BusinessMirror July 04, 2023

Report tackles BSP sustainability

TURNING old banknotes into alternative energy sources is just one of the sustainability efforts of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

I n its maiden Sustainability Report, the BSP outlined its progress in advancing the sustainability agenda in the Philippine financial system toward creating more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient societies and economies.

T he BSP said demonetized and mutilated banknotes undergo a shedding process that allows these to be converted into briquettes that can be used as alternative fuel source for biomass gasification facilities.

The use of briquetted banknotes as an alternative fuel source instead

of outright burning reduces the need to cut down trees, thereby contributing to a reduced carbon footprint,” the report stated.

B SP said its regional office in Greater Manila generated a total of 1.17 million kilograms of briquetted banknotes that were properly disposed and re-used as an alternative fuel source.

T he central bank also entered into a contract with a service provider that will use the briquetted retired banknotes, banknotes securities waste, and other non-briquetted security waste as alternative fuel for cement manufacturing, instead of using coal and other types of fuel fossils.

“ Buyers of briquetted banknotes

are required to submit an Environmental Compliance Certificate [ECC] issued by the DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources],” the report stated.

I n terms of old and unfit coins, the BSP said it uses a coin defacement machine prior to disposal. This prevents the risk of recirculation and maintains the integrity of the Philippine currency.

B SP said buyers of defaced coins are also required to submit ECC requirements. The BSP has defaced a total of 597 metric tons of counterfeit, unfit, mutilated, and demonetized (CUMD) coins since the start of the coin defacement operation in 2021.

BusinessMirror

GLOBAL HEADWINDS COULD HIT MANUFACTURERS’ OUTLOOK

PHL factory performance still weak

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T he report stated the country’s PMI remained at 50.9, marking the 7th consecutive month in this level and the weakest improvement in business conditions since July 2020.

T he outlook may still be optimistic, but S&P said global headwinds remain the biggest threat to manufacturing growth in the next 12 months.

“ Growth across the Filipino manufacturing factor slowed as the June PMI index reading signaled the weakest improvement in the health of the sector since July 2020,” Maryam Baluch, Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said. Going forward, the sector remains optimistic of growth in the coming 12 months. However, global headwinds could dampen the outlook for manufacturers in the Philippines,” she added.

T he report stated that the manufacturing sector still grew due to higher production and factory orders but there were factories that reported slowing demand for certain products.

T he slowing inflation also affected the growth of manufacturing output from the value perspective. The slower inflation prompted the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to maintain policy rates for the second time in June.

“ The muted headline figure reflected softer rates of expansion across both output and new orders, while manufacturing employment registered a fresh reduction,” Baluch said.

Meanwhile, rates of input price and output charge inflation slowed and were the softest recorded in over two-and-a-half years,” she added.

NEW BSP CHIEF: FLUENT IN FILIPINO, BASKETBALL–SAVVY

THE new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor is as Filipino as they come from his use of the mother tongue to making basketball references in his first official speech at the central bank.

O n Monday, Eli M. Remolona Jr. officially took over the reins of the central bank. He is the 7th BSP Governor since the enactment of the New Central Bank Act in 1993.

R emolona spent 14 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and 19 years at the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland and Hong Kong. He also taught in the United States and Malaysia, and earned his PhD in economics from Stanford University.

I n his remarks on taking the helm of central bank, Remolona said he would focus on two things: continuity of the good done in the past; and bettering the work.

“ Sa unang araw ko naman bilang

BSP Governor, may dalawang puntos akong nais ibahagi. Ang unang puntos po ay PAGPAPATULOY Together we must build on the progress we have already made,” Remolona said.

“Ang pangalawang puntos po ay PAGPAPABUTI.  I know we’re all eager to work even harder. I know we have what it takes to do even better—especially if we work together,” he added.

R emolona said the banking system has remained strong and the country’s capital and liquidity are “more than adequate.” He said this has made Philippine banks a source of strength for the economy as it recovered from the pandemic.

T his good performance, Remolona said, should continue but the BSP should also strive to do better. To illustrate his point, he recalled the recent National Basketball Association (NBA) finals which was won by the Denver Nuggets. See “BSP Chief,” A2

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

THE Department of Tourism (DOT) is still considering paying its advertising agency DDB Philippines Inc. despite the cancellation of its P50-million contract, after the rider video to its new tourism slogan “Love the Philippines” was found to have used stock footage of scenes abroad instead of those in the country.

I n a news statement on Monday, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said:  “As DDB Philippines has publicly apologized, taken full responsibility, and ad -

mitted in no uncertain terms, that non-original materials were used in their AVP [audio-visual production], reflecting an abject failure to comply with their obligation/s under the contract and a direct contravention with the DOT’s objectives for the enhanced tourism branding, the DOT hereby exercises its right to proceed with termination proceedings against its contract with DDB.”  (See, “Stakeholders, TPB shut out of new tourism drive decision,” in the BusinessMirror , July 3, 2023.)

S he added, “The DOT shall exercise its right to forfeit performance security as a result of default in

Despite fiasco, ad agency of DOT could still get paid

THE country’s manufacturing sector continued its lackluster performance in June, according to Standard & Poor’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).

PARK’ SM Aura recently opened the Prism Park, a shimmering and futuristic playpark, to launch its “Own

MRT 3 to refile petition for fare adjustment–DOTr

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

Assistant Secretary for Railways and MRT 3 Officer-in-Charge Jorjette Aquino, the management is asking for an P2.29 increase in minimum fare to P13.29 and 21-centavo hike per kilometer charge to P1.29.

Currently, the MRT 3 charges P11 as boarding fare and P1 for every kilometer traveled. The present minimum fare is set at P13 and the maximum is at P28.

Apart from these, the BSP said it has begun its studies on incorporating climate change into monetary policy. In June 2022, the BSP released the first empirical attempt to quantify the impact of temperature shocks in the Philippine setting.

mum fare of P13 and a maximum of P33 for SVCs; while fares for SJT shall range from P15 to P35.

Strategy. In leading by example, we have also made it a point to invest some of our FX reserves in green assets,” Medalla said in a speech on Monday.

T his, after the original petition was “deferred” due to “infirmities in complying with the requirements and procedure,” Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Cesar

Continued from A1

obligations under the contract, as well to review standards of performance or lack thereof vis-a-vis any claims for payment and/or any other engagement. Further, the DOT reserves the right to take all other

Chavez said.

He noted that it has been “eight years” since the MRT 3 last had a fare adjustment.  A ccording to Transportation

action against acts deemed inimical to the interest of Philippine tourism.” She stressed that DDB was under contract to submit “original materials.” DDB has yet to issue a statement in response as of press time.

D OT’s move to cancel an advertising contract is not without precedent. In 2017, the DOT under

T he government last month announced the fare adjustments to the fares on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2.  A ccording to the memorandum, Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), the operator of LRT 1, was allowed to charge a minimum of P13 and a maximum of P35 for stored value cards (SVCs) and a minimum of P15 and a maximum of P35 for single journey tickets (SJTs).

Meanwhile, Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), which operates LRT 2, was allowed to charge a mini-

then Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo likewise terminated the contract of McCann Philippines because an ad it produced, featuring a blind tourist  enjoying different Philippine destinations, was found to have “glaring similarities” to a South African tourism ad in 2014.  (See, “DOT stops airing of McCann’s ‘Sights” as unofficial tourism ad

I n explaining the approval of the rate adjustments, the DOTr said the LRTA’s deficit for 2023 is projected to be less than P8.5 billion, noting that it has been operating at a loss and relying on government subsidies for its operations and maintenance, as reflected in its financial performance in 2022 when it incurred a deficit of about P7 billion.

L RT 1 last implemented a fare increase in 2015.

O n the part of LRMC, its fare deficit vis-à-vis the notional fare prescribed in its concession agreement with the government is P1.46 billion. As of January 2023, LRMC’s actual fare is 50 percent behind the notional fares, a gap that “will exponentially increase.”

Since 2016, LRMC has filed four petitions for a rate increase. But these were all deferred.

reaps praises,” in the BusinessMirror , June 15, 2017.)

Nancy to DOT: Di na natuto

FOR her part, Senator Nancy Binay, chairman of the chamber’s Committee on Tourism, put the blame squarely on DOT’s lap: “This is not the first time that DOT and its agencies drew flak from netizens because of some creative lapses. There should be accountability because the people’s money are being spent by the DOT to pay the ad agencies.” S he added, “The DOT should also be more discerning and critical on pegs, concepts, storyboards, and drafts that ad agencies present to them. There were lapses, too, on the part of the client.”

Maybe the DOT could consider a “return to the ‘Fun’ because there’s a problem with ‘Love’ right now,” said Binay. The lawmaker, along with stakeholder associations, have long been urging Frasco not to change the still-popular “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” and only tweak it to reflect current post-pandemic realities and preferences of travelers.

TOR of project bid

MEANWHILE , an insider told the BusinessMirror that among the options DOT officials discussed Sunday was the cancellation of the DDB’s contract, but allowing the advertising firm to still be paid for the “materials and activations” it already delivered.

Under the bid’s terms of reference (TOR) for the project  “Consulting Services of an Agency for Philippine Tourism Branding,” the winning bidder has to accomplish several milestones to be fully paid: “Upon submission of the market research and initial presentation of the proposed tourism branding campaign, all within the first month of the contract duration [10 percent of contract price]; Upon submission and approval of campaign concept and timelines [10 percent]; Upon submission and approval of all storyboards for AVPs/TVCs/ other media materials [30 percent]; Upon submission and acceptance of all completed creative materials [40 percent]; and Upon acceptance of the Terminal Report all within the end of contract duration [10 percent].”

Based on these milestones, the DOT can estimate how much exactly it will pay DDB for its materials and services, said government  sources. In its news statement, DOT did not say if the project will be rebid or awarded to the other shortlisted bidder, on record, IPG Mediabrands Philippines Inc. Under usual government procedures, it may take another three to four months for a project to be rebid.

T he BSP is also conducting another empirical study on the long-term effect of temperature shocks on output growth as well as on inflation. Output includes other economic activities such as crop production, livestock, fishing, manufacturing, services, real investment, and labor productivity in heat-exposed industries.

I n 2020, the central bank also included environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores to screen tactical investments. The BSP said it is currently working to become a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.

On green investments, former BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said the central bank has invested some of the country’s foreign reserves on green assets. I n the report, BSP said these are part of the efforts on impact investing such as those done in green bonds. The BSP was also one of the early investors in the green bond funds of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

“ We take an active role in promoting sustainable finance through our 11-point Sustainable Central Banking

BSP chief...

B SP said the report covered the initiatives under financial supervision, preliminary work in the areas of monetary policy and operations (i.e., reserve management and credit operations), and projects and activities in support operations (e.g., risk management, currency production, technology and innovation development, building and maintenance, and procurement).

It also features the participation of the BSP in national and international conversations on sustainable finance, as well as its initiatives in the pipeline and future plans in pursuing the sustainability agenda.   T hese include the development of a taxonomy, grant of regulatory incentives to promote financing to sustainable projects and investments, and enhancements to stress testing guidelines, prudential reports, and disclosure requirements.

T he BSP will also build up initiatives promoting inclusive green finance as it recognizes the benefits to vulnerable sectors such as the micro, small, and medium enterprises in line with the interrelated objectives of promoting sustainable finance, digitalization, and financial inclusion.  Cai U. Ordinario

Continued from A1

“Naalala niyo ba yung finals ng NBA— noong Hunyo? Ang pakiramdam ko para tayong Denver Nuggets. Diba ang galing nila, lalo na si Nikola Jokic? Pero sa game 2 p arang natsambahan sila ng Miami Heat. Kaya sabi siguro ni Coach Michael Malone sa Nuggets, ‘sana galingan pa natin para hindi tayo matsambahan!’ Sana sa BSP rin, galingan pa natin para hindi tayo matsambahan!” Remolona said.

[Do you recall the NBA finals in June? I feel like we’re the Denver Nuggets. Weren’t they great, espcially Nokila Jokic? But in Game 2, the Miami Heat stole the thunder from them. Coach Michael Malone must have told the Nuggets, ‘let’s all do better, so this won’t happen again!’ So, also, here in BSP, I hope we all do better so that we don’t lose by chance].

R emolona ended his speech by quoting the BSP hymn: Ang layunin mo ay sadyang wagas/ Antas ng buhay ay iyong itaas/ Sa kaunlarang di magwawakas.

Meanwhile, his predecessor, Felipe M. Medalla said BSP was “very very fortunate to have him [Remolona] here.” In a previous press chat, Medalla told reporters that he and Remolona rarely had differences in voting when it came to central bank matters.

I n his speech, Medalla provided highlights of his one-year stint as BSP Governor, the culmination of a total of 12 years serving the central bank. Before becoming Governor, Medalla was part of the Monetary Board for

Continued from A1

B ased on the latest Production Index and Net Sales Index or the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries, the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) grew 8.2 percent in April 2023.

T his rate is faster than the annual increase of 3.4 percent in the previous month. In April 2022, however, VoPI recorded a contraction of 1.3 percent.

T he faster annual growth of VoPI in April 2023 was mainly brought about by the higher annual rates

11 years. “As Covid-19 lingered and workfrom-home arrangements continued, we managed to ensure the uninterrupted supply of money across our country, kept the banking system strong and stable, made our financial system even more inclusive, battled record-high inflation—by the way, at the rate it’s going, 18 straight months of above-target inflation, three months longer than the previous record—and helped provide stability to our economy. We did these together!” Medalla said. A key highlight of his term was that the BSP raised the policy rates by a total of 350 basis points (bps), on top of the 75 bps already taken before he became Governor. These rate hikes eventually made the BSP one of, if not the most aggressive central bank in terms of monetary policy. Medalla said the BSP also sold foreign exchange, a measure previously frowned upon by multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, foreign exchange intervention (FXI) has since been accepted and “become standard language in the IMF.” T he turnover ceremonies, which were not open to the public, coincided with the 30th anniversary of the BSP. It was attended by the economic team including Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan.  Cai U. Ordinario

in the same top three industry divisions that contributed to the increase in the annual growth of the Value of Production Index during the period.

T hese were the manufacture of food products, 14.7 percent from 4.3 percent in the previous month; transport equipment, 38 percent from 26.3 percent in the past month; and other non-metallic mineral products, 15.7 percent from 2.9 percent in March 2023.

Continued from A18

The NCR Regional Wage Board will increase the P570 daily minimum wage by P40 to P610 on July 16. This, IBON said, is “P490 short of the P1,100 minimum wage petition of the Unity for Wage Increase Now! (UWIN), P710 less than the Makabayan bloc’s proposed P750 wage increase, and P110 shy of Senator Miguel Zubiri’s P150 wage increase bid.”

I BON added that the resulting wage is still much less than the family living wage (FLW) of P1,160 for a family of five to live decently in NCR as of May 2023. There is still a wage

gap of P550 and the new wage is still barely half or just 53 percent of the FLW in the NCR. T he wage hike, it said, “is the first and only one under the Marcos Jr. administration in any of the country’s 17 regions. In contrast, the Duterte administration had 11 wage hikes, Noynoy Aquino gave 17 hikes, and Arroyo 9 hikes in their respective first years in office. This highlights the current government’s insensitivity to millions of workers and their families struggling with the rising cost of living.” B utch Fernandez

THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Monday the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 is “set to refile its petition for a fare adjustment” before the Rail Regulatory Unit (RRU).

• Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

PNP identifies 5 ‘persons of interest’ in shooting of photojournalist in QC

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has already identified five “persons of interest” in the ambush of Remate online photographer Rene Joshua

PBBM

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla  & Rene Acosta

WITH the country’s enhanced aerial defense capabilities, President

Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday said he is confident the country’s territories, including those in maritime zones, are now secured.

Marcos attributed this to the“groundwork” already laid out by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) to update its assets and operations.

As your Commander-in-Chief, I am proud to see the great distance that we and that the PAF has flown to ensure the security and sovereignty of our beloved nation,” the President said in his speech at the 76th Founding Anniversary of PAF at the Haribon Hangar, Clark Air Base in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

“ Your service also goes far beyond conflict, extending into the depths of calamity and humanitarian crises, where you have selflessly extended a helping hand to those in need,” he added.

T he President made the pronouncement after witnessing the PAF capability demonstration at Colonel Ernesto Rabina Air Base in Capas, Tarlac, where it showed

Abiad, but refused to name them in the meantime, saying investigation is still continuing.

The latest development into the case was disclosed by PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo on Monday, four days after the shooting that wounded Abiad, three other members of his

its surface strike, combat support capability, and rescue operations.

Marcos committed to continue supporting the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), including PAF, to keep the country safe amid changing geopolitical situations in the Asia-Pacific region.

“

The Philippine Air Force’s maritime air patrol missions are thus essential in upholding our territorial integrity and safeguarding Philippine maritime zones,” Marcos said. In his speech at the PAF anniversary event, Lt. Gen. Stephen P. Parreño, Commanding General of PAF, thanked the President for providing them the resources for their modernization initiatives.

This year we aim to shine even brighter and to perform even better. This year’s theme speaks of how we shape a better Air Force for the years to come: PAF@76: Accelerating with Excellence Towards A More Capable, Credible and Sustainable Force,” Parreño said.

H e said they plan to make the said reforms sustainable to ensure the readiness of PAF.

“ Through proactive supply management, asset maintenance, safety prioritization and technological innovation, sustainability is now realized and is being institutionalized,” Parreño said.

family and a bystander.

Abiad and his family were aboard a Ford Everest SUV when their vehicle’s path was blocked by a Toyota Vios where two gunmen emerged and shot them at the corner of Corumi and Gasan Streets, Barangay Masambong in Quezon City.

As a photojournalist covering the police beat for Remate, Abiad is reportedly a witness to some drug cases and had been called to testify on some of them, it was learned. After the ambush, the gunmen boarded their vehicle and fled toward Del Monte, also in Quezon City,

followed by what police said was a lookout riding a motorcycle.

Fajardo said she talked to the director of the Quezon City Police, Brig. Gen. Nicholas Torre III, who told her they already have five persons of interest and who are the subjects of their ongoing follow up operations.

Torre told her that they were hoping to get the five people until weekend. The five were believed to be members of a criminal syndicate. Fajardo also said that Torre told her that the plate number of the Toyota Vios was registered to another vehicle.

PBBM, VP Sara’s ratings remain ‘stable’–survey

AYEAR they were into office, a recent survey said the approval and trust ratings of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo remain stable.

The PAHAYAG 2023 Second Quarter poll showed that Marcos’ approval rating increased slightly to 62 percent from 60 percent last quarter.

It said the Visayas, Catholic, and Government Workers segments showed significant increases in approval.

Also, the survey said Vice President Duterte maintained her approval rating at 67 percent and enjoyed overwhelming support in Mindanao at 79 percent.

However, the poll said approval ratings for the President and the Vice President dropped significantly in North Central Luzon (NCL) and among the nonCatholic population.

Additionally, the poll shows the trust ratings of Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio slightly decline to 54 percent and 61 percent, respectively.

But it remains to be “statistically stable,” the survey added.

The results also highlight significant drops in trust ratings among specific segments of the population.

Among individuals aged 1824, President Marcos’ trust rating decreased to 45 percent, while Vice President Duterte-Carpio’s trust rating dropped to 47 percent within the same age group.

For Non-Catholics, it said Duterte-Carpio’s trust rating declined to 59 percent. Among families with overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), President Marcos’ trust rating decreased by 54 percent.

The poll also highlights the approval ratings for House Speaker Martin Romualdez, with notable shifts in public opinion.

The House Speaker gains

more opposition during this quarter of 19 percent from 15 percent last Quarter, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR), and to some extent in the Southern Luzon (SL) and Mindanao (MIN) regions, but maintains a steady overall approval rating of 42 percent and trust rating of 32 percent.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri maintained a stable approval rating of 48 percent in Q2, which remained consistent with the 47 percent rating in Q1. Similarly, his trust rating remained unchanged at 37 percent from the previous quarter’s 38 percent.

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo also experienced a stable approval rating of 38 percent in Q2, maintaining the same rating as in Q1, which was 39 percent. Additionally, his trust rating remained consistent at 32 percent.

In terms of individual qualities and characteristics, the survey said President Marcos is distinguished for his humility and eloquence, which he shares with Senate

President Zubiri. Vice President Duterte-Carpio, on the other hand, is strongly associated with bravery that resonates with the public.

Furthermore, it added the two legislative chiefs and Chief Justice Gesmundo are expected to uphold the law, with Zubiri perceived slightly more as fair-minded and just compared to the other officials.

