, who rejoined the company in 2017 after retiring from cement company Holcim, to whom PHINMA sold its cement operation in 2004.

The company has evolved from a lease model to a sale-on-installment model to maximize cashflow and soften exposure on fluctuation in the energy generation and prices. As a company, PHINMA Solar has made its presence felt in the retail market with its

HAVE you ever experienced a strange symptom, searched it online, and ended up convinced you have a rare terminal disease? With the digital world within reach, it’s all too easy to get lost in the sea of unvetted online health articles and scare stories. These often leave people more confused than ever, and most of the time unnecessarily worried.

What if there’s a safer, smarter way to manage your health worries? Now, a real doctor is just a tap away. Thanks to the Internet, professional medical help is now accessible without leaving your home or even your bed. KonsultaMD, the country’s leading health tech platform, offers a solution for medical inquiries big and small. With its newest service, Konsulta Plus, you can now chat with a real-life doctor any time of day, any day of the week.

Energy to Ayala, we carved out the rooftop solar business since we have always been in the roofing business and our chairman [Ramon del Rosario Jr.] is looking at sustainability. We think we don’t need to convert land, which is for agriculture. There are a lot of available roofs to generate power so we thought that rooftop solar is where we should go. Since we are in the roofing business and also into solar energy, we saw the synergy. What binds the two businesses to the cement business is our customers. The one that buys cement also buys roofing and could also possibly buy solar panels,” he said.

As the CEO of PHINMA Solar, Sahagun strongly believes that solar energy will help Filipinos.

“The panels will last for 25 years and in three years you’ll pay off everything, so you have more than 20 years of your own free power. You can imagine how much the savings will be with free power from the sun. That will impact the lives of Filipinos, plus small and medium entrepreneurs,” he said.

This isn’t just a robot sending automated responses—it’s actual advice from certified medical professionals. And what’s more, it’s budget-friendly.

With just P150 per month, you can get unlimited access to quality medical consultations whenever you need them.

With KonsultaMD’s new offering, you can also skip the queue and get your prescription online.

Instead of hoping the internet leads you to the right over-the-counter medicine, let a licensed professional prescribe exactly what you need. With Konsulta Plus, you won’t have to wonder if you’re taking the right meds. Its licensed doctors will ensure you get the correct treatment when you need it. Plus, you can even buy your prescribed medicine through the KonsultaMD SuperApp and have it delivered to

nation-building efforts.

After a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, RVR Siklab Awards is ready to present the three winners for this year’s search in July.

“The RVR Siklab Awards aims to recognize youth entrepreneurs who demonstrate exceptional leadership in their respective fields through organizing and managing sustainable businesses, social enterprises, or self-initiated programs that uplift the lives of others,” said Peter Angelo Perfecto, vice president for public affairs.

“The youth has and will always be a key component in building the foundations for a better future. If we want genuine social change to happen, the private sector should not proceed with business as usual. Businesses should empower, lead and transform the next generation into good leaders and nation-builders our country needs,” said Ramon R. del Rosario Jr., PHINMA chairman and CEO and RVR Siklab Awards Board of Judges co-chairman.  ■

your doorstep anytime 24/7.

“Our mission at KonsultaMD has always been to make health care accessible to all Filipinos, no matter where they are or what time it is. With Konsulta Plus, we’re one step closer to achieving this goal. For the price of a cup or two of your favorite coffee, you can have a doctor on call 24/7. We believe that good health shouldn’t be a privilege for a few, but a right for all. And with Konsulta Plus, we’re making that more attainable than ever,” said Cholo Tagaysay, CEO of KonsultaMD.

Konsulta Plus makes managing your health as easy as checking your phone. It’s time to say goodbye to self-diagnosing and hello to convenient, professional, and affordable health care.

THE Philippines has an incredible potential to become a major coding hub in Southeast Asia, according to Cebu-based software development consulting firm Symph. “Our country is brimming with talented individuals who possess a natural affinity for creativity and adaptability. We have seen a surge in the local tech industry, with innovative startups emerging and making waves on a global scale,” said Dave Overton, CEO of Symph in an e-mail interview BUSINESSMIRROR

Overton underscored one of the country’s strengths is its proficiency in the English language, which enables Filipino coders to effectively communicate and collaborate with international clients and teams. He stressed this advantage puts the Philippines as an attractive outsourcing destination for companies seeking top-notch coding expertise.

He commended the establishment of a supportive government-led ecosystem that has blossomed in the Philippines, with the rise of co-working spaces and incubators which provides fertile ground for coding talents to flourish. “The combined efforts of the private and public sectors in investing in education and infrastructure will further fuel the growth of the local coding scene,” he said.

As a part of their contribution to develop a substantial pool of skilled Filipino coders, Overton said Symph harnesses the strenghts of people to develop their potential. He said one of the approaches of Symph is raising awareness for interested individuals in the community on how they can go about their developer journeys, and how software and technology can change their lives for the better.

“The people in our team actively engage in community programs here in the Philippines and even other parts of Asia. We partner with schools and organizations, and developer communities to give tech talks, host coding boot camps, Design Thinking workshops, Ideation, startup mentoring and even hackathons that provide hands-on experiences for young aspiring coders early in their careers,” Overton explained.

“One recent example would be the Design Thinking Workshop we did with the Department of Budget and Management in the Philippines to identify challenges, define problems, and work toward resolving them using problem-solving techniques. As Symph, we plan to keep going with this effort as we currently also continue to have conversations with community builders on what other needs we can fill,” Overton added.

Overton said forming a partnership with the academe is a crucial part of their strategy because they “firmly believe that the youth are the future torchbearers of innovation, and we want to provide them with the best resources and support to embark on their coding journey.”

Enjoy PHL CAN BE AN ASEAN POWERHOUSE IN CODING

One of the products of Symph is John Dave Natividad, one of the company’s programmers who built SCode Studio. Through SCode, Overton said programming education is more accessible to the Filipino youth, especially those who don’t have computers. SCode Studio is a mobile coding Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and platform that lets you build and run software projects on your phone.

“Overall, our plans include forging partnerships with schools and universities to introduce coding as an integral part of the curriculum. We are providing mentorship programs to Symph’s interns, internship opportunities, and even support in developing coding-focused courses. We are also open to discuss ideas with the government as to what we can do to help identify and bridge gaps,” Overton explained.

“By working hand-in-hand with the academe, we can ensure that coding becomes an accessible and valued skill for the youth,” he added.

FROM left: Peter Angelo Perfecto, vice president for public affairs, PHINMA Foundation vice president; Pierry Paul Chua, chief operations officer, Union Solar; Eduardo Sahagun, president and chief executive officer, PHINMA Solar; and Edmund Alan Qua Hiansen, deputy group chief financial officer, PHINMA. PHOTO BY DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ

BusinessMirror

Realme C53: Slay in style and charge like a champ

Is Twitter ready for Europe’s new Big Tech rules?

EU official says it has work to do

TWITTER needs to do more work to fall in line with the European Union’s tough new digital rulebook, a top EU official said after overseeing a “stress test” of the company’s systems in Silicon Valley.

European Commissioner Thierry Breton said late Thursday that he noted the “strong commitment of Twitter to comply” with the Digital Services Act, sweeping new standards that the world’s biggest online platforms all must obey in just two months.

However, “work needs to continue,” he said in a statement after reviewing the results of the voluntary test at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters with owner Elon Musk and new CEO Linda Yaccarino. Breton, who oversees digital policy, is also meeting other tech bosses in California. He’s the EU’s point person working to get Big Tech ready for the new rules, which will force companies to crack down on hate speech, disinformation and other harmful and illegal material on their sites. The law takes effect August 25 for the biggest platforms.

The Digital Services Act, along with new regulations in the pipeline for data and artificial intelligence, has made Brussels a trailblazer in the growing global movement to clamp down on tech giants.

The mock exercise tested Twitter’s readiness to cope with the DSA’s requirements, including protecting children online and detecting and mitigating risks like disinformation, under both normal and extreme situations.

“Twitter is taking the exercise seriously and has identified the key areas on which it needs to focus to comply with the DSA,” Breton said, without providing more details. “With two months to go before the new EU regulation kicks in, work needs to continue for the systems to be in place and work effectively and quickly.”

Twitter’s global government affairs team tweeted that the company is “on track to be ready when the DSA comes into force.” Yaccarino tweeted that “Europe is very important to Twitter and we’re focused on our continued partnership.”

Musk agreed in December to let the EU carry out the stress test, which the bloc is offering to all tech companies before the rules take effect. Breton said other online platforms will be carrying out their own stress tests in the coming weeks but didn’t name them. Despite Musk’s claims to the contrary, independent researchers have found misinformation—as well as hate speech—spreading on Twitter since the billionaire Tesla CEO took over the company last year. Musk has reinstated notorious election deniers, overhauled Twitter’s verification system and gutted much of the staff that had been responsible for moderating posts.

Last month, Breton warned Twitter that it “can’t hide” from its obligations after the social media site abandoned the bloc’s voluntary “code of practice” on online disinformation, which other social media platforms have pledged to support. AP

‘NO Leap. No Launch.” That was the message of realme Philippines new VP of marketing, Jane Yan during the brand’s most recent “Kumustahan”— where they gave media a preview of their upcoming products.

Yan also outlined the brand’s roadmap for the rest of 2023 which included the RMC S7 Grand finals, Midyear Sales events, the realme Fanfest happening on August, a teaser for another smartphone launch before ending the year with its #realmeWithYou campaign.

For this “kumustahan,” the star—or should I say “champion”?—was its newest entry-level device, the realme C53. Packed with impressive features, stylish design and a tagline that emphasizes its charging capabilities, the device proved to be another win for the brand when it launched last week.

During the first-wave sale on Lazada last June 23, the realme C53 sold out its initial stock overnight. It was restocked for the second wave over the weekend, and continued its strong sales with only a few units left on the e-commerce platform. For in-store sales performance, the device also recorded strong sales numbers, most notably in the Greater Luzon area where early birds received a free TechLife Portable Blender 40W.

So why are people buying the realme C53?

We’ve been using the device for the last few weeks and true to its C-series lineage, it does brings a few “leap” features to the entry-level segment including SuperVOOC fast charging and a design that slays the competition.

Since realme is marketing the C53 with a “Charge Like a Champion” tagline, we’ll do our review a little different and start with its battery and charging capabilities.

While a 5000mAh battery has almost become a standard for smartphones, what gives the realme C53 an advantage over its rivals is its 33W SUPERVOOC fast charging. Fast charging is usually reserved for mid-range phones and is still quite rare at this price point. realme even included a 33W wall charger in the box so users can take full advantage of this feature.

According to the brand, with the SuperVOOC charging standard, it can hit up to 33 watts when plugged in fully charging an empty battery in roughly 70 minutes. In our charging tests, the realme C53 was able to reach zero percent to 30 percent in 15 minutes and about 52 percent in half an hour. It took around 1 hour and 19 minutes to fully charge the device, which was pretty close to what it promised.

The realme C53 utilizes High Voltage, Low Current Charging technology with several built-in safety features, ensuring the battery charges quickly while prioritizing user safety. However, I still suggest you monitor your phone when charging, making sure to avoid direct sunlight and placing it in areas where it can get a bit hot.

When fully charged the realme C53 promises up to

86 hours of music streaming, up to 36 hours of phone calls, up to 16 hours of YouTube playback, or up to 38 hours of standby time. In our real-world usage scenario, which involved our usual day-to-day tasks like checking emails, updating social media, browsing the web, watching YouTube videos, and taking photos throughout the day, the realme C53 easily lasted a day with more than 15 percent left by the time we got home in the evening. So, unless you are planning to use the screen most of the time, you don’t have to worry about bringing a powerbank.

The realme C53 likewise offers several app battery settings to optimize use and allow you to manage or stop specific apps consume a lot of power. Additionally, you can enable the normal power saving mode or the super power saving mode should you need to conserve battery power and further extend the phone’s battery life.

The next best reason to get this phone is its design. We’ve always been a fan of realme’s design even for its budget devices, and the C53 I’d say has one of my favorite colorways. The Champion Gold is the one to get if you really want your phone to standout, but there’s also a Mighty Black option if you prefer a more classic color.

A design inspired by the Champion moment, the brand describes “a golden ribbon running through the back of the phone, while a golden glow surrounds the phone, capturing the glory of the winning moment.” It utilizes a Golden Silk Coating Process, with multiple layers of coating, each with a thickness of just 400nm, contributing to the phone’s stunning visual effect.

As such, the device exudes a sense of luxury and sophistication with its sleek and slim profile, measuring only 7.49mm and weighing just 182 grams. Despite its plastic construct, the realme C53 surprises

CANADA WILL REQUIRE GOOGLE AND META TO PAY MEDIA OUTLETS FOR NEWS UNDER BILL SET TO BECOME LAW

OTTAWA, Ontario—Canada’s Senate on Thursday passed a bill that will require Google and Meta to pay media outlets for news content that they share or otherwise repurpose on their platforms.

The bill, which is set to become law, was passed amid a standoff between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government and Silicon Valley tech giants.