“Overall, the report indicates a relatively stable trust and approval rating for government officials and agencies, reflecting the public’s ongoing commitment to the welfare of the country. As the nation moves forward, these insights provide valuable information for policymakers and decision-makers to better serve the needs and expectations of the Filipino people,” said the pollster.

The PAHAYAG 2023 Second Quarter Survey (PQ2), conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc. between 7 and 12 June 2023, has 1,500 respondents randomly drawn from a market research panel of over 200,000 Filipinos. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

lauds PAF’s modernization thrust in defense of sovereignty

NSCR completion to mark ‘renaissance’ of PHL railway industry–DOTr chief

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) on Monday broke ground for the South Commuter Railway Project or the Alabang-Calamba segment of NorthSouth Commuter Railway (NSCR).

“We are forging ahead, overcoming every challenge, because we know meeting the project’s deadlines will lead to a game-changing rail system that will transform lives,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said. Worth over P73.25 billion, the three civil contract packages consist of railway viaduct structures and elevated stations in Alabang and

Muntinlupa, San Pedro, Pacita, Biñan, and Santa Rosa, and Cabuyao, Banlic, and Calamba.

To efficiently construct these three contract packages, the PNR “is giving way by suspending operations on this segment of their line.”

Existing tracks from Alabang to Calamba would be relocated to be used for the proposed 565-kilometer South Long-Haul project that stretches all the way to the Bicol region.

“The South Long-Haul rail project is just one of the reasons we want to fast-track completion of the NSCR,” Bautista said.

He added the South Commuter Railway will “open the gates for the renaissance of the railway industry in the Philippines.”

“We hope these three contract packages of the South Commuter Railway will push for the timely completion of the NSCR and open the gates for the renaissance of the railway industry in the Philippines,” Bautista said.

The construction of NSCR’s last three segments is part of DOTr’s collaborative efforts with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), embassies of South Korea and Japan, Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), contractor Hyundai-DongAh joint venture, and the local government of Santa Rosa, Laguna.

A massive 147-kilometer railway system, the NSCR will have 35 stations and will run on 51 commuter train sets and seven express train sets.

The rail line is expected to provide two hours of end-to-end travel for over 600,000 passengers daily on full operations.

By Henry J. Schumacher

IN 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval

Noah Harari explains:

“Even if you don’t know how to cash in on the data today, it is worth having it because it might hold the key to controlling and shaping life in the

future. I don’t know for certain that the data-giants explicitly think about it in such terms, but their actions indicate thattheyvaluetheaccumulationofdata more than mere dollars and cents.”

If, later on, we decide to try and block the flow of data, we might find it increasingly difficult, especially as we might come to rely on the network for all these decisions, and even for our healthcare and physical survival.

Once people are aware of how vulnerable they are when they give away their privacy and data, it’ll be time to give them tools to actually control it.

It doesn’t matter if Facebook says they want you to control your data. That’s an illusion. They offer more privacy options because that makes people share more stuff with them. Real control, though, comes from deciding who can access it, how they might use it and what for. Until you have that kind of control, the problem isn’t solved.

If you think about it, we’ve got more than 100 years of experience dealing with physical property, but we’ve got limited experience when it comes to digital property. But the stakes are the same and I feel it’s way more scary not to own your digital property.

We surely have to come up with a system to control data as personal property, but we need the right regulations. That’s what Europe is trying with the GDPR and the Philippines with the Data Privacy Act.

But then look at what is happening in Europe:

On the one side, the EU very recently slapped Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and more) with a record €1.2 billion fine for not complying with EU privacy laws. T his is the largest fine given to a Big Tech company for not respecting our privacy in Europe.

A t the same time, the EU Commission is proposing to hand them access to sensitive, private medical records! T he new law plans

to streamline the sharing of medical records and information. For example, making it easier to share an MRI scan from a holiday injury with your GP at home. But as part of the same law, the EU plans to forfeit the right to privacy and undermine trust with doctors.

As it reads now, the new law would compel health-care providers to share sensitive medical records with just about anyone who wants them for “research.”

This includes Big Pharma, Big Tech and insurance companies. Worse, they won’t need the patient’s permission to access the data or even to inform the patient that they’re using it.

W hile this is happening in Europe, we may have to fear that this could come to the Philippines too.

And that’s where we come in. Instead, we can make it so that such a law protects our privacy and medical records, while still making health-care systems more efficient.

We all want to feel healthy and safe— that’s the first step in being able to thrive in our lives and communities. For that, we need health-care systems built on privacy and trust. N ot the sort that compels our trusted doctors to undercut our privacy and share our medical records with anyone who requests access.

Big Pharma and Big Tech are itching to sink their teeth into our medical records under the guise of research. Unless changes are made to the proposed law, we could be sleepwalking into plans allowing companies to mine our medical information for profit, for example, training their latest AI. But it doesn ’t have to be this way. We don’t always have to accept the juggernaut of tech innovation at the expense of our rights.

L et’s do this right. Spread the word. Try to get people to watch out for their privacy. If not us, who? If not now, when?

I look forward to your feedback— contact me at hjschumacher59@gmail.com.

A LEADER of the House of Representatives on Monday pushed for the revival of nationwide “Sulong Pilipinas” consultations with stakeholders for genuine rebrand and restart of the country’s tourism sector.

H ouse Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte

Salceda issued the proposal amid controversies involving the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) Love The Philippines campaign video. “ The country must gain something productive from these heated discussions, nationwide consultations with tourism stakeholders on how to really rebrand and restart the country’s tourism sector,” he said.

“ The back-and-forth of statements was good for revealing what needs to be improved. But we have to move forward. Let’s genuinely sit down and talk,” Salceda said.

T he lawmaker from Albay earlier said the issue involving the contractor who used stock footage in the promotional video “proves my earliest point about the DOT either apologizing to Albay [for not including Mayon Volcano], or firing the consultant.”

“ We used to do that a lot in the past. We did Sulong Pilipinas for the general direction of the country’s government. That shot off to Sulong Agrikultura and Sulong Edukasyon, where government agencies would consult their stakeholders closely and seriously. At the end of each consultation, you had actionable points that were submitted to the President to be given the highest priority,” he said.

“ That’s how Dutertenomics was born. That’s where Build, Build, Build came. Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, Ease of Doing Business Act, Rice Tariffication, the Universal Health Care Law—all came from those consultations,” Salceda added.

“ Sulong Pilipinas,” was “an annual consultative conference that brings together different stakeholders from all over the country.”

S alceda said the previous administration explained it as “a platform through which the government can provide updates on our country’s achievements. More importantly, Sulong is a way through which the administration receives feedback on its proposed plans and programs.”

“ Let’s do Sulong Turismo.

Let’s consult the stakeholders nationwide on the six As of tourism: Attractions, Accessibility, Amenities, Available Packages, Activities, and Ancillary Services. If I may add two particular points: Airport and Airlines. All our fiercest competitors have beautiful airports and top-tier airlines,” Salceda added.

S alceda also said that the branding campaign of the DOT must “reflect improvements in what this country offers tourists.”

“If the experience doesn’t change, the impression will not change. So, beyond rebranding, we need to make genuine improvements in key areas in the sector. Remember, the pandemic reset the whole global tourism sector,” he said.

“ You need to set the agenda before you set the brand. Branding is a fool’s exercise without a good product to sell. A promising slogan without real improvements in the fundamentals is a false pretense.

As a slogan, ‘Love the Philippines’ is demanding enough on a foreign tourist’s first date with this country. Let’s at least give them reasons to do so,” he added.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

CHED: Sexual assault incident ‘wake up call’ to review, rationalize security in UP campus

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

CHAIRMAN Prospero De Vera

III of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) reminded that higher education institutions (HEIs) must remain as safe spaces for their students following the reported sexual assault of a student inside the University of the Philippines-Diliman campus.

“ The UP administration must tap the expertise of the Philippine National Police to identify, track and apprehend all those responsible for this reprehensible act of violence,” De Vera said after receiving confirmation that a young female student of the UPDiliman was sexually assaulted along Ylanan Road inside the UP Campus on Saturday, July 1, 2023.  T he victim-survivor is currently under medical care. The assailant remains at large.

“ We extend our deep concern to our victim-survivor. I have asked the University administration to extend all possible assistance to the student and her family at this

time of great challenge. I share with the entire UP Community our full support for her and her family in overcoming this difficult traumatic hurdle in their lives and in the longer process of healing,” he said.

D e Vera also instructed UP President Atty. Angelo A. Jimenez and UP Diliman Chancellor Assistant Professor Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan to immediately ensure that all assistance to the victim-survivor is properly and expediently provided.

The UP administrative and security officials must immediately coordinate and allow the proper offices of the PNP to spearhead the

investigation and conduct possible pursuit operations,” de Vera added. He also encouraged anyone and everyone who has any information regarding the incident to report to the authorities to aid in the investigation.

The University must spare nothing to ensure that justice is obtained for the victim and her family,” de Vera said, adding that the despicable criminal act is a wake up call for UP to review and rationalize its security and safety policies, including its operational engagement with the PNP and other law enforcement agencies in order to make the UP Community safe and secure.

PBBM housing program 4PH to build 100K houses by next year–DHSUD

THE government is eyeing to complete at least 100,000 constructed housing units under the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) program by next year, according to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

T his as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. renewed his commitment to address the country’s housing shortage after attending a 4PH site inspection in the City of San Fernando in Pampanga on Monday.

Next year, we think we will be able to deliver more than 100,000 houses,” DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar told reporters in an interview during a site inspection.

H e noted this was based on the estimated completion of some of the ongoing 50 4PH projects

nationwide.

O f which, 20 are now undergoing construction, while the rest are either scheduled for bidding or processing.

Cu rrently DHSUD has signed 150 memorandums of understanding (MOU) for the implementation of 4PH in 28 locations nationwide.

A mong the latest additions to the list of 4PH projects are those located in the following three locations in Pampanga: Barangay Del Carmen, Crystal Peak States; Barangay Mandasig, Candaba; and Barangay Sta. Maria, Minalin.

T he three projects, which will have an estimated 91,000 available housing units once completed, will be accorded with amenities such as commercial areas, schools, hospitals and recreational facilities.

Senators press probe into proliferation of online celebrity endorsement scams

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

SENATE probers are poised to mount an inqury into the proliferation of internet scam cases “faking online  celebrity endorsements and deceptive social media postings” in dubious advertisements selling assorted unregistered food and drug products.

Paving the way for a thorough probe, Senator Jinggoy Estrada filed Senate Resolution No. 666, citing the risks the scam poses to unsuspecting consumers as he noted “the spread of online marketing materials and impostor pages or accounts promoting unregistered products that promise treatment for various ailments or wellness benefits using the names and pictures of local personalities and celebrities.”

E strada aired a warning that “these advertisements mislead consumers into believing that these celebrities are using and endorsing food and medicinal products that are actually unregistered before the proper health authorities and not yet approved for mass distribution and public consumption.”

T he Senator aired serious concerns that the “barrage of bogus medicinal remedies on social media platforms is viewed and even shared by thousands of consumers, providing them with inaccurate and false information about the efficacy, quality, and safety of food, drugs, and health products,” Estrada said.

Moreover, he pointed out that “the circulation and proliferation of fraudulent online advertisements are ‘clear and blatant violations of the Consumer Act,’ which, the senator notes penalize the dissemination of deceptive and misleading sales promotion practices.”

At the same time, Estrada cited reports on the alleged product endorsements of a popular internist and cardiologist with a huge social media following, regarding a “miracle food” in the form of mixed nuts.

The senator also cited the case of a high-profile physician and public-health expert, whose name and pictures were used to imply his personal endorsement of a product as a cure for diabetes.

There is an urgent need to protect consumers against the consumption of unregistered and potentially harmful food and health products through the strict enforcement of the provisions of the Consumer Act and regulation of fraudulent advertisements on social media platforms,” Estrada stressed.

M oreover, the senator cited “the need to identify and address possible loopholes in the country’s existing laws and regulations, emphasizing the importance of updating their provisions, considering the extensive use of social media platforms and cyberspace, as well as the alarming use of maliciously manipulated images, spliced videos, and fabricated statements in the promotion of food and health products.”

Almost on track  UNDER the 4PH program, the government is eyeing to construct a million housing units annually from 2022 to 2028 or a total of 6.5 million new housing units before the end of the Marcos administration.  Many Filipinos will benefit for sure from these comfortable,

affordable and safe housing units,” Marcos said in his speech during the event. DHSUD said it is “almost on track” in reaching its 4PH targets due to the challenges it faced in implementing the program, which includes securing the necessary land and funding for it.

M arcos said his administration continues to coordinate with the private sector, local government units, and other stakeholders to address these issues.  This is to ensure we will be able to extend 4PH [housing] to more Filipinos,” the President said.

Samuel P. Medenilla

Salceda bats for ‘sulong’ revival

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Russia launches the first drone strike on Kyiv in 12 days; all are shot down

well as present awards to service members.

In Russia, local officials reported that air defense systems shot down a drone over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, while the neighboring Kursk region faced shelling attacks. No casualties or damage were reported.

said that the Russian president “did everything to prevent bloodshed and confusion,” including explaining to Wagner fighters “the real state of affairs.” “(Putin) suggested that those who want to defend Russia continue their service with weapons in their hands. As far as I know, many of them agreed to this,” Volodin said.

All of the Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones were detected and shot down, according to Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv city administration. In addition to the city itself, the surrounding Kyiv region was targeted. Kyiv regional Gov. Ruslan Kravchenko reported that one person was wounded by falling debris from a destroyed drone.

Officials in the Ukrainian capital didn’t provide an exact number of drones that attacked the city.

But Ukraine’s air force said that across the country, eight Shaheds and three Kalibr cruise missiles were launched by the Russians.

Further south, a 13-year-old boy was wounded in overnight shelling of Ukraine’s partially occupied southern Kherson province, said Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, spokesman for the Ukrainian administration of the province.

The child was wounded when

the Russian army shelled the village of Mylove on the banks of the Dnieper River in the Beryslav district, Tolokonnikov said.

“The child was hospitalized, there is no threat to his life,” Tolokonnikov said on state TV.

Shelling of Kherson province continued Sunday morning, wounding four people in the regional capital, also called Kherson. The regional prosecutor’s office said that a residential area of the city was targeted by Russian troops operating in the Russia-occupied part of the Kherson province.

“At least four citizens were wounded, two of them due to a targeted strike on a high-rise building,” the office wrote on Telegram.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military reported that the most intense fighting continued in Ukraine’s industrial east, with attacks focused around Bakhmut, Marinka and Lyman in the country’s Do -

netsk province, where 46 combat clashes took place.

Ukrainian forces were advancing amid a “massive offensive” on the southern and northern flanks of the destroyed city of Bakhmut, Ukraine’s Eastern Group of Forces spokesman Serhii Cherevaty told Ukrainian state television. But he didn’t mention how much progress they made. The details, he said, would be disclosed once Ukrainian forces had analyzed the situation and consolidated their positions.

In its regular update Sunday

morning, the General Staff said that over the previous 24 hours, Russia had carried out 27 airstrikes, one missile strike and around 80 attacks from multiple rocket launchers, targeting regions in the north, northeast, east and south of the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Black Sea port city of Odesa on Sunday—the day the country honors its navy—to hear a report from the navy commander, discuss prospects for the development of a naval drone and missile program, as

Israel targets West Bank militant stronghold with drones and troops, killing 5 Palestinians

By Josef Federman

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM—Israeli drones struck targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank early Monday and hundreds of troops were deployed in the area, an incursion that resembled the wide-scale military operations carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago.

Palestinian health officials said at least five Palestinians were killed.

Troops remained inside the Jenin refugee camp Monday, pushing ahead with the largest operation in the area during more than a year of fighting. It came at a time of growing domestic pressure for a tough response to a series of attacks on Israeli settlers—including a shooting attack last week that killed four people.

Black smoke rose from the crowded streets of the camp as the military pressed on. Electricity was cut off in some parts and military bulldozers were plowing through narrow streets—another reminder of Israel’s incursions during the last uprising.

The Palestinians and neighboring Jordan condemned the violence.

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an army spokesman, said the operation began just after 1 a.m. with an airstrike on a building used by militants for planning attacks. He said the goal of the operation was to destroy and confiscate weapons.

“We’re not planning to hold ground,” he said. “We’re acting against specific targets.”

He said that a brigade-sized force— roughly 2,000 soldiers—was taking part in the operation, and that military drones had carried out a series of strikes to clear the way for the ground forces. Although Israel has carried out isolated airstrikes in the West Bank in recent weeks, Hecht said Monday’s series of strikes marked an escalation unseen since 2006—the end of the Palestinian uprising.

While Israel described the attack as a pinpoint operation, smoke billowed from within the crowded camp, with mosque

minarets nearby. Ambulances raced toward a hospital, where the wounded were brought in on stretchers.

Armored bulldozers drove through narrow streets to clear the way for troops, damaging property in their path. Residents reported electricity was cut off in large areas of the camp.

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the military blocked roads within the camp, took over houses and buildings and set up snipers on rooftops.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least five Palestinians were killed and 27 injured Monday, three of them critically. Hecht said as many as seven militants were believed dead.

In a separate incident, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the ministry said.

“Our Palestinian people will not kneel, will not surrender, will not raise the white flag, and will remain steadfast on their land in the face of this brutal aggression,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian president, said in a statement.

Jordan called for Israel to halt its raids into the West Bank.

The Jenin camp and an adjacent town of the same name have been a flashpoint as Israeli-Palestinian violence escalated since the spring of 2022. Jenin has long been a bastion for armed struggle against Israel and was a major friction point in the last Palestinian uprising.

In 2002, days after a Palestinian suicide bombing during a large Passover gathering killed 30 people, Israeli troops launched a massive operation in the Jenin camp. For eight days and nights they fought militants street by street, using armored bulldozers to destroy rows of homes, many of which had been booby-trapped.

Monday’s raid came two weeks after another violent confrontation in Jenin and after the military said a rocket was fired from the area last week, which landed in the West Bank.

“There has been a dynamic here around Jenin for the last year,” Hecht said, defending Monday’s tactics. “It’s been intensifying all the time.”

Following the drama of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion last week, Russian authorities remained defiant. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin came out of this situation “having strengthened his position even more both in the country and in the world.”

Russian society, he said, “having passed this test, has shown its maturity.” According to Volodin, there was “not a single example of someone supporting the rebellion.”

But Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group of forces fighting in Ukraine, was believed to have been detained days after the mutiny. It’s not clear whether Surovikin, who has longtime links to Prigozhin, faces any charges or where he is being held, reflecting the opaque world of the Kremlin’s politics and uncertainty after the revolt.

Writing on Telegram, Volodin

In addition, the speaker of the State Duma said that he had analyzed the “challenges” Russia faced in the past, affirming that if “someone like Putin” had been leading the country in 1917 and 1991, there wouldn’t have been a revolution in Russia, and the USSR wouldn’t have collapsed.

But independent observers and analysts say that Putin may come out politically weakened after first announcing that Wagner would face harsh repercussions, only to later say that the group’s forces wouldn’t face prosecution. Prigozhin was also allowed to leave Russia for Belarus.

Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said Sunday that Poland would send 500 police officers to join 5,000 border guards and 2,000 soldiers already on the country’s border with Belarus. It follows an announcement earlier this week that Poland would strengthen defenses on its eastern border after the relocation of Wagner fighters to Belarus. AP

Baltimore block party shooting victims include a dozen minors

By Julio Cortez & Holly Ramer

The Associated Press

But there also may have been political considerations at play. Leading members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, which is dominated by West Bank settlers and their supporters, have been calling for a broader military response to the ongoing violence in the area.

“Proud of our heroes on all fronts and this morning especially of our soldiers operating in Jenin,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist who recently called for Israel to kill “thousands” of militants if necessary, tweeted. “Praying for their success.”

Monday’s events bring the death toll of Palestinians killed this year in the West Bank to 133, part of more than a yearlong spike in violence that has seen some of the worst bloodshed in that area in nearly two decades.

The outburst of violence escalated last year after a spate of Palestinian attacks prompted Israel to step up its raids in the West Bank.

Israel says the raids are meant to beat back militants. The Palestinians say such violence is inevitable in the absence of any political process with Israel and increased West Bank settlement construction and violence by extremist settlers. They see the intensifying Israeli military presence in the area as an entrenchment of Israel’s 56-year open-ended occupation of the territory.

Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and also people not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.

Palestinian attacks against Israelis since the start of this year have killed 24 people.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.

BALTIMORE—Gunfire erupted at a block party in Baltimore on Sunday—killing two people, wounding 28 and leaving an extensive crime scene that marred the US holiday weekend, police said. Three of the wounded were in critical condition and more than a dozen were under 18.