Ottawa has said the law creates a level playing field between online advertising giants and the shrinking news industry. And Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has promised to push back on what he describes as “threats” from Facebook and Google to remove journalism from their

platforms. Meta confirmed Thursday that it plans to comply with the bill by ending news availability on Facebook and Instagram for its Canadian users, as it had previously suggested. Meta would not offer details about the timeline for that move, but said it will pull local news from its site before the Online News Act takes effect. The bill will come into force six months after it receives royal assent.

“We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, which was passed today in Parliament, content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people accessing our platforms

in Canada,” said Lisa Laventure, head of communications for Meta in Canada. Legacy media and broadcasters have praised the bill, which promises to “enhance fairness” in the digital news marketplace and help bring in more money for shrinking newsrooms. Tech giants including Meta and Google have been blamed in the past for disrupting and dominating the advertising industry, eclipsing smaller, traditional players. The Online News Act requires both companies to enter into agreements with news publishers to pay them for news content that appears on their sites if it helps the tech giants generate money. AP

with its solid build quality and comfortable feel.

It’s the thinnest phone in the C-series, and boasts a C-angle side design that enhances ergonomics, ensuring a pleasant grip during prolonged use.

Whether you’re scrolling through social media or playing games, the phone offers a comfortable and secure hold.

For the display, the 6.74-inch HD+ LCD screen of the realme C53 delivers decent brightness and vivid colors, making your content pop. It comes with a nice 90.7 percent screen-to-body ratio with slim bezels all around. The only giveaway that this is a budget device is that teardrop notch. While an FHD+ resolution would have been a welcomed addition, the HD+ display still offers an enjoyable viewing experience.

What is notable though is that 90Hz refresh rate that ensures smooth scrolling and responsive navigation, enhancing your overall smartphone experience. As for audio, it only has a single speaker setup and despite the Ultraboom Speaker feature which boosts volume up to 150 percent, you’d be better off using connecting your earphones via that 3.5mm headphone jack.

Just like its older brother the C55, the realme C53 flaunts a Mini Capsule. This iPhone-like Dynamic Island feature is located on the selfie-camera cutout and can show the device’s charging status, low battery alerts, step count, and walking distance. It’s a cool feature that has a lot of potential and hopefully realme adds more uses and make it more “dynamic.”

Turning the C53 on its back, that camera module again looks like something from an iPhone, which is a good thing for a device that costs a mere fraction of the latter’s price. Despite those three rings, the phone only has two lenses—a 50MP AI main camera and a 0.8MP black-and-white depth sensor, while third circle houses the LED flash. You also get an 8-megapixel camera for selfies.

Compared to its counterparts, the realme C53 excels at capturing detailed and vibrant photos especially during daytime and with good lighting.

Powered by an octa-core Unisoc T612 processor and accompanied by 6GB of RAM (expandable up to 12GB) plus 128GB storage, the realme C53 delivers solid performance for day-to-day tasks and moderate multitasking. You can also do light gaming on this device. Whether you’re browsing the web, streaming videos, or using productivity apps, the realme C53 offers a smooth and responsive performance.

The realme C53 is a commendable entry-level smartphone that lives up to its “Charge Like a Champion” tagline. With its impressive charging capabilities, stylish design, comfortable ergonomics, vibrant display, solid performance, and intuitive software, it offers excellent value for budget-conscious users. ■

Tourism&Entertainment

TIME AND TIDE ThE sINkINg cITy of VENIcE

Itook the overnight train from Salzburg to Padova en route to Venice.

I thought about visiting another city that I only read about in books. I’ve read about the droves-of-tourists-everything’sso-expensive-even-using-the-toiletand-scams, but despite these negative perceptions, the idea of stepping into Venice excited me.

It was still dark when I stepped off the train when it stopped at Mestre Station. I went straight to my accommodation and waited for a few hours before heading out to the old town of Venice.

Fleeting Glory Days Ven Ice is sinking. That’s a statement explained or mentioned repeatedly by scientists, journalists, and locals alike. A variety of reasons come to mind such as subsidence, groundwa -

ter pumped out, the movement of tectonic plates, rising sea levels, and/or a rotting of foundations, among other reasons. Little by little, inch by inch, Venice will sink by 2100. So, they say. However, people won’t sink into the night and just let it happen. Local authorities have stopped groundwater pumping and have constructed barriers to prevent floods during high tide.

A few thoughts crossed my mind as these facts linger in my head, it might as well be like your doctor telling you after a check-up, ma’am/sir, this mass might turn into a cancer if you don’t do so and so. You eat healthier, walk a few more kilometers, or join that spinning class you always see at your local gym, and take your prescription medicine. Then you come back after a few months, the mass shrunk or completely disappeared. The doctor tells you you’re perfectly healthy, you’ll live until at least the median age of death at 70 something. If you’re lucky you might leave a few more decades until

BeATiNG BAGGAGe BluNDerS

By Charo Logarta

Reginaldo

PAC k I n g for a trip can be an ordeal

especially if you’re trying to pack o o T Ds, toiletries and other necessities into a single suitcase. Summer travel m eans careful curation of swimsuits, resort wear or diving gear; while a trip to winter wonderland means packing scarves, gloves, thick coats and snow boots.

These days, almost all airlines worldwide have become stricter on weight, number of pieces and even size of checked-in and carry-on (or hand-carried) baggage for several reasons. First is to protect baggage handlers from injury and prevent damage to airport machinery; second is to avert serious harm should a bag accidentally fall from the overhead bin and hit a passenger; third is to make sure that there is enough space for all hand-carried bags—it is a safety hazard to keep these anywhere else other than the overhead bins and under the seats; fourth is to expedite the boarding process—for baggage, cargo and passengers; and lastly, to m anage aircraft weight and balance, which in turn, drives how much fuel a plane needs for a flight. The heavier the aircraft, the more

fuel it will need, and the more expensive the airfare will be. The limits are there so that all passengers have a fair share of baggage weight allocated while managing fuel n eeds and cost.

In general, checked luggage should not weigh more than 32kg (about 70lbs) per piece, while hand-carried baggage should not exceed 7kg. In terms of size, each bag should not exceed 62 linear inches (length + width + height).

We’ve all seen the panicked frenzy of people forced to repack at the check-in counters. To avoid this, we’ve rounded up some bang-for-buck, baggage-boosting hacks from savvy travelers.

The bag itself weighs oFT en t aken-for-granted, suitcases can weigh as much as 6kg even before you even fill it up! The lighter the bag, the more things you can pack. Spinner suitcases and those made with hard plastic and aluminum tend to be heavier, while trolleys made from nylon or polyester fabric are lighter.

Only the essentials

toiletries and other essentials for the duration of your trip. Be prudent with that “just n case” mindset. e x ceptions can be made for emergency or first-aid medicines for hypertension, allergies or upset stomach.