The shooting took place just after 12:30 a.m. when at least two people opened fire at a block party in the Brooklyn Homes area in the southern part of the city, said Richard Worley, Baltimore’s acting police commissioner. No arrests had been made by late afternoon. It wasn’t clear if the shooting was targeted or random, Worley said.

The shooting comes amid gatherings around the country leading up to the July Fourth holiday. Elsewhere, a shooting in Kansas left seven people with gunshot wounds and two more victims hospitalized after being trampled as people rushed out of a nightclub early Sunday morning, police there said.

The violence in Baltimore occurred as federal prosecutors there this week touted their efforts to reduce violent crime in the city. Police have reported nearly 130 homicides and close to 300 shootings so far this year, though that’s down from the same time last year. Authorities have vowed to crack down aggressively on repeat violent offenders.

Nine of Sunday’s victims were taken by ambulance and 20 walked into area hospitals with injuries from the shooting, Worley said. Nine remained hospitalized Sunday afternoon.

The deceased victims were identified as 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzales and 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi, police said Sunday. Gonzales died at the scene, and Fagbemi died at the hospital. The 28 injured ranged in ages from 13 to 32, with more than half of them being younger than 18, officials said.

“I want those who are responsible to hear me, and hear me very clearly,” Mayor Brandon Scott said at the scene. “We will not stop until we find you, and we will find you. Until then, I hope that every single breath you take, that you think about the lives that you took, think about the lives that you impacted here tonight.”

Scott asked anyone with information to come forward to assist investigators locate

the “cowards” who were responsible for the shooting.

Gov. Wes Moore said his “heart breaks for these victims, their families, and the Baltimore community that is coping with the loss.”

“Maryland has had enough of watching gun violence continue to ravage our state and our nation,” Moore said in a statement. “The fact that these horrific shootings continue to take place is abominable. We as a state will continue to do everything we can to prevent senseless acts of violence like the one we saw last night.”

Authorities said the crime scene was extensive and that it took some time for detectives to work it.

Hours after the shooting, a number of officers remained working behind police tape amid densely packed two-story housing blocks. Folding tables and plastic cups were scattered on the street, apparently left behind when people ran from the gunshots.

Lakell Nelson said there had been several false alarms of people mistaking the sounds of fireworks for gunfire earlier in the night while she was at the block party. The actual shooting started as she was getting to her car.

“The shots were just going on and on and on,” she said.

That’s when two young women approached her and said they had been shot, with one woman showing how a bullet had gone through her shorts.

Nelson said she told the women to get in the car, and she sped through red lights to get to the nearest hospital.

“When I pulled up to the door of the hospital, my car was almost getting ready to be inside the hospital, because I was determined to get those babies in that hospital,” Nelson said.

A police union official said in an e-mail Sunday there were no officers specifically assigned to the gathering.

“There were only three officers assigned to the Brooklyn area of Baltimore City’s Southern District. This is a large area, and to police it safely and effectively you need about seven to eight officers per shift,” said Mike Mancuso, president of the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3.

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

KYIV, Ukraine—After a relative lull, Russia launched a drone attack early Sunday on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, officials said. It was the first such attack of the war in 12 days.

UKRAINIAN air defense intercepts a Shahed drone mid-air in the third Russia aerial attack on the capital in the last 24 hours in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 30, 2023. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine’s military was largely reliant on Soviet-era weaponry. While that arsenal helped Ukraine fend off an assault on the capital of Kyiv and prevent a total rout in the early weeks of the war, billions of dollars in military assistance has since poured into the country, including more modern Western-made weapons. AP/EVGENIY MALOLETKA

SMOKE rises during an Israeli military raid of the militant stronghold of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on July 3, 2023. Palestinian health officials say at least three Palestinians were killed in the raid. AP/MAJDI MOHAMMED

The World

Putin will speak with China and India leaders in his first summit since Wagner insurrection

By Krutika Pathi The Associated Press

Leaders will convene virtually on Tuesday for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security grouping founded by Russia and China to counter Western alliances from East Asia to the Indian Ocean.

This year’s event is hosted by India, which became a member in 2017. It’s the latest avenue for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to showcase the country’s growing global clout.

The group so far has focused on deepening security and economic cooperation, fighting terrorism and drug trafficking; tackling climate change and the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over in 2021. When the foreign ministers met in India last month, Russia’s war on Ukraine barely featured in their public

remarks but the fallout for developing countries on food and fuel security remains a concern for the group, analysts say.

The forum is more important than ever for Moscow, which is eager to show that the West has failed to isolate it. The group includes the four Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in a region where Russian influence runs deep. Others include Pakistan, which became a member in 2017, and Iran, which is set to join on Tuesday. Belarus is also in line for membership.

“This SCO meeting is really one of the few opportunities globally that Putin will have to project strength and credibility,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia

France riots ease after massive nationwide police deployment

By Tara Patel

STREET unrest eased sharply in France overnight after a series of riots and looting touched off by a police officer’s fatal shooting of a teenager.

The number of arrests dropped to 157 into Monday, according to government figures, down from more than 700 the previous night and 1,300 the night before that. A firefighter died battling a blaze in an underground parking lot, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a tweet.

While tensions have ebbed, the shooting of Nahel, a 17-year-old of North African descent, remains a flashpoint in a crisis over racism and inequality in France that’s drawing comparisons with America’s reaction to the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

“ We have to remain cautious,” Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said on France Inter radio when asked whether unrest had calmed down overnight.

French President Emmanuel Macron met with key cabinet ministers into the evening hours on Sunday in an attempt to craft a response to the violence, which is testing his authority and ability to carry out reforms. He kept some 45,000 police, special forces and armored vehicles deployed to contain clashes that have left hundreds of public buildings and shops damaged or ransacked in cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Strasbourg.

Macron will meet on Tuesday with some 220 French mayors to discuss the situation, Agence France-Presse reported after the cabinet talks.

The unrest is another political minefield for Macron after he pushed through an increase in France’s retirement age that was preceded by months of strikes and protests. Images of riot police once again battling in the streets further tarnish the country’s reputation, potentially adding to the economic toll just as the government faces pressure to restore public finances.

“What Macron needs to do is develop substantive policies to address the problems faced by these youths,” Vivien A. Schmidt, a professor of European integration at Boston University, said by e-mail. “Unfortunately, however, it is not clear that he even recognizes the problem.”

The boy’s grandmother appealed for calm on Sunday, telling BFM TV that rioters were using his death on June 27 as a “pretext.”

French government spokesman Olivier Veran said “there is no political message” in

ransacking a store during the night. “I don’t call these scenes of looting a movement,” he told France Inter radio.

T he rioting, mostly by youths from working-class neighborhoods, is once again laying bare the societal chasms. Some of the most violent clashes happened in the port city of Marseille, which Macron visited last week to pledge help for community projects.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Saturday tallied up damage to about a dozen shopping malls and more than 700 supermarkets, banks and stores, some of which were reduced to rubble. Nearing the height of the summer tourist season, countries including the UK have put in place travel warnings for France.

The French opposition at both ends of the political spectrum has seized on the crisis as evidence that the government is failing to ensure public safety and narrow economic disparity.

P oliticians including far-right leader Marine Le Pen have rallied to condemn one attack in particular—the ramming of a burning car into the home of the mayor of L’Hay-les-Roses, a Paris suburb. Stephane Hardouin, a public prosecutor, said authorities were investigating “attempted murder” after the mayor’s partner and two young children escaped the house through a back door.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin visited the town Sunday. “We’ll continue to bring order as quickly as possible,” Borne said. “No mayor will be left alone.”

Labor unrest and street demonstrations happen regularly in France but have taken on a more intense and confrontational tone in recent years, reflecting divisions within French society. Before the pension protests and the pandemic, the so-called Yellow Vest movement already caused widespread property damage.

The nationwide unrest prompted Macron to postpone a rare state visit by a French president to Germany, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz called images of the clashes “very dispiriting” on Sunday. Nahel whose last name has been withheld by authorities, was buried Saturday in Nanterre, his hometown where he was shot at close range in a car. The officer who fired the gun has been charged with murder and is in pre-trial detention. Laurent-Franck Lienard, a lawyer for the officer, told Europe 1 radio that the policeman believed he needed to shoot. With assistance from Max Reyes, Iain Rogers and Jenny Che / Bloomberg

Institute.

None of the member countries has condemned Russia in U.N. resolutions, choosing instead to abstain. China has sent an envoy to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and India has repeatedly called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

For Putin personally, the summit presents an opportunity to show he is in control after a shortlived insurrection by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

“Putin will want to reassure his partners that he is very much

still in charge, and leave no doubt that the challenges to his government have been crushed,” said Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

India announced in May that the summit would be held online instead of in-person like last year in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where Putin posed for photographs and dined with other leaders.

For New Delhi at least, the optics of hosting Putin and China’s leader Xi Jinping just two weeks after Modi was honored with a pomp-filled state visit by US

President Joe Biden would be less than ideal.

After all the fanfare Modi received from American leaders on his recent visit, “it would have been too soon (for India) to be welcoming Chinese and Russian leaders,” Kugelman said.

India’s relationship with Moscow has stayed strong throughout the war; it has scooped up record amounts of Russian crude and relies on Moscow for 60% of its defense hardware. At the same time, the US and its allies have aggressively courted India, which they see as a counterweight to China’s growing ambitions.

A key priority for India in the forum is to balance its ties with the West and the East, with the country also hosting the Group of 20 leading economies’ summit in September. It’s also a platform for New Delhi to engage more deeply with Central Asia.

“India glorifies in this type of foreign policy where it’s wheeling and dealing with everybody at the same time,” said Derek Grossman, an Indo-Pacific analyst at the RAND Corporation.

New Delhi, observers say, will be looking to secure its own interests at the summit. It will likely emphasize the need to combat what it calls “cross-border terrorism”— a dig at Pakistan, whom India accuses of arming and training rebels fighting for independence of

Indian-controlled Kashmir or its integration into Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denies.

It may also stress the need to respect territorial integrity and sovereignty—a charge often directed towards its other rival, China. India and China have been locked in an intense three-year standoff involving thousands of soldiers stationed along their disputed border in the eastern Ladakh region.

Analysts say China, seeking to posture itself as a global force, is becoming a dominant player in forums like the SCO, where interest for full membership from countries like Myanmar, Turkey and Afghanistan has grown in recent years.

“The limitation with the SCO is that China and Russia are trying to turn it into an anti-Western grouping, and that does not fit with India’s independent foreign policy,” said Madan.

The SCO could also prove challenging for Washington and its allies in the long run.

“For countries uncomfortable with the West and their foreign policies, the SCO is a welcome alternative, mainly because of the roles Russia and China play.... I think that highlights just how relevant and concerning this group could be for a number of Western capitals, especially if it keeps expanding,” said Kugelman.

Yellen heads to China this week, furthering US move to mend ties

By Viktoria Dendrinou

UNITED STATES Treasury

Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Beijing on July 6-9, becoming the second member of Joe Biden’s cabinet to head to the Chinese capital in recent weeks as the world’s two largest economies look to mend ties after a spate of bilateral tensions.

Yellen’s trip will take place just three weeks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China, highlighting the efforts by the Biden administration to reinstate lines of communication with counterparts in Beijing.

The trip announcement ends months of speculation over when—and whether—the top US economic policymaker would head to Beijing. The Treasury chief has said for months she intends to visit, but an escalation in tensions stemming from then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip last year to Taiwan—which Beijing claims as part of China—and the flight of a Chinese balloon over the US left the plans in limbo.

In Beijing, Yellen will meet with senior Chinese government officials to discuss the importance of responsibly managing the USChina relationship, communicating directly about areas of concern, and working together to address global challenges, the Treasury Department said.

While a senior Treasury official

didn’t say which government representatives Yellen will be meeting with in Beijing, they said she was not expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trip objectives

THE official said that through this trip, the US will seek to deepen and increase the frequency of communication between the two countries, stabilize the relationship, avoid miscommunication and expand collaboration where possible.

A key priority for the Treasury with China has been pressing Beijing to boost debt relief for developing nations in distress. Yellen’s visit will follow a recent agreement in principle for Zambia, which she has praised.

The Treasury chief may face questions from her counterparts on the Biden administration’s plans to regulate and potentially cut off US corporate investment in China in sensitive technologies.

In Beijing, Yellen plans to convey US concern and press for corrective action on areas like coercive actions and nonmarket economic practices used by China, the Treasury official said.

Communication channels

THE Treasury doesn’t expect significant breakthroughs stemming from this initial travel, the official said. Rather, it hopes to build longer-term channels of

communication with the Chinese government’s new economic team and more regularly discuss issues in the bilateral economic relationship.

Consultations between top economic officials typically involve comparing notes on the outlooks for growth, and Yellen will have the opportunity to get Chinese authorities’ assessment of recent data that have spurred private economists to downgrade their estimates. By contrast, resilient US growth and elevated inflation have spurred expectations for further Federal Reserve tightening—a dynamic that’s sent the dollar higher against China’s yuan.

US-China engagement today is a shadow of what it once was. The Treasury secretary at one point would meet with China’s equivalent every six months, through the “Strategic Economic Dialogue,” but such forums became defunct in the Trump administration—which levied a raft of import tariffs on Beijing.

Both Yellen and top White House officials in recent months have sought to stress that the US is not seeking to decouple from its geopolitical rival but rather derisk. Even so, in an April speech she warned that the US is prepared to accept economic costs in order to protect national-security interests from threats posed by China.

Yellen’s new counterpart in Beijing is Vice Premier He Lifeng,

a longtime confidant of President Xi. He succeeds Liu He—a fluent English-speaking veteran of the international stage who had studied at Harvard University. When Yellen and Liu met in January in Zurich, their rapport was such that they at one point left their aides behind as they kept talking. Analysts will be keen to monitor the new Yellen-He dynamic.

Among other potential issues in the upcoming talks: a recent crackdown by China on access to information about its companies, and continuing questions about prospects for Chinese firms listing on US exchanges. For their part, Chinese leaders have been continuously emphasizing that their country welcomes overseas firms.

“They’ve got some economic challenges and I think they want to make sure that they maintain a climate for foreign investment that is positive,” Yellen said in a recent interview.

As for a bilateral summit, President Joe Biden said in mid-June he anticipated meeting with Xi in the next several months. The two met in Indonesia in November during the Group of 20 summit.

On Friday, Biden received China’s new ambassador to the US, Xie Feng. Even before the formal step of presenting himself at the White House, Xie criticized Biden’s off-the-cuff remarks at a donor event on June 20 in which the president referred to Xi as a dictator. Bloomberg News

Indonesia reclaims upper-middle income rank on post-Covid growth

By Claire Jiao

ASTRONG post-pandemic rebound has pushed Indonesia back into the uppermiddle income band of countries, according to the World Bank, putting it back on track to pursue its high-income status goal.

Indonesia reclaimed the rank this year as gross national income per capita

climbed to $4,580, based on the bank’s latest classifications. It’s an improvement from the previous reading of $4,140, which had kept it in the lower middle-income status for the second straight year in 2022.

“Indonesia continued its strong post pandemic recovery and real GDP increased 5.3%,” the World Bank noted. The nation’s 2022 gross domestic product expanded at its fastest pace in nine years.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy first gained the upper middle-income status in 2020, only to be downgraded the following year as it suffered one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks. The nation’s gradual reopening last year saw consumption and employment beginning to recover, while a global commodities boom allowed exports to act as an additional pillar of growth.

The latest rankings should bolster Indonesia’s ambition to become a highincome country by 2045, the centerpiece of outgoing President Joko Widodo’s economic platform. Jokowi, as the leader is known, had pushed for social aid, inflation control, and the resumption of public activities to reinvigorate the domestic economy post the pandemic. Bloomberg News

NEW DELHI—President Vladimir Putin will participate this week in his first multilateral summit since an armed rebellion rattled Russia, as part of a rare international grouping in which his country still enjoys support.

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin, left, gestures while speaking to Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022. Putin will participate this week in his first multilateral summit since an armed rebellion rattled Russia. Analysts say his participation at a virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Tuesday is an opportunity to show he is in control after a short-lived insurrection by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. SERGEI BOBYLEV, SPUTNIK, KREMLIN POOL PHOTO VIA AP

editorial

New financing platform for developing countries

UNiversal health coverage is one of the United Nations sustainable Development Goals (sDGs). in 2015, world leaders committed to achieve access to essential health-care services and affordable medicines and vaccines for all people by 2030. The recent launching of the new Health impact investment Platform by the World Health Organization (WHO) and three multilateral development banks is a ray of hope for low- and middle-income countries.

The Platform, launched during the June 22-23 Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, will initially earmark €1.5 billion in concessional loans and grants to expand the reach and scope of primary health care (PHC) services in developing countries.

The African Development Bank (AfDB), European Investment Bank (EIB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and WHO are the Platform’s founding members. WHO will act as the Platform’s policy coordinator, responsible for ensuring alignment of financing decisions with national health priorities and strategies. The Platform’s secretariat will support governments to develop national health and prioritize primary health care investment plans.

“A primary health care approach offers the most effective means to improve health and well-being. Around 90 percent of essential health services can be delivered through primary health care—on the ground, in communities, via health professionals, doctors and nurses, in local clinics. The broad spectrum of services that PHC provides can promote health and prevent disease, avoid and delay the need for more costly secondary and tertiary services, and deliver rehabilitation,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“PHC serves as the ‘eyes and ears’ of a country’s health system, reaching to the very communities where people live. The new Health Impact Investment Platform will strengthen the development of such services, serving as an invaluable investment in the health of populations today and in the future,” Tedros added.

EIB President Werner Hoyer said the partner development banks were committed to supporting countries to strengthen their primary health care services, to both promote the health of their communities and protect against the impacts of future health emergencies.

“Covid-19 demonstrated the great human and economic suffering that can occur when we fail to invest in essential health services,” said Dr. Hoyer. “Cooperation among multilateral development banks through the Health Impact Investment Platform will ensure countries in need are better able to build resilient primary health care services that can withstand the shocks of future health crises, and safeguard communities and economies for the future.”

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, WHO estimated that to reach the healthrelated SDGs, low- and middle-income countries needed to increase their health spending significantly, and require an additional $371 billion annually. This funding would allow populations to access health services, contribute to building new facilities and train and place health workers where they need to be. It has also been estimated that preparing for future pandemics will require an annual investment of $31.1 billion. Approximately one third of that total would have to come from international financing.

Muhammad Al Jasser, chairman of the Islamic Development Bank, said: “To achieve universal health coverage by 2030, Development Financial Institutions and nations must prioritize investing more in health. The Islamic Development Bank is committed to working collaboratively to generate impactful results and ensure access to quality and affordable primary healthcare for all.”

“Our cooperation will help guide investments by national governments to strengthen primary health care and their overall health systems, increase universal health coverage and improve their ability to prepare for, prevent and respond to health emergencies. We will work with countries individually to identify gaps in national health systems, design interventions and investment strategies, find funding, implement projects and monitor their impact,” said African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina. The Health Impact Investment Platform’s financing is also designed to promote the mobilization and coordination of broader financing flows through national primary health care investment plans. The platform will facilitate access to crucial international financing for vulnerable countries. The aim is to mobilize financial support for developing and low-income countries facing the challenges posed by excessive debt, climate change, and poverty.

Inflation and the new BSP governor

Manny B. Villar

THE EnTrEprEnEur

We can safely say that the Philippines has neutralized the high inflation rate that hounded us at the start of the year. Former Bangko sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla did a good job at taming prices and keeping the economy stable, and i am confident the new BsP chief will follow in his predecessor’s track.

Prof. Medalla skillfully guided the Philippine economy through a period of high inflation and other challenges that still allowed us to post one of the fastest growths in the region.

The job of the BSP chief is crucial to the economy. He must see to it that prices and the exchange rate are stable to preserve the purchasing power of the consumers. Former Governor Medalla, to me, performed creditably well. There is no doubt that his successor, seasoned banker and Monetary Board member Eli Remolona, will continue to keep an eye on inflation and interest rates to keep the cost of funds relatively low in the Philippines. I congratulate Gov. Remolona for his new job at the BSP after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed him to a six-year term.

The BSP kept interest rates steady in its policy meeting on June 22, 2023 in what could be an extended pause

of its monetary tightening cycle, or a signal that it is preparing to backpedal and bring down the rates to levels supportive of economic growth.

Economists are debating on whether the US Federal Reserve should start hiking its rates again in the face of a still elevated inflation, but our own central bank believes a pause in rate adjustment is the best course at the moment given the easing of domestic inflation from a peak of 8.7 percent in January to 6.1 percent in May.

Before he left the BSP, Prof. Medalla was quoted as saying that an inflation rate below 3 percent would give the Monetary Board enough reason to cut interest rates by January or February 2024. This is good news for the business community and our small entrepreneurs. Cheaper funds will allow them to sell more and expand their businesses.

Our Cabinet economic team

seems confident that the inflation rate will fall below 2 percent to 4 percent in the first quarter of 2024, or well below the government’s “target band.”

Governor Remolona, meanwhile, will steer our monetary policy in the next six years, a pivotal period in our goal to become an upper middle-income and later a high-income economy. This period will also determine if we can join the list of 20 largest economies in the world by 2050, as predicted by BMI, a research firm under the Fitch Group.

BMI forecast that the Philippines would become the 18th largest economy with a nominal gross domestic product of $2.3 trillion by that time. It would join other rapidly growing economies such as China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam, as well as more established economies such as the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and France.

The Philippines is already one of the largest markets with over 110 million consumers right now, and given its relatively young labor force, our country is expected to gain more purchasing power in the coming decades.

A bigger economy offers tremendous opportunities for the Filipino people. Among the sectors that are expected to benefit from the country’s ascension to the group of 20 largest economies are manufacturing, retail, property and real estate, banking, health care, education, automotive and transportation, travel and tourism, information technol-

ogy and other services.

The much bigger economy is possible if the BSP, which has control of liquidity to manage inflation and foreign exchange rate, strikes a good balance between stabilizing prices and supporting growth.

BSP officials are known for their analytical skills as they carefully weigh the pros and cons of any interest rate adjustment that can control inflation but stifle growth as a result, or boost business activities but trigger inflationary pressures.

That is why Governor Remolona’s appointment is a big deal for many economists and stock analysts. He has big shoes to fill as he inherits the job from noted economists like Prof. Medalla and Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, as well as career central bankers Amando Tetangco and the late Nestor Espenilla. He is not new to the job, as he has been a member of the seven-seat Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the BSP, since August 2022. He served for 14 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and for 19 years at the Bank for International Settlements. He was also an independent director of the Bank of the Philippine Islands before joining the Monetary Board.

I am confident his distinguished banking career will stand him in good stead when he steers the central bank in the next six years.

For comments, send e-mail to mbv_secretariat@vistaland.com.ph or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph

John Mangun

Measuring an economy OuTSIDE THE BOX

Back in the days before the internet, and before there were countless social media economic experts as well as the genuine kind, i used to regularly monitor the health and wealth of the Philippine economy at the Tejeros Market on Pasong Tirad, Makati.

Our suki pork dealer had more economic perspective then—and probably still does—than anyone in a skyscraper office in Makati or BGC.

The husband with one son would arrive at the abattoir from Batangas long before sunrise, and the swine would then be butchered into retail cuts at the palengke by six. The “Pork Lady” had good insights into the economy, as does every small business owner, by the amount and type of cuts of pork that did not sell. Further, a small business adjusts quickly to both positive and nega-

There are many ways of measuring an economy. However, these are not always able to accurately evaluate economic activity when there has been a shift in consumer habits. For the last six months I have observed—for whatever it is worth—a slow increase in foot traffic at every mall that I regularly visit. In my experience, in 2023 we have gone from “empty” to “back to normal.” But that does not give a complete picture.

tive economic changes as “boom and bust” cycles determined the size of the hog the husband would buy from the piggery.

The “newest” economic theory in the past two years is “Revenge”: Revenge Shopping, Revenge Travel, Revenge Buying. It comes from the 1980s Chinese phrase “bàofù xìng xiāofèi.”

During the past two years I have been seeing at the malls (what’s the opposite of revenge? Mercy?) store closings. Many businesses that were marginally successful have died. I

said late in 2022 that there would be many previously successful businesses, even some that quickly reopened after the lockdowns, which would eventually close their doors forever. Knowing that they would earn no net profit for two or maybe more years to make up for the losses of 2020-2021, they would shut down and move on.

There are many ways of measuring an economy. However, these are not always able to accurately evaluate economic activity when there has

been a shift in consumer habits. For the last six months I have observed —for whatever it is worth—a slow increase in foot traffic at every mall that I regularly visit. In my experience, in 2023 we have gone from “empty” to “back to normal.” But that does not give a complete picture. I can never find a seat at a mall coffee shop and mall restaurants from fast food to casual dining are often waiting-line full. But the department stores seem empty. The only genuine indicator of business is not the warm bodies roaming the floor but how many cashiers are on duty. Are we only seeing “Revenge Eating” or has there been a shift in purchasing patterns? My wife and I seem to be the only ones in our family that still actually go “shopping.”

Our sons are buying almost everything online, from clothes and shoes to vitamins and shampoo. We have dog food and cat litter delivered, as well as peanut butter and beer. With these in mind, what will be the overall effect on employment? Will the economy grow even as employment stagnates? What will be

It’s getting a lot harder to chase the stock rally from here on

By Jan-Patrick Barnert & Ksenia Galouchko | Bloomberg Opinion

Don’t get too greedy.

that’s the chorus from many investors who are entering the second half of the year with double-digit stock gains already under their belts.

Global equities have decoupled from a worsening economic backdrop after rising about 13 percent in 2023, prompting warnings from some of the world’s top money managers that chasing the rally from here on is a risky move. Growing corporate profit warnings are also driving home the message.

“Resilience now is sowing the seeds for fragility down the line,” said Andrew McCaffery, global chief investment officer at Fidelity International. “The ‘best-flagged recession in history’ still isn’t upon us. But that recession will come when the lagged effects of policies eventually take hold.”

Increasingly hawkish centralbank rhetoric and a slew of profit warnings are denting optimism of a soft economic landing, after an action-packed first half that included a US regional banking crisis and a $5 trillion tech bounce powered by the hype around artificial intelligence.

Historically, barring the Great Depression in 1929, the S&P 500 has had positive returns every single year when it has gained 10 percent or more in the first half. Thomas Schuessler, portfolio manager of DWS’s €21 billion dividend fund, sees no good reason to fully hold off from investing in stocks.

where valuations look rich after an AI-fueled surge. Investors and strategists are also concerned the concentration of this year’s market rally in a handful of megacap tech stocks means that bad news for the group could exacerbate declines for equity gauges overall.

Fitting EWT to FinTech transactions

atty. Jomel n. Manaig

Tax Law for Business

in my previous article, “the Phygital Revolution: how Fintechs should navigate,” we dipped our toes to see the prevalent impact of financial technology (Fintech) on our daily lives. Using Fintech, we can buy or pay for something with just a tap on our smartphone or a click on our mouse. it has been a staple of our daily transactions.

My article also touched on the lack of updated tax rules to specifically cater to transactions involving FinTech entities. This can lead to tax exposures and inconsistent, if not improper, implementation of existing tax regulations.

Several tax rules and regulations affecting FinTech entities that need tweaking come to mind. But for today, let us focus our attention on the tax rules and regulations involving expanded withholding taxes. To get us on the same page, we shall first go over the basic tenets of the expanded withholding tax system (EWTS, for short).

payments enumerated in Revenue Regulation 2-98. Such obligation to withhold arises at the time the income is paid or payable, whichever comes first.

The expanded withholding tax system, in its current form, is incompatible with and problematic to apply to FinTech-powered transactions.

First, the EWTS does not take into account the true nature of FinTech entities, which are pass-through entities. FinTech entities, by design, bridge the transaction between the parties (the buyer and the merchant) and charge a fee for such service.

With this, it is clear that the remittance done by the FinTech entity to the merchant is not considered as an income payment within the context of the EWTS. Not being an income payment, the FinTech entity cannot be considered as a withholding agent and should not be required to withhold taxes on the said remittance. If at all, the characterization of an income payment can be attributed to the payment by the buyer, who is the actual recipient of the goods and/or services of the merchant.

Second, the merchants are not considered as suppliers of goods and/or services to the FinTech entities. The merchants do not sell their goods and/or services to the FinTech entities. Considering that there is no sale of goods and/or services, there is also no income payment made by the FinTech entities to the merchant.

mentioned specific entities considered as “payment gateways” but it clearly did not mention FinTech entities.

If the tax authorities pursue the implementation of the EWTS to the FinTech entities, it should likewise resolve other related issues. For example, tax audits normally utilize third-party information to determine the sales and/or purchases of a particular taxpayer. If the purchaser (i.e. the buyer) and the withholding agent (i.e. the FinTech entity) are different, how will it affect the matching with the corresponding sales of the merchant? Left as it is, there would be significant disparities, which may leave taxpayers vulnerable to erroneous assessment assumptions.Seeing the incongruence between the EWTS and its application to FinTech entities, it is in the best interest of both the tax authorities and the FinTech entities if the EWTS rules and regulations are updated. This would ensure a more harmonious tax administration that would result in fewer controversies.

The author is a junior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm of WTS Global.

“There’s been an overreaction in the short run” in tech stocks on AI hype, Lode Devlaminck, managing director for global equities at Dupont Capital Management, said by phone.

“There’s maybe a nasty surprise in store for stock markets and credit markets in the second half of the year,” Joseph Little, global chief strategist at HSBC Asset Management, said by phone. That could stem from a “combination of the weaker fundamentals set against what is currently expected by market participants, which looks like an incredibly soft landing,” he added.

FedEx Corp. to Siemens Energy AG and European chemical firms have cut or withdrawn outlooks, and there may be more woe in store as the earnings season kicks off in earnest in two weeks. Analysts are slashing profit forecasts globally, following a period of surprising resilience earlier this year.

“I think for many sectors and many industries, this might be the last good quarter,” Luke Newman, a fund manager at Janus Henderson Investors, said by phone, noting that companies may struggle more to pass on cost increases to consumers now, compared with a year ago.

Rising interest rates are likely to remain a key theme for the rest of the year. Expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut have now been pushed out to 2024, while European Central Bank officials have said the hiking cycle is unlikely to end anytime soon.

Almost 99 percent of respondents in a Deutsche Bank AG survey of 400 market professionals said higher rates will likely lead to more global “accidents,” with most of them expecting the moves to bring fresh strain to financial markets.

That spells trouble for the ratesensitive tech sector, in particular,

Continued from A16

the effect on businesses as “online” is more profitable? How will malls adjust to these buying changes?

How will we be able to quickly and effectively measure the impact on a macro-economic basis?

Economic observers, if not economists themselves, are developing new and non-traditional ways to measure the economy. Bloomberg uses the “Subdial Watch Index” that tracks prices for the 50 most-traded luxury watches by value on the secondary market. Subdial lists watches from $1,500 to $350,000.Prices for pre-owned watches have fallen by about 26 percent in a year, the Subdial Index shows. Watch buying activity can be used as a barometer of middle-income spending habits. If consumers have more money, they will increase purchases of discretionary items like wristwatches. The “Dia-

“I do think AI is a game changer for a lot of companies in terms of productivity gains. But looking forward, if we want the market to continue or to sustain the rally, it actually needs to broaden out because it’s too narrow right now.”

Still, worsening conditions don’t necessarily mean stocks will fully reverse their 2023 gains.

Historically, barring the Great Depression in 1929, the S&P 500 has had positive returns every single year when it has gained 10 percent or more in the first half. Thomas Schuessler, portfolio manager of DWS’s €21 billion dividend fund, sees no good reason to fully hold off from investing in stocks. “However, I don’t think that we can project the gains of the first six months onto the second half of the year,” he adds.

One factor could exacerbate any moves to the downside in the second half of the year: low trading volume.

While US equities entered bull territory in June, the run came amid thin market participation. The S&P 500 Composite Turnover Index shows a drop in volume every month in 2023 on a year-on-year basis.

Along with the seasonal summer lull, that could accelerate a market correction if traders unwind bullish bets. Patrick Grewe, portfolio manager at Van Grunsteyn, expects a correction in overvalued stocks as rates rise.

“A rock-solid conservative stance should also be maintained in the second half of the year,” he said. “In particular, trying to catch up with the market involves immense risks.” With assistance from Michael Msika / Bloomberg

mond Index” from the International Diamond Exchange, since the peak in March 2022, has fallen 24 percent to pre-pandemic levels. “Another middle-class spending barometer flashes red: Rolex prices near two-year low. Mid-tier consumers are dialing back spending on luxury goods.”

What are the mid-tier discretionary consumer spending habits in the Philippines that we should be monitoring?

Economics is all individually personal. “An economic recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job.” But government and corporate policies and plans need to be rooted in more defined terms. That has become more difficult in an environment, both globally and locally, that is in the midst of great changes. E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me

Under the EWTS, tax is withheld by the withholding agent on income payments to its payee, which is creditable to the latter’s income tax due for the taxable quarter/year in which the particular income was earned. A payor is considered as a withholding agent, and is required to withhold tax, only in relation to income

Once a purchase has been made, the buyer will cause the corresponding payment using the facilities of the FinTech entity. The latter will then remit the said payment to the merchant to complete the transaction. In other words, FinTech entities only facilitate the settlement of the transaction between the buyer and the merchant.

Third, the obligation to withhold had already passed by the time the FinTech entity does its remittance to the merchant. The “time the income is paid or payable, whichever comes first” occurred when the buyer (who is the purchaser of the goods and/ or services) paid the purchase price through the FinTech entity. Following the requirement of the EWTS regulations, this is the time that the withholding should have occurred.

While it should be mentioned that there are also some regulations specifically requiring “payment gateways” to withhold taxes, it still does not resolve the issues mentioned above. Further, the said regulations

Celebrating milestones as friends, partners, allies

By Ambassador MaryKay Carlson

this July 4, Americans all over the world are celebrating the 247th anniversary of Us independence. here in the Philippines, we are also commemorating the 69th PhilippineAmerican Friendship Day, making July 4 doubly special—a time to celebrate all that the Philippines and the United states have accomplished together as steadfast friends, partners in prosperity, and ironclad allies.

Since I arrived in July last year, I’ve had the opportunity to see the deep, multifaceted US-Philippine relationship at work. During a recent trip to Cebu, I met talented new friends from the vibrant network of US exchange alumni in the Visayas. In Ilocos Norte, I learned how our development efforts are improving energy efficiency standards, a key part of the Philippines’ clean energy transition. Last October, I had the honor to share the stage with President Marcos in Tacloban to commemorate the Leyte Gulf landing, honoring our shared history; while during a recent visit to Isabela province, I witnessed how US and Philippine troops are working together today to modernize our alliance—training at Camp Melchor Dela Cruz. These trips and the many other milestones mark strong momentum in US-Philippine relations.

This year’s highlight in our bilateral ties was the resoundingly successful visit to Washington, D.C. by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. During President Marcos’s Oval Of-

fice meeting with President Biden, our leaders discussed the full spectrum of our relationship as friends, partners, and allies. President Biden reaffirmed our ironclad commitment to the Alliance and announced a first-of-its-kind Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines. Our leaders also discussed new efforts to promote clean energy, expand science and technology cooperation, and protect the environment. President Marcos also met with multiple US cabinet members. I was particularly struck by the lively, substantive discussion President Marcos had with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, resulting in innovative programs to tackle food and nutrition insecurity.

This year, we also saw the successful conclusion of the largest, most complex iteration of Exercise Balikatan. Over 17,000 troops from the United States and the Philippines, as well as a contingent from Australia, trained shoulder-to-shoulder on land, at sea, in the air, and—for the

first time—in cyberspace. Together, we announced four new locations where our countries will make investments to improve Philippine military infrastructure and capabilities under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, or EDCA. Projects implemented at these EDCA locations will advance the Philippine Armed Forces’ modernization goals and bring tangible economic benefits to local communities, creating jobs and opportunities for local businesses. The Philippines is the largest recipient of US security assistance in the IndoPacific. Strengthening our Alliance helps secure peace and prosperity for our peoples.

US-Philippine economic partnerships are flourishing. In May, I visited two top-tier US businesses in Cebu, Timex and Teradyne. Like many US

companies operating in the Philippines, Timex and Teradyne provide thousands of Filipinos with highquality, high-paying jobs—including as managers and executives. US businesses value the talent of the Filipino workforce and, more and more, are looking to the Philippines as an attractive place to trade and invest. For example, Moderna has chosen the Philippines as its first-ever operational hub in Asia. We look forward to building on this momentum as partners in prosperity.

The United States is committed to supporting the Philippines’ growth and development goals. Through USAID, the United States recently invested P1 billion to help small and medium-sized enterprises compete in the country’s e-commerce ecosystem. This investment helps build a robust, inclusive, secure, and resilient digital economy. USAID is also supporting the Philippine government and private sector to increase access to fast and reliable Internet across the archipelago, train Filipino workers to meet the evolving requirements of the high-tech manufacturing sector, and help youth develop the skills they need to succeed.

This Fourth of July, I hope you’ll agree we have much to celebrate!

MaryKay Carlson is the US Ambassador to the Philippines.

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at jomel.manaig@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 380. Mangun.

Japan set to pour Fukushima waste into Pacific, irking China

By Shoko Oda & Isabel Reynolds

JAPAN is set to win approval to discharge more than a million cubic meters of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear disaster site into the Pacific Ocean, a contentious plan that’s soured ties with neighbors including China.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Director General Rafael Grossi will visit Japan from Tuesday to deliver a final report on the safety of the process and meet with officials including Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. A domestic nuclear regulator is also set to issue a crucial assessment.

Both studies are poised to give backing to Tokyo Electric Power Co. to begin releasing the water— equivalent in volume to about 500 Olympic-size swimming pools—

into the sea, a step that’s needed to allow full decommissioning of the Fukushima site following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the world’s worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl.

Japan has assured other nations that the release of the water is safe, is in line with standard industry practice and that it’s necessary, because about 1,000 storage tanks at Fukushima will hit capacity early in 2024. Other countries with nuclear plants already safely discharge similar diluted waste offshore, according to the IAEA.

It also comes as Japan joins a wider global reappraisal of nuclear power, with several nations seeking to boost energy self-sufficiency by reviving idled reactors, adding plants or investing in new technology. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida

is aiming to build on improving domestic support for the energy source, and Japan’s efforts to complete the closure of the Fukushima site are seen as crucial in inspiring confidence.

Despite Japan’s diplomatic push, the discharge plan is complicating some global relationships.

The ocean is “not Japan’s private sewer,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said last month, warning the proposed release carries risks for the country’s neighbors and Pacific Island nations. Wang called it a selfish move “that puts the common interests of all humanity in jeopardy.”

Japanese cosmetics brands have been targeted by a viral campaign tied to the issue that spread unproven safety allegations on Chinese social media platforms. In South Korea,

demand for sea salt has rocketed as consumers stockpile the condiment amid worries the release of wastewater could taint future supplies.

While the central government in Seoul hasn’t pushed back against Japan’s plans publicly, a survey by the Yomiuri newspaper and South Korea’s Hankook Ilbo conducted in May found 84 percent of respondents opposed the discharge. The nation’s opposition Democratic Party led a demonstration on Saturday, which it claimed was attended by an estimated 100,000 people, according to Yonhap News.

The Pacific Islands Forum, a group of 18 nations including Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Australia, has urged Japan to consider alternatives and called for additional discussions on the risks. With assistance from Ben Westcott, Heesu Lee and Andrew Janes / Bloomberg

CARLSON

Netherlands a ‘gateway’ for PHL carriers in Europe

By Andrea E. San Juan

THE Philippines sees the Netherlands as a “gateway” for Philippine airline companies to expand their operations in Europe, with the potential link between two nations to facilitate business and tourism, among others, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

DTI said Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual led the roundtable meeting on the Aerospace Sector between the Philippines and Netherlands, which the agency said was a “more focused” approach to promoting the Philippine aerospace industry following the Philippine Netherlands Business Forum conducted inDecember 2022.

T he roundtable meeting was organized by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in collaboration with the Netherlands Aerospace Group (NAG), a trade association that supports aerospace and aviation firms in the Netherlands by facilitating networking opportunities and accessing broader markets.

W ith over 100 members, NAG represents 95 percent of the Dutch aviation industry’s revenue. Currently, their primary focus revolves around aerospace

and airport development, DTI noted.

According to the Trade department, Pascual emphasized in his keynote message that the Philippine government finds the aerospace and aviation industry “significant” in the country’s pursuit of economic recovery and expansion.

“

Developments in this industry do not only generate employment opportunities for Filipinos but also facilitate knowledge transfer and technological development, which, in turn, will help position the Philippines as a key player in the global market,” read the statement of DTI on Monday.

A ccording to Pascual, the Philippines is open to partnering with the Netherlands in strengthening the aviation infrastructure in both countries.