Not the what, but how you pack

M A x IM I z e space by rolling or folding all clothing properly—including underwear and socks. This method forces air out between folds, maximizing luggage space. P lus, it may help reduce wrinkles in your clothes. Packing cubes or pouches can help you stay organized. You don’t need to go out and buy these—items you may already have at home such as eco-bags, laundry bags or even resealable kitchen bags work just as well.

For toiletries, consider refilling reusable travel bottles with the quantity you w ill need while on travel. Remember that any container or bottle that is more than 100ml cannot be put in your hand-carried bag—even if the content is way less than that. n o te also that scissors, nail-cutters and nail files—basically anything remotely sharp, cannot be hand-carried.

100, and then maybe you’ll see human ingenuity defeat nature, negligence, and ignorance, and Venice is still there above the lagoons emanating an aura of beauty that has enraptured droves of visitors for centuries.

But life throws a few curveballs. You’re reminded of how things quickly change. A pandemic might happen and cut short or alter the course of your fate (if you believe in such a thing).

n ews of the death of acquaintances, relatives, friends, friends of friends, and strangers in social media has highlighted this. They were newlyweds, new parents, new jobs, new businesses, and all that’s new and beautiful,

gone in a matter of days.

I let these morose thoughts linger for a bit longer as I weaved in and out of Venice’s streets and canals.

As the Cliché Goes T H e w eather in Venice was a mix of gloomy and sunny. I was thankful it didn’t rain during my visit, although it threatened to a few times. Groups of tourists crowded around the city’s most famous landmarks such as St. Mark’s Basilica, St. Mark’s Square, Doge Palace, Bridge of Sighs, and the Rialto Bridge. I saw the pools of water dotting the square, signs of the city’s notorious high tide problem. This didn’t bother the tourists (including me) queuing to enter the church or taking many pictures.

I left the square to see more of the city. As I passed by cafes, restaurants, shops, houses, and boats, I couldn’t help but imagine what life was like centuries ago. Was it somewhat similar?

People went about their own business,

going to work, gossiping, indulging in different forms of entertainment, gondoliers singing, and visitors from far away seeking trade, a new beginning, or simply to marvel at the city.

Venice had a particular charm, as if it was always on the cusp of extinction. It is sinking, visit the c ity of c a nals before it’s too late. As some would say even if that possibility were decades from now. The over-tourism and overpriced everything won’t deter day trippers, cruise ship visitors, backpackers, and all sorts of other travelers to catch a glimpse of the former maritime empire or experience the fleeting nature of beauty (if you’ll indulge me in stretching the meaning of a possible symbol the city might hold). The vestiges of its past glory are all over the city, in museums, paintings, stories, and even souvenirs. I bought a ref magnet as a remembrance of my time in Venice then took one last look at the Floating c ity and left.

ing boots, camera gear and such, upsize to 32-kg baggage. If possible, consider doing laundry midway through your trip. Some places, especially prime tourist destinations, have self-service or one-day laundry s ervice outside of the hotels. If you’re staying in an apartment, ask if there’s a washing m achine and dryer you can use. This may help you save on baggage costs.

Maximize the second hand-carried bag

duty free shop. Anything purchased airside is exempted from the baggage allowance. Many hotels have basic amenities such as shampoo, razors and soaps available. If you are visiting family or friends, consider asking them to get these for you before you arrive.

Worth the weight

stash small items. Some travelers also wear multi-pocketed vests and cram small items or valuables in these.

Some penny-pinching travelers swear by packing soft clothes inside a neck pillow cover or even a small pillow. Bringing a t ravel pillow is not counted against the allowed hand-carried baggage.

Mo S T airlines will allow one carry-on of up to 7kg and a second bag that can fit under the airplane seat. For many travelers, this is either the handbag or the laptop bag. Consider taking a larger backpack or soft tote bag where you can pack more items and still stay within baggage limits.

Space for shopping and souvenirs

and

only what you will

For longer trips, consider getting toiletries at your destination or at the airport

You might look bulging or feel hot while queuing at immigration counters, but one of the oldest travel hacks is to wear as many layers of clothes and heaviest items such as jeans, coats and boots, then strip them off as soon as you clear the pre-boarding checks and stuff them in your hand luggage. You can use the pockets of bulky clothing to

For weekend trips or short business travel lasting up to four or five days, handcarried baggage can suffice. A capsule wardrobe with items that can go from day-ton ight events should do the trick.

For trips that are at least two weeks long, a 23-kg bag might be necessary. If you need to bring other items such as hik-

Ye S t can be stressful to pack for a trip but don’t forget to make space for mementos from your trip, or the so-called pasalubong Selections at airport duty free shops tend to be limited and you don’t want to be stuck with that as the only option.

The most important hack is to research. Baggage policies vary per airline and route so best to check before you start to pack. Planning ahead and weighing your bags before you leave will help save time and inconvenience before you embark on your trip.

Story & photos by Joshua Berida

Photos by Reggie

“i heard the old, old, men say ‘all that’s beautiful drifts away, like the waters.”

–William Butler Yeats

The World

China growth momentum slows further amid calls for stimulus

CHINA’S economy lost more steam in June as manufacturing activity contracted again and other sectors failed to

build momentum, as calls grow for more policy support. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index

(PMI) was 49, barely an improvement from May and still in contraction, National Bureau of Statistics data published Friday

showed. The non-manufacturing gauge—which measures activity

The World

Poll: Russians’ support for peace talks with Kyiv grows after unrest

RUSSIANS’ support for peace talks with Ukraine has grown after an abortive mutiny led by Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to a new opinion poll from the independent Levada Center.

The share of respondents backing negotiations increased by eight percentage points to 53 percent from a month earlier. Following the march by Prigozhin and Wagner fighters toward Moscow over the weekend, the share of those favoring a continuation of fighting fell to 39 percent, according to the sur -

APORTABLE US weapon that would temporarily jam Chinese and Russian communications satellites early in a conflict is running two years late for its first deliveries.

The first of a potential 30 of the Meadowlands systems produced by L3 Harris Technologies Inc. was originally to be delivered in 2022 but now is expected by October 2024, according to US Space Force officials.

vey, due to be published Friday.  Russians “became scared that the mutiny could lead to bigger setbacks in Ukraine for Russian troops,” Denis Volkov, Levada’s director, said in a phone interview. “And, in general, a lot of people just want this war to be over as soon as possible.”

The survey of 1,634 respondents across 50 Russian regions was conducted from June 22 to 28. After the mutiny on June 23 and 24, support for talks grew further, Levada said. The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of being unwilling to negotiate. Kyiv says it won’t con -

P roblems encountered during testing “have been resolved, and the program is moving into its final integration and test phases,” the Space Systems Command said in a statement to Bloomberg News. It said, “The technical issues were due to unexpected challenges that required complex reworks of subassemblies.”