“

The Netherlands has a strong aviation and aerospace infrastructure, with world-class airports, aerospace research

facilities, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services. We are open to collaborate with you in sharing expertise, promoting investments, and strengthening the aviation infrastructure in both countries, enabling us to keep up with global demands,” Pascual said.

He also sees the Netherlands as a gateway for Philippine airline companies to expand their operations in Europe, given its record as a “major European hub.” This “potential link” between the two countries, DTI said, can facilitate business and tourism travel, as well as trade and investments between the two countries.

Pascual also cited education and skills development, promotion of sustainable aviation, and the development of space technology and applications as other areas for collaboration.

W ith the Netherlands’ “renowned aerospace engineering programs and research institutions,” the Philippines “will benefit greatly from joint research projects, knowledge exchange, and training programs, building the country’s capacity in this sector,” DTI said.

Pascual also noted that the Philippines “is positioned to be the hub for manufacturing and aftermarket services in the aerospace industry including aircraft MRO and aerospace manufacturing in the Asia Pacific region.”

T he roundtable meeting was attended

by Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands H.E. Jose Eduardo Malaya, DTI Undersecretary for Communications

Kim Bernardo-Lokin, Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary Mylene Capongcol, Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Brussels Commercial Counsellor Magnolia Ashley, Board of Investments Executive Director Evariste Cagatan, Director Lanie Dormiendo, NAG Managing Director Frank Jansen, IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) President Jack Madrid, and Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. President Dan Lachica.

In a separate meeting with Deputy Minister Hanneke Schuiling, Pascual underscored the potential to enhance bilateral trade relations between the Philippines and the Netherlands in semiconductor and high-technology, agri-food processing, and infrastructure.

Pascual stressed in his remarks the “significant role” of the Philippines in the Indo Pacific-Asia interface as it recently assumed the role of Country Coordinator for Asean-EU relations until 2025.

Moreover, Pascual expressed interest in the country to be the sixth priority of the Netherlands for economic cooperation, following the Asean-5 countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

SENATE President Juan Miguel Zubiri is poised to pitch an amended legislated wage hike bill when Congress reopens on July 24, this time seeking a uniform P100 daily hike for minimum wage earners, to augment the P40 ordered by the Metro Manila regional wage board last week.

Z ubiri explained that if the Congress-mandated P100 hurdles the vote, then workers would end up with P140 in total pay hikes, “which is quite close to our original proposal” of a P150 wage hike.

H is proposal for P150 had hurdled committee level before Congress adjourned sine die last June 2, but the committee chair, Sen. Jionggoy, had said last weekend his panel will still continue to hear the wage issue despite the NCR wage order for P40.

Zubiri said, in an ANC interview, that he expects support from Estrada in moving an additional salary hike, this time mandated by Congress and not the wage boards.

“ There’s no ban” stopping Congress “to come up with minimum legislated wage, or there’s no law.” He stressed, “There’s no law that bans us from actually coming up with legislated wage hikes.” The regional wage and productivity tripartite boards were created by law two decades ago and have since been mandated to determine how much wage adjustments must be made in the regions, depending on their cost of living and the ability of local businesses.

However, many quarters, including lawmakers like Zubiri, complained that regional wage boards have been slow in responding to workers’ needs. In the Monday interview, he noted that the regional bodies only started to move after several lawmakers filed bills for legislated wage hikes.

“ So what we will do,” Zubiri added, “is we approved it already at the committee level. We already

approved the P150 wage increase” in the pending bill, following hearings called by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada  who chairs the Committee on Labor.

“So we can work on that [so that it approximates the] P150 that we proposed from the very beginning.”

At the same time, Zubiri stressed that the P40 is barely enough to meet the needs of workers and their families from persistently high inflation the past year.

“

It’s not enough. We thank the wage boards for the increase but definitely that’s not enough. P40, as mentioned in your news item earlier, cannot buy a kilo of rice because if you go around the markets, one kilo of rice is about P44 to P45 today nowadays.”

He said they have “done our research, we’ve done our interviews, and definitely we need at least P100 increase per day to make a big impact [on] the labor force, at least in Metro Manila.”

He also noted, to underscore the smallness of the P40, that the higher will be exacted “SSS, PAGIBIG , and PhilHealth” such that by the time they get their salaries ...they really don’t feel the change at all.”

Zubiri is confident that business “can afford it,” referring to higher pay. “What we need to do is increase the capacities and the happiness index of our workers,” he stressed.

NCR hike still paltry–IBON

MEANWHILE , independent think tank IBON Foundation also decried the P40 wage order, underscoring the “constant wage erosion throughout the first year of the Marcos Jr. administration.”

The amount “is also a far cry from what labor groups demand and certainly much less than what Filipino workers need and deserve,” research group IBON said. The resulting NCR wage is still far below the family living wage, it added.

DA SETS MEASURES

FOR EL NIÑO FARM IMPACT

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has started implementing measures to mitigate the effects of the looming El Niño phenomenon or dry spell on farm production, an official said on Monday.

T he DA’s action plan as of May 2023 includes preparatory activities from prepositioning of seed reserves, planting materials, crop diversification to water management.

A s of June 19, the latest outlook of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Administration (Pagasa) said El Niño is characterized by unusually warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.

B elow-normal rains are expected, which can cause dry spells and droughts in several areas of the country.

DA Field Operations Service Director U-Nichols Manalo said that, “right now the rainfall is way belownormal, we are saying that this is a metrological forecast, but we at the DA are looking at the actual ground situation or assessment the condition there below.”

T he DA identified at least 19 areas in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Rizal that are vulnerable to drought, 10 of which are tagged very high to high risk, while nine are under moderate risk.

A ccording to Pagasa, Quezon province is less likely to be affected by El Niño since it will experience 56 percent rain at the onset of the dry spell.

T he DA has already collaborated with the National Irrigation Administration IV-A to strengthen the regional El Niño action plan.

R edeliza Gruezo, DA’s chief of field operations for Calabarzon (Region IV-A), said the collaboration between DA and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) forms a critical component of the action plan, also seeks to support the national government’s Masagana rice program. “We expect more coordination with NIA to lessen the impact of El Niño on our farm outputs,” she added.  Raadee S. Sausa

Zubiri eyes ₧100 in legislated daily wage hike, for P140 total

Companies

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

NGCP: Right policy mix will remove project roadblocks

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

The grid operator said it is more than capable to accommodate the increasing integration of renewable energy (r E) into the grid for a more sustainable energy mix.

“We hope for the government and regulator’s support in crafting policies and allowing NGCp to have enough capital expenditure [capex] to fund the required projects to support renewable energy [r E].” Its technical partner, the state Grid Corporation of China (sGCC), owns world-leading grid technologies as it runs a green and sustainable power grid. This technological

partnership with sGCC gives NGCp an edge in ensuring that the philippine grid is ready and capable of integrating high levels of variable renewable energy.

however, the grid operator pointed out that integrating more r E into the grid will require transmission backbone expansion and reinforcement in both policy and support infrastructure.

For instance, the company noted that major transmission backbone projects will require regulatory approval from the Energy regulatory Commission (ErC).

“The ErC, among all agencies, will be centrally crucial to the success of all this. The DoE [Department of Energy] itself has recognized, through undersecretaries rowena Cristina Guevarra and sharon Garin, that transmission projects to support their recent offshore wind projects have not been included in NGCp s 5th regulatory period application with the ErC ,” it said. access to funding was never a problem for NGCp External limitations, including regulatory caps on capital expenditures, protracted permitting processes by the local government units, and difficult rightsof-way procurement, have proven to be the primary roadblocks to project completion. If the ErC will allow us to spend the capital expenditures needed to support this laudable push towards green energy, we are very confident that NGCp will be able to deliver.”

a side from this, the NGCp said some policies should be revisited to synchronize generation and transmission projects. support from other sectors outside the energy industry must also be in full force to accom-

modate this integration.

a lso, roads and ports must be ready to accommodate the expected influx of materials that will be needed to build the needed transmission facilities.

“The move to r E may take time but efforts must begin now. Even first world countries take around 10 years to build transmission backbone projects. NGC p was able to complete the he rmosa- s a n Jose 500kV Line, including a new substation and 176.73 circuit kilometers of high voltage lines, in seven years. This includes the delay brought about the 3-year pandemic lockdowns, and the fact that we were only allowed to recover less than 1 percent of the project cost.

With all things considered, NGCp is sure it can deliver its committed projects to improve the grid, as long as the political will and support are there and we are given a sustainable recovery framework,” the company said.

NGCp holds the sole and exclusive concession and franchise for operating the philippines’s transmission network.

Xurpas founders convert advances into equity

By VG Cabuag @villygc

Xurpas Inc.’s founders Nico Jose Nolledo and Fernando Jude Garcia on Monday said they will convert some p136 million worth of shareholder advances into equity.

The final conversion price will be determined within 30 days, subject to certain conditions, mainly that the conversion price will be above market price, and that the conversion price will be supported by a fairness opinion from a qualified third party authority, the company said in its disclosure.

Nolledo and Garcia have provided the company with the cash advances between the years 2017 to 2019 to provide Xurpas with the capital to fund the company’s pivot towards the enterprise market.

The conversion of substantially all of the two founders’ advances into equity improves and strengthens Xurpas’ balance sheet and reflects the founders’ confidence in the corporation’s ability to further expand its business, the company said.

“We have shown steady progress since we shifted our focus to the enterprise segment, and now have distinct products and services catering to customers both in the p h ilippines and increasingly, overseas,” Garcia, one of Xurpas’ founders, and currently the company’s chief technology officer, said.

“We continue to grow not only our core software development and IT staff augmentation businesses, but have introduced pre-packaged business solutions for sMEs, and will be offering a I consulting and

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

development services to local companies as well.”

The company said it will submit an application with the securities and Exchange Commission to confirm the transaction by securing a confirmation of valuation. The listing of the shares will also be subject to an application with the philippine stock Exchange.

a ltitude Games, a company where Xurpas has a minority stake, said its board has approved the sale of its assets, including intellectual property and licenses, to a company registered in australia.

Xurpas currently owns 21.17 percent shares of a ltitude Games pte. Ltd., the singapore entity, and and a ltitude Games Inc., the philippine company.

“With the sale of a ltitude Games’ business, a ltitude will be able to settle the convertible debt it has previ-

ABoI TIZ Equity Ventures Inc. ( a E V) on Monday denied that it has acquired a majority stake in low-cost carrier a ira sia philippines, the country’s third largest airline.

“We would like to clarify and state that this information is not true and accurate. at this time, we are actively verifying the sources that led to the publication of this article and have requested that the article be taken down,” a EV said in a statement.

reports surfaced on Monday that a E V now controls a a Com Travel ph ilippines Inc., the company that bought a 60 percent stake in a ira sia philippines in June. The remaining 40 percent is owned by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes through a ira sia Investments Ltd., later a ira sia av iation Ltd.

a n industry source said the aboitiz Group made the buyout in support of its proposal to rehabilitate and upgrade the airports in a lbay and Bohol,” the report said. VG Cabuag

Gra B philippines has partnered with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to help promote cybersecurity and share strategies to combat financial technology (fintech) and e-commerce crimes.

a ccording to Grab ph ilippines public a ffairs head sherielysse Bonifacio, the partnership aims to protect its app users from cybercrime, noting that tying up with the government is an “integral” part of boosting cybersecurity in the country.

public-private sector collaboration is an integral component of efforts to fight digital crime, which is why Grab is working with agencies such as the DICT to ensure the security of our platform.”

With the partnership, Grab and the DICT have organized several knowledge sessions on cybersecurity in fintech and e-commerce.

“With e-commerce in the country estimated at half a trillion pesos last year, and it being projected to hit a

trillion pesos by 2026, it is imperative for the private sector to be proactive in efforts to protect Filipino consumers who are doing more and more of their transactions online,” Bonifacio said.

ICT undersecretary paul Mercado noted that it was vital to increase public awareness and vigilance against various cybersecurity threats that exist.

ICT a ssistant secretary Jeffrey Dy also shared the highlights of the 2023-2028 National Cybersecurity pl an, which includes steps to strengthen the cybersecurity policy framework, securing and protecting Critical Information Infrastructures, and capacitating the workforce in cybersecurity, among others.

ously issued to Xurpas,” the company said in its disclosure.

Xurpas said it will receive approximately $900,982 in net proceeds, which include the payment for the convertible debt and the corresponding equity stake in a ltitude’s business.

It purchased a ltitude Games in December 2014, and was the company’s first investment after its initial public offering in the same year.

In February, the board of Xurpas approved the establishment of the company’s presence in australia by creating a unit there.

“With this, the company will establish a sales presence for Xurpas in australia, allowing the company to offer its products and services in a market that is at least 10 times larger than the philippine market. This is an opportunity that Xurpas has not previously tapped.”

B1

Grab philippines Country head Grace Vera Cruz emphasized Grab’s commitment to ensure the safety and security of its platform users as she pointed out “the real and growing threat of cyberattacks on platforms, such as phishing and identity theft leading to fraudulent transactions on e-wallets.”

ICT secretary Ivan John uy said the philippines must harness the power of technology while ensuring the safety and security of its digital future.

a s we build a resilient and inclusive digital infrastructure that empowers every Filipino,” said uy “We must also safeguard our digital ecosystem from threats and vulnerabilities.”

ThE European union is taking up the cause of work-fromhome protections and rights.

over 30 European union lawmakers have signed a document launched Monday that would ultimately ensure access to co-working spaces, prohibit tracking workers’ computers at home and protect them from having to send or respond to emails outside of working hours.

The non-binding document was developed and launched by the Future Workforce a lliance, a forum of politicians, business leaders and academics focused on policy changes in response to the digital transformation of work environments. Their aim is to set out official Eu guidelines and best practices for companies with hybrid or remote workers and to create a legal definition of what constitutes a “healthy relationship with technology in the workplace” for employees on the job from home or in other remote locations.

“The remote work, hybrid models and flexible work-life relationships are an added value for our economy, business and workers,” said Dragoș pîslaru, chair of the European parliament Committee on Employment

and social a ffairs and a signatory of the charter. “These should not come at the cost of our people with blurred lines between personal and professional life, increasing burnout rates and loneliness.”

The charter is building on the Eu’s “right to disconnect” proposal, an earlier call to grant Eu employees legal rights to switch off work-related tasks and electronic communication beyond office hours. The policy, already enforced in several Eu member states such as France, spain and Belgium, is backed by a majority of the European parliament and could become Eu law towards the end of this year, according to Ben Marks, co-founder of the Future Workforce a lliance.

The Eu s stepped-up focus on remote-worker rights comes as managers everywhere are fretting about productivity and losing touch with employees. at the same time, workers are determined to hold on to flexibility — despite some feeling increasingly lonely at home. There’s also mounting concerns about deteriorating mental health among workers as businesses haven’t quite figured out how to strike the right balance between work and life in the hybrid world. Bloomberg News

AstraZeneca shares drop on concern over lung cancer trial

AsTr aZENEC a plc shares fell as results from a high-level study of a new cancer medicine raised concern the drug might not work as well as anticipated.

The drug helped patients with the most common form of lung cancer live longer without worsening compared with standard chemotherapy, the uK drugmaker said Monday. The stock fell as much as 6.2 percent as investors were expecting a clearer statement on the trial’s success in terms of progression-free survival as well as how much longer patients lived overall.

a straZeneca’s description of the data suggest that the benefit is less pronounced than hoped, Jefferies analysts said. The company also reported some deaths in the trial, raising safety concerns. The trial is continuing because the data isn’t fully mature yet.

scientists and doctors have been trying to find a more targeted approach to chemotherapy for decades in an effort to move away from the current catch-all method that involves blasting the whole body and killing good cells as well as bad. a stra’s drug—known as datopotamab deruxtecan, or Dato-DXd—takes a more potent chemo directly to the infected cells to kill the cancer while sparing the healthy cells.

a s tra agreed to pay as much as $6 billion for the right to develop

the medicine with Daiichi s a nkyo Co. as part of a broader bet to revive growth a decade ago by building a pipeline of oncology drugs. The treatment could garner as much as $18 billion in sales, Jefferies analysts have estimated.

“a straZeneca’s reported successful outcome for Dato-DXd in the Tropion-Lung01 study comes with limited details and is concerning due to reports of ‘some Grade 5 toxicity events’ (IE deaths), in particular given that this drug dose apparently saw no such issues in the phase 1 Tropion- pa nTumor01 trial,” said John Murphy, BI pharma analyst. a l so, though progression-free survival benefit was reported as statistically significant, the lack of numerical detail—a minimum 2-3 month benefit was targeted—will lead to questions regarding clinical significance. Given peak sales estimates of $10 billion, a stra shares could be under pressure today.”

a straZeneca was expected to say the data were “clinically meaningful” to give a sense that the drug was adding several months of survival to patients, wrote Emily Field, an analyst at Barclays.

Instead, a s traZeneca said the data showed an “early trend” signaling a benefit for survival, though it didn’t meet the threshold for statistical significance at this time. Bloomberg News

A womAn works at an Apple Inc. laptop computer on a dining room table in this arranged photograph taken in Bern, Switzerland, on wednesday, August 19, 2020. PhotograPher: Stefan Wermuth/BloomBerg

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said on Monday that it can deliver the transmission projects it has committed to support offshore wind (OSW) projects, provided that project roadblocks are addressed.

Grab ties up with DICT to fight cybercrimes

‘AEV did not buy stake in AirAsia’

EU lawmakers back plan to strengthen remote-worker rights

E. Samar seeks ₧133M from mining companies

BORONGAN CITY—The provincial government of Eastern Samar is demanding payment of P133 million on extracted minerals of mining companies in Homonhon Island, Guiuan. The assessment on the extracted minerals was jointly conducted by the provincial government’s treasury, assessor, and legal offices.

The tax liability of Cambayas Mining Corp is at P96,578,000, covering 2012 to 2016; the tax liability for Techiron Resources Inc. is P22,560,687.52, covering periods 2017 up to 2021; that of Emir Mineral Resources Corp. is P12,148,255.68, covering 2017 and 2022; and it is P2,580,000 for Mt. Sinai Mining Exploration & Development Corp., for the year 2013.

If these companies fail to settle these amounts, the provincial government will be forced to seize their properties to satisfy their tax debts. These taxes on extracted minerals are different from taxes on machineries and equipment being used by mining companies. The province is still in the process of determining the assessed value of their tax liabilities on their machineries and equipment.

These real property taxes are also different from excise taxes being

paid by these mining companies to the national government. However, the province has yet to receive its share from the companies’ excise taxes, according to a statement issued Monday by the provincial governor’s office.

The assessment on extracted minerals by mining companies was based on the Ore Transport Permit (OTP) issued by the Mines and Geeosciences Bureau (MGB). The companies have extracted chromite in Brgy. Casuguran, Homonhon Island and are therefore subject to real property taxation under the Local Government Code of 1991, the Manual on Real Property Appraisal and Assessment Operations, and Provincial Ordinance No. 09-09 series of 2009.

The four companies have been notified by the Provincial Treasurer’s Office through a letter and a tax bill containing details of their tax dues as well as penalties for non-payment for the various years of mining operations in the island.

All mining companies in Eastern Samar must strictly comply with all the mining laws not only on taxes but more important, on environmental and social protection laws, the provincial government said.

BIR reminds businesses: Display ‘Notice to Issue Receipt/Invoice’ always

STARTING July 1, the “Notice to Issue Receipt/Invoice (NIRI)” is replacing the “Ask for Receipt” Notice (ARN) previously issued by the Revenue District Offices (RDOs)/ Large Taxpayers (LT) Division to their registered business taxpayers.

Per Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 43-2022 issued by the BIR on September 29, 2022, the use of “Ask for Receipt” Notice is valid only until June 30, 2023. Starting on July 1, 2023, all sellers, including online sellers, engaged in the sale of goods or provision of services are required by BIR to display prominently in their respective establishment/website/social media account the NIRI, which was already being issued on a staggered basis by the RDOs/LT Divisions to their registered business taxpayers since October 2022.

“With the display of the NIRI in business establishments, all sellers are reminded of their obligation to automatically issue receipt/invoice for each service rendered/sale of goods without waiting for the buyer

July borrowing starts on low note: NG raises only ₧9.2B

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) was forced to settle with partial awards across the three tenors of Treasury bills (T-bills) as rates went beyond current secondary market benchmark levels and were also higher than the last tender.

“Rates for the 91-, 182-, and 364day T-bills were capped at 6.15 per-

cent, 6.266 percent and 6.286 percent, respectively,” the Treasury said in a statement on Monday.

Secondary benchmark rates for the same debt papers were at 6.111 percent (91-day), 6.182 percent (182day) and 6.218 percent (364-day).

The average rates on Monday’s auction were also higher than their

previous week’s levels: 6.086 percent for 91-day, 6.144 percent for 182-day and 6.219 percent for 364-day.

The Treasury awarded P2.954 billion in 91-day T-bills, P2.67 billion in 182-day T-bills, and P3.595 billion in 364-day T-bills.

“The auction was 1.2 times oversubscribed, attracting P17.4 billion in total tenders,” the Treasury said.

Treasury data showed that only the 182-day T-bills was undersubscribed at P4.63 billion while tenders for the 91-day and 364-day T-bills reached P6.584 billion and P6.205 billion, respectively.

The rates for the 91-day T-bills ranged from 6.044 percent to 6.198 percent while the 182-day T-bills fetch yields from a low of 6.11 percent to a high of 6.293 percent. The investors’ asking rates for the 364day T-bills were between 6.18 percent and 6.375 percent.

This is now the sixth consecutive T-bills auction that saw investors’ asking rates increasing on a weekon-week basis.

For this month, the national government plans to borrow P180 billion from the domestic market next month from the auction of T-bills and T-bonds.

Broken down, the Treasury said it plans to raise P60 billion from Tbills across four auctions and P120 billion from Treasury bonds across four auctions as well.

The national government was unable to borrow from the domestic market its intended amount of P185 billion for June, as rising interest rates hounded much of the state’s auction for short-term debt papers.

(Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/06/28/ ng-borrowing-goal-for-junemissed/)

7 financial mistakes people regret after retirement

RETIREMENT means no stress, no pressure, and no worries. It depicts bliss, fun, and freedom—but not when you’re in a bad financial situation.

or worse, borrowing money that will leave them in great debt.

7. I regret disregarding health and medical plans.

to ask for it”, said Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui.

Per Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 10-2019, the BIR Notice to the Public must be prominently displayed within the seller’s place of business in an area visible to the public, including all its branches and mobile stores.

All registered business taxpayers asking for the replacement of their old “Ask for Receipt” Notice are required to update their registration information before the release of NIRI. A designated official company email address shall be required, which BIR shall use in serving its orders, notices, letters, communications, among others, to taxpayers.

“All sellers, whether operating online or offline, must adhere to the requirement of issuance of receipts/ invoices for every sale of service/ goods, as mandated by our existing laws. Failure to comply with the said requirement will result in the imposition of penalties or other legal consequences provided under the Tax Code, as amended,” said Lumagui.

A bad financial situation is the consequence of decisions made in the past. There are financial decisions that seem to be okay at the moment but may hurt in the long run—worse is when there’s just no way to get out of it. Nonetheless, we all learn from mistakes, don’t we?

So before you hit retirement age, avoid and learn from these seven common financial mistakes that most retired people say they regret.

1. I regret overspending.

Too much of anything is never okay, especially when it comes to spending. Whether you are earning above-average salary or just enough for your credentials, your spending habits have the biggest impact on your financial success.

Spending more money on mere wants, especially those that you can’t afford, is never a good idea. The problem with overspending is that you’re wasting money — money that you could have set aside for savings or investments.

2. I regret living from payday to payday.

Another habit that gets in the way of controlling your money is living from payday to payday. A lot of people find it hard to make ends meet just because of poor budgeting, and essentially, they do not know how to

save money. You have to remember that your financial future depends on what you are doing right now. Start by creating a budget that will help you figure out how you can make the most out of your income, then track your spending to make yourself aware of where your money is going.

3. I regret living on borrowed money. Do you have too much plastic in your wallet? Do you get payday or salary loans all the time?

Credit cards and payday loans are the most common culprit in digging yourself down the debt grave. Do realize that any kind of debt, big or small, is hard to handle when money is too tight. Living a life that is dependent on borrowed money puts you at a higher chance of spending more than what you earn.

4. I regret not building up an emergency fund.

Building up an emergency fund is a common piece of advice. The sad thing about this is that too many people don’t have it. And when the unexpected situation arrives, they resort to emptying their savings, cashing out their retirement funds,

Financial emergencies may come in different forms like medical expenses, home repairs, auto repairs ...the list goes on. Arm yourself by building up an emergency fund that will help you get through unexpected financial circumstances.

5. I regret not having financial goals.

Having only a rough idea of where your money went every month or every year just shows that your finance is poorly managed. And this could lead to a dreadful financial situation in the future.

Setting and planning on how to reach your financial goals is essential to building wealth and ultimately achieving financial security. The key to financial success is to stay focused on doing all the possible actions and strategies that will help you achieve your financial goals.

6. I regret not having any form of investment.

If you want to enjoy your retirement without worrying about how you will get through a day’s spending, then consider investing as soon as possible. Investing is one of the best ways of adding up cash to your retirement fund through dividends and/or interest.

Because government pensions and social security funds may not be as consistent and reliable, plan your retirement like this financial support will not exist in the future.

Consider medical expenses in your retirement plan. Most people expect that their expenses will go down when they retire.

But the truth is, more often than not, seniors spend more after retirement due to higher medical expenses (aside from the fact that costs are always going up). Getting a long-term healthcare plan is a simple solution to this problem. Your current choices and resolutions when it comes to spending money may stem from the best of the best intentions. However, without careful planning, you may find yourself trapped in a situation where there is nowhere else to go.

So as early as now, work your way through financial success and worry-free retirement by reading and learning personal saving tips and personal finance.

Retirement planning entails many important choices and decisions that you have to make. It may be overwhelming to consider everything that is pointed out above all at once, but it pays to take one step at a time.

Fitz Villafuerte is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personalfinancial planning, attend the 102nd RFP program this July 2023. To inquire, e-mail info@rfp.ph or text at 0917-6248110. The views of Mr. Villafuerte do not necessarily reflect those of the BusinessMirror

COA: Pag-IBIG Fund’s cash reserve pool ‘short’ of ₧26.86B for liability to members

THE Commission on Audit

(COA) said Pag-IBIG’s member savings reserve fund (MSRF) is insufficient to cover the P60.448 billion worth of accounts that have matured and are maturing as of end-December 2022.

In its annual audit report, COA noted that the Pag-IBIG’s MSRF at end-December 2022 stood at P49.406 billion, or P11.041 billion short of the estimated total amount of matured P1 and MP2 accounts during the reference period.

COA explained that the shortage became bigger because P15.821 billion of Pag-IBIG’s MSRF will not be “readily” converted into cash “within the next 12 months” since it was invested in bonds and other debt instruments.

The COA noted that the earliest maturity for the investment in bonds made by Pag-IBIG would be next year, while the latest would be in 2042.

This leaves Pag-IBIG with only P33.585 billion in “cash and investments readily convertible into cash” within this year, hence, leaving it with a cash shortage of P26.863 billion to cover its liabilities.

“The Member Savings Reserve Fund (MSRF) is short of P26.863 billion due to insufficient allocation of funds amounting to P11.042 billion and earmarking of investment in bonds measured at amortized cost amounting to P15.821 billion as MSRF, contrary to the objective of AMO No. 2015-005 of ensuring efficient liquidity management for benefit claims and return of members’ equity,” COA said in its annual audit report on Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) published on its website recently. “Thus, the return of all benefit claims and member’s equity is not secured if all members file their claims at the same time due to insufficiency of funds readily convertible into cash,” COA added. COA noted that HDMF’s Accounting Memorandum Order (AMO) 2015-005 outlined the governmentowned and controlled corporation’s asset liability management practices “to ensure proper matching of assets with maturing liabilities,” which led to the establishment of the MSRF.

Under HDMF’s AMO 2015-005, the MSRF shall be used “for benefit

claims and return of member’s equity upon maturity.”

The COA cited provision of the same AMO, stipulating that the total MSRF amount shall be “sufficient to cover the matured claims as of the end of the preceding year, those maturing within the year, as well as the projected benefit claims for the year.”

The AMO outlined that the balance of the MSRF “shall not be less than the projected benefit claims and members’ savings maturities for the following month.”

The COA report showed P42.557 billion worth of AP Members PagIBIG 1 (P1) and P17.891 billion worth of Modified Pag-IBIG 2 (MP2) matured at the end of last year. pag-iBiG cites historical data IN its response to the COA audit findings, Pag-IBIG said, based on its monitoring, the MSRF’s total amount of P49.407 billion “exceeds the actual P1 and MP2 claims based on historical data.”

However, COA argued that basing the allocation for MSRF “on the actual claims in prior years” would “defeat the purpose” of AMO 2015-005.

“However, if HDMF based its allocation for MSRF on the actual claims in prior years, it would defeat the purpose of the AMO, requiring the MSRF to be sufficient to cover the matured claims as of the end of the preceding year, those claims maturing within the year, as well as the projected benefit claims for the year,” state auditors said.

“Thus, the return of all benefit claims and member’s equity is not secured if the members will file their claim at the same time due to the insufficient earmarking for the matured and maturing claims,” they added.

The COA recommended that the HDMF “review” its current business model “used to manage the investment in bonds earmarked as MSRF, to align with the objectives of AMO No. 2015-005—specifically, the proper matching of assets with maturing liabilities.”

Furthermore, it recommended that the HDMF allocate funds to the MSRF based on actual matured and maturing claims instead of basing it on historical data of claims processed in prior years.

The COA report showed that the HDMF management agreed to the two recommendations. The HDMF is an attached government-owned

THE national government kicked off its July borrowing program on a low note as it raised only P9.2 billion of its P15-billion target from the auction of short-term debt papers due to rising rates.

fitz Gerard Villafuerte

MoCAF eyes expansion ‘outside festival walls’ in 2nd year

MOCAF’S Festival chairman Ricky Francisco and festival director Coleen Wong

IN its bid to engage the younger audience, the Modern and Contemporary Art Festival, or MoCAF, rolls out a series of pocket events leading to its 2nd edition, happening from July 28 to 30 at the Fairmont Hotel, Makati.

“MoCAF XP” presents a string of immersive activities every Saturday of July ahead of the festival opening. The series kicked off over the weekend with the MoCAF Art Bazaar at XCEPTION in Legazpi Village, Makati. Next up this Saturday, July 8, is the MoCAF Painting Workshop at Art Caravan in BGC. Then, on July 15, the MoCAF Printmaking Workshop welcomes printmaking enthusiasts at Commune in Poblacion, Makati.

“This 2023, we intend to expand MoCAF by having different events outside the festival walls,” Festival Director Coleen Wong said. “We are still standing by the community but reaching out to a wider range of younger audiences. It gives an opportunity to not just empower and inspire the youth but also give a chance for the ever-growing art community to flourish.”

Festival Chairman Ricky Francisco added that the MoCAF XP caters to members of the growing community who believe art should be more inclusive.

“They believe that art shouldn’t be just on the walls—it should be something that’s part of life and something that everyone can enjoy. So, this year, we’re starting with MoCAF XP, which is a different take,” Francisco said.

Inclusivity, after all, serves as a focal point of MoCAF 2023 (www.mocaf.net). Wong said that the group has collaborated with both established and emerging galleries and artists, all presented with the same platform to showcase their works. Catering to a wider audience is also part of MoCAF’s efforts to make art more accessible, particularly to the youth.

“We want to reach out to younger people because we want a future that is more into art,” Francisco said. “We’re hoping that more people will enjoy art for the variety and breadth that there is to offer.”

success. Meanwhile, to be featured in a group show are Distort Monsters, Doktor Karayom, Zuh Dai, Christian Tamondong, and Angelica So. This year’s festival will also see the return of MoCAF Discoveries, a special exhibition dedicated to

TODAY’S HOROSCOPE

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS

DAY: Melanie Fiona, 40; Becki Newton, 45; Andrew Zimmern, 62; Geraldo Rivera, 80.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Call on those you trust to tell you the truth and contribute sound advice. Keep your finances in order, and don’t be tempted to spend on things you don’t need. Spontaneity can be thrilling and inviting but can also lead to unwanted expenses. Use your knowledge and experience to recognize what you want and how to make your dreams come true. Tenacity and creativity will pay off. Your numbers are 6, 17, 21, 27, 32, 43, 46.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Meet inevitable change head-on. Turn negatives into positives by using what’s available to you to move beyond whatever is slowing you down. Let your actions speak for you; your impact will bring about change. Choose peace over battles. ★★

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Say no to temptation and channel your energy into something worthwhile. Share your feelings with those you need in your corner to proceed. A plan that offers something for everyone will help you get the contributions you require to reach your goal. ★★★★★

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Preparation is the key to success. Work alone to avoid setbacks and temptation. Rearrange your day to accommodate your goals, and adjust your surroundings to ensure you complete whatever you want to achieve. Love, a healthy lifestyle and selfimprovement will boost your confidence. ★★★

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Explore the possibilities. Learn all you can and test your theories before you invest time and money. Call on experts, but don’t give your secrets away. Keep whatever you do simple, effective and within budget. Discipline will help you avoid what tempts you. ★★★

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Give yourself ample room to maneuver. Walk away from negativity, manipulation and overindulgence. Love and appreciate who you are and what you can accomplish. Gratitude will manifest opportunity and happiness. When you hit a roadblock, use your ingenuity and take a different route. ★★★

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Evaluate your life, love and happiness, and consider what brings you joy. It’s up to you to fill your life with what makes you confident and optimistic about the future. Don’t make modifications to benefit others; change to enhance your life. ★★★★★

scene. This year’s talks will delve into topics of Art and Contemporary Art Trends, Economic Outlook and Art

is both modern and contemporary art,” Francisco said. “We wanted a one-stop shop in a small venue for collectors to be able to see some of the best art there is in a very convenient location and in a short span of time.” ■

‘Hymen, oh Hymenee!’ Long lost and now found

BY BENJIE LAYUG

LAST June 14, I was invited to see what was widely revered by art collectors and connoisseurs as the “Holy Grail” of Filipino art and a National Treasure—the long-lost Hymen, oh Hyménée! (also known as Boda Romana) of Filipino painter Juan Luna. The piece was showcased at an immersive, single-work exhibition at the Ayala Museum, in cooperation of León Gallery, titled Splendor: Juan Luna, Painter as Hero, which runs until December 31, 2023.

The occasion was equal to my seeing the monumental 25-foot Spoliarium, which won a gold medal at the 1884 Exposicion National de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain, another oil-on-canvas painting of Luna that graces the halls of the National Museum of Fine Arts.

This canvas work, started in 1886 and completed in early 1887 during his honeymoon in Venice, officially catapulted Luna into the league of “master painter,” cementing his standing in the world’s artistic capital and confirming his undeniable genius and artistry in the face of racial bias, a

predicament Filipinos all over the world face, even today. This iconic masterpiece was last seen in public in Paris 132 years ago, at the iconic Exposition Universelle de 1889 (the same event for which the Eiffel Tower was built as a

centerpiece), a major world’s fair that commemorated the centennial of the French Revolution and showcased the latest advances in art, technology and culture. Here, it won the bronze medal. The painting remained in Luna’s hands until his death in Hong Kong in 1899 after which the painting disappeared into private hands and became the stuff of legend.

Translated as “Roman Wedding,” Hymen, oh Hyménée! recreates a scene of a Roman wedding ritual, specifically the bride’s entrance into the groom’s chamber. The painting draws upon the ancient Roman tradition of invoking Hymen (the Roman god of marriage), through ritual songs dating back to the 5th century BCE. A documentary by Martin Arnaldo traces the recovery of the artwork while, at the same time, capturing the dilemma of the late 19th-century Filipino diaspora, which, arguably is still true for his countrymen living and working abroad today. It was shown in the Samsung Premiere Room of the exhibition space and, on July 8, will be aired on CNN Philippines, with replays on July 9 and 10.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Do what you can to help others, but not at the expense of your health or financial well-being. Don’t let professional worries disrupt personal relationships. Open communication is necessary on all fronts to keep your life running smoothly. Leave nothing to chance. ★★

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Walk away from instability; overreacting will cause vulnerability. Aim to obtain the security and stability in your life that allows freedom to explore and develop what motivates and satiates you to become the master of your domain. ★★

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Tally your financial situation and make changes that will help you save. Don’t let anyone take advantage of you. Pay attention to what you offer and how you use your skills to reach your goal. ★★★★

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A couple of domestic changes will impact your relationships. Follow the money trail to discover how to cut corners and build equity. Think outside the box and hone your skills to suit what’s trending. ★★★

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Refuse to let your emotions run wild. Too much of anything will get you in trouble. Avoid temptation and those who try to take advantage of you. Don’t let anger put a wedge between you and someone you love; with truth comes clarity. ★★★

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Dig in and don’t stop until you are happy with the results. It’s up to you to find a unique way to bring about change that enhances your portfolio. A financial gain or unexpected gift looks promising. ★★★

BIRTHDAY BABY:

You are intelligent, adaptable and insightful. You are curious and determined.

‘speed climbing’ BY JUSTIN WERFEL

The

Edited by David Steinberg/Anna Gundlach

London prosecutor calls oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey ‘a sexual bully’ who preys on men

LOndOn Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey got a thrill preying on other men and escalated his behavior from touchy-feely advances to hostile fondling and worse, a prosecutor told jurors Friday during Spacey’s sexual assault trial in London.

Spacey is “a man who does not respect personal boundaries or space, a man who it would seem delights in making others feel powerless and uncomfortable—a sexual bully,” prosecutor Christine agnew said in her opening statement. “His preferred method of assault is, it appears, to grab aggressively other men in the crotch.”

Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to a dozen charges involving four men and allegations that date from 2001 to 2013, when he worked at London’s Old Vic Theatre. The charges include sexual assault, indecent assault and causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

The stakes for the american actor are high. a conviction could send him to prison, while an acquittal could allow for a career comeback.

defense lawyer Patrick gibbs said Spacey denied all allegations of nonconsensual activity and told jurors to ask themselves as they listened to the evidence what—if anything—had occurred when he was with the men. He suggested the alleged victims had other motives and said that Spacey had left himself open to opportunists when he came out as gay in 2020.

what has been reimagined with a sinister spin?” gibbs said. “what has been made up or twisted and why and when because all of these allegations happened a long time ago.”

He said jurors would hear truths, half-truths, deliberate exaggerations and “many damned lies.” Spacey, wearing spectacles and dressed in a light gray suit, white shirt and gold tie, leaned forward behind a window in the dock, listening intently as his lawyer provided a brief overview of the case. gibbs will present a longer opening statement after the prosecution rests its case.

The actor served as the Old Vic Theatre’s artistic director from 2003 until 2015. The four men who have accused Spacey of sexual assault, now in their 30s or 40s, did not know each other, but all “had the misfortune to attract” his attention, agnew said. AP

Show BusinessMirror

Felicitations, Liza Diño

Award-winning actress and former chairman of the Film development Council of the Philippines (FdCP) Liza diño was so overwhelmed and moved to tears when esteemed personalities from the government and film industry, members of the diplomatic corps, and her closest friends and family members all gathered to witness a very special moment in her illustrious career, as the first-ever Filipina to be knighted in the field of cinema by the French republic.

French ambassador to the Philippines Michele Boccoz hosted an exclusive and intimate affair in diño’s honor recently at the ambassador’s residence in Makati City. The highlight was the conferment of diño with one of France’s most distinguished titles, the Chevalier in the French Order of arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres). This extraordinary award recognizes diño’s exceptional contributions to the Philippine film industry and her unwavering dedication to fostering cultural exchanges between the Philippines, France, and the rest of the world.

The national Order of arts and Letters is considered the highest civilian award given by the French republic for individuals who have distinguished themselves by their creations in the artistic or literary field, or by the contribution they have made to the influence of the arts and letters in France and the world. among those have been awarded the title are Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Michelle Yeoh, george Clooney, Leonardo di Caprio, and Cate Blanchett.

as the first and only Filipina to receive the distinction in the field of cinema, diño’s achievements have elevated and uplifted the Philippine film industry in the last six years in the FdCP, most especially in the empowerment and promotion of Philippine cinema around the world. in her speech, ambassador Boccoz praised diño for her hard work in opening doors for Filipino filmmakers and films and bridging the Philippines and France for cultural exchange, mutual policies, and

“Liza, you are an actress by profession, but being velopment Council of the Philippines seemed like you had a calling in public service to play a role in building government support for the Philippine film industry. Your energy, talent and intensive work have been recognized by French professionals and by all French institutions, and this is why we are here tonight.”