Charles Clarkson, L3 Harris general manager for space superiority, said the company worked with the command to

sider talks until Russia’s troops leave its territory.

Public support for a diplomatic solution in Russia has ebbed and flowed over the 17 months of the war, peaking in the fall after Putin’s order mobilizing men for the front fueled public fears.

In May, signs of progress in the long-running battle for Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine boosted Russian public backing of a military solution.

Prigozhin, the mercenary chief, had demanded the removal of the defense minister and chief of the general staff, who he blamed for Russia’s struggles in the war ef -

increase testing to ensure the jammer “will have more robust operational execution and reduced risk.”

Disclosure of the Meadowlands delay provides a rare glimpse into the highly classified world of US “counterspace” capabilities against Chinese and Russian satellites. US military officials have been loath to discuss those capabilities even as they detail the array of offensive Chinese and Russian ground and space-based

Senior China envoy dispatched to Italy to keep nation in Belt and Road Initiative

CHINA dispatched a senior diplomat to Italy this week, as Beijing seeks to persuade the European nation not to leave President Xi Jinping’s flagship global investment pact.

“negative consequences” if Rome “recklessly decides” to withdraw.

European struggle

fort. But he called off the uprising after accepting a deal with Putin brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that allowed him to go to Russia’s neighbor in return for criminal charges being dropped against him and his fighters.

While Putin’s ratings remained largely unchanged in the aftermath of the upheaval, Prigozhin’s fell, the poll showed. On the eve of the mutiny, 19 percent of respondents were ready to consider voting for him in presidential elections due in 2024, while after June 24 the number fell to 6 percent. Bloomberg News

capabilities that they say would target US satellites in celestial combat.

‘Warfighting domain’

PAST debate over whether space “is a warfighting domain” was, “answered by the US Congress when they created the Space Force,” Major General David Miller, the force’s director of operations, said this week during an Air Force Association symposium. “We have to get about the process of providing capability to find, fix and deny any adversary’s capability to find and target US forces or allied forces.”

In its annual threat assessment this year, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said China has weapons intended to target US and allied satellites.

The new jamming system won’t create space debris because it emits energy designed to cause temporary, “reversible” interference of communication satellites, officials said.

Meadowlands, estimated to be a $219 million program, is a lighter-weight version of the bulky “Counter Communications System” that was declared operational in early 2020. Meadowlands’ radar-like dishes mounted on wheeled trailers have two racks of equipment instead of the 14 on the earlier system, making it easier to deploy.

“The decreased footprint and increased capacity of Meadowlands will significantly improve its utility” over the Counter Communications System, said Charles Galbreath, senior resident fellow at the Air Force Association who has just completed a counterspace study sponsored by the Air Force Association.

China offers multiple pot ential targets for Meadlowlands, which is intended to be transported and based at locations overseas.

O f China’s more than 700 satellites, “about half of them are used for remote sensing and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,” Major General Gregory Gagnon, Space Force’s deputy chief of Space Operations for Intelligence, told an Air Force Association symposium in March.

“Their on-orbit armada of satellites can track us, can sense us, can see us, can connect that data to their fires network and can now hold US forces at risk in a way we have never understood or had to face to date,” Gagnon said. Bloomberg News

Liu Jianchao, director of the Communist Party’s International Department, held meetings with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Senate speaker Ignazio La Russa and former prime minister Massimo D’Alema, according to the department’s readouts. He also met with group known as “Friends of China” in Italy’s parliament, during his threeday visit that began Sunday.

“It w as the correct decision for China and Italy to sign the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),” Liu said during a session with business people in Milan this week, according to the official statement.

Italy signed on to China’s massive BRI in 2019 when Giuseppe Conte was prime minister, becoming the only Group of Seven nation to join the pact. The country’s current leader, Giorgia Meloni, favors leaving the infrastructure initiative, Bloomberg reported in May. Participation will automatically renew in 2024 unless Rome exits the agreement.

Meloni t old lawmakers on Wednesday that Italy can have excellent relations with China even without being part of the initiative. “There are ongoing evaluations,” she said. “The issue must be handled carefully and respectfully, also involving the parliament.”

Jia Guide , Chinese ambassador to Italy, warned in an interview with Italian news outlet Fanpage last week that there would

LIU’S appeal to the Italians comes after Chinese Premier Li Qiang earlier this month traveled to Europe in his first overseas trip as China’s No. 2 official. His meetings with business and political leaders in Germany and France came as the European Union hammers out its position on how to manage economic rivalry with China.

B eijing is trying to persuade Europe to take a less hawkish stance than the US, which has imposed a sweeping raft of export controls on China to curb its access to advanced technology.

Italy has been caugh t in the middle of those escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing, especially in the wake of China’s support for Russian President Vladimir Putin after his invasion of Ukraine. The US has pressured Rome to take a public stance and ditch the BRI pact, according to people familiar with the matter.

Wang Yiwei, a Renmin University professor who specializes in Europe studies, said that given 152 countries had signed onto the BRI, China should have an “open mind” on Italy’s decision—noting that it was likely Italian companies who would suffer the most from an exit.

“The business community really wants to stay,” he added. “Otherwise, they’ll lose some of the preferential treatment they’ve been enjoying as a member country to the initiative.” Bloomberg News

China growth momentum slows further amid calls for stimulus

Continued from A11

in construction and services— slipped to 53.2 from 54.5 the prior month, still expanding but at a weaker pace.

A reading below 50 signals contraction from the previous month and anything above that points to expansion.

“The PMI figures failed to rebound and reinforce the message that the economy is slowing down,” said Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “The question is no longer whether the government will deliver growth stimulus. They have been doing so. The right question to ask is the quality of stimulus.”

Chinese stocks were relatively muted in early trading. The CSI 300 Index gained as much as 0.5 percent in early trading after declining for two days. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose up to 0.8 percent. The offshore yuan gained 0.2 percent, edging up from its weakest level since November.

Speculation about potential policy support has been mounting as the recovery for the world’s second-largest economy loses traction. After a burst of activity in the first quarter, consumer spending is slowing. The housing rebound has fizzled, exports have weakened and infrastructure investment has been muted, too.

More from the PMI data:

n The employment sub-gauge for the non-manufacturing sector fell to 46.8 from 48.4 in the previous month;

n A similar gauge for the manufacturing industry slid to 48.2 from 48.4

n A sub-gauge of export orders received by factories fell to 46.4 in June, the lowest reading since January;

n Overall new orders sub-gauge was 48.6, up from 48.3 in May— though still in contraction.