Esteemed guests spotted were Carlitos Siguionaquel Villavicencio, Bela Padilla, Brillante Mendoza, Mark Meily, Bianca Balbuena, Bradley Liew, Jim Baltazar of

CMB Films, Ed Lejano, Manet dayrit. also present to share the momentous evening of diño were ambassadors Luc Veron of the European Union, and Laure Beaufils of the United Kingdom, instituto Cervantes director Javier galvan, Quezon City mayor Joy Belmonte with Quezon City rep Juan Carlos atayde, Pangasinan rep. Toff de Venecia, Public attorney’s Office chief Persida acosta, intellectual Property office of the Philippines director general rowel Barba, and Cebu City vice mayor raymond garcia.

as diño received the French Knight award, she expressed her profound gratitude to all those who have supported and collaborated with her throughout her career. in her acceptance speech during the ceremony and recounting her early days in the FdCP, she said, “i approached [this new role] the same way i did with every aspect of my life—by creating, nurturing, and honoring relationships. i believed that in forming authentic relationships with colleagues, partners and collaborators, i could get them on board to help me in my vision of an empowered and strong film industry. This was how this fruitful collaboration with France blossomed into impactful cooperation that bridged Philippine and French cinema together.”

She added, “i d like to thank the French government for honoring me and acknowledging that Philippine cinema, with all the blood, sweat and tears that need to be shed, is worth championing and fighting for,” she said in her speech, which turned emotional many times.

Perhaps proudest of diño is her artist husband,

ice Seguerra. “My wife Liza dedicated six years of her life to public service and divested from accepting any work as an actor which she is so passionate about, so she could fully serve the industry she loves. Though i would sometimes catch her silently in tears because she misses acting and had to let go of wonderful projects, she was bent on turning her vision for the industry into reality: for Philippine cinema and its workers to be noticed in the global community. She was their loudest cheerleader for every recognition received and every production deal closed.”

Seguerra added, “Her heart bled when pandemic took away people’s jobs. She made sure that industry workers, specially the freelancers, would be able to receive financial assistance from the government.

Liza worked very hard to bring dignity to all film workers and give our filmmakers a chance to tell their stories for the world to see and watch and listen. i am so thankful for and mighty proud of Madame le Chevalier, my wife Liza.”

diño, who is also the newly appointed executive director of the Quezon City Film development Commission, is now at Bucheon international Fantastic Film Festival in Korea as an industry decision-maker meeting with selected filmmakers and their projects featured for this year’s network of asian Fantastic Films project market. “i’m also presenting some projects and finalizing discussions with the festival directors for possible collaboration with QCinema 2023,” she told us.

Continue to champion Filipino cinema, Liza diño.

Felicitations! n

‘Biyahe ni Drew’ turns 10, treats viewers to South Korea special

f thrilling surprises awaits all budgetconscious and adventure-seeking biyaheros as Biyahe , hosted by the award-winning host drew ellano, celebrates its 10th anniversary with back-toback specials in South Korea airing on July 2 and July

thwart the imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity. while nick Fury is no stranger to threats in the MCU, it has been a long time since we saw him in action. we first encounter the Skrulls in Captain Marvel, in which Fury and Carol Danvers fend off the Kree. while the Skrulls await Fury and Danver’s promise to give them a new world to call home, the earth is besieged by multiple universeending threats.

Fury is not seen until Thanos is defeated in Avengers: Endgame, joining other heroes to mourn the loss of Tony Stark. after Endgame, nick Fury continues to work in the shadows, forming S.a B.e r. with Skrull Talos and setting up a space station.

and who do the Skrulls trust when they’ve lost their home and their planet, and the man they’ve placed their trust in for years—who promised to find them a new homeland—lets them down?

with Fury’s promise left unfulfilled, the renegade Skrulls lay their claim on earth, taking over important organizations and governments to set up their plans for complete takeover. it’s up to Fury and his allies to form the last line of defense and save the world once more.

Secret Invasion is now available exclusively on Disney+. The app can be downloaded for free for mobile phones and smart TVs.

The two-part anniversary episode is made more iya Villaniaellano, joins him in exploring and discovering the wonders and hidden gems of South Korea. Viewers should definitely not miss out as the couple tries the most sumptuous Korean dishes, explores Korean beauty, and visits the most talked-about places including a popular BTS bus stop and a film location of the hit K-drama series Goblin

“we want viewers to have the chance to experience South Korea, especially because maraming Pilipino ang K-pop and K-drama fans. we will show them options that will be useful when they travel there,” shared drew.

Since 2013, Biyahe ni Drew has established itself as the definitive travel magazine show on television.

The program has proudly featured all the regions of the Philippines and has visited at least 14 countries— from asian neighbors, like Japan and Singapore, to parts of the Middle East like Jordan and israel, to countries in africa like Kenya, Zimbabwe and Zambia. aside from showcasing must-see places and featuring all sorts of to-do things on a trip, Biyahe ni Drew more importantly advocates for responsible travel, sustainable tourism, respect for local culture, and an appreciation for the locals and hardworking members of the tourism industry. as the host of Biyahe ni Drew for a decade and

counting, drew has definitely made a mark as the “ultimate biyahero.” “i feel proud [being regarded as the ‘ultimate biyahero’] because it’s not just me—it’s mostly my team. it’s such an honor to host a travel show for this long, and to experience so many beautiful places, to eat so much good food, and to meet interesting people along the way. if i could do this for another 10 years, that would be awesome,” he said. This 2023, local travel will remain at the forefront

of Biyahe ni Drew adventures as it continues to promote Philippine tourism. in addition, the show will also return to traveling abroad this year as it heads to Bali, indonesia, for a budget-friendly and instagramworthy cultural immersion. The team is also set to visit Hanoi, Vietnam, where drew will be joined by another surprise celebrity guest.

Biyahe ni Drew airs every Sunday, 8:15 pm, on gTV. global Pinoys can watch it via gMa international channel, gMa Life TV.

Drew areLLano and wife iya try the most sumptuous Korean dishes, explore Korean beauty, and visits the most talked-about places such as the popular BTS bus

Liza Diño and French ambassador Michèle Boccoz

SM Foundation distributes liquid soap to elementary students in Bulacan

THE SM Foundation turned over 1,500 bottles of Lysol liquid soap to the Balatong Elementary School in Pulilan, Bulacan. SM Foundation School Building Program Head Juris

Soliman represented the Foundation at the simple turnover ceremony.

In 2018 SM Prime Holdings, Inc. through SM Foundation donated a two-storey, four-classroom building

GoldShine Pharmaceuticals launches innovative products, honors top performers ahead of Jimm's 29th anniversary

to Balatong Elementary School. Earlier this year, SM Foundation conducted maintenance and repair works on the school building as part of the Foundation’s commitment. The donated school building is equipped with a handwashing facility in support with the UN SDG on health and sanitation.

Bottles of liquid soap are also being distributed in barangay health centers renovated by SM Foundation, as well as at the SM Medical Missions.

The liquid soap was donated by Kabisig ng Kalahi, Inc. a nongovernment organization founded by Victoria V. Wieneke. Its mission is “to establish programs that are doable, sustainable, and resultoriented, targeting solutions focused on poverty issues.” As posted in its website Kabisig is guided with the multi-sectoral approach. Partnership is forged with the private and corporate sector, business and civic organizations, government agencies, other non-government organizations, and poor communities.

GOLDSHINE Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(GPI), a leading Filipino health and wellness company, recently announced the launch of two groundbreaking products - Jimm’s 3 in 1 with Spirulina Twinpack and Jimm’s 3 plus 1 Coffee Mix with Korean Ginseng. The event also celebrated the top distributors and sales performers of the Jimm’s Coffee brand across North Luzon, GMMA, and South Luzon.

“The launch underlines our commitment to health and wellness, combining taste with the nutritional benefits of Spirulina and Korean Ginseng,” said Jaime P. Serato, Founder of GPI.

Jimm’s 3 in 1 with Spirulina provides essential vitamins and minerals, balances blood sugar levels, and improves muscle strength and endurance. Jimm’s 3 plus 1

Coffee Mix with Korean Ginseng boasts energy-boosting properties and benefits including improving brain functions and lowering blood sugar and cholesterol.

The unveiling served as a precursor to Jimm’s 29th-anniversary celebrations, reflecting GPI’s commitment to quality

and innovation. “We’re grateful to our loyal customers, dedicated employees, and supportive stakeholders. Their trust and belief in us have fuelled our success,” added Serato.

The event also recognized the exceptional contribution of the top distributors and sales performers from North Luzon, GMMA, and South Luzon.

GoldShine’s new products are available in Mercury drugstore, all major supermarkets, groceries, leading drugstores nationwide, and online through Jimm’s Coffee Website, Lazada, and Shopee.

As it approaches Jimm’s 29th anniversary, GPI is confident that these new product offerings will significantly contribute to the brand’s continuing success.

GPI is a wholly-owned Filipino company that markets coffee mixes, herbal food supplements, and personal care products nationwide. Founded in 1994, the company has launched successful brands including the Jimm’s 5in1 Coffee Mix. For more information, please visit www. goldshinepharmaceuticals.com.

FILIPINOS in the US may now access their favorite healthier drinks, Kaffea and Chocolea through Kaffea Gold USA, the exclusive distributor of Starkaffea in the US.

Based in the San Francisco Bay area, their address is at 969-G Edgewater Blvd #750, Foster City, California 94404. Filipinos can easily order online via shopify.com or through their email address: info@Kaffeagold.com and phone # 650-262-1610. Kaffea and Chocolea are also available in Patio Filipino, Auntie Em's Pastries and Lingnam Restaurant, partners of Kaffea Gold USA.

Starkaffea Corporation is a renowned small-scale enterprise providing signature coffee and chocolate drinks from the Philippines. It is dedicated to making a positive impact on the economy by fostering collaborations with local farmers and embracing sustainable practices while serving delectable and health-conscious beverages to its valued customers.

Starkaffea Corporation said that this move is in response to the growing demand of our Filipino communities in the US. With thanks to Kaffea Gold USA which has become its newest collaborator and partner.

The corporation noted that Filipino consumers, including those from the US, have become increasingly more conscious of their health and wellness. Interest in the usage of coconut sugar has soared.

Coconut sugar production uses the natural heat evaporation process to transform the coconut's liquid sap into sugar granules. Its coconut sap sugar’s glycemic index is only 35, which meant that it would only yield a small increase in the blood glucose level.

Starkaffea sources its main ingredients, including coconut sugar, cocoa, and coffee beans, from Mindanao. Kaffea, its flagship coffee drink, boasts of a rich blend of ingredients, including regulated coffee content, non-dairy creamer, agaricus mushroom, collagen, COQ10, gano derma, grape seed extract, glutathione, and L-carnitine. Its Chocolea fortified chocolate drink is enriched with Vitamins A, C, E, calcium, iron with iodized salt, non-dairy creamer, and cocoa powder.

Starkaffea Corporation also announced that it has expanded its area under the Fiesta Corner project in the Duty Free Philippines Corporation (DFPC). Aside from coffee and chocolate drinks, it is offering a variety

of products for tourists, overseas Filipino workers, balikbayans, and their families shopping at Fiestamall.

This partnership between Starkaffea and DFPC aims to enhance the shopping experience for international travellers while promoting and supporting local businesses.

"We are excited to have Starkaffea showcasing its premium coffee and chocolate drinks at Fiestamall," said Vicente Pelagio A. Angala, Chief Operating Officer of DFPC. "This collaboration not only enhances our 'Fiesta Corner' project but signifies our continued support for the Department of Trade and Industry's 'Go Lokal' campaign.

Starkaffea has collaborated with Chef Shanen Ditan in creating an exclusive selection of health-conscious yet flavorful concoctions. Cookies with walnuts, crinkles, banana muffins, and special cakes, all featuring a dash of Kaffea and Chocolea will be showcased exclusively at the Duty Free Fiestamall.

The Westin Manila introduces its A La Bark menu for dogs

WEEKEND dining with your furbabies just got a little extra at The Westin Manila. The hotel has just “unleashed” its new A La Bark Menu, so dogs can enjoy fine food while you dine. This special variety of doggie delights is available every Saturday and Sunday, from 3 pm to 6 pm at the Lobby Lounge’s Veranda and was created by the hotel’s culinary team, who are themselves pet owners. These satisfying bowls and treats are all nutrient-dense, well-balanced delicacies made with fresh and healthy ingredients, and have been thoughtfully crafted with the brand’s “Eat Well” pillar in mind.

Imagine your pet tucking into a serving of Bibimbark or the Tzushi, which are pupfriendly spins of signature Asian delicacies. The Bibimbark is a mix of braised salmon, carrots, peas, pumpkin, spinach, brown rice, sesame, and corn. Tzushi is basically sushi topped with carrots and tamago (scrambled eggs).

There’s also the Woofaccino, which is a flavorful cup of beef broth topped with light whipped cream.

The menu includes desserts, too. Baker’s Pupcake makes for a great treat for any day or

Foundever™ recognized as of Cebu's biggest IT companies by the Cebu IT BPM organization during its awarding ceremonies

THE Cebu office of Foundever (formerly Sitel Group and SYKES) was honored last May 26, 2023 with the Top 10 Biggest Cebu IT BPM Companies Award at the Cebu IT/BPM Awards and Recognition Gala Night hosted by the Cebu IT BPM Organization. The award is given to companies that have made a significant economic contribution to Cebu City and the

region, particularly in terms of generated employment opportunities.

Foundever™, one of the largest global providers of customer experience (CX) products and solutions, has recently opened its third hub in Cebu to provide a workplace for its in-center and remote associates. This site, along with the company’s two other offices in the region, is set to fill over 2,400

positions in the first half of 2023.

Present during the event to receive the award were Foundever’s Senior Director Kris Villaba, HR Director Henry Valencia, Talent Acquisition Director Mae Blanco, Senior Director for Workforce Management Kevin Luke Cayanong, and Workplace Experience Manager Paolo Villaba.

celebration. Your pet is sure to love this moist and fluffy banana cupcake topped with dogfriendly frosting. The Icy Fruit Pups are made from fresh and homemade juices and are ideal for cooling off on a sunny day.

As an introductory special, all those who order from the A La Bark menu from June 25 to July 25, 2023 will be eligible to join the raffle, for a chance to win a plush Heavenly Dog Bed.

Book your table through +632.8256.2020 or westinmanila@westin.com. Standard pet policies apply.

Follow @westinmanilahotel on Facebook and Instagram for updates and promo announcements. To know more about the hotel, visit www.westinmanilahotel.com.

Paraiso Beer Lakas, Bighani preferred by NCR beer drinkers over category leaders according to OctaResearch

IN a blind taste test conducted in the National Capital Region and certified by OctaResearch, Paraiso Lakas was preferred by six out of 10 beer drinkers as against the leading strong beer brand when served with ice.

Paraiso Bighani was preferred by six out of 10 beer drinkers in NCR as against the two leading brands in the five percent alcohol content category, whether served with ice or without ice. The leading beer brands are based on Euromonitor International’s Alcoholic Drinks in the Philippines June 2022 report.

When Filipinos feel like popping a beer, reputable consultation firm OCTAResearch bared that more NCR beer drinkers have opened up to new tastes with Paraiso Beer.

Crafted to open a new world of possibilities for today’s generation of beer drinkers, Paraiso Beer delivers true satisfaction in every gulp, defined by the fine flavors of high-quality malt, hops, yeast and specialty ingredients. The new brew presents two different flavors that quench the thirst of a market growing more discerning with their choices of quality beer. First is Bighani (5.00 % ABV), marked by a balanced malt profile and low bitterness, which is sure to enthrall those who love citrusy aromas with its refreshing burst of orange flavor crisp finish. For fans of fullbodied lager, Lakas (6.9% ABV) brings out pure satisfaction with its rich hop flavors and

spices to go with a smooth mouthfeel.

According to OCTAResearch, Paraiso Beer has become the preferred brew of six out of 10 Filipinos in the National Capital Region (NCR) in the submitted consumer test that pitted the newcomer against more established local brands. The survey certified by OctaResearch was conducted in NCR on both Paraiso Lakas and Paraiso Bighani variants separately.

Based on the findings, Paraiso Lakas was the preferred taste versus the leading strong beer brand when served with ice, while Paraiso Bighani was the preferred taste either with ice or without ice versus the two leading brands in the five percent alcohol volume category. The leading beer brands are based on Euromonitor International’s Alcoholic Drinks in the Philippines June 2022 report.

“As verified by Euromonitor Data 2022.” said OCTAResearch fellow Dr. Guido David.

“Whether it’s for a night-long bonding with friends to kick off the weekend, or to beat the tropical heat by the beach with a cold one, we’d like beer lovers to try our newest Paraiso Beer” says Hubert Tan, Senior Vice President Commercial.

Paraiso Beer Bighani and Lakas are available in a 330mL returnable glass bottle for P42 SRP and 1L for P110 SRP. These great tasting beers are also available in 330mL can for P50 SRP.

FROM left to right: Roel Canja, Acting Chief Operating Officer, Leonardo Serato, Assistant to the Chairman of the Board, Julia Serato, HR Associate and Akoto Brand Ambassador, Lloyd Serato, Acting Sales and Marketing Officer, Jaime Serato, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Dyrene Quinco, Acting Chief Administrative Officer, Kate Mendoza, Marketing Director, Jane Mendano, National Sales Director, Ivy Alfonso, Technical Manager-Food Divison, June Dangate, Brand Manager.

SMFI’s Juris Soliman (4th from right) with teachers of Balatong Elementary School

Kaffea and Chocolea, now available in the US; Starkaffea Corporation has taken its first leap in global expansion

Climate change makes wildfires and smoke worse. Scientists call it the ‘new abnormal’

By Seth Borenstein & Melina Walling The Associated Press

Kuchlbauer had flashbacks to the surprise of soot coating her car three years ago when she was a recent college graduate in San Diego. Bomba had deja vu from San Francisco, where the air was so thick with smoke people had to mask up. They figured they left wildfire worries behind in California, but a Canada that’s burning from sea to warming sea brought one of the more visceral effects of climate change home to places that once seemed immune.

“It’s been very apocalyptic feeling, because in California the dialogue is like, ‘Oh, it’s normal. This is just what happens on the West Coast,’ but it’s very much not normal here,” Kuchlbauer said.

As Earth’s climate continues to change from heat-trapping gases spewed into the air, ever fewer people are out of reach from the billowing and deadly fingers of wildfire smoke, scientists say. Already wildfires are consuming three times more of the United States and Canada each year than in the 1980s and studies predict fire and smoke to worsen.

While many people exposed to bad air may be asking themselves if this is a “new normal,” several scientists told The Associated Press they specifically reject any such idea because the phrase makes it sound like the world has changed to a new and steady pattern of extreme events.

“Is this a new normal? No, it’s a new abnormal,” University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann said. “It continues to get worse. If we continue to warm the planet, we don’t settle into some new state. It’s an ever-moving baseline of worse and worse.”

It’s so bad that perhaps the term “wildfire” also needs to be rethought, suggested Woodwell Climate Research Center senior scientist Jennifer Francis.

“We can’t really call them wildfires anymore,” Francis said. “To some extent they’re just not, they’re not wild. They’re not natural anymore. We are just making them more likely. We’re making them more intense.”

Several scientists told the AP that the problem of smoke and wildfires will progressively worsen until the world significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which has not happened despite years of international negotiations and lofty goals.

Fires in North America are generally getting worse, burning more land. Even before July, traditionally the busiest fire month for the country, Canada has set a record for most area burned with 31,432 square miles (81,409 square kilometers), which is nearly 15 percent higher than the old record.

“A year like this could happen with or without climate change, but warming temperatures just

made it a lot more probable,” said

A. Park Williams, a UCLA bioclimatologist who studies fire and water. “We’re seeing, especially across the West, big increases in smoke exposure and reduction in air quality that are attributable to increase in fire activity.”

Numerous studies have linked climate change to increases in North American fires because global warming is increasing extreme weather, especially drought and mostly in the West.

As the atmosphere dries, it sucks moisture out of plants, creating more fuel that burns easier, faster and with greater intensity. Then you add more lightning strikes from more storms, some of which are dry lightning strikes, said Canadian fire scientist Mike Flannigan at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia. Fire seasons are getting longer, starting earlier and lasting later because of warmer weather, he said.

“We have to learn to live with fire and smoke, that’s the new reality,” Flannigan said.

Ronak Bhatia, who moved from California to Illinois for college in 2018 and now lives in Chicago, said at first it seemed like a joke: wildfire smoke following him and

his friends from the West Coast. But if it continues, it will no longer be as funny.

“It makes you think about climate change and also how it essentially could affect, you know, anywhere,” Bhatia said. “It’s not just the California problem or Australia problem. It’s kind of an everywhere problem.”

Wildfires in the US on average now burn about 12,000 square miles (31,000 square kilometers) yearly, about the size of Maryland. From 1983 to 1987, when the National Interagency Fire Center started keeping statistics, only about 3,300 square miles (8,546 square kilometers) burned annually.

During the past five years, including a record low 2020, Canada has averaged 12,279 square miles (31,803 square kilometers) burned, which is three and a half times larger than the 1983 to 1987 average.

The type of fires seen this year in western Canada are in amounts scientists and computer models predicted for the 2030s and 2040s. And eastern Canada, where it rains more often, wasn’t supposed to see occasional fire years like this until the mid 21st century, Flannigan said.

If the Canadian east is burning, that means eventually, and probably sooner than researchers thought, eastern US states will also, Flannigan said. He and Williams pointed to devastating fires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, that killed 14 people in 2016 during a brief drought in the East.

America burned much more in the past, but that’s because people didn’t try to stop fires and they were less of a threat. The West used to have larger and regular fires until the mid-19th century, with more land settlement and then the US government trying to douse every fire after the great 1910 Yellowstone fire, Williams said.

Since about the 1950s, America pretty much got wildfires down to a minimum, but that hasn’t been the case since about 2000.

“We thought we had it under control, but we don’t,” Williams said. “The climate changed so much that we lost control of it.”

The warmer the Arctic gets and the more snow and ice melt there—the Arctic is warming three times faster than the rest of Earth—the differences in the summer between Arctic and midlatitudes get smaller. That allows the jet stream of air high above the ground to meander and get stuck, prolonging bouts of bad weather, Mann and Francis said. Other scientists say they are waiting for more evidence on the impact of bouts of stuck weather.

A new study published on June 23 links a stuck weather pattern to reduced North American snow cover in the spring.

For people exposed to nasty air from wildfire smoke, increasing threats to health are part of the new reality.

Wildfires expose about 44 million people per year worldwide to unhealthy air, causing about 677,000 deaths annually with almost 39 percent of them children, according to a 2021 study out of the United Kingdom.

One study that looked at a dozen

years of wildfire smoke exposure in Washington state showed a 1 percent all-ages increase in the odds of non-traumatic death the same day as the smoke hit the area and 2 percent for the day after. Risk of respiratory deaths jumped 14 percent and even more, 35 percent, for adults ages 45 to 64.

Based on peer-reviewed studies, the Health Effects Institute estimated that smoke’s chief pollutant caused 4 million deaths worldwide and nearly 48,000 deaths in the US in 2019.

The tiny particles making up a main pollutant of wildfire smoke, called PM2.5, are just the right size to embed deep in the lungs and absorb into the blood. But while their size has garnered attention, their composition also matters, said Kris Ebi, a University of Washington climate and health scientist.

“There is emerging evidence that the toxicity of wildfire smoke PM2.5 is more toxic than what comes out of tailpipes,” Ebi said. A cascade of health effects may become a growing problem in the wake of wildfires, including downwind from the source, said Ed Avol, professor emeritus at the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California.

Beyond irritated eyes and scratchy throats, breathing in wildfire smoke also can create long-term issues all over the body. Avol said those include respiratory effects including asthma and COPD, as well as impacts on heart, brain and kidney function.

“In the longer term, climate change and unfortunately wildfire smoke is not going away because we really haven’t done that much quick enough to make a difference,” Avol said, adding that while people can take steps like masking up or using air filters to try to protect themselves, we are ultimately “behind the curve here in terms of responding to it.”

Borenstein reported from Washington and Walling from Chicago.

Deep sea mining permits may be coming soon. What are they and what might happen?

By Victoria Milko

The Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia—The International Seabed Authority—the United Nations body that regulates the world’s ocean floor—is preparing to resume negotiations that could open the international seabed for mining, including for materials critical for the green energy transition.

Yearslong negotiations are reaching a critical point where the authority will soon need to begin accepting mining permit applications, adding to worries over the potential impacts on sparsely researched marine ecosystems and habitats of the deep sea.

Here’s a look at what deep sea mining is, why some companies and countries are applying for permits to carry it out and why environmental activists are raising concerns.

What is deep sea mining?

DEEP sea mining involves removing mineral deposits and metals from the ocean’s seabed. There are three types of such mining: taking deposit-rich polymetallic nodules off the ocean floor, mining massive seafloor sulphide deposits and stripping cobalt crusts from rock. These nodules, deposits and crusts contain materials, such as nickel, rare earths, cobalt and

more, that are needed for batteries and other materials used in tapping renewable energy and also for everyday technology like cellphones and computers.

Engineering and technology used for deep sea mining are still evolving. Some companies are looking to vacuum materials from seafloor using massive pumps. Others are developing artificial intelligence-based technology that would teach deep sea robots how to pluck nodules from the floor.

Some are looking to use advanced machines that could mine materials off side of huge underwater mountains and volcanoes.

Companies and governments view these as strategically important resources that will be needed as onshore reserves are depleted and demand continues to rise.

How is deep sea mining regulated now?

COUNTRIES manage their own maritime territory and exclusive economic zones, while the high seas and the international ocean floor are governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas. It is considered to apply to states regardless of whether or not they have signed or ratified it. Under the treaty, the seabed and its mineral resources are considered the “common heritage

of mankind” that must be managed in a way that protects the interests of humanity through the sharing of economic benefits, support for marine scientific research, and protecting marine environments.

Mining companies interested in deep sea exploitation are partnering with countries to help them get exploration licenses.

More than 30 exploration licenses have been issued so far, with activity mostly focused in an area called the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, which spans 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) between Hawaii and Mexico.

Why is there pressure on the ISA to establish regulations now?

IN 2021 the Pacific island nation of Nauru—in partnership with mining company Nauru Ocean Resources Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada-based The Metals Company—applied to the ISA to exploit minerals in a specified deep sea area.

That triggered a clause of the UN treaty that requires the ISA to complete regulations governing deep sea exploitation by July 2023. If no regulations are finalized, Nauru can submit an application to conduct the mining without any governing regulations. Other countries and private

companies can start applying for provisional licenses if the UN body fails to approve a set of rules and regulations by July 9. Experts say it’s unlikely it will since the process will likely take several years.

What are the environmental concerns?

ONLY a small part of the deep seabed has been explored and conservationists worry that ecosystems will be damaged by mining, especially without any environmental protocols.

Damage from mining can include noise, vibration and light pollution, as well as possible leaks and spills of fuels and other chemicals used in the mining process.

Sediment plumes from some mining processes are a major concern. Once valuable materials are extracted, slurry sediment plumes are sometimes pumped back into the sea. That can harm filter-feeding species like corals and sponges, and could smother or otherwise interfere with some creatures.

The full extent of implications for deep sea ecosystems is unclear, but scientists have warned that biodiversity loss is inevitable and potentially irreversible.

“We’re constantly finding new stuff and it’s a little bit premature to start mining the deep sea

when we don’t really understand the biology, the environments, the ecosystems or anything else,” said Christopher Kelley, a biologist with research expertise in deep sea ecology.

What’s next?

THE ISA’s Legal and Technical Commission, which oversees the development of deep sea mining regulations, will meet in early July to discuss the yet-to-be mining code draft.

The earliest that mining under ISA regulations could begin is 2026. Applications for mining must be considered and environmental impact assessments need to be carried out.

In the meantime, some companies—such as Google, Samsung, BMW and others—have backed the World Wildlife Fund’s call to pledge to avoid using minerals that have been mined from the planet’s oceans. More than a dozen countries—including France, Germany and several Pacific Island nations— have officially called for a ban, pause or moratorium on deep sea mining at least until environmental safeguards are in place, although it’s unclear how many other countries support such mining. Other countries, such as Norway, are proposing opening their waters to mining.

IT was a smell that invoked a memory. Both for Emily Kuchlbauer in North Carolina and Ryan Bomba in Chicago. It was smoke from wildfires, the odor of an increasingly hot and occasionally onfire world.

HAZE is visible in New York City from the Empire State Building observatory on June 7, 2023.

As smoky as the summer has been so far, scientists say it will likely be worse in future years because of climate change. AP/YUKI IWAMURA

THE sun rises over fishing boats in the Atlantic Ocean on September 8, 2022, off of Kennebunkport, Maine. The United Nations body that regulates the world’s ocean floor is preparing to resume negotiations in July 2023 that could open the international seabed for mining, including for materials vital for the green energy transition. AP/ROBERT F. BUKATY

Sports

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

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C hua and Aranas rushed to a 9-2 advantage but got a scare from a German duo, who threatened at 7-9.

C hua, however, regained his rhythm in rack 17 to get the momentum back and put them at match point.

He swept the 18th rack to lift the trophy, the fourth for the Philippines.

The Filipino tandem but hung tough for a 9-8 win over Austria’s Albin Ouschan and Mario He in the semifinal round

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OHANN CHUA and James Aranas beat Germany’s Joshua Filler and Moritz Neuhauseno, 11-7, to win the World Cup of Pool and make the Philippines the most successful country in the annual competition held Sunday at the Pazo de Feiras Congresos de Lugo in Spain.of the tournament that drew teams from a hundred countries.

Chua and Aranas, both national team members, nipped ChineseTaipei’s Ko Pin Yi and Ko Ping Chung, 9-8 in the quarterfinals.

T hey blasted Spain’s Jose Alberto Delgado and Jonas Comino, 7-2, in the round of 16, after their 7-5 win over another Spanish duo, David Alcaide and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, in their first match.

T he victory broke a tie with China as the team with the most number of championships.

L egends Efren “Bata” Reyes and Django Bustamante won two titles for the Philippines in 2006 and 2009 and Dennis Orcullo and Lee Van Corteza triumphed in 2013.

C hua and Aranas won $60,000, while Filler and Neuhausen settled for S$30,000. Josef Ramos

JOHANN CHUA and James Aranas’s victory makes the Philippines the most successful country in the World Cup.

press conference with select Filipino journalists. “It’s cold so I had to keep myself warm to avoid cramps. I didn’t think of anything else but to compete.”

OBIENA proved true to himself in Stockholm

on Sunday (Monday morning in Manila) by clearing 5.82 meters not only to clinch silver behind world record holder Armand Duplantis but more importantly clinch a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Obiena, the world No. 3 and Asian record holder at 6.0 meters, declared he wanted to get a slot to Paris early in the year-long qualifying window that started last Saturday.

He did just that at the Diamond League’s Bauhaus-Galan Meet in the Swede capital.

It was a good jump and I knew already that I qualified for the Olympics, but I tried to maintain my focus,” Obiena told an online

RNEST JOHN “EJ”D uplantis was again unbeatable despite the chilly weather in the very same stadium that hosted the 1912 Summer Olympics.

The Olympic and world champion easily won gold with a 6.05-meter effort, while Norway’s Pal Haugen Lillefosse settled for the bronze with 5.72 meters.

D uplantis handily cleared 5.95-m before jumping to 6.05 meters. Obiena also raised to bar to 5.95 but missed twice.

“ There are still a lot of things to learn,” Obiena said. “I have to work so hard.”

Obiena thus became the first Filipino to qualify for next year’s July 26-August 12 Paris Games. He made 5.81 meters in 2019 for his first

Olympics in Tokyo 2020.

B elgium’s Ben Broeders finished fourth with 5.72m, while Australian Kurtis Marschall was fifth with 5.62.

R io 2016 Olympics gold medalist Thiago Braz da Silva of Brazil ended up sixth with 5.62 and Sondre Guttormsen of Norway landed at seventh with 5.42. France’s Renaud Lavillenie had no mark.

P hilippine Olympic Committee President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino congratulated Obiena for a job well done.

We’re proud of EJ, congratulations for making it to the Olympics again for the second time, the first Filipino to qualify,” Tolentino said.

J im Lafferty, Obiena’s personal adviser, told BusinessMirror that the Stockholm meet was almost postponed because of the extremely cold weather.

The talk before the competition

ERNEST JOHN “EJ” OBIENA is an early bird for the Paris Olympics.

was would it be canceled. It was 14 degrees with heavy, ice-cold rains coming down,” Lafferty said. “Competition was delayed.

Pole vault was delayed for two and a half hours.”   They only started when the rain was still coming down but a bit lighter, just awful condition for vaulting,” he added.

P hilippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Terry Capistrano also praised Obiena for his superb effort in bad weather conditions.

We congratulate EJ Obiena for securing the Paris Olympic slot for pole vault in his first competition during the Olympic qualification window,” Capistrano said. “We hope EJ’s achievement as the first Filipino to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics will inspire other Filipino athletes in athletics.”

Three teams showing way early in PVL Invitational eliminations

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NE week into the compact Premier Volleyball League Invitational eliminations and three teams looked headed to the next phase with two straight victories in their brackets with one making a smashing debut and two others splitting their first two matches.it will further firm up the games of those in command.

Future

triathlon stars see action in Sunrise Sprint

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R enz Corbin banners the cast in the men’s side of the short-distance event featuring a 750-meter openwater swim, 20-km bike ride and a 5-km run, with the 21-year-old bet from Cebu Province seeking to improve on his third place finish in the overall championship last year.

But a slew of others are also all primed for the sub-category of the centerpiece Sun Life 5150 Triathlon, also dubbed as S2, also staged to provide a platform for those making a comeback in the popular multi-sport. The event, held for the second straight year as part of the Sandugo Festival celebrations, a project of the Province of Bohol under Governor Aris Aumentado, also provides quality triathlon experience given its Olympic-style course setup.

B esides the overall championship, various age-group titles are also up for grabs with 17 vying in the men’s 15-19 class and 11 in the 20-24 category with more entries expected to join the event.

Th irty one bets make up the roster in the women’s side of the event sponsored by Go for Gold.

A lso on tap are relay competitions featuring the men’s, women’s and mixed divisions.

For listup and details, log on to www.goforgold.sunrisesprint.com/

Sunrise Sprint has played a key role in creating a talent pipeline, sustaining the continued growth of the sport,” said Princess Galura, president and general manager of the organizing The Ironman Group and Sunrise Events Inc.

G o for Gold is a sports CSR (corporate social responsibility) arm of Powerball Marketing and Logistics Corp., the licensee of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, which aims to promote nation-building through sports development and create ways to encourage young individuals to pursue excellence through physical literacy.

Powerhouse Brazil, Italy kick off VNL Week 3 action at MOA Arena

ORLD No. 2 Brazil squares off with No. 4 Italy as action in Week 3 of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) kicks off Tuesday with no less than First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos making the ceremonial serve at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.  Brazil and Italy take the court at 3 p.m. in a showdown of Olympic finalists with the Brazilians owning a 3-0 record over the Italians. They played in the gold medal matches in Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Rio de Janeiro 2016.C rowd favorite Japan, ranked No. 7 in the world, and No. 25 China complete the opening-day double header at 7 p.m.

Th is marks the second consecutive year that the PNVF is hosting the VNL, the sport’s most prestigious competition organized by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the Volleyball World.

Rebisco, Akari and the PSC as major sponsors. The other nations are world No. 1 Poland, No. 9 Slovenia, No. 12 The Netherlands and No. 15 Canada.

C anada and The Netherlands clash at 3 p.m., while Poland tests Slovenia at 7 p.m. at Wednesday’s resumption of the event also supported by Fitbar, Instax Fujifilm, Fitness First, Pasay City, Taguig City, Diamond Hotel, Maynilad, Peugeot, SM MOA Arena, The Look and The Moment Group with Cignal, Inquirer Group, RMN, DOOH, One Sports, One Sports+ and Mega Mobile as media partners.

W hile the semifinals race remains as wide-open and the semifinal cast as hazy as ever, one thing is crystal clear—the big guns are still in control.

Everyone is excited with the VNL men’s competition and we’re expecting more fans to march to the MOA Arena to witness thrilling world-class and high flying international men’s volleyball action,” said Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann and Pasay City Mayor Imelda Calixto Rubiano are also expected in the opening ceremony of the VNL Paasy City leg which has Ganten, Gerflor, Mikasa, Mizuno, Senoh and Stake.com as global sponsor.

Eight of the top 25 teams in the world are seeing action in this Week 3 of the men’s VNL that has PLDT,

The Philippine leg, according to Suzara, serves as the final and critical stage of the VNL’s preliminary round that will determine the top eight squads which will advance to the final stage from July 19 to 24 in Poland.  Fans can buy their tickets at Ticketnet. An exclusive VNL shirt will also be given to every purchase of Patron Front Row and VIP On Court tickets.

M ore information are available @volleyball_philippines on Facebook and Instagram for more information and updates.

PSC hosts Tennessee student-athletes

W hile newcomers Foton, Gerflor and Farm Fresh have the necessary abilities or qualities to become contenders in the future, it will take them a hard, longer process before they could reach their desired competitive level and meet their respective targets.

For as pure as Tots Carlos’ vicious kills, Kim Dy’s stinging blasts and Sisi Rondina’s high-octane attacks are Creamline, F2 Logistics and Choco Mucho’s starts in the mid-season conference of the league organized by Sports Vision where the top two teams from each group after the single round elims will advance to the next round.

The Cool Smashers posted a pair of 3-0 romps over Chery Tiggo and Gerflor to kick-start their titleretention drive and while the 9-day break gives the rest, primarily those seeking to gate-crash the Final Four party, the chance to develop chemistry and sharpen their skills,

Shutting down the Foxies and trouncing the Cignal HD Spikers in four, the Cargo Movers, with a souped-up roster, underscored their readiness to go all the way to the championship after placing fourth in the recent All-Filipino Conference. W ith former middle Ivy Lacsina appearing to thrive as an open spiker and their three rookies showing great potentials, observers fear F2 Logistics coach Regine Diego might be soon fretting over not where to find talents but who to go to at crunch time.

I’m happy we have a lot of options now but I have to make sure that they gel in together,” said Diego, whose deep bench includes Dy, Aby Maraño, Myla Pablo, Major Baron, Ara Galang, Elaine Kasilag, Shola Alvarez, Elaine Kasilag, playmaker Kim Fajardo and liberos Dawn Macandili.

A dd spikers Jolina dela Cruz and Jovelyn Fernandez and setter Marionne Alba, the Cargo Movers do expect to deliver the championship with Diego confident her wards will get better, stronger after the break. “’ Yung mga lapses namin happened because di pa sila ganun ka -connected. We still have a lot to learn. Madami pa kaming kailangan ayusin, i -adjust at i -work out,” said Diego. “We can’t stop, it’s just the second game. It’s not done yet.”

Forum on cockfighting, Ifugao games

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Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) commissioner Olivia “Bong” Coo will discuss the Ifugao Laro ng Lahi-Indigenous People’s Games set this weekend in Ifugao.

Former Philippine Basketball League commissioner and broadcaster

PHILIPPINE Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann (left) and commissioners Walter Torres (sixth from left, standing) and Fritz Gaston (right) pose with the student-athletes and coaches of the VOLeaders Academy from the University of Tennessee.

S

The student-athletes are on an International Service Immersion Experience and had a short session getting to know the local sports landscape. The organization aims to bring a

TUDENT- ATHLETES from the VOLeaders Academy of the University of Tennessee were welcomed by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) after a tour of the agency’s facilities.positive impact to and be part of the campus, local and even global sports institutes.

PSC chairman Richard Bachmann and commissioners Walter Torres and Matthew Gaston opened the orientation session saying “keep an open mind” as they started to discuss the facilities inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex on Monday, riding on its immense

historical significance in both sports and the country’s storied history.

B achmann said that the facilities in the complex are currently being refurbished while maintaining their historic appearance. Torres congratulated the University of Tennessee for incorporating in their academic program the subject of leadership training and development.

“Leadership and character are not gained by chance, they are intentionally taught,” Torres said.

Gaston explained that while the PSC board is a policy-making body, they are hands-on when it comes to dealing with the athletes.

“Chairman Bachmann is very insistent on us visiting the athletes and not the other way around,” he said.

B achmann has been actively

HE Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum centers on two unconventional sports— cockfighting and indigenous games—in its first session for July Tuesday at the Conference Hall of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.Chino Trinidad, on the other hand, will talk about cockfighting which is considered the oldest sport and passion among Filipinos.

The session starts at 10:30 a.m. and presented by San Miguel Corp., PSC, Milo, Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

The Forum is livestreamed via the PSA Facebook page fb.com/PhilippineSportswritersAssociation and aired on a delayed basis over Radyo Pilipinas 2, which also shares it on its official Facebook page.

visiting different training venues of the national team since his appointment in January to personally check on their needs.

The students toured the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Baseball Field, Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Court, Hidilyn Diaz Weightlifting Gym and the wushu and taekwondo facilities. The sepak takraw and wushu teams also showed their skills to the visitors.

MERRY mix of athletes— including those wanting to get a feel of multi-racing and those targeting to jump on the triathlon bandwagon in the future—gird for a highly-charged chase for top the podium in the Go for Gold Sunrise Sprint rolling out Sunday in Panglao, Bohol.W