What Bloomberg Economics Says ...  “Weakness in services and a slowdown in construction dragged down growth in the non-manufacturing sector. A slightly narrower contraction in manufacturing was nothing to cheer about—that only reflected more working days in the month. The People Bank of China trimmed rates in June. Friday’s weak data reinforce the case for further easing.”

—Chang Shu and Eric Zhu, economists

The People’s Bank of China cut policy interest rates this month for the first time in nearly a year, signaling looser monetary policy. But experts largely project that stimulus this year will be moderate, given how Beijing’s scope for monetary and fiscal support has been constrained.

Data has shown an ongoing contraction in demand, with overseas demand deteriorating faster, according to Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research for Greater China at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. He added that small and private companies are under rising pressure, while non-manufacturing firms are seeing sharper job cuts.

“All these require a more forceful package to support the economy to be introduced at a sooner date,” Pang said.

Along with cutting interest rates, authorities have extended tax breaks for electric car buyers and eased home purchase restrictions in more cities. But they’ve been slow to introduce additional measures.

Limitations include potential strains for cash-strapped local governments, which are struggling to repay debt. More rate cuts, meanwhile, would further widen the yield gap with the US, adding downward pressure on the yuan. Bloomberg News

Portable weapon to jam ‘hostile’ satellites is running two years late

600 arrested: 200 cops hurt on France’s 3rd night of protests over teen’s killing

NANTERRE, France—Protesters erected barricades, lit fires and shot fireworks at police in French streets overnight as tensions grew over the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old that has shocked the nation.

More than 600 people were arrested and at least 200 police officers injured as the government struggled to restore order on a third night of unrest.

Armored police vehicles rammed through the charred remains of cars that had been flipped and set ablaze in the northwestern Paris suburb of Nanterre, where a police officer shot the teen identified only by his first name, Nahel. On the other side of Paris, protesters lit a fire at the city hall of the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and set a bus depot ablaze in Aubervilliers.

The French capital also saw fires and some stores ransacked.

In the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, police sought to disperse violent groups in the city center, regional authorities said.

President Emmanuel Macron planned to leave an EU summit in Brussels, where France plays a major role in European policymaking, to return to Paris and hold an emergency security meeting Friday.

Some 40,000 police officers were deployed to quell the protests. Police detained 667 people, the interior minister said; 307 of those were in the Paris region alone, according to the Paris police headquarters.

Around 200 police officers were injured, according to a national police spokesperson. No information was available about injuries among the rest of the population.

Schools, town halls and police stations were targeted by people setting fires, and police used tear gas, water cannons and dispersion grenades against rioters, the spokesperson said.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Friday denounced what he called a night of “rare violence.” His office described the arrests

as a sharp increase on previous operations as part of an overall government efforts to be “extremely firm” with rioters.

The government has stopped short of declaring a state of emergency—a measure taken to quell weeks of rioting around France that followed the accidental death of two boys fleeing police in 2005.

The police officer accused of pulling the trigger Tuesday was handed a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide after prosecutor Pascal Prache said his initial investigation led him to conclude “the conditions for the legal use of the weapon were not met.” Preliminary charges mean investigating magistrates strongly suspect wrongdoing but need to investigate more before sending a case to trial.

The detained police officer’s lawyer, speaking on French TV channel BFMTV, said the officer was sorry and “devastated.” The officer did what he thought was necessary in the moment, attorney Laurent-Franck Lienard told the news outlet.

“He doesn’t get up in the morning to kill people,” Lienard said of the officer, whose name has not been released as per French practice in criminal cases.

“He really didn’t want to kill.”The shooting captured on video shocked France and stirred up long-simmering tensions between police and young people in housing projects and other disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The teenager’s family and their lawyers haven’t said the police shooting was racerelated and they didn’t release his surname or details about him.

Still, anti-racism activists renewed their complaints about police behavior.

“We have to go beyond saying that things need to calm down,” said Dominique Sopo, head of the campaign group SOS Racisme.

“The issue here is how do we make it so that we have a police force that when they see Blacks and Arabs, don’t tend to shout at them, use racist terms against them and in some cases, shoot them in the head.”

China steelmakers issue stark warning about 2nd half outlook

CHINA’S leading steelmakers warned the industry faces a very challenging second half as demand disappoints, profitability lags, and pressure to cut costs mounts in the world’s top producer.

Repr esentatives from China

Baowu Steel Group Co., Ansteel Group Co., Hesteel Co. and Hunan Iron & Steel Group Co. said they are “not optimistic” about the coming six months, the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) said after the four companies attended a meeting organized by the industry body this week.

“The peak inflection point for steel demand has emerged, while the problems of insufficient enduser consumption, and ongoing thin margins are particularly prominent,” the CISA said in a statement, citing the quartet of companies.

Mills in China—which account for more than half of global steel production and are the largest importers of iron ore—have struggled this year as the nation’s recovery has stalled while a property crisis dragged on. Data released on Friday showed that manufacturing contracted again in June, adding to a string of soft figures. While that’s led to calls for more stimulus to prop up growth, officials in Beijing have so far

refrained from significant measures.

“We are relatively cautious on further gains in iron ore,” said Wei Ying, an analyst at China Industrial Futures Ltd., citing the dimming outlook for Chinese steel demand. The outlook hinges on how China carries out additional stimulus, including whether the National Development and Reform Commission intervenes again, Wei said, referring to the senior state agency.

Iron ore futures gave up early, intraday gains to trade 1.2 percent lower at $111.45 a ton in Singapore at 2:40 p.m. The move lower widened a quarterly loss to 11 percent, although prices remain higher this month.

Almost half of major mills were loss-making in the first five months of the year, CISA said. Meanwhile, official figures show nationwide steel production in May was the lowest for that month since 2019, and the industry’s purchasing managers index pointed to another contraction in June even as orders rose.

Low profitability in the industry has persisted for nearly a year, said Luo Tiejun, the association’s vice chairman. However, “upstream raw materials for steel-making still remain at a relatively elevated levels,” Luo added.

The spot price of steel rebar—a benchmark product that’s used in construction—has slumped by more than 8 percent this year, while iron ore futures in Singapore have dropped about 3 percent in that period. Bloomberg News

CARS burn after a march for Nahel, Thursday, June 29, 2023 in Nanterre, outside Paris. The killing of 17-year-old Nahel during a traffic check Tuesday, captured on video, shocked the country and stirred up long-simmering tensions between young people and police in housing projects and other disadvantaged neighborhoods around France. AP/MICHEL EULER

Saturday, July 1, 2023

THE Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) is thrilled to announce the election of Ada Milby to World Rugby’s Executive Board.

Ada’s appointment marks a historic moment for the global organization as she becomes the first representative from Asia to join the esteemed board.

M ilby, a respected leader and advocate for the global rugby community, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her new role on the Executive Board. She was former captain of the Philippine Women’s Rugby Team.

W ith an extensive background in rugby, Milby has played a pivotal role in promoting and developing the sport across the Asia region, and her election underscores World Rugby’s commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion within the organization.

Milby’s appointment to the Executive Board comes at a critical juncture for the sport, as World Rugby strives to create a more inclusive and equitable environment for all its stakeholders.

In her new role, Milby will work closely with fellow board members, collaborating on key decisions, and providing valuable input on issues related to governance, development, and global rugby initiatives.

Her appointment is a testament to World Rugby’s commitment to transforming the sport and leveraging the power of rugby to drive positive social change.

OBIENA SHOOTS FOR EARLY TICKET TO PARIS OLYMPICS

Mondo’s hometown in Sweden.  Obiena, the three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, aims to qualify as soon as possible in the world’s grandest sporting show on earth at the start of the athletics’ Olympic qualifying season beginning Saturday (July 1) up to June 30 next year.  He will be jumping along with the world’s elite pole vaulters headed by world record holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Thiago Braz da Silva of Brazil in the Diamond League’s athletics series Bauhaus-Galan meet in Stockholm, Sweden. Jim Lafferty, the longtime adviser of the World’s No. 3 pole vaulter, said that Obiena’s first Olympic qualifying tournament is definitely important, but he expects him to take the competition with enough confidence.

“It’s important for multiple reasons. It’s

the Diamond League. We take EJ’s participation for granted now. But let’s keep the perspective,” Lafferty told BusinessMirror prior to his flight to Stockholm on Friday.

He’s the only Filipino athlete to ever participate. It’s by invitation only and typically the top 15 in the world ranking is required. Just to be there says to the world, I am among the best of the best,” he added.

A side from the pole vault king Mondo, Obiena and Thiago, the other participants include world elites French Renaud Lavillenie, Belgian Ben Broeders, Norwegian Sondre Guttormsen and Pal Haugen Lillefosse and Australian Kurtis Marschall.

Coming from a historic 6.0-meter achievement in Bruggen, Norway on June 10, the 27-year-old World Championships bronze medalist has what it takes to be the first Filipino athlete to qualify for the Olympics beginning July 26 to August 11.

If Obiena will jump 5.82-m— the pole vault’s Olympic qualifying standard, he will be the first Filipino to qualify for the Paris Games next year at the start of the Olympic qualifying campaign in Stockholm on Sunday,” Lafferty said.

Williams starts her 24th Wimbledon campaign against Svitolina

WIMBLEDON, England—

Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams will begin her 24th appearance at the tournament against 2019 semifinalist Elina Svitolina, while Friday’s draw put two-time titlist Andy Murray up against wild-card entry Ryan Peniston in an all-British firstround matchup.

Williams, who is 43 and has played just five matches this season, and Svitolina, who returned to the tour in April after taking time off to have a baby, both were given wild cards by the All England Club.

Whoever wins that contest could face No. 28 seed Elise Mertens in the second round, followed perhaps by a matchup against No. 7 Coco Gauff, the American who was just 15 when she began her Grand Slam career by eliminating Williams at Wimbledon in 2019.

Williams won Wimbledon in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008, to go along with two US Open trophies.

Audible gasps filled the All England Club’s main interview room where the draw was being conducted when Murray—who has twice undergone hip surgery since winning Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016—was drawn to face a fellow British player, and again moments

later when the winner of that match was slated to take on either No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, twice a major finalist, or 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem.

Murray’s initial title at Wimbledon made him the first British man in 77 years to earn the singles title there.

Play at the year’s third Grand Slam tournament begins Monday, when No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic will open his bid for a fifth consecutive championship—and eighth overall—at the All England Club against Pedro Cachin, a 67th-ranked Argentine making his Wimbledon debut. Djokovic, who is halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam after winning the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June, is also seeking his 24th major title, which would set the record for most by a man or woman in the Open era.

T he potential men’s quarterfinals are No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 6 Holger Rune, and No. 3 Daniil Medvedev vs. Tsitsipas on the top half of the bracket, and Djokovic vs. No. 7 Andrey Rublev, and No. 4 Casper Ruud vs. No. 8 Jannik Sinner on the bottom half.

T he player Djokovic beat in last year’s final at Wimbledon, No. 30 seed Nick Kyrgios, will

face David Goffin on Monday. Goffin is a two-time quarterfinalist at the All England Club who has been ranked as high as No. 7. Kyrgios could play Rublev in the third round and Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

Possible women’s quarterfinals are No. 1 Iga Swiatek vs. Gauff, and No. 4 Jessica Pegula vs. No. 5 Caroline Garcia on the top half, and No. 3 Elena Rybakina vs. No. 6 Ons Jabeur, and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 8 Maria Sakkari on the bottom half.

Rybakina-Jabeur would be a rematch of last year’s final, won by Rybakina. She will begin her title defense against American opponent Shelby Rogers.

Swiatekwho withdrew from a tune-up event on grass in Germany on Friday, citing a fever and possible food poisoning—was drawn to open on Monday against Zhu Lin, who is ranked 33rd this week but owns a 1-4 career mark at Wimbledon.

Gauff meets 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round.

A lcaraz’s first match will be Tuesday against French veteran Jeremy Chardy. AP

F2, Cignal target solo lead in Group B; PLDT, Akari collide

GROUP B leaders clash in a pair of tough matches tipped to go down-to-the-wire even as PLDT and Akari kick off their campaign in Group A in the third elimination playdate of the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference at the Filoil EcoOil Center in San Juan City on Saturday.

F2 Logistics and Cignal slug it out in a key face-off with the winner gaining the edge in what looms to be a wild race to the semis among six teams. The Cargo Movers dispatched the Farm Fresh Foxies in three while the HD Spikers repulsed the Petro Gazz Angels in four in last Tuesday’s opener of the mid-season tournament of the league

organized by Sports Vision.

Th at makes their 6 p.m. encounter crucial in their semis bids with F2 Logistics coach Regine Diego upbeat of their chances to make it back-toback behind a solid crew reinforced by three ace rookies.

Former middle Ivy Lacsina expects to get better in a new role as open spiker after leading the Cargo Movers’ romp over the Foxies with 13 points while Aby Maraño, Kim Dy, Majoy Baron, who combined for 26 points, have always been ready to provide leadership and support, along with Myla Pablo, Ara Galang and Kim Fajardo. But what makes F2, which

finished fourth in the recent PVL All-Filipino Conference, formidable is the presence of rookies Jolina dela Cruz and setter Marionne Alba, who debuted with seven and five points, respectively.

A gainst the veteran-laden HD Spikers, however, Diego is likely to go for Fajardo majority of the way to guarantee smoother play as they try to zero in on one of the two slots in the next round.

W ith a single-round format in the two-division elims setup among 11 teams, every game counts and like F2, expect Cignal, bannered by Ces Molina, Roselyn Doria, Riri Meneses, the come-backing Jovelyn Gonzaga

L afferty will be watching at the sidelines when Obiena jumps—and the one thing that excites him is, it will happen in Duplantis’ hometown.

Secondly, it’s in Mondo’s backyard. And that makes it hyper competitive. The best in the world is in front of his hometown fans. Thirdly, it’s the first autoqualifier for the Olympics. Day 2 of the qualification,” Lafferty explained.

Duplantis, however, is coming from a record-breaking feat in Ostrava, Czech Republic—where he erased his previous record with a new 6.12-m to win the gold, while Obiena settled for bronze medal with 5.90-m behind Marschall who also had the same clearance but got the silver by countback.

“

EJ would like to qualify as soon as possible and put this objective in the bag. So he can focus on other key objectives,” Lafferty said.

Arcilla subdues Olivarez, bags Lanao Open Championship

JOHNNY ARCILLA brought back his vintage form to score a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Eric Jed Olivarez to capture the Lanao del Norte National Open championship at the MCC courts in Tubod last Thursday.

T he veteran Davis Cup campaigner and many-time PCA Open champion flashed vintage form in overwhelming Olivarez, breaking his younger rival twice in the opening set and then dominating the next from fourth game on to rule the event, also billed as Gov. Imelda QuibranzaDimaporo Open, and add another ware to his trophy-filled cabinet.

T he victory, worth P50,000, came after he bowed to eventual winner John Bryan Otico in the semis of the Malita Open in Davao Occidental a couple of weeks ago.

But he buckled down to work and worked on his stamina, beating John Atay, 6-1, 6-1, holding off Jude Ceniza, 6-0, 5-7, 10-5, and crushing Eric Tangub, 6-2, 6-3, before sealing a championship clash with Olivarez.

The 43-year-old Arcilla, who racked up five Open crowns last year while bundling out younger, stronger rivals, took control of the finals match after scoring a break in the fifth game, held serve twice before breaking Olivarez again in the ninth. He broke Olivarez again in the fourth game of the second set and swept the next three to post another top podium finish after claiming the Escudero Cup crown in San Pablo City in February.

W ith Nilo Ledama, Arcilla completed a double victory as they toppled Olivarez and Vicente Anasta, 6-2, 6-4, in the men’s doubles finals of the 10-day event, also held in conjunction with Lanao del Norte’s 64th founding anniversary, and part of the PPS-PEPP circuit of the country’s longest talent-search put up by Palawan Pawnshop President/ CEO Bobby Castro.

Sharing top honors in men’s doubles were Noel Salupado and Arvin Secuya (Legends 30s), Ome Buhat and Marlon Alforo (Legends 40s), Efren Veradio and Bing delos Santos (Legends 50s) and Roy Bautete and Camilo Lascite (Legends 60s).

Meanwhile, action shifts to Marawi City beginning today (Saturday) with the staging of the 64th Lanao del Sur National Open at the MSU courts. For details and listup, contact tournament organizer Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.

and skipper Rachel Anne Daquis, to likewise go flat out to nail the all-important win before the league takes an 11-day break to give way to the VNL (Volleyball Nations League) staging.

W hile they are wary of the Cargo Mo vers, Cignal mentor Shaq delos Santos said they are more than ready to face their fancied rivals.

C hoco Mucho—behind newcomer Sisi Rondina—also seeks a follow-up to its imposing threeset stroll over Farm Fresh last Thursday with an eye on catching

resurgent Angels, also a couple of nights ago.

Game time is at 4 p.m.

PLDT and Akari, meanwhile, begin their campaign in the other group with the High Speed Hitters parading hard-hitting former Army spiker Honey Royse Tubino and reigning NCAA Best Setter Venice Puzon against the Power Chargers, who also toughened up during the break by signing blue-chip rookie Faith Nisperos of Ateneo while

fortifying their frontline acquisition of Lut Malaluan, also a former Lady Trooper. A kari’s Michelle Cobb, Ezra Madrigal, Bang Pineda, Erika Raagas, Eli Soyud and Nisperos are also coming into the tournament fresh from a stint in Indonesia where it represented the national team in the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Women. G ames are aired on PVL.ph, One Sports, and One Sports+ with live streaming on Smart Livestream, Cignal Play and Pilipinas Live.

MILBY

EJ OBIENA bracing for a quick entry to 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday in Stockholm

WILLIAMS

59.

SONG, YAOQIANG Chinese Chef

Brief Job Description: Ensuring that food are of excellent quality and authentic taste are consistently achieved, modifying menus or create new ones that meet quality standards, estimating food requirements and food/ labor costs, supervise kitchen staff’s activities, performing other duties assigned by the company.

meal preparation, creation, plating and delivery and ensure that kitchen activities operate in a timely manner. Ability to work with minimal to no supervision. Train new kitchen employees to meet restaurant and kitchen standard. Manage the kitchen team in the executive chef’s absence. High level of attention to detail. With experience in Chinese Restaurants. Fluent in Chinese language both verbal and written.

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

Basic Qualification: Ability to assist and direct kitchen staff in meal preparation, creation, plating and delivery and ensure that kitchen activities operate in a timely manner. Ability to work with minimal to no supervision. Train new kitchen employees to meet restaurant and kitchen standard. Manage the kitchen team in the executive chef’s absence. High level of attention to detail. With experience in Chinese Restaurants. Fluent in Chinese language both verbal and written.

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

activities, performing other duties assigned by the company.

Basic Qualification: Ability to assist and direct kitchen staff in meal preparation, creation, plating and delivery and ensure that kitchen activities operate in a timely manner. Ability to work with minimal to no supervision. Train new kitchen employees to meet restaurant and kitchen standard. Manage the kitchen team in the executive chef’s absence. High level of attention to detail. With experience in Chinese Restaurants. Fluent in Chinese language both verbal and written.

60.

DING, BIN Chinese Chef Assistant

Brief Job Description: Ensuring that food are of excellent quality and authentic taste are consistently achieved, modifying menus or create new ones that meet quality standards, estimating food requirements and food/ labor costs, supervise kitchen staff’s activities, performing other duties assigned by the company.

Basic Qualification: Ability to assist and direct kitchen staff in meal preparation, creation, plating and delivery and ensure that kitchen activities operate in a timely manner. Ability to work with minimal to no supervision. Train new kitchen employees to meet

level of attention to detail. With experience in Chinese Restaurants. Fluent in Chinese language both verbal and written.